J.E. Sawyer

It took me about... 20-25 hours, I think. Of course, that may not be typical for other people, as I had some bugs I had to work around and also a lot of areas still need to be tuned for increased difficulty.

I'm moving at the end of the week, then hopefully the Year of the Hound can begin in earnest. Also, I just beat NWN2: Mask of the Betrayer with my 28th level Water Genasi Monk, Ooey. Booyah.

I totally agree. I would go a step further and say that all minigame elements need to feel like they fit together and with the game as a whole. As I wrote before, I think Oblivion's lockpicking worked better in this regard than Oblivion's persuasion minigame.

I'm not sure if you're identifying Hitman as a shooter, but Hitman is pretty ho-hum as far as shooting mechanics go and generally doesn't require much aiming skill (mostly because your targets are moving very slowly). Hitman is a fun game because screwing around with AI is so entertaining. It's one of the same reasons why the Thief series games are so popular. If I recall correctly, Thief: Deadly Shadows (worst title ever) used no time limit on its lockpicking minigame, but guards would continue to walk around in real-time while you were working on the lock (as they would in Splinter Cell). Personally, I really like systems like that because it encourages me to either a) scout appropriately and ensure that no one's going to interrupt me or b) work like a furious madman to complete the game as fast as possible. You still have the option of doing everything at your own pace, but you run the risk of being interrupted unless you do appropriate recon first. The "poster's concern" was transparent: things that do not traditionally require player input/decision making in CRPGs should not require them. Mini-games do not need to be based on manual dexterity or "twitching", even if they are time-sensitive. The lockpicking in Oblivion does require a certain high level of manual dexterity (and pitch recognition), but the lockpicking in Hillsfar (probably my favorite lockpicking minigame) does not. I'd say Hillsfar's lockpicking requires a lower level of manual dexterity than Tetris, which is pretty low. The game is entirely about mental speed, how fast you can recognize the tumbler patterns in matching picks. If you wanted to take it a step further, you could look at turn-based puzzle games like Mastermind (the basis of which has been used for tons of minigames). This site is one of the main sources for casual/simple games: http://www.kongregate.com/ In here you'll find lots of games with a variety of mechanics, ranging from fully turn-based, go at your own pace to rapid twitch games. This is an example of a good turn-based one: http://www.kongregate.com/games/BubbleBox/mad-virus I kind of hate the implementation of it because it relies on color, but the basic idea could easily be adapted to something like "computer hacking" with a different visual presentation.

And your "nearly all aspects" statement is arbitrary. You draw the line of "what you want your character to do" using nebulous criteria. Why draw the line at individual attacks? Why not pull it back to a lump "assault" roll for the round? After all, we already know that you want to kill a target, right? Why does the player need to be involved in determining how you do it? Heck, shouldn't your character also be able to determine the appropriate targets to attack? And why don't we get rid of dialogue options? That minigame allows too much of the player's skill to seep in, allowing him or her to "game the system". Managing inventory? Minigame. Man, have any of you guys enjoyed playing a rogue/thief character in any RPG? I mean, for doing roguey/thiefy things, not just backstabbing/sneak attacking guys? They are the most boring class in the world when they are played like their tabletop equivalents. Shockingly, I actually enjoyed playing a thiefy character in Oblivion because at least hiding and lockpicking had something more to them then mashing a button and letting random numbers generate until I failed a task.

I think natural is pretty relative, but I get what you're saying. I didn't think Oblivion's persuasion minigame felt natural, but I did feel the lockpicking fit.

Sounds like entering combat or conversation in Fallout.

So I take it you would also like combat to be resolved with a single die roll? After all, there's an extraordinary amount of player skill required to resolved the combat mini-game in RPGs.

I think minigames are great, mostly because I think most CRPG mechanics like lockpicking are absolutely boring and terrible in every way. The minigames should definitely be good (and I think the Oblivion ones had some major problems), but the ol' "roll a die to see if you've spent enough points over the last 20 hours of gameplay" mechanic is incredibly dull to me. At least combat has enough instances of those checks and other variables that it's a robust game, but lockpicking (as an example) on its own is brainless and uninteresting. I think the lockpicking minigame in Oblivion was "okay" and I think the persuasion minigame had a lot of flaws. But I'm also pretty confident that the Bethesda folks know this too.

Well, as we all know, there weren't talking heads in Fallout. Also, Oblivion had that exact same body part targeting system. And let's not forget that Oblivion also had an offset-from-center third person camera.

Mean looking bike. Nice.

Top Secret/S.I. I was present at an RPGA event where Roger Moore (Dragon Mag editor) and Sean Connery (some random dude) played in a round of Top Secret/S.I. together. Also, Polyhedron ran a lot of single issues dedicated to the "dead" settings like Dark Sun and Spelljammer. I particularly liked the Spelljammer one, as it finally had some good art (I like Jim Holloway's work in a goofy setting like Paranoia, just not in Spelljammer). They also have had a few random products associated with new/old settings, like the recent Ravenloft adventure hardcover.

