BruceVC

Cat companion? Why would you want that, do you like Cats by any chance in RL?

thats a good review of this thread and quite funny. Both of them have loads of patience, you almost wait for one of them to just accept they are wrong but neither seems to, I admire there tenacity

Okay I need to share this. I'm in the departure lounge at the airport and your comment, even though it may not seem funny, has just caused me to burst into laughter. In fact I found myself laughing out loud for about 30 seconds. People were staring at me and obviously wondering " whats the joke"..but I couldn't help myself Its the way you say things sometimes that I find hilarious, so thanks for the laugh Anyway back to your post, you know we have a way of derailing topics. Its in our genetic nature.

That's pretty good and accurate. You are good at this

Interesting, where would you rate the following games in the food scale Skyrim BG2 Gothic 1&2 Far Cry 3

Probably, but at the same time it more than once attack the Athenians for being gay, whereas the Spartans are depicted as the prime example on the All American core family. I don't profess to be an expert in Ancient Greece but I thought homosexuality was common and encouraged amongst the Spartans? Didn't the Sacred Band practice sodomy as rule Yes, homosexual relationships were encouraged in Sparta to make soldiers to bound with each other. Sacred Band was made of 150 pairs of male lovers. At least so say experts of Ancient Greece. Thanks, thats what I thought and it makes sense. You would fight more for someone you actually loved than someone who was just a close comrade I imagine?

Well, I'd hope those convicted of really heinous crimes end up without privileges like that (if not, well probably should off them then). What are the Canadian prisons like, I imagine they are similar to 3 or 4 star hotels where prisoners get massages and have there own rooms with full cable, Internet access, a space for there pet Moose and can choose there meals from a French inspired menu? In fact does Canada even have prisons ?

And how does that matter? Something being very entertaining to many people does not mean it is super creative. If you want a (somewhat) better comparison for the phenomenon I'm talking about, look at culinary art. Lots of people like McDonald's, or fast food in general. Because these are products made for the biggest possible consumer base, they aren't exactly comparable to self-made dishes you'd get in a restaurant. And *at least*? Creativity is something rather difficult. So, no I don't expect the Mass Effect series to be super creative. In most cases I'm satisfied already in people trying to be creative. Good point about the McDonalds analogy, but I am not sure if its the same things as a game that people would play for dozens of hours and spend hundreds of hours discussing? But I do see the point you are making.

Lol. I has banned even in 4chan because Western censorship, and never banned on Russian imageboards. Westlings don't known what really freedom is. USA, choise without choice. Try create own Religion, or try ressurect authentic pagan cults. Constitutions protect rigths of rich people everywhere. Facepalm. Foreigners want to immigrate to this country because job, not because happy life. Oby you are just bitter because you live in a country that doesn't respect the rights of it citizens. Do you know how many Journalists have been murdered in Russia because they are trying to expose the corruption of government ministers and oligarchs ? Its a disgrace http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_journalists_killed_in_Russia

Probably, but at the same time it more than once attack the Athenians for being gay, whereas the Spartans are depicted as the prime example on the All American core family. I don't profess to be an expert in Ancient Greece but I thought homosexuality was common and encouraged amongst the Spartans? Didn't the Sacred Band practice sodomy as rule

Yes, it appeals. But,... Creativity isn't THAT subjective. Especially if you use it in a comparison to sales numbers or in a profit driven industry like AAA video games. For the simple reason that you are out to appeal to the biggest possible consumer base. Which ALSO means to the lowest common determinator. To achieve that, sacrificing complexity and creativity is a process that happens automatically. But surly we need to give the masses of "uninformed fans" some credit that they do expect at least creativity from the likes of the ME series. Millions of people support this series, are you suggesting that these games lack creativity? I may be misunderstanding your point but surly the high sales figures and fandom tell us these games are very entertaining to many people

I hear what you are saying but for me Romance\Sex should be part of the overall game design. This becomes very subjective because for some the RPG experience is really about questing, exploring and being able to make certain choices. I understand thats what they want and expect but me I want deeper party interaction

I hear you, I know when a person says that the West are the "good guys" its seems like a fatuous and unreasonable statement. But I stand by that. For me what constitutes being a " good guy" are several factors that a country needs to follow that include Freedom of speech Democracies and or elections that are free and fair Freedom of Religion Respecting human rights and having a Constitution that the current government adheres to The overall happiness of citizens and points like "do foreigners want to immigrate to this country". For example whats the immigration rate of people into Australia vs Bulgaria ( this is just an example but I'm sure you know what I mean)

Exactly, I'm sure this is done just as much from our direction, but since the secrets we want to steal are goverment and not industry as well they have an easier time covering it up. We apparently attacked Iran's nuclear program like this. Mmmm, thats is a good point. But don't you think the development of the Stuxnet virus was justified to slow down the Uranium enriching capabilities of Iran. Its not common to have this type of state organized cyber-terrorism perpetuated by the USA. But the Chinese have been doing it for years in order to gain economic advantage over other countries, I do think there is a difference? Well it depends on who you view as the good guy or bad guy. Thats obvious my friend The West = Good Guy China = Bad Guy Okay I'm simplifying it little but you know what I mean.

