kreese12

If you are really determined, you could try playing in the game in a 32-bit virtual machine XP, through something like VMWare or Virtual Box. It is not as hard to setup as you might imagine. You'll take a performance hit, but from my experiences Unreal games are all quite smooth running anyways, so it might work out. Google "tinyxp". If you are somewhat computer savvy you should be able to figure it out in less than about an hour I'd estimate. If it works you can just pause the state of the VM, and then just resume it when you want to play.

Still looking forward to playing the game..but now I'm wondering if I should wait for the first patch (that hopefully comes). Stuff like lack of decent pc controls for the mini-games would be fairly easy to fix I would imagine. AI not so much, but maybe the small stuff...

That definitely does. I apologize: I suppose I shouldn' t have critiqued before playing AP myself. Guess I wrongly assumed the worse

Well, not a huge huge deal, its just not what I would have hoped. Regenerating armor means that there is less consequence for breaking your cover -- you can get into a firefight with three guys say, kill them, take a bit of damage, and this damage has no consequence for the rest of the level because in a few seconds it is magically repaired. This is an easy, imaginative, and less enjoyable game mechanic that one that is more complex and more RPG than action-game based. Say, for example, your armor has a rating against penetration damage and resistance, so your armor can make you avoid hits to your health, or reduce the amount of damage done to your health. Or some other system. In direct response to your comment: for myself anyways, I'd much prefer to die if I made some huge tactical errors, or screwed up my gun play so much that I got shot extensively. I'd much prefer dying to magically recharging armor. Having a bigger penalty for errors, and a chance of dying , makes a game more fun for me. It's not fun if the game is too easy that making a mistakes don't really matter. I find it fun to be challenged and overcome bad odds. And ya , early reviews are saying the game is pretty easy. And not that I think games should be too realistic, but it is almost immerision breaking for me to have your armor regenerate -- doesn't make any sense. I hate to say it but I think they just did this because it was used in Mass Effect -- but which in M.E, at least it made sense in the game world, because shields could feasibly regenerate... but its not like a kevlar vest can repair itself. This isn't as a big of deal as health regen in Deus Ex 3 but ugh, I'm just not a fan of the system. Sorry -- end of my off-topic gripe.

Lame to hear about the bugs. They had so much extra time...I hope that they had at least just one person working on the game during that period to fix up the bugs. Argh. Still looking forward to playing AP but some of what I'm reading in the reviews is a bit distressing. And I can't fathom the reason for having regenerating armor. Just doesn't make sense to me.

Whew that Bit-Tech review was pretty damning.

Oh damn. I can maybe play the game tonight...! Whoa . I may be off the forums for a while...

I thought delaying the game was a pretty questionable move -- I thought it would be good for AP to come out before Conviction and Mass Effect 2 if it was already done. But I have to say I've been pleasantly surprised by how much advertising Sega has been doing for the game. I think they have a done a really good job over the last two months. It seems like 3-4 months ago hardly anyone knew about AP, but now, with all of the videos they released and even some full-skinned AP gaming websites I saw, I think the game is probably in a lot better potential shape now, when it comes to sales. What do you guys think ? I've been reading a lot more positive comments at different gaming websites..it seems all the advertising has won over a lot more potential customers for the game... like for instance on Game Trailers. If you look at the trailer comments six months ago, the vast majority of comments are usually like of the 'wtf is this duhhh' or 'lookz stoopid' type, and now, the majority are more along the lines of 'can't wait' 'looks great' and 'nice1' etc. Just watching what has happened I have a weird new respect for the powers of advertising campaigns

Ya as I said in another thread, the game looks a bit short to me also. Not criminally short or anything, but short. I say this mainly because of the limited number of primary levels there seems to be ( every video shows either the middle eastern level, the yacht, or the train yard(. But ya , if there is that much versatility and extra difference in your 'choices' beyond just different canned responses like most other games, then that's totally fine with me. Better to have a 8 hour game with lots of possible variabilty than it is to have a 60 hr game like a final fantasy where the game is super-linear and you have to harvest chobobobos (or whatever they are called) for 20 of those hours.

Well man, you haven't played the game yet. Maybe AP IS more an action game than a RP game. It seems like that is a strong possibility to me: in my definition of role playing game, Alpha Protocol seems more a third-person shooter with role-playing elements than it does a role playing game with third-person shooting elements. Not that I'm not really, really looking forward to it though. I'd just not judge the review before having a chance to play the game for yourself.

I live in Canada and have not seen a game for $80. Just get the digital download version....and ya I'll pass on RDR. That last Rockstar Western game with their GTA engine has satisfied my Western needs.

Hmmm anyone else worried that AP might be short / small? It seems like there is only a few missions. I'm probably wrong and I'm hoping so, but I just get the sense that there isn't much length in the game as we've seen so much of the same levels over and over.

Good/bad karma, you pushed the button/Lyons pushed the button. Maybe there was a "you walked away" ending too.That's it, no settlement slideshows. If I may quote something from a few pages back: Yes, like virtually every other facet of Fallout 3, Fallout 1+2 had much better endings, with different outcomes for each major location you visited depending on what you did, not really so much your artificial GOOD/BAD karma score. Fallout 1+ 2 were such better RPGs than Fallout 3, I wish more people realized their truly exceptional brilliance.

