BruceVC

I know, just a pet peeve of mine. When you say this has a tendency to annoy you do you mean you don't see enough of this? Or do you mean the bad implementations of inclusivity ?

I think they just decided that paying lip service was better than being confrontational, a lot of people just make that one tiny change just to get them off their back. Quite frankly I don't think that Obsidian cares about political views as much as having good quality, so when they do inclusive things is because they thought it was a good idea. Which is probably why Obsidian's gay characters in NV are liked and Bio's pandering is torn down, as the latter is a very see through attempt. Well you may see the changes as insignificant but I think for minority groups they matter. For example in PoE we see African American races that have been very well received. Well, as the one from a minority group I can tell you that no self respecting human being likes lip service or pandering. Its like being given scraps from the table after asking to have a seat. Diversity in RPGs works because it lets players craft their character's background to suit their likes, but I don't expect them to be an in depth story about race, race relations and politics. Quite frankly, if someone is so immature that they can't play a game or relate to a character because of skin color then it's their loss. I pity anyone that hasn't played Portal just because of a female main character. So it's a moot point to dwell on race, to try and force people to write stories of and from an ethnic group that isn't theirs and that they have no appreciation for. All just because some believe that its somehow moral to push false equality onto others. @Barothmuk: That's the same Josh Swayer that defended Obsidian's use of rape in Fallout New Vegas. You make some good points about how relevant a persons gaming experience is really impacted and influenced by them identifying with the the race or social components of a game Maybe it is not really relevant but I think it is for many. I know some may see the inclusion of Black\African American races in a game like PoE as pandering but I still think it is significant...especially if you come from a marginalized group that generally has no representation in games ? As a white person its hard for me to say " it shouldn't matter " because every game really has an option to play as a white person so I guess how would we feel if games never offered any cultural exposure to the Europeans ( white people ) ? And yes I am aware you are from a minority group, you Cuban right, so thats why your opinion is interesting and relevant

Although not Obsidian Josh Sawyer did back Sarkeesian. Black =/= African American. Black races and African American I mean in the same context Basically I'm saying its good to see non-white races with there own culture and history in games like PoE

Not to mention that their games are fun. We all know how SJW's feel about fun. Only a misogynerd would want games to be fun. Games are not suppose to be about fun Namutree....they are suppose to be about important political and social statements....everyone knows this !!! Oh wait.....

I think they just decided that paying lip service was better than being confrontational, a lot of people just make that one tiny change just to get them off their back. Quite frankly I don't think that Obsidian cares about political views as much as having good quality, so when they do inclusive things is because they thought it was a good idea. Which is probably why Obsidian's gay characters in NV are liked and Bio's pandering is torn down, as the latter is a very see through attempt. Well you may see the changes as insignificant but I think for minority groups they matter. For example in PoE we see African American races that have been very well received.

Okay I see your point. But I don't think SJW objectives necessarily "interfere " in every game design. I think companies like Obsidian want to embrace inclusivity on different levels so it comes naturally?

You're having a different discussion than me. You're talking about whether you like those changes or not and whether they seem fun to you. I obviously can't prove you wrong on that. What I'm saying is that those aspects show a very clear divergence from how D&D CRPGs of the past played, so much so that the combat gameplay we see in that video doesn't really evoke games like Baldur's Gate or NWN. That much is quite obvious from that video - unless you think we need to read the manual and play the full game to be able to tell. From what I know of you personally, I think you don't really enjoy hardcore RPG mechanics and would prefer a relatively casual and actiony romp. I don't mean that as an insult - and I don't think you'll take it as one, given your self-professed preferences. I think you may well enjoy SCL. Which is my point. I don't have a bone to grind with SCL not being my cup of tea - that's not a problem. I do think it was disingenious of them to announce themselves as the return of good old D&D CRPGs. Oh no....I have the feeling the support of this game isn't going down well on RPGCodex....am I right Tigranes ? Tell me I''m right ...and if I'm right its not because I went to the Codex its because I have certain psychic abilities and sometimes I just see " images " of the reality of certain situations

