Kevin Lynch

I wholeheartedly agree on the importance of replayability. While it is obviously important to have a good setting, story, interesting characters, etc, as a single player I want to be able to replay the game with as many different character types with varying degrees of alterations in the storyline. Take, for example, PS:T. A truly remarkable game with a fascinating setting, a story of depth and quality, and characters that were unique and allowed you to believe in them. However, it lacked replayability (which, to it's credit, didn't impact on its overall quality). I played it twice, the second time in a manner that let me get the most out of the story. After that second time through, I knew that I had played it in the most enjoyable possible manner and didn't want to ruin the experience by playing it over and over. On the otherhand, games like the BGs, IWDs, FOs, MW, NWN, etc, all allowed you to develop very different characters and/or party compositions, if you chose. While none of them could measure up to a PS:T in terms of story, setting, and, arguably, characters, they added a degree of replayability that can keep a player returning for more. As a result, each of those games has the potential to remain a part of a player's leisure time for a much longer period than a game like PS:T would.

I put in for the isometric 3rd person view similar to a NWN style (3D). Now, I'm not fond of 3D stuff in general, and most of my favorite cRPGs are pre-rendered backgrounds with 3D sprite concepts (isometric) just because I find the 2D graphics always look better. I think they need to move forward with 3D, though, as they'll eventually be able to create graphics that are very life-like. Anything that moves along in that direction is a good thing, and I liked NWN enough to understand where it's going (although NWN graphics were not anything I cared for unless they were nice and small; I hate polygons). I will also add that the KotOR style fit into that game quite well, and I find it hard to imagine the game in anything but that default viewpoint. I despise first person views, though, unless they are in adventure games (like the Myst games). I do not like action fps types, and Morrowind bothered me for its first person view (even as a single character). The party system of the M&M series, when everyone in the party was essentially one multi-headed "person", did not lend itself well to first person views. To put it simply, I do not like party management without the ability to view the entire party at once. If ProjectX is KotOR2, then I suspect they'd do little to change the viewpoint, though, unless it's to add more camera options. Default will likely still be the same.

Oh, I agree. People are lazy. The less effort you have to put into something the better is a popular motto for many folks. Is this board rated mature for the use of offensive language and blunt instruments that maim and destroy property?

The smilies are supposed to convey meaning and/or emotion in a medium that often offers the potential for a lot of misunderstanding. Considering the poor writing skills of many forum members, it's really no wonder. I agree that they can sometimes be overused (I hope someone has tested a limit on multiple smiley use in these forums ), but that's no reason to shut them down. Unless you mean just a switch to turn them off so that you can't see them, while they remain for everyone else who has them on. In that case, I'd support you 100%. Afterall, I'm always up for more user customization.

Oh, and before anyone gets the idea in their head that I'm popping for a job as a mod here...sorry to dash your hopes. I don't think it a good idea for any moderator currently modding another company's forums or working for a related industry (either commercial or not) to put themselves in the position of a conflict of interest. It's the reason why I resigned from the Interplay forums when I joined BioWare's back in 2001. Interplay, at least, had NDAs to control their information. BioWare just trusts us.

It's true that power can corrupt, and some mods can abuse their power. It's usually why businesses only pick up those volunteers they see as mature enough to avoid such childishness. On the otherhand, I've often come into contact with forum members that believe, as soon as they are targetted for any sort of misconduct, that the mods are "out to get them" and that the mods are "abusing their powers" as a result. There is truth to both sides of that issue, and so it all boils down to the perception of the community as a whole on whether a particular moderator is doing a good job or not. As for the comment about the Interplay forums, I was both a forum member and a moderator for the old Interplay boards and I don't recall any particular abuses in my realm of influence, at least. Perhaps your experience was not the same as mine? Which shows, of course, the sort of diverse attitudes that can crop up when dealing with the anonymity of the net.

The reputation of the founders, O's link to BioWare, and the promise of Project X are good enough reasons for me to stalk these forums. But I didn't leave my old BioWare haunt. Mustn't ever do that.... B)

I'd be happy if the setting for a cRPG wasn't a rehash of the same-old. Something original, without all the inevitable comparisons between the "expected" universe and the one portrayed in the game, would go a long way to making a game a mainstay in my leisure time. Having said that, I don't care for the Star Wars universe but I thought KotOR was a great game (PC version, of course). So perhaps the setting isn't really as important as interesting characters with an enjoyable and involving story.

Someone say they want a moderator? B) If O is going to pick out a set of moderators from the community, they'd have to see who steps up over the short term. Be warned: trying to seem overly clever and/or talking in the third person or using the Royal We may result in bricks being tossed your way.