Montgomery Markland

I'll likely buy ME2. I enjoyed the last two-thirds of ME a lot.

You are imputing intentions to me that I do not possess, nor proclaim. You are also spending a great deal of time discussing and claiming what I am. Conversely, I am not commenting on your character or intentions. I am offering my point-of-view and people can take it at face value or not. You are attempting to spin my statements into something they are not. My primary point is that if the reasonable people (including developers) post objective stuff, then the unreasonable people (trolls) will be drowned out. I can't force other people to post. But I can choose to either post or not. If I abdicate my responsibility to contribute to a civil society on the Internet, then I forfeit my right to complain when the environment for discourse about game development is suboptimal. I have control over myself. I can't control other people. Therefore, I choose to post, regardless of whether or not some meaningless, frustrated troll flames me. There are some great quotes that relates to this phenomenon: "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." (Edmund Burke) Obviously, I am not going to equate trolling and degrading a discussion board as "evil." The analogy is, however, sound. I also don't have any problem with a lot of nonsense on forums. I read forums because they are funny. But when people say something that is patently untrue, it's worth responding. Also, I don't understand why you are talking like this is all about the RPG Codex. I simply referenced it in support of the idea that a developer from Bioware might post on Rock, Paper, Shotgun. We can carry on this discussion in private messages if you like.

You're treating forums as some monolithic entity. I'm not trying to "win the Codex," nor am I trying to "win" anything. I don't care about the trolls and rabble-rousers. I care about, in the words of Richard Nixon, the great silent majority. The majority of people reading on forums don't post and a lot of them aren't even registered. These reasonable folks, combined with the well-reasoned active posters of a given forum, are the people who should be provided useful, objective information to offset the spew of nonsense that oftentimes accompanies game discussions on game boards. It doesn't cost me much to provide some in my spare time. I'm not attempting to make the Internet safe for my grandmother. I just post what I believe whenever I think posting it is worthwhile. Things aren't any more complex or involved than that. Also, you cite a bunch of specific examples of people posting things on forums in response to a particular issue or what-have-you. I don't know anything about any of those instances. I didn't work at Interplay or Black Isle. I didn't work at Obsidian when any of these alleged incidents took place, and I don't know anything about them, nor do they have anything to do with me posting. Thanks and no problem.

I'm not interested in ceding the gaming forums of the world to a cabal of trolls promoting an illogical tyranny of hyperbole. Misinformation unchallenged becomes information.

Memory limitations on a console definitely require a more rigorously reviewed and considered level design. Savvy designers and artists develop sleight of hand tricks to handle particular problems. Generally, you have to throttle the rate at which data rolls in by stretching the frame-distance a player must travel. Elevators, airlocks, hallway switchbacks, virtual switchbacks all can provide the necessary expansion of frame-distance because all of them slow down the player's progression through the game. I don't see why a Bioware writer wouldn't post on a given forum. I post on RPGCodex all the time. The dude in question is listed in the Mass Effect credits.

No, they're not. Definently not. It's silly to say which hypothetical level designer definitely designs the best levels, so I'm not going to enter into such a discussion. On the other hand, as someone who has both designed levels for Aliens and produced levels for Aliens, I would say that it is indisputably true that you are likely to get better results in your levels if you consider aesthetic and visual elements in your design. Level designers are not toolkit-monkeys, theoreticians or gameplay purists that push grey boxes around in a prototype. Level designers are the rubber-meets-the-road nexus of 100,000 different elements that make up a great level. The best level designers cooperatively partner with artists to create aesthetically unified sections of game where the visuals and the gameplay reinforce each other. Where I come from, you better have an understanding of both visual and play aesthetics or I wouldn't want you as a level designer on my team.

