Starwars

Copypaste from this thread: http://www.bethsoft.com/bgsforums/index.php?showtopic=886083 PC Gamer France, 93% - Good variety of quests, lots of replayability PC Gamer Sweden, 81% - VATS is nice, but there is too much content in a game world that is too small, NPCs feel lifeless GMC Italy, 9/10 - Good atmosphere and turn-based combat, lackluster AI and mini-games OXM 10/10 - details unknown as yet Click! 8.75/10 - * Gameplay - 9.25 (Playability: 9.5, Longevity: 9.5, Variety: 9, AI: 9); * Graphics - 8.25 (Appearance: 8.5, Animations: 8 ); * Sound - 9.5 (Music: 9.5, Effects: 9.5); * Technical quality - 7.38 (Fluency: 7, Loading times: 8.5) So it's gotten good grades so far. Worth noting is that the Swedish PC Gamer guy is an old-school Fallout/RPG fan who have been writing for the mag a very long time if I recall correctly. There was also a very negative preview from a French mag that was supposed to be a review, but he changed it to a preview for now since he didn't like the conditions for writing the review. I thought what he wrote fit exactly with what I saw in the stream I watched, but I'm one of those angry and unreasonable Fallout fans and I think he is as well. The bit about the condition was pretty weird and not something I knew. He said that the journalists basically got 16 hours with the game in a hotel, and were supposed to write a review from that (and the material had to be verified by I guess Bethesda guys).

I don't really like cinematic trailers for games. This doesn't really tell me anything about the gameplay or story. Is this in-game stuff though? If so I don't really understand how that preview a while back could think the graphics are subpar. I mean Jesus, if those graphics are bad enough to actually complain about, then yeah... I'm gonna call you a graphics whore. Nice to see some stuff finally coming out though. Hopefully we'll get a gameplay trailer fairly soon.

I recently played through the original STALKER with the 1.04 patch, and I had very little problem. I did however also use the mod called the Zone Reclamation Project, which basically also fixes bugs as well as allow the player some additional tweaks (like if you want a merchant to repair stuff, you can turn off those annoying audio loops attached to some NPCs, adjust the interface a bit). I highly recommend that mod if you decide to play it again.

Hahaha... *snort* Anyway, that Gamespy preview wasn't very informative or interesting. And yep, I think it's a good thing that SoZ is going in another direction. I loved MotB, but another one "just like it" so to speak would just feel forced. Better to try something new, and make it kick-butt in a different way.

The one Troika game I had problems running was ToEE. Arcanum and Bloodlines worked fine for me personally. While I won't defend the buggyness, it's a shame though that (afaik) they never really got the chance to patch the games properly from the publishers. Didn't have all that much trouble with the first STALKER either. Anyways, I'd rather buy STALKER, Clear Sky (which I did) than most of the garbage coming out now. Polish is good obviously, but when the games themselves are boring... bleh.

Funny review. And yes, Clear Sky is much worse on my computer at least. Fairly frequent crashing, and things generally screwing up. Also, it appears that there is a large shadow around my character (a large circle) which is dark as hell, and it being light outside it. This "dark cloud" follows me wherever I go. No idea what's causing it, but it made me give up on the game for now. Hopefully it'll continue to get patches, so it will work well someday. Twas a lot of fun otherwise, even though it went in a direction which I'm not crazy about.

Tried Bioshock for the first time, and I'm pretty disappointed. On the visual side it's excellent. It's actually quite well presented overall, from visuals to audio. But the gameplay sucks. I'm not a fan of FPS games in general, but I've come to realize that I really need some real "weight" in how it works. STALKER has this in spades for example, guns really feel deadly there. It feels like they pack a punch. Bioshock feels really weak in this regard somehow, the gunplay is just... not fun. Don't think I'll be playing it much more.

