Tale

I wasn't arguing that you won't notice it, I just misinterpreted you as saying that interesting combat animations would make up for the uninteresting combat.

My argument is that interesting combat animations won't offset the lack of challenge. I never argued that KOTOR was difficult. Looking back, I appear to have implied that choosing to focus on a the PC was a player choice entirely. However, it was developer intent in those games. Hence why it was so easy. Ease was included so a player wouldn't have to focus on others and juggle characters and abilities. Again, giving them interesting combat animations won't do anything to offset the issues that brings up.

That's probably because the Infinity engine was built as a hybrid RTS engine. Aurora was built for single (player controlled) character RPGs. It seems like it was built to be more similar to an MMO style of game with the way it is set up. This makes sense because Aurora was meant as a multiplayer engine. Obs seem to be working towards implementing cross breeding Aurora with RTS elements in their latest update and they're doing a good job considering it doesn't seem originally intended for what it's now doing. HOPEFULLY, we get some major release Strategy/RPG game that's well written and overall well designed to restart that market. Everyone seems to be going for Action/RPG hybrids of late with either a shooter action model (Mass Effect, Oblivion technically) or an MMO action model (NWN, Jade Empire). They seem to be what developers think the market wants. This isn't too surprising as there hasn't been any serious strategy innovations in ages that are overly applicable to RPGs. Even lacking innovation, I always feel strategy is a better RPG design over action. Heck, that's part of the origin of RPGs.

Did you try shooting your friend in the back during a rather tense moment?

That's a different concept than what I originally thought and I couldn't agree more. If you're going to use a system like NWN2s, IMO, it's vastly important to make the combat animations and similar as interesting to look at as possible. Either that, you make the combat hectic and challenging enough that players aren't just sitting there actively doing nothing but watching enemies/characters swing swords at one another for 30 minutes. Edit: Which, incidentally is why I don't like KotoR and why I think BG2 was such a great game. BG2 had hectic, often challenging combat and I was always doing something with my characters (actually, I will praise IWD for the same thing while I am at it). NWN2 and KotoR had lots of combat, but it was brainless and got highly repetitive (because I rarely was challenged and had to do anything in combat), which does expose the flaws in things like overly repetitive combat animations as you stated. I have to disagree. The reason BG2 was "hectic, often challenging combat" in contrast compared to NWN2 and KOTOR is because of the most popular form of party control. NWN2 and KOTOR have your party taking on their roles supposedly independently of the player character. BG2 we all took complete control. We had to set up the attacks for every single character. Something players don't seem to do so often in NWN2 and KOTOR. I really don't see how praising BG2 and IWD brings up a point about combat animations, either way.

You didn't, really. Unless you like Shenmue, in which case, you have my sympathies. Seriously, what the **** is this. That would be a controller that's still smaller than the original Xbox controller. It has a hole built in because the memory cards have a screen. That's right, they have a frackin' screen. Which was awesome, because you could get additional information and because you could play games on it. It's actually a model Nintendo has mimed a few times. Zelda Four Swords for the gamecube for example. Heck, any game that has benefits to hooking your GBA to the Gamecube mimed that. The DS took the idea to the moon and back.

My understanding is that Molyneux isn't even involved in design, anymore. His entire job consists of my sig. Sitting around spouting out nonsense like a senile old man. And by that I mean PR. Which is why I avoid Molyneux bashing. No matter how much I loathe Fable, my understanding of his involvement in the game was spouting insane ideas to developers and the media, with nobody actually making the game listening to him with any intent of going along with it.

I couldn't have dreamed it! I'm remembering more! But still not quite what game it was.

That's an intriguing hypothesis. What about Daikatana? Battlecruiser?

ARGH! It's possible I just dreamed it up. But, it was soooo cool. If I did dream it up, my dreams should become a professional game designer. Konami or Capcom could pay me to sleep.

I woke up this morning remember parts of a level of a game but not the game itself. It's driving me nuts because it was a cool part of some seemingly cool game. BUT I CAN'T REMEMBER WHAT GAME!

