WorstUsernameEver

If THAT game is DS3, we will get some new info (or hopefully screenshots / gameplay footage) soon. But it looks like another unannounced SE project to me. Well, considering that Dungeon Siege III has already been revealed... I'd say it's another game.

I don't know where you got your sales figure but : a) Developers are paid before development. The sales usually go all to the publisher, since the clauses to receive royalties are very strict (need a certain metascore ranking, sales and delivery on time etc.). b) Alpha Protocol bombed, true, but both the projects Obsidian is working on were contracted much, much before it came out, considering Feargus has stated that they began working on Dungeon Siege III in early 2009. c) By the way, just a clarification, but don't let the title mislead you : Obsidian isn't working on Chrono Trigger, and for now, they're not going for another project. Think about it as a chat between a journalist and the Obsidian CEO, nothing more than that. d) Why Obsidian always works on two projects at a time? That, you have to ask Feargus.

True, but that wasn't really my point, my point is that Fallout is tied to the United States. Keep it out from the USA and it's not the same game, like it or not. It's not as if it will ever be "the same game" anymore anyways. So , hum, let's make it as different as possible for **** and giggles? Can't say I like the strategy.

You don't really get my point, do you? Developers don't have infinite teams that can delay a game indefinitely, that's something reserved for a giant like Blizzard, not a little , and honestly on the verge of dying, developer like Obsidian. They have to choose priorities. They've decided that going with the single player + multiplayer route was more than enough and focused on that. You can disagree on their priorities, but, as I've already pointed out, the intention behind it certainly isn't screwing the modding community.

AP isn't ME3 more than Mass Effect is Gears of War 2. In other words, it's not. If anything, keeping on the action side and polishing just the commando route would have probably given the game a more favorable reception.

Like Lord of the Flies really just being Feargus Urquhart in disguise?

I think they are wrong, but so are you. In fact, I'd go as far as call bs on your criticism. IMHO Bio and Obsidian are the two best (W)RPG makers in the world. Trying to pit them against each other is asinine, there's plenty of cake to be shared between the two.* Now if somebody wants to take a swipe at Bethesda, I'm all for it. *even if it's a lie. Bioware is very good at what it does, I never denied it. But Alpha Protocol would be one of the thing Bioware would never do. They're very formulaic when it comes to gameplay and usually concentrate to only one method of resolving conflict (hint : it begins with 'c' and continues with 'ombat'). Just look at Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2.

Actually NWN2 is a good example of why creating mod-friendly games is pretty difficult. They had a game that WAS mod-friendly as a base, had to upgrade it to the new tech, concentrate on the SP and all of that... and the multiplayer and modding part of the game ended up being crippled. That's what it happens when you don't have enough dev time to pursue all those areas, you have to make a choice. Let's add that probably Onyx wasn't designed to be mod-friendly in the first place, and I can understand why they aren't releasing a toolset (for now at least). Doesn't really mean that they want to screw the modding community, laughing like madmen in their black dark offices. Would it be nice to have a toolset? Yeah. But it's not like they have a contract that says that the game should have it.

Personally I'm not one that cries because there won't be a KOTOR3 (actually, the only thing I'd have liked from Obsidian would have been to not end the 2nd game on a cliffhanger... ), but I simply can't see TOR succeeding in the long run. WoW has reached the apex when it comes to polishing and balance. BioWare.. well, they do very well when it comes to polishing, not so well when it comes to balance. And TOR for now doesn't really have anything new that can consolidate a fanbase. Certainly, a lot of fans of the universe and of the KOTOR games will try it, and it will probably do better than other MMORPGs on the long run, but still... I can't see it being the overwhelmingly good success they want it to be, considering the enormous budget behind the project. Second thing : TOR isn't KOTOR3-10. BioWare never implied it though. They talked about content, and said that the game will have content comparable to KOTOR3-10. While I find that improbable, I'm going to give them the benefit of doubt. KOTOR was, and still will be a single player CRPG, set 200 years before TOR, with a different rule system, a different art style and all that jazz. It's that simple, and BioWare never denied it.

If it means turn-based combat, then ok, you have my approval.

Wait, so your real last name isn't Crimson, and you don't live in Candyland?

But Germany won't make it to the final. THE OCTOPUS HAS SPOKEN. Has the octopus been accurate this whole World Cup? I havent paid attention except for his last 2-3 predictions. Apparently. Of course, they only began to speak about him after, what, four matches? And the only prediction we knew before the match was Germany - Argentina, so if we want to go all conspiracy theorists, the 'prediction' at the beginning could have been just among hundreds and hundreds of different predictions the octopus pulled off about the same matches. But, let's be honest, do we believe in psychic octopuses? No, we do not. It's simply a fun way to SHOUT IN ALL CAPS ON A FORUM ROAAARGH. EDIT : Funny thing about the finnish commentator. It was the opposite with the italian commentator, that, as well as being a douchebag, went as far as shouting 'NOOOOO' when Holland scored, and had a very very sad tone of voice when the match ended. Seriously.

What I've seen so far of the MMORPG has been far from impressive. Bioware has been trying to pull a Blizzard, except that Blizzard had years of experience on their belts when it comes to balancing etc, they pulled off a pretty polished game that got better and better with expansions and still runs like a charm on very old rigs without looking ugly. Bioware has yet to publish a game with decent balance so...

But Germany won't make it to the final. THE OCTOPUS HAS SPOKEN.

True, but that wasn't really my point, my point is that Fallout is tied to the United States. Keep it out from the USA and it's not the same game, like it or not.

I honestly can't see Fallout working in a european setting, it's too much tied with the idealized american 50s, the red scare and all of that. Even if you do a retrofuturistic game set in London, it would still feel too different, or at least, it would for me.

By the way reading comments like 'Obsidian sucks, this would have been great if Bioware did it' feels like I'm living in a bizzarro world. Are we talking about the same Bioware who never tried anything risky in the first place and base all their design decisions on fan feedback?

Actually, as far as I know, decisions on sequels are made with very early sales. And let's not kid ourselves, the sales won't change THAT much in a couple of months, if they didn't meet their expectations now it's improbable they will later.

Storywise I can agree, but as far as gameplay goes, I can see Obsidian doing much better with better design, a better management of the project (since AP is already defined they wouldn't need to design all from scratch) and better technical proficiency (whether they would have used UE3 or Onyx, they still would know the technology much better than when they were working on Alpha Protocol). Not that I'm going to cry on this, but there was some potential.

But it still wouldn't be a true Alpha Protocol sequel, even in the loose sense (meaning : set in the same world but with an unrelated character as protagonist and a different story).

Well, we'll see with Fallout : New Vegas and Dungeon Siege III what Obsidian can do with a reliable partner. Hopefully they'll pull it off.

True, but what can you do about that? As far as I remember the Alpha Protocol IP is owned by SEGA, so, my actual hope is that, now that Obsidian has some experience with that type of gameplay, they can return to it in the future with an original IP, maybe something akin what Avellone was talking about in the GameBanshee interview.

Predictable.

In case someone's interested in it here's a Lord of the Rings : War in the North preview.

You don't know that. At all. No, I don't work for the companies. But yeah, common sense tells me that the possibility is pretty unlikely.