Hrmm I don't know , I don't mind it myself . I like how M.T is sort of droll and smug. Think that works well, myself. I have done bunch of different kinds of writing and a bit of voice direction myself, and I haven't heard of anything that really bothers me so far (though I admit I've been avoiding the entire last month's worth of videos for fear of spoilers..) As for the writing, Avellone is a top talent, and didn't Brian Mitsoda do at least of the character and dialogue creation? Of a fairly long lifetime of playing games, Vampire M. Bloodlines had what I think of as the best game dialogue and characters in any RPG. Well, up there with Planescape anyways. Sorry, I can't recall how far he was into working on AP when he left. So I'm not too worried. But for me, a big part of this is I like the cliches and stereotypes of spy thriller stuff. In most genres, maybe every other genre even, I think following cliches is a bad idea; but for spy-thriller stuff, I never get tired of typical setups. But whatever our concerns we'll have to judge the games for ourselves when we get our paws on it.

Three cheers for the Obsidian team -- breaking down as follows: one cheer for going gold; one cheer for a RPG without swords and elves; one cheer for hardly any bugs because of the delay

Ya I'm a bit bummed out that AP is just about the top of my list of games to get over the next 6 months, yet it seems many people who don't follow the game aren't impressed by it. I really just think that many gamers just don't realize how favorably a game with a lot of depth and choice (like i think AP will be ) compares to say a typical gears of war clone shooter, or some other straight forward game with great graphics but uninspired gameplay that you can zip through in 4 or 5 hours and never think about again. Lot of comments on gaming sites for AP seem to be somewhat tepid...meanwhile I'm like scratching my head saying to myself 'What the hell you talking about this game looks awesome!' I'm hoping that AP will have as much depth and good design choices as I think it does coming from Obsidian, and that this will resonate with game reviewers, which will in turn be surprised and impressed by the game, giving it a good rating, generating word of mouth of sales etce etc with the end result of Obsidian making money to the benefit of gamers. Really though, AP would have been in much better shape sales-wise if it came out like 6 months ago though (unless it was delayed on account of bugs I guess)

I prefer retail games myself, but here in Vancouver, retail PC games are very hard to come by. Honestly AP will probably not show up in stores until about a month after release, which is ridiculous. So DD is the only way to go for me, even though I have an odd fetish for paper manuals...

Ya, I don't know. I'm anti-DRM, as it does nothing but make the pirated game a better version of the program than the retail version (in most cases), but this DRM isn't that bad as DRM goes. 5 activations sounds pretty reasonable to me. Ideally the final patch for the game would remove the install limit. I ran out of installs with Bioshock, the other year ago. That was a hassle; fortunately a crack was available. The effectiveness of DRM is pretty low, but having the 5 activation limit does at least prevent the many thousands of pirated versions just using all the same serial for install (not that the game won't be cracked or anything though)... I don't know why developers don't seem to have a rationale approach to DRM. It's amazing. I guess how it works is that developers focus on making the game, and then for the DRM, they naturally out-source this to DRM companies , which over-sell them on the effectiveness of the DRM. Here is a far better solution Obsidian: have a decent patch team for the game. Make a new patch, every three weeks or so, for 3 months or so. Each new patch ****s up the crack that has been released. I guarantee you the pirates will only keep up with this for the first 3 or 4 releases. Through a couple of carrots in, like Bioware did with ME2 for example. After that, then the people who bought the game will enjoy improved versions of the game, while those who pirated, will be stuck with not having the updated , improved version. I don't know why the majority of companies insist on DRM methods that reduce the quality of their product and have little effect. I find it really baffling. To me, the situation seems very clear. It boils down to simple business: when the illegal version of the product is easier to get a hold of, and runs better than, the legitimate version of the game, then you have a problem with your business model. The people who buy the game should have the better product. And you can not, no way, stop pirating through sticks. That did not work during the days of the C64 or Amiga, and does not work these days either. Like take WoW for example. It is possible to play for free on hacked servers. But hardly anyone does: because paying the 15$ a month or whatever gives them a better, more hassle free experience from Blizzard.

Sounds good to me. Online activation -=> fair. Requiring online connection for a single player game -=> nasty! (ps. not the case with AP)

Speaking of price differences... try living on just over the border of the US in Canada, where are money is basically on par with the US dollar, but pretty much everything is cheaper in the States, like from beer to cars to books. I dunno. Lord of the Flies would probably say it is because of the imperial Empire wars, I don't know.

Lord of the Flies, you bring more forum fun than a barrel full of monkies... and specifically, perhaps even a barrel full of neocolonial imperialist monkies

It's a shame that AP could not come out before ME2 and the latest Splinter Cell, whatever it is called. It is very hard to compete with Mass Effect, Bioware is just about the strongest RPG maker going, terms of their employees and resources, so people will invariably compare the two games , especially as -- as I've mentioned long ago -- they share a number of similarities in design. It would be nice if AP came out before Splinter Cell, because I think people will have their spy/thriller lust satisfied by just one game, and not need both; even if they are different genres of game. I think the ideal thing for Obsidian to have done would have been to wait for a Hollywood spy movie to be in pre-production, then start the production of the game, in hopes of officially making the game based on the movie , thus generating a great deal of publicity. If the game was very successful in this matter they could then launch an original spy IP using the same base design and engine, as a sequel, without a movie tie-in. Besides a new Bourne and Bond of course, there is bound to be some other adaptable thriller that could work, as the character has flexibility to play as the fictional hero would, because of the different ways of playing the game. Thus you could work on the game and adapt in late in production to any IP you are working with . I dunno. All easier imagined that done, I suppose.

Blind Grenade throw? Damn! Obs is one of the very few developers where they put stuff in their games that I think I would put it my games if I worked on games. Sounds very cool.

I knew it! I knew the game would never be released

Actually more consolized-RPG combat for KOTOR game would be pretty great I think . Don't get me wrong, I love tBS RPG combat in some games, like in Age of Decadence , and Fallout 1/2, and for some many RPGs consolized combat sucks, like Fallout 3, but with the Star Wars IP and the nature of the fights and more action-orientated, real-time combat system could have a lot of potential. Not that they are making the game or anything.