Raithe

From the outside observer, most the press has seemed to cover Romney and Obama are basically them making claims about how crap the other is, more then actually talking about specifics of what they want to do... It tends to make it very easy not to take either candidate that seriously.

"Nonsense. I speak horse. His name is Susan and he wants you to respect his life choices."

The balance of narrations with pictures, and potential cutscenes.. Things get increasingly harder if they're supposed to have the player character or companions involved. At least, if you can change the appearance of them and what they're wearing.. So you pretty much have to default to showing backgrounds and everyone else rather then include the party in them..

heh, and shortly upcoming "quality of life" improvements on 1.4 http://www.swtor.com/blog/quality-life-improvements-game-update-1.4 Including, finally:

Otherwise known as 36 of D?

On that other side.. it's about 5 years this October that Bioware was picked up by EA wasn't it? Has that timing of potential contract issues? <lurks suspiciously> Quick, let us all start positing the assorting Evil Conspiracy Theories regarding EA now...

Well it looks like a whole bunch (including Corellian Run) have been merged together to form a whole new "The Shadowlands" server. That and folks are getting the opportunity to rename their legacies, and handle potential multiple character names on a server issues.. Hm, and they've added 4 extra slots to create characters in (so from 8 to 12...).

"Seeking a Friend for the End of the World" One of those slightly quirky low-key drama/comedy/romance films, Steve Carell as an insurance salesman whose wife suddenly leaves him when its realised that a rather large asteroid is going to hit the Earth in a months time.. As the world slowly loses it's plot over that period, he receives a letter from the lost love of his life and ends up going on a road trip with his slightly flakey neighbour, Keira Knightley, to go find said ex-girlfriend.

Gracias for the swift update. It all sets the mind to inquisitive stirring..

Hm, Unless.. they could do in in a way of flashbacks within the game.... o O (queue Twilight Zone music....)

Yes, condolences indeed WDeranged.

The question of multiple npc's will also mesh into whether they're npc's who only have their own story, or whether they're actually tied into the main plot. We want npc's to have depth and not just be autonomatons that follow along to shoot, stab, or throw fireballs at thing. If you create random characters to fill out the party, they won't really get any depth or storyline beyond what you imagine. That's the major downside to that.

I wouldn't say it has to be connected to the main storyline. But it does help if it gets tied to your character in some specific manner. So its not some generic apartment that's the exact same for everybody. Whether it's more a fortified house, or some scholarly tower, or a renovated inn-turned roguish den... It should depend on the character you're playing. It really needs some form of plot or a few side-quests and mini-stroylines of their own wrapped around it. Something that really ties how you feel and how much you invest in it. Not simply some room with a bed and a bunch of loot chests you use to store stuff you can't carry with you. Or even something that will develop as you explore various aspects of it and any storylines relating to it over time and the game.

With doing a city, it's not just the architecture and set-up that creates the atmosphere, it's the people in it. The bigger the city, the more npc's, random background people, factions with their own wants/desires.. Heh, I'm trying to imagine if they did a city like Baldur's Gate or Sigil, and threw in factions with reactivity like Alpha Protocol... All the tiny things you might have said/done affecting the plots and plans of different groups of street thugs, merchants, noble factions, city guard, other adventuring groups in the area... It's that kind of thing you can set up for a pen n paper game. Create that sort of setting, make a list of each group and the plans they mean to do.. set up the timetable for each thing.. Then as the players go through it, at every point x on the time frame those factions plans go ahead, but you contrast with what actions the players have done and what consequences will have happened..

But can we get crates and/or barrels that we can pick up, wander around a dungeon with and throw down stairs at other folks?

I think it says it all...

It's not all just about the books and such, it's any method used to convey lore about the world at large. It's those sorts of things that make it more 'believable', and a living, breathing world. That and it further helps identify just how you play and react to various things within the game, whether it's directly storyline or side-quest related..

When you have "evil" options, make them Intelligent evil options. Not just moronic/slaughter evil. Depending on how open it is , and whether your characters can take the way of being a complete and utter magnificent bastard. Not just a good guy or a idiotic slaughterhouse. Or at least, some way of recognising when you might choose a "good" option purely because it suits your purpose for later down the line because you are just that sort of evil git who believes that's the way to get ahead in that particular situation... It's a very hard line to walk in rpg's in general, let alone figure out a way to do with a computer game. But that fine line of being boy scout good, ruthlessly pragmatic while looking at the overarcing goals for what you're seeking to do, or just being an utterly ruthless mastermind for your own benefit... Along with that, the way the reputation of your character builds in the gameworld depending on your actions and how you portray yourself. Which leads to how various factions might react to you as the game progresses. Some groups being more suspicious, hostile, or downright friendly... You might be purely out for your own benefit, but depending on how you act with people, they might think you are some wonderful hero. I kind of doubt it could be implemented in any simple manner, but it would be an interesting thing to see...

And from Josh Sawyer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-nUBcY6jQ8&feature=youtu.be

Heh, did you ever read much about the Eberron setting that got made for DnD 3.5? The Orcs, Goblins, etc were the nature lovers and had previously had the classically inspired great civilised empire.. the elves were split between a "mongol horde" group and an "uber-fantasy version of egyptian style ancestor/death worship" (for the simplified explanation). Gnomes were information manipulators, spies, bankers and mercantile masters... That and dragons were not simple "big magic beasties to kill" but were more likely to be Magnificent Bastard manipulators wrapped in engimas, and hidden in the shadows pulling strings over centuries..

I want to pledge immediately, but dang, I need to sharply bite down with self-control and actually get my budget in some order for this month. I'm going to end up having to wait till the end of the month before I finally throw some cash into the ring..

Hmm. You know, Walsingham has been MIA around these parts for about the same amount of time funcroc has. Okay, just to let folks know, Walsingham got suckered into a new job a few months back and has been working some really freaking long hours and juggling things to do with it. That's why he hasn't been around....

Heh, from a review about the latest Resident Evil film - I'm not sure if that actually makes it tempting to watch just to see how bad it gets...

Yeah. "Managing Director". Basically the CEO, but the term we use in British English, rather then American English. Although with the influence of all those american multinationals, it's tending to be used more as a term for the highest corporate officer in small companies that don't have big executive boards.