SirPetrakus

Many financial companies did just that! Thank God it worked fine with Enron. Oh, wait!

Intrigued. About the ladies you can court, as someone posted, The Witcher had a very large number of ladies to seduce, I think we all witnessed that it doesn't break the game for it. Would like to see more characters from the game. The NWN2 opening CGI was looking better than this, I think, I can't really complain though. Me likes! Most people on gametrailers seem to like the fact that it is something new and original, though reminiscent of the James Bond and Bourne films/games. I think that's a good thing. Then there's the graphics whores. We don't really care for them if the game doesn't look as pretty as Crysis.

I don't care what Chrome does! I wanna use FF, just as I've been doing for the past 4 years or so. OS is Windows XP, add-ons include Footiefox, Forecastfox, download status bar, image zoom, google preview, image downloader, tab mix plus and pdf downloader. Worked fine till a couple of days ago, now just went nuts. Haven't changed anything, honest to God!

Who's the Red? Also, I liked very much the skin texture on Mike's right arm, very leathery and rough. Kinda like Edward Carnby's facial textures in the new Alone in the Dark. Very nice work.

Exact same problem! Gmail, gametrailers, gamespot, here ... you name it!

Don't we all. I haven't checked the demo. Is QoS out for the PC too? I don't own any consoles besides a handheld DS.

I'm guessing it comes down to your dialogue options, i.e. to some people you will have to go Jack Bauer in order to earn their respect or to succeed in your objective, some others will require the James Bond approach and others the Jason Bourne perspective. So I think it will basically be up to the player to tell which personality of the 3 will be most appropriate in each conversation rather than sticking with the psycho approach all the way. If that is so, and I hope it is, it will prove an interesting touch, trying to analyze your conversationalist's personality to see which response fits best in order to avoid unnecessary violence and reach your goal.

What I hated about ME wasn't the dialogue, the quests, the length, the characters, the battle mechanics, anything. What I hated was bugs. I could play everything just fine visually, no crashes, no screen freeze, but I could NEVER fix the goddamn sound, NEVER! I asked around, looked here and there, readmes, patches everything. The most helpful and constructive answer I got was "you're doing it wrong!", well thanks for answering the 25 billion dollar question, but I kinda figured that out myself. I don't think it's a bad game, but it lacks impact, the "oh 5|-|!7" factor. No matter how hard I tried I could never get immersed in it. Mute mode also sucked, but I did get to play it at a friend's PC, WITH sound, and the feeling didn't change at all. Like most Bio games, ME fails to give you a rush of excitement, like I said it's not bad, it's just missing that little extra something to push it over the top. I didn't get chills playing it, I wouldn't be thrilled to get to the game's main menu, anxious to start the game, it didn't work that much for me. Someone else might have enjoyed it more, and it's their God given right too, but it just didn't do for me what other games have done, always IMO. What's with the action/RPG? You point, you click, therefore it's an action game! It's supposed to be an RPG, it works like an RPG, it was promoted like an action/RPG because it combines shooter elements. In that sense, yes, it is an action/RPG, aimed to both shooter fans and RPG fans. What's the big frigging deal? It's not like Fallout or Planescape, you knew that beforehand. If you didn't like it, move on to the next game! QT3, I know people here look down on romances but, personally, I happen to like them and I am all for more and better romances. Sure, people don't fall in love with someone because they were pitted together in a love or death situation, but being caught up in an adventure where anyone can die, definitely makes you more emotionally vulnerable - or exposed, if you wish. It is a common reaction to try to hang on to someone else when death seems to lurk on every corner, just for the reassurance that things aren't that bad and there's life after the wars and the battles and the strings of near suicidal missions. It kinda sounds like I'm talking from experience and maybe I am, maybe I'm not, but I'm not here to give life lessons to anyone, again, it's my modest opinion. P.S. Yes, I know your name is qtπ, I'm Greek, we bloody invented the π! Sometimes, I'm too docile to press shift+ alt, so sorry.

I started MMOs with Lineage 2, it looked like standard grindan jrpg, which I'm cool with, I liked the FF series to an extent and was accustomed to it. Games like Capcom's Breath of Fire were fun to play so I just saw this like one of "those" game, only I could play with friends on different parts of the gaming world and the globe. At any moment I got bored, I could just spark up some nice little chit chat and forget that I'm playing something, being myself and making friends was what it was. Then it dragged on too much. The amount of effort it took to level up was ridiculous, the resting time was obscene and the uselessness of melee type characters was getting to me, being a melee character myself. So I quit, lots of friends felt that way too, so they did the same thing. We kept in touch, I kept playing single player games, they gathered on ventrilo and played Battlefield, we all hang out in the clan's forum. A friend showed me WoW a few months back. Game seemed interesting, melee types were again not that big, but much more useful than Lineage 2, resting time was minimum, large community, leveling not so tedious ... I was tempted to try it, but I wanted to try it out with my old clan, sadly, except a couple of them, none was inclined. AoC came out, tried it out. Pretty game, nice graphics, cool PvP, sieges, fatalities ... not that many people, few organized guilds, bugs ... we didn't last long. We started WAR just a few weeks ago. Game looked like fun. Special RvR scenarios, quests on par with WoW, much less bugs than AoC, melee types matter ... this might be it! I started MMOs 6 years ago. Not saying they're the best type of games, nor that the future of RPGs rests on them, but it's fun. MMOs will always miss the immersion and emotional impact of single player RPGs like The Witcher, Fallout, Baldur's Gate etc, what they will give you is the opportunity to have fun with a few friends online, but isn't that what they're all about?