Zion National Park http://www.nps.gov/zion/

How common are Harleys in the UK? They are ubiquitous here. Thanks. It was my first trip (SoCal to Wisconsin and back) that lasted more than a few hours. The trip back was also fraught with peril (Colorado Rockies storms) and I had to take a 300+ mile detour. But it was worth it. This summer I'm going to Yosemite via Sequoia/King's Canyon, and then to Death Valley in November.

You must be talking about Barber's. Seems to be a motorcycle Mecca. When I was passing back through Iowa, I stopped (successfully this time) at the National Motorcycle Museum. Lots of nice vintage bikes. I encountered three older guys there who were traveling back from Barber's. They were much better attired for the weather of the day (low 40s). Their bikes plus mine in the background. Guzzi + Ninja + old Beemer = Incredible Journey companions. One of the old timers looked at my bike for a while and said, "What sort of mileage you get with that setup, with the big windshield and everything? About 38?" I nodded, but didn't really know. I filled up my tank and headed out. My main tank runs out after three gallons. It hit reserve at 114.6 miles. Old bikers have mystical powers.

cc displacement isn't as important as the actual power curve. There are 1200cc Harleys that produce power in a more manageable way than a 600cc supersport. The 250cc Ninja is a great (and very common) choice for a first bike. Inexpensive, lightweight, relatively easy to manage, enough power to hang on the freeway for a bit, and they hold their value very well.

Hinckley Triumphs are bulletproof. Well, except for the first batch of Daytona 675 engines. But otherwise, gold! Seriously though, the new Bonnie (and by extension, Thruxton, Scrambler, Speedmaster, America) twins are really stout engines. I haven't had any electrical problems that weren't the result of user error, and I don't know of anyone who has.

I know there are at least two motorcyclists on this board, so let's roll! My current bike is a 2006 Triumph Bonneville T100. June is the one year mark for ownership on this bike. I've put about 15,500 miles on it and haven't had many problems. I snapped off two clutch levers (once in Anamosa, Iowa and once in Edgerton, Wisconsin) and had two oil leaks that were fixed under warranty. tYtE mOdZ include Ikon 7614 shocks and progressive fork springs, Scrambler skidplate, Renntech crash bars, Hepco & Becker racks with 30L sidecases and 45L topcase, Triumph solo seat + rack, MRA Roadshield, Garmin Zumo 550 GPS, heavy fork gaiters, and 3/4" bar risers. I dumped the Metzeler Lasers for Tourance dualsport tires. Not pictured: my Norman Hyde Street Scrambler 5.8 gallon alloy gas tank, which is currently being "prepared". Post about your fine sportbikes/enduros/cruisers/motards/scooters/etc. here.

I typically take the train for my 66 mile commute, but when I can't do that, I ride my motorcycle. I lane split pretty regularly, but do so in accordance with "the rules": * No faster than 45mph, ever. * No more than 15mph faster than surrounding traffic. * Only on broken white lines. Riding solid whites and double yellows is illegal and will usually get you pulled over if a police officer sees you. I also try to be smart about how I'm splitting. I stay at a high RPM to help people hear me (my exhausts aren't absurdly loud on my Triumph), I avoid passing between a car and an "open" lane, and I don't try to squeeze if the space looks questionable. My panniers help limit foolishness.

I think that looking at the best examples of any implementation gives you an idea of the upper potential of a concept. We all know that any idea in the history of the world is going to be terrible if it isn't executed well. But that doesn't give us an idea of how good it could be. Looking at the best examples of any concept tells us more about its potential and/or its limitations. Take first-person melee. I think it's fundamentally problematic because even the best examples of it (Oblivion, Dark Messiah of Might and Magic) still have a lot of control issues. Some people accept the control trade-off because they enjoy the more immersive experience. But I don't think anyone is going to use Trespasser or DTUM as a starting point for talking about first-person anything because it isn't really indicative of the potential of the concept; they're just fundamentally flawed.

Using the worst implementation of a system isn't an indictment of all such systems in any application. I think it's much more useful to look at the best implementations of a system to judge its potential merits and flaws.

Anyone who played Descent to Undermountain knows how terrible D&D can be.

Hmm. Oblivion engine, click to move. Sounds like a totally irrational assumption given what Todd Howard has continually said about their approach to the camera style/view of the world they were considering.

I like equipment degradation. It gives you reasons to keep other equipment around and switch things up occasionally. It also provides you with motivation to a) learn repair/craft skills b) re-visit certain areas (like trade hubs) and c) use resources like $$/gold/bottlecaps and any "building materials" a game may provide. I also like the idea of some weapons being differentiated as "fragile" or "beefy". High tech weapons might degrade quickly while the venerable AK-47s of the world can go the distance. If melee weapons are/were particularly durable, people might be more motivated to keep them around and use them when possible.

I don't know why anyone would have thought Bethesda were going to use a click-to-move system, or why a birds-eye view necessitates it. Games like Crusader and Alien Shooter use directional key controls.