PE? What exactly do you mean..surly not Project Eternity

It did ...you right, GG has been directly implicated in the creation of Apartheid

A good starting point would be to examine the "legality" of the nation state of Ukraine, the ways in which the borders between it and its neighbours were drawn etc. (hint: they were established as rather insignificant administrative lines, at a time when ethnicity was irrelevant and independent Soviet republics were unimaginable) If the lines had been drawn with the benefit of hindsight, a lot of bloodshed could probably have been avoided. As for annexing territories and spheres of influence, Israels (never recognised) annexation of the Golan heights, the rather unsubtle western interference in Libyia, the forced change (and following anarchy) of regime in Iraq, the meddling in Serbia, the meddling (in the end, without any results) in the affairs of Georgia and where the minorities there were never consulted about which country they suddenly wanted to belong to... it's a long list. Nobody is entitled to wear a halo in the world of "realpolitik" But there is no point really discussing the legality of Ukrainian borders because they exist and they are what they are, it reminds me of a perspective I often hear about why there is so much instability in Africa. People say things like " but the Colonialists created these false borders when they created various colonies and and forced tribes to live together...that's the reason Africa is such a violent continent...its the Colonialists fault " You will never recreate these borders and redefine what territory is part of country x or country y so why discuss something we can't change, also to blame this as a reason for violence is fallacious IMO as there are many countries that exist and thrive fine under there so called " Western -imposed " borders ? And this applies to Ukraine and Africa So in summary the UN and the international community enforces and understands exactly where the borders of almost all countries exist and this is irrefutable And then you mentioned some interesting examples as a comparison to how Russia has been involved in Ukraine. I don't think any of those are similar, for example Libya was a UNSC endorsed military mission and Serbia was a humanitarian mission to prevent the Serbs from continuing to perpetuate genocide But the main point being in all those examples is the West didn't literally annex parts of a foreign country ? This is not the first time Russia has done this..they did the same thing in Georgia

If you are going to use grandiloquent phrases such as "absolutely no legal precedent", at least get your facts straight. The US have been more or less openly doing precisely that within their self-proclaimed "sphere of influence" for more than a century. Notable examples include Cuba, Nicaragua, Mexico and Puerto Rico. The last two involve land grabs, too. Russia didn't invent imperialism and neither did the US, for that matter. So yeah... it's not exactly about legality. It's about what imperialist powers can get away with, and what people come to accept as the new status quo as a result of being bombarded with propaganda for long enough. Sure, you right. The West has in the past been involved in similar activities. 60 years ago the USA did invade Cuba But I am more concerned with the last 20 years and how countries operate withing the boundaries of what the international community and the UN will accept. I'm not sure if you are saying because the USA did something in the past that justifies the illegal annexing of Crimea and the Russian support of the separatists which is the only reason that this conflict is still ongoing? Or are you are just disputing my usage of the words " absolutely no legal precedent " ? If that's case then you are right, I was wrong to suggest that .

Chill Malc, I was just teasing you....hence the

Well you know what they say " small things amuse small minds "

Oby where were you born? Was it Russia or Ukraine?

Yeah I was just joking But since I have joined this forum, 3 years ago, there has been ongoing debate about if " Oby is a real Russian ". Most people say he is a troll but I'm not convinced, he clearly can speak Russian but at times his posting style reveals an inconsistency between Russian and English. Its like he is trying to sound Russian by making intentional grammatical mistakes Anyway if you do have time I would like your opinion on what you think about how "real" Oby is. You would have to watch his posting style for a period of time and then comment

crypto-Ukrainian detected. Oby you have a problem, this may be a real Russian that is commenting ? Maybe you guys should ask each other some personal questions about Russia so we can determine who is legitimate?