I used to cheat so much in PSO. And I didn't even have a cheat device! It was all skill and my complete lack of morals. Also, Powerstone, Soul Calibur, and Skies of Arcadia were awesome. Edit: Seaman needs a sequel. Or at least a rerelease.

I can't stand RPGs that are meant to be action based. I think it's a flawed concept. RPGs as a system, blow for action. I hate Diablo just the same. Overlord didn't pretend to have the RPG section. It was pure action adventure. Fable and Overlord both attempt a british cartoon humor style of art design, only Fable's attempt at it came across as a political cartoon with no context. The humor in Overlord was actually amusing. The humor in Fable was grating. And if I'm going to play a game who's only upside is fighting? I'm going to be playing Dead or Alive or a multiplayer shooter, not a hack and slash. To get me to like a hack and slash, you need to have at least 1 of the following 3 items: 1) Good humor 2) Good puzzles or just generally thought provoking concepts 3) Good atmosphere The fewer items you have of each, the more you need of what you do have. Fable had nothing. Overlord was amusing, it had strategy and puzzles, and it did very nice plays on the traditional fantasy stereotypes.

I'll justify this statement better after lunch, but I'm putting it out for general response right now. Overlord was everything Fable did wrong done right.

God, how I hate Fable. Most people don't seem to catch on, but what it tried to present early on is an ambiguity of heroism and inspiration. It came across as idiot stoner philosophy. Even evil men can be heroes, because they inspire people! *bangs head on desk* I can only imagine what that was like when they came up with it in the office. Dev1: "Well, we can't come up with any remotely original ideas for the hub of the game. So, we're going to make it a school. Perhaps an adventuring school." Dev2: "Hmm. Sounds good, sounds good. WAIT! I've got it. Make it a school for heroes!" Dev1: "But we want to give good and evil equal exposure, why make it a school just for heroes?" Dev2: "Who says evil people can't be heroes? Y'see, hero is an ambiguous term. Even mice and ants can be heroes. Everything can be heroes. An evil person can be a hero simply by being great and inspiring others to be great!" Dev1: "Wouldn't that just make him a villain? What's wrong with just making him an adventurer and leaving out the boorish pseudo-philosophy?" Dev2: "Look, dude, I had Starbucks today. I'm deep. I know what I'm talking about."

Requesting permission to speak poorly of Fable.

Microsoft's "Games for Windows" has shown absolutely no progress in benefiting Windows as a games platform outside of just making things operable better with Vista and having consistency. It's done nothing. Games tend to stick to the platform line they originated or are otherwise traditionally on. This is assuming there's not a big screwup on one companies end like what ended Nintendo and Square's relationship a few years back. KOTOR has been a notorious Xbox franchise, they're not going to make the leap to PC native when its main success has been on consoles. And KOTOR III isn't going to be an MMORPG. If there was a KOTOR MMO, it would be more akin to being called KOTOR Online. I think Square Enix is the only company that ever incremented a non-MMO main series number to title an MMO game.

I drank 13 beers in a four or five hour period a couple of months ago. My friend, who stopped at 12, got sick that night but I only got dizzy after laying down. Spread that out over the course of 16 hours, I think there's room for some booze. And I was already fine the following day.

I was over a friend's house yesterday. He recently got a 360 and has been buying quite a few games for it. He only had one old Xbox game out. Fable. And his profile icon is Fable. He tells me he really enjoys it because he can appreciate it for what it is, "an RPG Hack and Slash."

I bought Gunslinger Girl and Gundam: Stardust Memory DVD sets. I've seen a couple episodes of Gunslinger Girl, but this was mostly an impulse buy. Stardust Memory I had on VHS an age ago. Anyone here have opinions on Gunslinger Girl?

You do know that 64-bit OSes can run 32-bit apps, right?

Fable was obviously too deep for Sand.

I enjoy McDonald's on rare occasions. The burgers are nice when I like my burger a little salty. The burger sizes are generally small for when I don't feel like eating much. And they were the first restaraunt to have good chips. Though everyone has good chips nowadays.