Tasaio

HotS spoilers:

Re: Kerrigan and Raynor's relationship (spoilers)

It's been a few days, and I've had some time to reflect on my initial post. To those who like the DLC: I'm sorry if I was a bit harsh, especially considering a Bioware employee posts here. I understand that no one wants a killjoy to come in and scathingly criticize a game most people are enjoying. Based on the comments in this thread, and the metacritic user score, it's clear that I'm in the minority about this DLC. I compared this DLC to Star Trek: Nemesis, but perhaps a better comparison is Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. I didn't like the goofy plot in that film, but it's clearly a fan favourite. I guess this goes to show that we're looking for different things in Mass Effect. I'm more interested in the overall lore and setting than the characters; others prefer the characters. There's nothing wrong with either preference, but this DLC, like ME3, clearly decided to focus on characters at the expense of plot. To AGX-17: I didn't actually say it was worse, I wrote: Look, I entered this DLC with some mistaken impressions. When I heard that all the writers were on board, that this was made in response to fan feedback, that it was the largest DLC ever...I honestly thought that it would address one of, what I believed to be, the unresolved plot threads from earlier Mass Effect games: - the absence of Harbinger - the foreshadowing of dark energy (now unused since the ending was changed) - the mystery of the keepers (and keeper #20) When I heard it was set on the citadel, I naturally assumed it was the keeper thread that was being resolved. To everyone: I guess I'll view Mass Effect 3, as a whole, as the end of the series, rather than this DLC. And in that regard, it does provide some decent closure for the characters. Some of the events, like Tuchanka and Rannoch, remind me of the greatness of the earlier games. It's just a shame Bioware didn't put that some amount of effort into the rest of the game. I just can't shake the belief that, despite its strong characters, Mass Effect could have done so much more with its plot. One day, I'll play through the entire series again, with all DLC, and maybe my feelings will improve. Anyway, I'm glad others found more enjoyment in the game than I did. No hard feelings?

Based on all of the positive reviews, I decided to play the Citadel DLC. I thought that, the problems with ME3 notwithstanding, it would be an opportunity to bid a fond farewell to the Mass Effect series. I knew that it had a lighter tone, but I enjoyed the comic "Blasto: Eternity is Forever!" about the Hanar spectre, so I was looking forward to some funny moments at the party in this DLC. Boy, was I in for an unpleasant surprise. The plot of this DLC is outrageously stupid -- I never thought that Bioware could top the original ME3 endings, but this DLC comes close. When I heard that we would unearth previously unvisited areas of the Citadel, I thought that we would finally learn the secrets of the keepers -- where they were assembled, their history, the mysterious Keeper #20 from the videos in the Shadow Broker DLC. (http://masseffect.wikia.com/wiki/Video_Archive). After all, in the ME3 previews, they promised that "the mystery of the keepers would be revealed". Even when it became clear that the keepers weren't the focus of the plot, I expected any number of interesting sci-fi locations Bioware could have visited. Instead, they spent all of that time and effort creating...a restaurant, a casino, a bar and an arcade. And when it came to the party, I was expecting, at minimum, an "Investigate" dialogue option. Instead, clicking "Talk" prompts the NPC to recite completely inane one-liners. Actually, "inane" can be used to describe all of the dialogue in this DLC. The feeble stabs at humour just aren't funny -- some of the jokes are so juvenile that I'm surprised to find them in a Bioware game. I think Roger Ebert's thoughts on Star Trek: Nemesis sum up how I fell about this Mass Effect: Citadel. For those who enjoyed the DLC, I'm genuinely happy for you -- and I wish that I had found what enjoyment you did in this DLC. Like Ebert, I'm trying to be a good sport, and find something positive to say about this DLC. But I honestly cannot understand the positive reception -- this DLC, like the original endings, leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth. I wish that I had my money and my time back. I honestly cannot believe that...this...is the grand send-off of the Mass Effect series. A terrible shame.

Heart of the Swarm reminds of The Frozen Throne: There are more exciting twists to the mission designs, than in the plotline. But the campaign is too short. It comprises only 20 missions (the evolution "missions" don't count). Compare that with 26 for The Frozen Throne and 28 for Brood War. I knew that the campaign would be shorter than Wings of Liberty's 29 missions, but I was still left disappointed. I honestly feel that the game should be half the price, and I simply cannot recommend purchasing it based on the campaign.

Calax, I'd like to try and help you but I don't know all the details. What program are you in, currently? What I can say, is that I know many students who have had their degrees interrupted. In fact, the average length of time to receive a degree at my university is 6 years...while the "expected" time is 4 years. In fact, the maximum time to receive a degree is 25 years. And I completely sympathize with you and your home situation. For what it's worth, you aren't the first student to lack academic support from home, and I know firsthand how that feels.