You guys might need to pair up with Odysseas, he'll really complement your group. Or kill it. Either way, guaranteed fun! OK, here's a little funny story. Years ago I was playing D&D with my older brother and his friends. 2nd edition Dragonlance. We had a real veteran of a DM, but he decided to take a step back for once and let someone else try for a change. So, we're a few levels in and we're walking through this forest or jungle or whatever. - Suddenly, the birds start leaving the woods and the ground starts shaking. In front of you, a giant lizard like creature appears. - Wait! Did you just throw us a dinosaur? - ...yeah! - Dude! There are no dinosaurs in dragonlance! - You mean in this particular area of Dragonlance, right? - Uh, no, I mean there are no dinosaurs in dragonlance. - ... OK then, the lizard like creature blinks his eyes and realizes he shouldn't be there. He turns around and get lost in the woods, never to be seen or heard of again. The birds return to their trees and all is well in the world!

Depends on the anime. Bubblegum Crisis, Tenchi Muyo, Ghost in the Shell, Akira level anime are good. Project A-ko, Pokemon, and Dragonball Z... not so much. But ... but ... it's

You don't need an excuse to post that picture. EVER!

You just described every JRPG ever made. I disagree, though most jrpg heroes tend to be a little more ... feminine as far as looks go, they aren't THAT feminine. Except Locke from FF6. Well, the ability to identify with someone helps get into character, but to do that you need to find some common ground and then work on that. If there is no basis to begin with, then what?

... OK! On a different note, I could be a senseless bastard and say that women are not the majority of the gaming community and therefore it's better to make a game with a male main character, you're addressing the bigger audience of the two. But I seriously can't think that way. If I was given the chance to play a female character with the voice of Jennifer Hale and the ability to romance Grey DeLisle's character, I'd probably be in pervert's heaven, but something most of you girls would ... well, it just might not be to your liking. Even so, that is not a legitimate reason to have female characters, what is a legitimate reason is what you ladies described. Personally, I had no problem with Carth, but Atton was a little ... meh and that says a lot about the guy. In most any BI games and recent Obs games, you could play a male or a female character, fallout, KotoR 2, NWN 2, no problem there. I would really hate to see women alienated from gaming because of this, after all, gaming isn't just a fun pastime, it's an experience, living out something that would never happen in real life, but in order to do that, you need to relate to someone, all the better if it is the main character. Being a male ... can't believe I said that ... anyway, being a male I have had no problem relating to the main character and sometimes, in games like Oblivion, I could easily play a female character without a problem, mostly because there was no feeling in that game, but that's just me. I do believe that women have been neglected as a gaming community, I do believe that they should just as well have the ability to play s a female character and forward the need for more female main characters.

When I was 13, I gave my guys all sorts of awesome equipment, we could kill a God usually by level 3 cause it was so gratifying to decapitate a Tarrasque right from the start! We would eventually get bored and start over with different characters. This was more like a "You ate my cookie! No rewards for you!" kind of thing. This guy keeps to this day not giving us rewards, started a new game, got to level 7 and all I had to show for was a +1 longsword and a full plate. He either doesn't know how to roll drops or doesn't want to. For me, it was the most fun part of DMing, giving out cool stuff.

