sorophx

that's exactly what I'm hoping for

the policy here is what makes this board really great. the only other big forum, that is somewhat close in greatness, is the Firefall one, where there's only 1 moderator

well, the closing slideshow makes it look different, like you didn't stay there for long, you triggered some events and was gone sooner than it all was over. at least that's the impression I got

I think most of them are all about that maybe I'm missing something. haven't played KOTOR II though, or MOTB. some AP and the NWN2 OC. New Vegas is definitely about a man watching bigger events unravel in the background

this is exactly how I like my games Bio can burn in a blue fire, along with Reality Pump and CDProject

I didn't mean that they put the same effort into it. I meant it from a customer's/user's point of view.

heh, funny that you mentioned "software" piracy. thanks for bringing that up for every piece of software on the market there is a free alternative. which is not the case with games, because games require more to make than just be a good programmer. I consider game crackers to be somewhere with the free software builders. they have the same goals and they pretty much "hurt" their respective markets in the same way. this is why I don't see piracy as theft. EDIT: hey, thanks. an interesting read. that's a sad story, but it has little to do with piracy and a lot to do with the fact, that half the population on this planet are stupid as ****. I do agree, that they make the world go round, they are the people who buy most games (they buy everything, for that matter, consumerist drones) and they support the industry. but this is true for adults, who have a steady income. those who play cracked games and complain about them are just beyond stupid, most of the time they're teenagers who can't even afford a lunch in their school cafeteria. personally I heard only good things about Titan Quest but could never find it in stores. not sure who in his right mind would listen to people like the ones described in his post. the numbers he names there are somewhat hard to believe though. piracy rates in Europe are close to 90%? it's hard to believe indeed. but I suppose it could be right. makes me wonder why some indie developers can make it work and can make a profit while others suffer from piracy so greatly. got something to to with marketing?

I'm not defending pirates I'm just trying to understand the reasoning behind statements like, "pirates take the developer's money by downloading their games". isn't this kinda far fetched? I'm still waiting for an example of a game developer studio that released a good game and had to close down soon afterwards because it went bankrupt "thanks" to pirates.

can anybody explain to me again how stealing 1000 copies from 1000 retailers hurt the industry? talk about different cultures and mentality. I don't understand... you said it!

character's appearance is fully customizable. don't you remember that screenshot of a bold monstrosity covered with tattoos? that was female Hawke

they had toilet paper in medieval europe? I though that it only occured to them in 19th century

haha, oh, good old Volo comparing piracy to murder, you work for the RIAA most definitely.

not really, so far I've seen only two armor sets that don't allow bows. it's true that most medium armor pieces negatively affect accuracy (ranged damage). I received a very good leather armor suite midway through chapter 1, it served me well up until now. and the funny thing is the best armor defense wise I've seen so far was a full plate that had like a measly 8-10% more resistance. pfft. I'll take my rhino hide over this any day.

actually, that's what turned me away from spell crafting. the very first spell I made required 500 mana, and I had 120 or something I'd definitely advise to stay away from magic in this game

the power of the free market as the suits say, "let the market regulate itself"

I liked the swamp and the boss battle was very nice

I mean that there atr 22000 threads dedicated to game releases. each thread contains a download link. there's approximately 200000-300000 different films for download on this same site. compared to that, 22000 threads, dedicated to games (most of them - old stuff like Diablo 2) is a raindrop in an ocean. I do realize that. I just think that it's different for the music and game industries, when it comes to piracy. because piracy doesn't affect profits *that much* EDIT: this is very true. at least in Russia it's noticeable.

ugh, this game has an "interesting" system for making spells. it's something similar to Oblivion in this regard, but a bit overcomplicated. spells are "crafted" via a combination of magical cards. you get 2 slots for cards for each spell. one slot for the element/effect, the other for the "carrier" (ex. projectile, beacon, summon etc.). you combine these two to make a spell (earth + projectile = stone throw, fire + area = fire blast etc.) and then each slot gets 3 additional slots for modification cards. you can modify power, duration, projectile behavior etc. so, most combinations produce different spells. and there's no way of knowing if your spell is going be really effective without testing it on something. also, most mobs have resistances, but the player can't cast half of his spells in the beginning (because you have to unlock different schools of magic by reading manuals, which are pretty scarce in the world, and at vendors cost a lot (10000-13000 each). I didn't manage to play full-time mage at the start of the game so I can't say if it's at all possible or is worth it to keep investing in it 'til you become powerful enough. the inventory screen doesn't make it easy to make spells either. and you only get 3 slots for the quickbar, so you need to swap spells in and out for different situations. that's just too much of a hassle for me

not a big deal on the grander scale of things, obviously piracy isn't as big a thing in the sense that not a lot of people do it. even in Russia, for example, most people don't even play PC games. and the ones that do buy them in stores. and only a small fraction downloads games from torrents on a regular basis. you want numbers? on the biggest russian torrent tracker site (8000000 users, close to 1000000 active torrents) there's only ~22000 games. what you said implies that. it's not even "borrowing", like Gorth suggests. it's making a copy of a copy. there's a world of difference. now, don't start telling me that it's the same as stealing, I've read every post in this thread and I get your point. you just don't get mine. that's ok it's exactly why they pirate games. because they live in a "tough place", and sometimes games are the only way they can have some fun for a change. ^my point exactly appreciation of one's work is a reward enough, since he got payed long before the game was shipped. it's true that taking something for free instead of paying for it could be considered a theft if his income was directly tied to the number of copies sold. which it's usually not 'til a solid chunk of games is sold and royalties kick in. of course I'm oversimplifying stuff. but neither his work nor his income are directly affected by piracy

well, I don't need other people to tell me what I know already, if that's what you mean. as for Edmonton, I didn't mean that living in Edmonton life is hard. it can be hard in any country.

there are no older/discounted games. there are no new games. there are no distributors to begin with. there is no market. the only way is to order overseas. or download a cracked copy. guess which one they choose. I'm not saying this is an excuse. but it makes it easier to understand why piracy exists in the first place. and it only proves that Wildfire guy's point.

same thing as with previews in magazines. the world would be a better place without them (both magazines and previews) and we're back to "every download is a lost sale". it isn't. seriously, I don't know how you guys live in Canada (pretty bad, if I were to believe the few of my friends from Edmonton), but in third-world countries you either pirate games or don't play games at all. and most people actually don't play (they can't afford to upgrade their PC or console every few years). I don't believe a game developer would rather have them never see his game, than know that they had a chance to appreciate his work without buying a copy. (and I don't give a rat's ass about publishers. I'd rather see them disappear completely from the scheme).

this is true to an extent. but it doesn't change the fact that piracy isn't that big a deal, and it's certainly not theft.

meh, even Shadow of Rome had better melee combat