I'm a little late, but I finally got around to playing the Super Mario games for the first time. The "Wiimote" is awkward, but I can't blame the controls for my...complete lack of skill. I've never died so many times in one sitting! I found Super Mario Bros and Super Mario Bros 2: The Lost Levels to be brutal, and I found Super Mario Bros 2: USA to be a chore. However, I thoroughly enjoyed Super Mario Bros 3, and I'd rate Super Mario World as my favourite so far. Now, I'm off to play the revolutionary Super Mario 64...over fifteen years after its release.

I would rate DA2's intro as the second-worst in a Bioware game. The worst is tied between Irenicus' dungeon in BG2, and ME3's "introduction". (I remember thinking, at the time, that I could write off the beginning as the worst part of the game. That was before I saw the "endings".) RE: Demos Demo is short for "demonstration", because it's literally a product demonstration. I think it's the publisher's decision to release a demo (or not); but I also think that the onus is on publishers to ensure that a demo is above-average, compared to the rest of the game. Demos should be carefully designed to either showcase the best parts of a game, or to involve the player enough that s/he wants to continue the story. In contrast to this, the DA2 demo was too rushed to involve you in the story, and only "demonstrated" the worst area of the game. I actually think it would be to the financial benefit of publishers if demos today were longer, more complete, and more satisfying. The more time I invest progressing through a game (via its demo), the more I'll become involved in the story or gameworld. Old FPSes like Doom, Heretic and Duke3D were commercially successful, yet they made the first of three episodes shareware (about 1/3 of the entire game). Today, releasing 1/3 of your game as a demo would be seen as a radical move. The only thing I don't agree with is cutting story from the main game, to place in the demo. For example, Warcraft III's demo contains the entire "Exodus of the Horde" tutorial campaign that (Blizzard later admitted) had chapters 3-5 removed from the main game.

My first CRPG was Wizardry I: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord. I played the two sequels, but it's the first game I remember. (Maybe it's nostalgia, but it' still one of my favourite games!) However, with Wizardry IV: Return of Werdna, I met my match. I couldn't do it. I couldn't get past the third and fourth levels (the one with the mine field). I gave up. I...used someone else's maps. One of the first games I need outside help to complete. To this day, I remain ashamed.

I finally completed Diablo 3 with every character class! As usual, my favourite class is the ranged magic-user (Wizard). Here's hoping that they make character stats customizable in the future -- at least before the first expansion.

While I thought some of the vitriol delivered his way was over-the-top, I'm not unhappy to see Jay Wilson replaced. He mentions that Diablo 3 was a group project, but throughout its development he seems to have treated it as his personal baby, and thought that he alone knew what was best for it. I think NerfNow best expresses how I feel.

I finally got around to playing the Portal 2 DLC "Peer Review". It was more of the same re: the coop campaign. As much as I enjoy the puzzles, I'm forced to rate Portal 2's science facility as the ugliest, dreariest setting I've ever played in a game. Valve just completely missed it. On the positive side, the puzzles were much more creative (i.e. challenging) this time around.

A tragic loss. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2013/01/farewell-aaron-swartz http://rememberaaronsw.tumblr.com/post/40372208044/official-statement-from-the-family-and-partner-of-aaron http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/www-tag/2013Jan/0017.html http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/philg/2013/01/12/aaron-swartz/ http://lessig.tumblr.com/post/40347463044/prosecutor-as-bully

I've read ASOIAF 1-5 and the three prequel novellas, but only just now got around to watching the TV series. I thought it was a worthy effort. I'm looking forward to the 3rd season. However, the story began to diverge too much from the books in episodes 2x08 through 2x10. I found the portrayal of events in Winterfell disappointing, not to mention the House of the Undying.

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and Happy Holidays to all at Obsidian!