So, I was playing with a few friends, I had started out as the DM and decided with a player that we would switch sides once we reached lvl 10. i.e. he would become the DM and I would be a PC. Because the previous NPC I controlled bailed out on the story, I made a new character, a Sorcerer, at lvl 10. I asked him. the new DM, whether I should get money for equipment or if he would give me money to go buy what I wanted, he replied that he would give me things he thought were appropriate. Now, I hadn't played with this guy as a DM before, so I had no idea what he deemed appropriate. I got a pair of Bracers of armor +3, a ring of protection +3 and a longsword +1. The equipment was worth around ... let's see, Bracers of armor +3 is 8K, ring of protection +3 is another 8k and the longsword +1 is 2k. So I had 20k worth of equipment on me on lvl 10. Well, didn't really care, I had limitless fireballs and soon to get Cone of Cold so I didn't really bother. 4 levels later, the DM decided that Cone of Cold is a very abusive spell and that I shouldn't be able to cast it. I declined because I was level 15 and all I had to actually be useful was spells, since my magical items where all armor related and I could do better damage with a toothpick than my longsword, which I didn't know how to use cause I wasn't proficient with it ... go figure. So the DM agreed. I really wish he hadn't. Turns out, in order for my Cone of Cold spell to be utterly useless, he started bringing forth monsters that had SR near 40, which made it impossible for me to penetrate, therefore I was useless in any combat situation. Now, I was starting to complain because, basically, my Sorcerer was a nuker who couldn't nuke a fly, my buffs where largely inferior to those of the priest or the bard in our party and also didn't stack. But that can be forgiven if the story is good enough and I can use my linguistic skills to some degree ... Did I mention that the DM loved dungeon crawling? We were constantly out one dungeon and into the other. Yeah ... Well, the poop didn't really hit the fan until he decided to throw a Balor against us. Specifically, a Pit Fiend. So, there were 4 of us, lvl 15, against a CR 21 Pit fiend, with the same equipment since lvl 10. Can you feel the greatness coming? One more thing, the DM was playing a fighter, who later turned Paladin and then into a Higher God's Avatar and his personality kept drifting from divine champion to fighter with anger management issues, plus he kept running off on his own, leaving us without a fighter. So the party was basically my sorcerer, the cleric and the bard. So there was actually 3 of us against the Pit Fiend. Easy mode. Turns out, the Pit Fiend has a weapon resistance of +4/10, so no weapon of +4 or less could deal him damage unless we did at least 1 more than 10. The Cleric had a +3 weapon, the bard a +1 weapon with the wounding ability and I couldn't even wave goodbye at him. - Uh, OK, I'm just gonna do the Pit Fiend a favor and throw a couple of fireballs at me so he won't have to get his hands dirty. - Wait guys! We can do this! - Do what? We can't even hit him! - Look, my wounding ability can deal bleeding damage to him, all I have to do is hit him for more than 10 times! - If we're even alive by then! The DM might not even accept the stacking wounding ability as one attack, rather than each 1 dmg as a separate attack! - Uh, no, you guys go ahead, I'm OK with that! - Right ... I'll go forward and try to tank, hope he attacks me instead of you guys, you'd be dead within a round. - OK, I'll keep casting True Strike on you till I'm out of it just to make sure your attacks hit. So the strategy actually worked, as long as I used True Strike, all the bard's attacks would hit, the Cleric was healing himself and us, whenever we were hit, and it seemed like we were actually gonna pull this one of, though it depleted us of HP, healing, buffs etc. - As the Pit Fiend sees that you guys are too much of a threat to it, it gates another one in! *pause* - I fireball myself! - Choke on Holy Symbol! - Slit my wrists with longsword of wounding!

I will have to agree with you again Cl, you speak the truth! Yes, the elements leading to the end should in some way bring forth a grand revelation that will leave us all weeping, begging, clawing for more, with a sad emotion of fulfillment, yet unsatisfied. But, like you stated yourself, each story and each hero has a beginning, a middle and an ending, I want it to be filled with breathtaking moments, not just the ending. NWN2 OC was filled with nice moments, the scene at the tavern where the whole group is gathered, some arguing, some having fun, though everyone was clearly enjoying it, but the ending ... was a little bland. It's little touches like that, where the whole gang seems to come together, that make stories memorable, plausible, yours. It's like Wals had said in a post somewhere, it's little things like that which bring characters to life. I'd like to add that it doesn't only bring a character to life, it brings the whole experience to life and, in a way, affects you, changes you, moves you. Like you said, there is no doubt that of all the companies, Obs is probably the one to pull it off, not the only one, but one of the very few gaming houses that can make such a story. I think Ubisoft did it with the re-made PoP series, some moments, like in the beginning of the third installment ... yes, you know what I'm talking about! But other than that, I haven't played any other game to instill any strong emotion. Not from a western company at least. Capcom, Square and Konami manage to hit the spot on occasion, especially in Konami's MGS series.

Doesn't necessarily mean that they should kill off somebody, but if they're gonna do it, like in ME where either Ashley or Keidan/what-his-name-was died ... if I was romancing Ashley, I wouldn't let her die over the other guy and my reaction to that would be "and he was such a good aim!" instead of "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" or if I wasn't romancing Ashley and saved the other guy I'd be like "Well, that's one obnoxious bitch less!" BioWare fails to move, Obsidian succeeds, but so far have not tried to do so at a large scale, even franchises like Final Fantasy manage to be more corny than actually sentimental or moving. If Wall-E had the ending you described, it would have been awesome, but all the little kids out to see a Disney movie would walk out of the theater with tears in their eyes and their parents regretting taking them there, probably. Maybe Mike will be a memorable character, his allies will be remembered fondly and even his enemies will be respected by the gaming audience, enough maybe to even see them in geeky character battles on gamefaqs.com. I want AP to be a memorable experience, a moving experience, I want it to be the kind of game that I played through and not just think "that was 50 bucks well spent" , I want to think that this game meant something more to me than just 15 fun gaming hours.