From what I saw from the streaming vids that were up after the leak, it's definetely not the wiki style dialogue of TES. The one I watched though just skipped through conversations, guess he wasn't interested, so I couldn't really see the actual options well. But there are definetely "real" dialogue options so to speak. Also, this game: http://www.gametrailers.com/player/41431.html

I think OEI will probably have modified it a little bit to suit their own needs, but it works great as it is now for playing the OC and MotB. I'd play through those now, so you can jump right into SoZ when it comes out.

I believe the current approved method of installing is currently NWN2 -> MotB -> autopatcher. As for Tony K's AI, you apply it to the override folder after you've patched/installed everything else. I think it's generally not recommended to patch while there are things in the override folder. Also, that's not the override folder in the install directory, but rather the other one. Not sure what it's called on English computers, but there should be a NWN2 folder in My Documents or something. That's where you install playermade stuff (though just read the readmes that come with the playermade content really). Anyways, Tony K's AI is definetely recommended. Good news is that Obsidian is implementing it in the game, but I don't think that'll be finished until SoZ. There are also playermade classes/prestige classes which could be fun, haven't tried them out though. Tony K's is what I consider the most essential mod for playing the OC/MotB.

Congratulations? It's great that you don't care about those things, but what does that have to do with my post? I happen to care about it. Not sure what your point is? I think it looks like a poor game, if you think that's suspicious then so be it.

Then let me rephrase it. My interest in Fallout 3 in how it relates to the franchise in general, in how the various different "factions" of fans will view the game and its general acceptance in the gaming world is quite high. My interest in Fallout 3 in the sense of how much I want to try it out and actually play it myself is at an all-time low. Finding online footage was not very hard since the link was readily available at the top thread in another forum I frequent, it was how I found out the game leaked.

If you see it in motion then you most definetely see the Oblivion heritage mkreku. Stuff like animations feel like they're lifted out of Oblivion, same with the characters total inability to act. Strange decisions like how you can't sleep in owned beds, as well as 1 hours of rest will bring you up to full health also makes a return. Radiant AI as well, with characters firing off conversations on top of each other when there are a bunch of people close to each other. Voiceacting is still awful. And that's not even going into the most basic stuff like how it's first-person exploration in a very "compressed" gameworld. At the core (how things generally work and play), it looks much more like Oblivion if you ask me, with the Fallout world sort of "draped" over that. If you like it, that's fine of course. But there are plenty of similarities to be found. There is of course also differences from the very nature of it being a post-apoc game. Anyways, atm I'm mostly looking forward to these: Storm of Zehir Mysteries of Westgate Age of Decadence Maybe Far Cry 2 as well.

There's been a few streams of people playing the game here and there, and I have to say that my interest in the game has yet another all-time low. I'm sorry, but I think this game looks terrible. Not only a terrible Fallout game, but if compared to Oblivion it just doesn't feel like it has improved that much. Voiceacting and writing is still terrible, and in some ways worse. Since they've tried to make it more ambitious, the failure is just even harder (just like what happened in Shivering Isles). The voiceacting is truly bad with a few exceptions. I dunno, I'm extremely unimpressed. Now, I was expecting to not like it as a Fallout game (anything resembling Fallout is just... gone), but it doesn't even look very good as a stand-alone game either. A real bugger that it leaked this early though. But yeah, ironic that it's the Xbox360 version that leaked.

Started a replay of Culpa Innata. Nearly finished it last time, but sometime near the end there was a crashbug, which made it so I couldn't proceed. Hopefully I'll have more luck on my new computer. Anyways, the game is a pretty unique one. One of its strengths is the setting which may not be a a believable development of the world today, but is nevertheless quite an interesting future. It feels pretty solid, which helps the game tremendously. The main weakness as I see it is that the game takes to long to get going. Now, I don't mean lots of talking in my games but in Culpa Innata it really feels as if the game stands absolutely still at times, there is no real pacing forward. No sense of momentum. Still, since I returned to it there obviously must be something good. It's a fascinating game. I really hope that the sequel don't mix it up with a lot of mystical mumbo-jumbo which could be a real death-blow I think. I also don't like that we'll be now playing two characters, but we'll see how that goes. Still playing Hinterland a bit, quite addictive.