Call of Duty 5: World at War multiplayer Mainly hardcore S&D Best in the series since CoD1 for MP but the CoD4 SP campaign was better than this iteration

Level design absolutely includes aesthetic and visual considerations. A level poor in visuals might be that way because of poor art direction, but it also might be that way because of poor level design. If artists are delivered a level that has not been designed with aesthetic and visual elements in mind, it will be very difficult for them to achieve a high level of visual quality. I don't really remember Mass Effect well enough to comment on any particular levels, but I do recall being pretty bored for the first 4 hours and enjoying the game a lot for the rest of the time (maybe 8-10 hours of game after that). Part of that was definitely getting into the story and characters more as I played and getting more accustomed to the gameplay, but part of that was probably the level design in the first third of the game.

XSI Mod Tool is the free/student version of the XSI software. I've not used the mod tool but its basically a reduced-feature version of the real software. I think there might be limits on the complexity of your exports as well (vert or face count limits or something). XSI Mod Tool Level designers, environmental artists, character artists and animators on Aliens use the XSI Essentials or XSI Advanced versions depending on what they are working on.

I don't personally like DRM -- but I don't see anything morally, ethically or legally objectionable about product producers and service providers including DRM in their products. Producers and providers have a right to dictate the terms of an offer to sell you a product or service. You have a right to reject or accept their offer. Contracts are the basis of markets. I also think that the issue is not so clear-cut. Public surveillance has pros and cons. DRM has pros and cons. Intrusive counter-measures are deplorable and should be guarded against; acceptable protections are a positive thing. It's a balancing act, there's no absolutely right or wrong answer. Well-executed DRM that does not overburden the consumer really isn't any different than state-enforced intellectual property laws at a basic level; the main differences are of execution rather than intent or purpose. Poorly-executed DRM that overburdens the consumer is just as bad as poorly-constructed IP laws that overburden the creators of new intellectual property. DRM is a tool, just like a hammer or a hacksaw; it can be used constructively and effectively; or it can be used destructively and ineffectively.

I got a scratch on my CD of Appetite for Destruction and I can't play it anymore

Welcome to the future of DRM: *Brought to you by the Ministry of User-Friendly DRM Hate to break it to you, but it looks like you've been foiled once again by "The Scene"! On the second picture is the cracked version for sure :D rofl

RPG Codex - RPG Gaming - Let's Play mega-thread

support? i heard he was there, man. i also heard that he keeps a herd of feral pigs at his house, and if he finds out about anyone breaching the DRM, he feeds them alive to the pigs and then puts the whole thing on youtube. true story.

Welcome to the future of DRM: *Brought to you by the Ministry of User-Friendly DRM

I would like a link to that exact quote please? actually, his exact words were 'if you don't buy MoW, we'll shoot this dog'. and he even provided a picture of the dog: (yes, it's the same dog that national lampoon threatened in 1973. the dog is now very, very old). This is the best post on an internet forum that I've seen this month. In honor of this post, this thread should be renamed "Sign that Obsidian supports shooting dogs."

He's not supporting DRM, he's pointing out what he thinks is a likely result of low sales for MoW based on people not buying it due to DRM. That prediction has nothing to do with whatever his personal opinion is on DRM (which I have no idea regarding, Rob can speak for himself). I don't think it's a crazy limb to go out on to say: "If consumers do not buy a company's product the company will likely revise their product offerings" coupled with a declaration as to what you think would be the most likely product offering revision.

LoL @ "checking nearby easily-broken... baby strollers for the five bullets you need" This is a pretty good point and I especially like the fact that baby strollers are the new barrels.

That is a great list. I can confirm that gorillas on pcp are great for raves

The background in the photo is not CG, I don't think. I believe it's a wall from the Ennis House by Frank Lloyd Wright (the house from Bladerunner). Just because the background is possibly real doesn't mean the human is real, but there you have it.

We're one step ahead of you

Obsidian Entertainment got hit by a jolt from the 7.2 mile deep, 5.8 tremblor out of Chino Hills at approximately 11:51 am PST, Tuesday morning. http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D9...;show_article=1 Everybody is safe and sound, though Aliens environmental artist Mitch Ahlswede's figurine collection took a hit when one member fell from his perch on a computer monitor knocking his leg off (The figurine's not Mitch's leg). The figurine is in serious but stable condition. Mitch is recovering.

lol

happy bday OEI