I will agree to this, but there can be certain points in the game where we will see something that will makes us sad, make us want to weep, makes us feel like our character should feel, these things should be conveyed to the player. The dialogue that reveals who The Nameless one is in PS, Visas' confession to the Exile in KotoR II, Sandra's death in NWN or the dialog with Bishop in MotB where you find out what happened to your friends and, perhaps especially, Richard Doyle as Big Boss in the MGS4 ending ... his voice and interpretation was powerful enough to make you break down, almost feeling his pain ... Good writing, good voice acting, that's what makes the experience worth it, that is what moves you, not necessarily what the ending holds, just the moments where the feeling gets through to you. At that moment your character's experience becomes your own and you are richer for it. I hate to admit it, but real life does not provide for epic moments like throwing your weapon at hordes of Tannar'ri and Balors and then jumping into the fray ... I'd like to be able to do so in my virtual lives.

I have a little dev and writer question, but one I would like to see if other forum members have ever considered. There are lots of games in the market, adventures with great plot and dialogue, shooters pumped with adrenaline, games with characters drawn to life as much by their writers as well as the voice actors impersonating them, but there are a handful few that manage to stir emotion, that actually move you. I don't really want a "baaaaaw" scene where Mike will break down and cry after having senselessly killed 150 henchmen, 49 bunnies and a game boss, but I would really care for a scene, through dialog and visuals, to move me. I don't really care for happy endings or hints at a sequel or whatever, as long as it's portrayed realistically, like Star Was Episode 4: The Empire Strikes Back, it was a very emotionally powerful ending, it meant the continuation of the story and how desperate a situation the Rebels found themselves in, though all was not lost for them. I will admit to being shocked at the ending, first movie I ever saw the good guys lose, but then, as the realization of what I had seen punched in, I felt sad and compelled to cry, I was moved. I DO care for realistically written characters (likable allies, obnoxious neutrally disposed people, villains with some redeeming qualities, etc) whose death or self sacrifice will mean more to me than just "Oh snap! And he was such a good aim!" or "Thank God, we're rid of that schmuck!" or "Take that, you villainous scum!" The only other games or game series to have done something like that to me were the MGS series,certain points of Planescape Torment and even KotoR II and NWN II, so I know I am not expecting too much from you guys, cause you have proven you CAN deliver before, though doing so at an even larger scale would be amazing. Having laid out the context for my question, how were you moved writing/developing/playing AP? Would you consider it a game that overflows you with human emotion or is it a more barren emotionally game? After all, do we not partake in these escapades in order to be moved?

Big news are awesome! *heart attack* *subsequent death*

We happen to live in the same city and I have asked him whether I could join his gaming group. But, he apparently doesn't play p&p anymore... I play from time to time, but the group I am with is currently busy with exams and I seem to have misplaced my small dice collection. About 14 different sets and another 20 random dices, mostly d10s and d12s. Even if we do play, getting from where I am to where you are, it's not easily accessible, especially since I don't have my own car. Nothing really hilarious has happened in neigh 4 years, well except for that rogue that ... oh! Well, maybe a story for next time! :D

I guess I have real weird teammates who generally wreck havoc wherever they go. On a different note and setting, we were playing Vampire and we were hunting some people down, don't remember who or what they were exactly ... it was my first time in vampire, whatever they were, they needed to stay near a cemetery for some reason. So, as we are looking for clues, they suddenly appear in front of us, going inside a van and driving off. The party suddenly goes ballistic and want to start chasing them, what a better opportunity to find their hide out, but it so happens that the Malkavian had seen the GM's notes and knew where the others where hiding. - Wait, wait, wait! Give me a map, I'll tell you where they live. - What? Are you nuts? They're getting away! And they're right THERE! - Hush! Where's the map? - Here it is ... - OK, so they live in a cemetery, right? - Yeah ... - Well, they obviously don't leave on the east side ... - Why not? - The sun rises from the east! - Oh ... - North is too cold ... West is overrated ... so they went South. - Uh, OK, let's pretend that this actually makes sense to one of us, there are 5 cemeteries in the south, how do we know which one? - That's easy! Ini mini maini mo *points the fourth one* It's the first one! *pause* - A perfect Malkavian explanation, you win 3 XP!

I've been told plenty, though none of them did I care to ask for myself ... of one I am sure, way back when I was still a long haired curly blond boy. Her name was Eva and I think it started in the second grade ... haven't seen her in 12 years. Oh God!