Lol... THE KILLERS? Come on now Josh, surely you could think of something better than that? It will be fun to watch all the whining on the Bioware forums though, both that it's to easy for a party of uberbuilds (OMG IT WAS TO EASY FOR MY RDD BUILDS) and that it's to hard for others.

There was some talk of this yesterday on the NWN2 irc channel. One of the guys who had been at PAX had chatted a bit an Obsidian dev who said there optimizations made to make the overland map possible (since it's huge, and likely with a lot of stuff going on in it). But the dev didn't know whether that applied to the entire engine/game, or whether it was just specific to the overland map. Other than that, I seem to remember something about the lighting being better, but I can't remember where I read it. Maybe on the Vault interview a while back? Can't remember... At any rate, I agree. Some more optimization would be nice. The MotB patch was a great step in this regard.

Magister, I think it's already been stated on the Bioware forums that another expansion is a possibility if SoZ does well.

Hinterland and the NWN1 module called Almraiven. Hinterland is a great game for short playing sessions. Very simplistic though, and it very much relies on the simple satisfaction of "explore/reward". The randomization makes it fun as well. Almraiven is what I would call a masterpiece, and without a doubt the best NWN1 mod. I am replaying it at the moment because the sequel came out fairly recently (called Shadewood) and since I bought a new computer a while ago I did not have my old Almraiven character anymore. Still, what a great mod it is. Could've had a bit more choices though, but there are some still. And it's just tied together so beautifully. It's also cool in how low-magic it feels, despite being a mod for spellcasters. Most of it have your character applying his/her skills to figuring stuff out and investigating instead of blowing monsters away. And when combat *does* occur, and you get to release those Magic Missiles (it's a low level adventure) it feels much more satisfying.

I normally dislike combat in action-RPGs, but I do find it passable in the Witcher. But it just suffers from what I feel most action-RPGs suffer from, and that is how repetetive it can get fighting. Certain areas are just a chore I feel because of the amount of fighting involved in them. I'd be happy if the amount of combat was like how it is in Vizima during chapter 2. The odd fight on the streets, the odd fight related to the story and you can go to the Sewers if you want more. Thank god for the Drowner repellent I guess? There are some good animations though for sure. Some are rather weird, but for the most part Geralt looks like a real badass when fighting.

People are mainly reacting because it looks like Rob is defending Atari in how they've delayed MoW for so long now. MoW was completed a little less than a year ago now, and the supposed reason it's been delayed for so long is because of Atari implementing their DRM thing. I think it's a bit of annoying situation from the consumers side, since buying it will support Atari and I really believe they have *really* dropped the ball on how they've handled MoW. At the same time, I wish to give support to Ossian and the chance of more NWN2 content. But come on... you're intimidated by this? And if I remember correctly (though I really can't remember where, possibly it was through the NWN2 community guys who're in contact with Ataris EU people) that the DRM system for MoW is (or was at the time, a few months ago now) going to require a 1 time online activation. You won't need to be online or anything like the NWN1 premium mods. But don't quote me on that, wish I could remember exactly where I read it.

