Tale

I didn't know him and I'm absolutely not spiritual. I'm so decidedly not spiritual that there's not much I can say about death. What I can say is this: the community, especially those who remember him, and his family are diminished by the loss. And my sympathies go out to those who remain. There is a contribution from individuals to all groups they are part of. They present new ideas and challenge old ones, they expand knowledge, and they provide comfort. And with their loss, the group is diminished.

I have never heard of this kind of promotion. A bonus for the people who pre-ordered extra early. I suppose it is possible, but without a precedent the argument is hard to make. I mean there's sound reasoning there, loyalty rewards, but getting Ubisoft onboard might require pointing at a similar successful promotion that increased sales.

Second update on SRR pack for the day. I swear I'm not spamming. I'm working on complex dialogue trees now. Not doing real branching, but am checking skills to do subtle differences ("a Decker" vs "another Decker). I miss doing this stuff. Observation: Being creative while inebriated lets the words flow without hesitation, but we all know that. The realization involves working in the technical elements of scripting. The scripts are working, but everything I'm figuring out will be lost come the morn, especially if I have another drink. *checks clock* Oh yeah, I'm not going to remember how any of this works.

Working on the intro map for my SRR pack. All of the floors are designed and populated with props. All the area transitions are set up for internal movement. Really, all that's left is to introduce a plot and initial loadout.

It's really fun. The one thing is it might not have long term play value. I beat it in 6 hours and the only remaining interest I have is in doing goof off runs. But it does simulation well and really gets you into it. Immersive is what most people would call it. You make decisions as you might in that situation. A guy offers you a bribe and you might take it because it's a choice between food and heat every day. Someone asks you for help, but they have no papers. Do you help them and get penalized, or worse, they might be a terrorist. Or do you turn them away and never know what happens.

Glory to Arstotzka!

They did it in Origins.

A new character. Supposedly without a set name, though they may be referring only to first instead of both first and last. Last would be a... well, it would be a first for the franchise.

Rented a Blu-Ray movie from redbox, saw that it said "DVD video" on the disc and called them. They gave me a couple promo codes. Finally pop it in the player and it's actually a Blu-Ray. So, that's weird, it has the DVD label but it is really a Blu-Ray. Free movies! Addendum: Southern Comfort Cherry is incredible.

Personal preference is irrelevant to me. As long as they are consistent and play to their strengths. Though I have a particular aversion to asterisks.

It was good knowing you, you will be missed.

Thanks for clarifying. And thanks for being informative, Allan.

We wanted to do 3, because it gives us more time per project. What I meant by "what we wanted to do" was that fan outrage didn't crack an EA skin. I actually had considered emailing Aaryn Flynn suggesting we push to 3 projects to effectively move to 3 year dev cycle, only to have him mention it at the following studio meeting. Are you confusing bi-annual for biennial? Or do I not understand the math for how releasing every 4 months gives you more time per release? However that works out to a 3 year cycle, I am happy to hear. But also very curious as to how.

Good. Seriously. You wanted to do two releases a year? That idea scares me for how impractical it could be. Annual creeps me right the heck out. I know from prior discussions about TOR that Bioware was wanting a certain level of success out of a belief it would lead to some autonomy. If it's the same hope for annual Dragon Age, then looking at other annual franchises like Call of Duty and Assassin's Creed point to the mistake in that line of thinking. And yet others, like Guitar hero, paint out the danger of investing too heavily in one thing and charging too quickly forward. Every two years can be cool, but Dragon Age 2 didn't seem to target that with its time frame. The difference between Mass Effect 1 and 2 is one of 26 months and resulted in lots of positive reception. That's kind of like what Avellone says about KOTOR 2. If he had to do it again, he would have made it more focused, cut out companions and other things. It would have made for a more solid product. Though that does have its own danger.

I have a Dachsund based mutt named Bailey. Max and Bailey will answer to their names, but they also answer to each other's names. Call one and get both. The cat doesn't give two craps. He'll come if he sees you, but not if you call him.

There's never enough time. I'm working on my Shadowrun Returns project, but I want to play Metro 2033. I'm also sorely wanting to replay Dragon Age: Origins. And then there's books I want to read. I NEED MORE TIME

Depends, will the DLC still only be sold in monopoly money? That's actually one of the big things turning me off to DA3. Legacy sounds cool, but nobody should have to put up with Bioware's purchasing system.

Still building a scene for SRR. First floor is laid out, second floor is laid out, third floor is mostly filled out. Have to try to figure out what I can add to the third floor so it's not bare. I've tried adding more walls and subdividing it, but that didn't make it look any more interesting. They really need more windows.

It's public knowledge, but some people get really upset by any detail, so I'll spoiler it.

Neither am I. That's why I'm surprised. Nearly everyone else was, the ones that weren't vague and static, anyway.

I'd love that, but I doubt it. I haven't seen any supporting hints and Bioware is not hesitant to completely retcon epilogues. Which epilogue are they retconning? The one where she "dissapears into the wilderness and is never seen again" that was retconned with the "Witch Hunt" DLC? Two other epilogues also mention the Frostback Mountains, including pregnant ones. So she pretty much always ends up heading to Orlais. Joining the court is only mentioned without romance and DR.

I'd love that, but I doubt it. I haven't seen any supporting hints and Bioware is not hesitant to completely retcon epilogues.

Bah, stinking analogies. *shakes fist*

It seems that someone disinterested in power fantasies should probably shy away from RPGs. This isn't straight fantasy fiction, this is a game genre built around growing in strength. With the fact that it's a game meaning that you do that to overcome obstacles. Get stronger, win. Macbeth may be great fiction, but it would be a terrible RPG.

Proudest I have been of a map so far. I think I'm really refining my technique. This is actually only a quarter of the map and there's no lighting set up. But it's a good start.