South Africa is currently playing New Zealand in the semi-finals of the cricket world cup, rain has reduced our number of overs we can bat in but we will post a decent score, 280 runs or so Then NZ will bat but due to the rain they will have 43 overs , I know most of you guys don't watch cricket but it is very exciting I'm at one of my customers and they have prudently used all there IT monitoring screens to show the cricket

Yeah, it is a pity but I never had a warm and fuzzy feeling about this one so I'm not surprised

Thanks, I think I'll take a deep breath and try hard mode. The beginning of the game will be a bit tough most likely, but once you gathered your party and ventured forth into the world of Eora, you won't regret your choice for playing on Hard I also want to play on Hard but I have only ever played games on Normal ...so it will be an adjustment for me

I am more than happy to share my banking details with you and you can always do an international transfer directly into my account ?

Excellent question, " how would Obsidian increase revenue through sales " ? Obviously we can all agree on the benefits of PoE selling well, that's not even a talking point. So what we are really asking is getting people who aren't active on these forums and who didn't support the game through KS to now purchase PoE. There have been some good suggestions but we need to accept that if you can include Romance that will draw the Romance crowd who sometimes spend money on purchasing a game just because there is Romance. So my idea is to start looking seriously at Romance in PoE 2, that will increase revenue

Oh, I know. This is near the moment when a US journalist asks a US politician to explain what ISIS actually is, and to suggest the difference between them and the groupings in Iraq with unpronounceable names that fit under labels like: "they support us, probably", "they support us a bit", "they might support us if we pay them", "they don't like us, or foreigners in general, but say things we like to hear". And perhaps get a list of which of these groups that have at some point received funding and supplies via war-appropriations not specifically approved by Congress. You know, just for fun, to see how many groups are defined as both ISIS, terror-groups black-listed for trade, as well as "allies". ...anyway. Pretty sure "coalition" forces have been airdropping supplies to every possible kurdish faction for a few years now. Including the ones that support and take part in violent overthrows of any recognisable police-authority in Kurdistan. Not that it's not better than random drone-strikes on populated areas near the Iranian border. Mighty show of restraint to stop running those, really. Such incredible situational awareness the US State Department offered here.. Honestly, world war 3 won't be fought over oil or resources, or land or anything like that. WW3 will happen because of bone-headed, obnoxious stupidity, for no good reason at all. Sorry but all these prognostications of WW3 because of political instability in the Middle East I don't buy, it doesn't make sense Firstly in order for there to be a real "WW3" you would effectively need the worlds superpowers to go to war with each other. So China vs USA, or Russia vs USA. Now in the 50 years of the Cold War there was no WW3 only proxy wars and this wasn't because there weren't groups of people who didn't want to destroy Capitalism or Communism it was because of the threat of mutually assured destruction from nuclear weapons. This has not changed. So who would be involved in this WW3? What countries or blocks of countries ? Finally its highly unlikely that conflicts like the Ukraine or Syria are suddenly going to lead to the absence of conventional wisdom and the reality of mutually assured destruction of countries like Russia or the USA if they did go to war?

I know the original source of this article and what they're omitting from it is that Russian intelligence received information that Yanukovich was to be ambushed and killed. They knew where and how, which is why they decided to save him. I guess that part didn't look as good for the muppets in Kiev so it.. slipped.. from this article. So let me get your logic straight, lets say you are correct and Yanukovich was going to get killed ( which I dispute ) Russia then decided to illegally annex Crimea and support eastern Ukraine militarily to break away from Ukraine? Is Ukraine part of Russia, the last time I checked it was a sovereign country and there is absolutely no legal precedent that justifies how Russia and has been interfering in the government of Ukraine So I don't get your point about "Yanukovich about to killed " is relevant to the current crisis?

Yeah house work is not my strong point, I have a domestic worker who comes in once a week and cleans my house and does my washing and ironing Hiring a domestic worker ( we don't like to use the word maid ) is common in Africa and South Africa. Its relatively affordable and you help to give people employment

I like Steam but there forums are not the place to find objective opinions on a game that hasn't been released yet I use Steam forums to normally find out specific information about a game when I'm playing it. So I would ask for input around finding something or advice on beating a particular enemy, And the comments are generally useful and polite