Since alanschu is from Bioware, and most people have finished ME3, I'll take the opportunity to ask one thing that still puzzles me about the plot:

To be honest, two of the biggest disappointments about ME3 still remain even after the EC:

First, thanks to Diagoras and alanschu for starting such a candid and interesting discussion. While I don't share Diagoras' degree of scepticism re: copyright law, I do agree with him that copyright is, by definition, gov't intervention in the free market. It's a government system, supported by taxpayers and completely dependent on public money. One thing that doesn't get enough attention is the fact that copyright is supposed to last for a limited amount of time -- in the United States, it was 14 years. I seem to recall that you could make a one-time renewal so that it would last a total of 28 years, at most. The American Constitution states that copyright should be "for limited times" but, unfortunately, the US government believes that this length of time can be extended retroactively. This has been abused by copyright holders, so that the term now effectively lasts forever. Personally, I think that 14 years is more than enough time to profit from a creative work. The other important point to be made is that, for any copyrighted work, there exist legal exceptions for copying the work. This is called "fair dealing" in Commonwealth countries. (The United States has an even more permissive set of exceptions called "fair use".) These exceptions are what allow me, Gorth, Hurlshot, alanschu, etc. to use copyrighted images our forum avatars. Let alone "Let's play..." videos, screenshots, mods,... This is the kind of question that started the discussion. I think Diagoras is arguing that Obsidian should use the success of Kickstarter to consider switching to a commission-based economic model. When artists work for commission, they get paid up-front (commissioned) to produce a creative work. This is how professional portrait painters make money. And none of this relies on a government-funded set of laws, which seems to be Diagoras' criticism of the current copyright model. I agree with him that there are a number of ways artists can make money, that don't depend on traditional copyright. Look at open-source software, which is paid through support (Ubuntu) or advertising (Google). However, I also think that copyright is OK as a general concept. But it should last at most 14 years, and exceptions should be expanded. And, in case no one else has mentioned it, the penalty for non-commercial infringement should be capped so that students are not being bankrupted through lawsuits.

Hi, Many fans would be interested in how well NWN2 sold. Did it meet expectations, fall short, or surpass them? In November, Feargus remarked "It's actually selling very well." But that was November, when the game was just released. My local Future Shop still has the game for $59.99. I take that as a sign that it's still selling well... Thanks for any clarification!

Very true. If more parents were willing to spend time with their children, this would not be an issue. I don't know about this, since I live in Canada. But yours is the one post that targets the real issue -- the pressure on today's youth. It was up to his parents to get him help. Not the school. Not the government. Of course, being poor, foreign, and (correct me if I am wrong) of a very strict Asian mindset when it comes to raising children, they probably wouldn't. I have Asian members in my family, so I'm familiar with how harsh they can be on children. I know how much they are driven to succeed. And that's forgetting the pressure school would place him under. Maybe I'm just an old man, but when I was in public school, it wasn't about grades -- it was about fostering a love of learning. More, it was about fostering a *desire* for a good work ethic. There just wasn't the same type of pressure. There wasn't this obsession with grades, for one thing. http://hackvan.com/etext/6-lesson-schoolteacher.html http://montalk.net/conspiracy/39/the-horro...ublic-education It's hubristic to blame the ME generation. Are you so different? Aren't we interacting on a forum for...computer games? If anything, older generations have had it easier. It sounds like he railed against injustice, as we all do. Read about his rants. He apparently hated the corruption and the rich kids...what we all complain about. I came from a very poor household, and I can tell you, it was not easy being around lazy, spoiled brats all the time. I adapted, and did very well in college -- but I had my parents and family to support me. It sounds like, once again, this boy had no one. Isn't that always the case? I think people should remember that Cho Seung-hui was one of the victims of this tragedy.

Incredibly, OE took the time to re-record the sounds for blunt-hits-chainmail, etc. Unfortunately, as mentioned the spell chants and music are re-used. Don't get me wrong -- there is all-new music, and it's fine. It's simply so sparse that it only shows up in main plot areas. I really, really hope OE builds up a full soundtrack in the expansion, so that we can replace the NWN1 music. I would also love to see the spell chants from IWD/BG2.

Greetings, I made this topic on the Bio forums. http://nwn2forums.bioware.com/forums/viewt...4&forum=109 What do you guys think of these suggestions? Do you think they are easy enough to implement, that we might see them in a future patch?

Ahhh, so the EBgames preorder *was* a sign of a coming expansion! Hooray! I like "Mask of the Betrayer" much better than "Legacy of Gith". A thought on the titile (NWN2 spoiler): It was heavily implied by Zeeaire that the NWN2 silver sword is more important than other silver swords...I wonder why? Also, the NWN2 manual story reveals that the KOS wanted something in West Harbour. And the wizard (warlock?) "was damned if he was going to let him have it". It's implied that the baby (your PC) is what the KOS wants... This implies that your PC is somehow...special (lol, big surprise ). I suspect we haven't seen the last of the Githyanki. I'm guessing that, despite the new setting, we still end up on a planar romp to face the Lich Queen.

Thanks for the clarification. I've never heard of EB doing this. If this turns out to be a hoax, then please accept my apologies. ... Are you serious, about them putting up fake box art?