So, what's been going on in the NWN2 modding land? Not terribly much the last two months or so as many modders have taken temoporary breaks from their own projects to work on a Halloween mod, in which the modders will create their own house (complete with whatever they want to put there, small quests, trick or treats etc). This stuff will then be stuffed into a single mod which is being created by the people at Bouncyrock (who are working on an upcoming Ravenloft mod). Should be fun stuff, though to be frank I'd rather them work on their own mods, but eh. I know it can be good to take a break and work on something else for a while. However, some cool stuff have still been released! We have the third Conan Chronicles mod out. The Thing in the Crypt: http://nwvault.ign.com/View.php?view=NWN2M...tail&id=300 I actually took the time to play through all the Conan mods and I really enjoyed them, especially part 2. Highly recommended. We have an old NWN1 favourite making a return. A Hunt through the Dark Remastered, from the same people who brought you the Pool of Radiance Remastered mod: http://nwvault.ign.com/View.php?view=NWN2M...tail&id=301 This is on my to-play list, as I never tried the NWN1 version for some reason. There is a new Ravenloft mod out (the first for NWN2 I believe) called Ravenloft: Dreamscape. http://nwvault.ign.com/View.php?view=NWN2M...tail&id=304 I actually tried this one out briefly, but had to put it down due to lack of time at the moment. Seemed interesting at the start, though not entirerely something to my taste. Getting good reviews though, I'll likely give it another go. The Halls of Hamhock: http://nwvault.ign.com/View.php?view=NWN2M...tail&id=291 Another mod which I had to put down due to lack of time. The vault score is quite low for some reason (there were some problems with the party system at first I think), but from what I saw it should be higher than it is. This seemed to be quite a hardcore D&D mod from what I've gathered. Traveller: http://nwvault.ign.com/View.php?view=NWN2M...tail&id=293 Haven't tried it. Made by the same guy who created Corruption of Kiahoro, which was a fun adventure (worth a try certainly). This one seems pretty good as well! Legacy of the Dragon: http://nwvault.ign.com/View.php?view=NWN2M...tail&id=309 Don't know much about this one, released just the other day I believe. Good feedback so far. And finally, what could be the biggest mod so far for NWN2 (probably is if we take Chapter 1 into account as well), Chapter 2 of Subtlety of Thay was released just a few minutes ago. http://nwvault.ign.com/View.php?view=NWN2M...tail&id=310 That will probably be my next NWN2 mod to play. Note that you can download a package of Chapter 1 and 2 from the link above (appearantly stuff you do in Chapter 1 affects Chapter 2, so might wanna replay the first Chapter).

I think this looks pretty good. What we've seen so far of the setting doesn't exactly make me jump up and down with joy, but a lot of the of it is left for us to see. I'm mostly interested in the human side of things on a kind of ground level, which is one of the reasons I liked the Witcher. Life is a struggle, and it has turned many into complete bastards. What scares me about DA though is that I really fear the whole cinematic approach. While interactive, Mass Effect still had me feeling like it was constantly "locking me down" with cutscenes all the time, and I worry this will happen with DA also. It's good that they seem to be interactive of course, but I've found out I'm really sensitive to the visual side of things when it comes to cutscenes. I don't want to feel like I'm watching a movie, not even an interactive one. Still, it's to be expected I suppose. Still, looks decent enough. The one feature I like the most is probably the backgrounds, which I hope will add some significant replay value.

Been trying out a few higher end games now that I got my computer upgraded. Recently: Assassain's Creed. Enjoyable in extremely small chunks, and gets repetetive very quickly. The game does shine sometimes (assassinations so far have been fun, and the getting away from guards can be quite thrilling). But there are a lot of stuff where I just go wtf... The story for example, and the fact that I have to click an unnecessary amount of times just to get out of the damn game. Crysis. Also an enjoyable game, I actully find it better than I thought I would. The action can be a lot of fun and quite intense. However, story is pretty meh and the characters annoy me. Still, it's pretty fun. Still thinking about Clear Sky. I'm upset that (according to many people at least) the atmosphere has taken a serious dive, but at the same time I also enjoyed STALKERs firefights a great deal so I might enjoy it as a much more action oriented title or whatever. The game also seems *really* buggy for some people. Will have to think on it.

I think a demo is planned. Digital download will be 25$ and boxed version will be 50$ plus shipping. If you buy the boxed version, you also get the download (so you don't have to wait around for the boxed version to arrive if you wanna play right away). Not sure if there are any awesome goodies planned to be included in the boxed version.