Exactly, I'm sure this is done just as much from our direction, but since the secrets we want to steal are goverment and not industry as well they have an easier time covering it up. We apparently attacked Iran's nuclear program like this. Mmmm, thats is a good point. But don't you think the development of the Stuxnet virus was justified to slow down the Uranium enriching capabilities of Iran. Its not common to have this type of state organized cyber-terrorism perpetuated by the USA. But the Chinese have been doing it for years in order to gain economic advantage over other countries, I do think there is a difference?

Where do you live Baba that you can go to an island, it sounds fun

The characters getting wiped is a definite possibility, particularly if they tweak the skill trees. If it happens, it happens. I'm not super invested into my character anyway. This is mostly a "trial run" to figure out how the game plays at different levels. I'm up to level 40 and still having fun with my great weapon fighter. My build is centered around doing damage to large groups of enemies at once, and high critical chance/high critical damage. I'm currently at about 21% crit chance and +95% crit severity. I'm sure rogues probably have higher crit chance, but I think that's pretty decent for a fighter. I'll max this character out and wait to see what class is introduced next, as none of the other 4 current classes appeal to me. Did you ever play the pen and paper game D&D and if so how are the rules in this MMO similar to that? Pretty much not at all similar. It's EXTREMELY LOOSELY based on 4E D&D. Thx, I did mean to say the latest addition of the D&D ruleset

I'm a huge supporter of Romance\Sex in RPG's as I've mentioned on numerous occasions I honestly believe they add depth and realism to the interaction you have with your party on an epic journey. I particularly like the concept of needing to do certain quests or make certain dialogue choices in order to get closer to party members. Recently I played Planescape for the first time and it reminded me of how exciting it is as the game progresses and you get emotionally closer to Annah, of course the game failed when it didn't allow you to have a "proper" relationship with her. I felt you just touched the surface. So my relationship with Viconia in BG2 was ideal. For me if PE has this great world, lore and quests but completely leaves out any Romance\Sex then something would be missing from my overall view of the game.

The characters getting wiped is a definite possibility, particularly if they tweak the skill trees. If it happens, it happens. I'm not super invested into my character anyway. This is mostly a "trial run" to figure out how the game plays at different levels. I'm up to level 40 and still having fun with my great weapon fighter. My build is centered around doing damage to large groups of enemies at once, and high critical chance/high critical damage. I'm currently at about 21% crit chance and +95% crit severity. I'm sure rogues probably have higher crit chance, but I think that's pretty decent for a fighter. I'll max this character out and wait to see what class is introduced next, as none of the other 4 current classes appeal to me. Did you ever play the pen and paper game D&D and if so how are the rules in this MMO similar to that?

What like female Chainmail bikini armour? I think there is a thread on this.....

Nah, Mass Effect will very likely be played quite a bit over the next decade. It might even have a bigger impact on gaming as a whole. When I wear my Commander Shephard N7 shirt, middle school students know what it is. They have no idea what Baldur's Gate is. After Dragon's Age 2 I said that I am clearly not in the Bioware Wheelhouse anymore. But I'm not equating that to mean they are making terrible games. They are making games for a different audience, one that is much larger than us crotchety old folks, Boo. You might have an argument if these games got terrible reviews, but that doesn't happen. They sell well, they score well, and they are heavily polished. Dragon Age 2 reviews? ME3 ending fiasco? You weren't reading carefully. I was saying the Bioware brand name is declining in value faster than the quality of their games. Its an intangible thing, sure - but reputation is still important to a certain extent. First the EA thing, then DA2, then ME3 ending - not to mention the worst failure of them all - TOR. I might not have liked KOTOR, Jade Empire, Dragon Age etc, but they were undisputed hits in their time. There was no need for damage control back then, not nearly to the extent they need now. Now everything they do is disputed, even when they do it right (like ME3), partly because they're with EA and partly because they're screwing up in places they didn't before. Its an obvious trend. Where exactly it'll lead I can't say. And as Malcador pointed out, no AAA game gets bad reviews today. When you've sunk 200+mil into a project what's a million more in advertising to make sure all the major sites and publications are in your pocket. I am not sure about some of the points you made Drowsy. For example I enjoyed both ME3 and DA2, I actually still don't understand why people were so angry about ME3 just because of the ending when they should judge the game in the context of the entire game. I admit I was not a hard core fan of the ME series so for me the entire series was fun, not fantastic but fun. So I suppose I didn't expect too much than what they provided Also we live in an era where more people play more RPG's than ever before and there is much more discussion and scrutiny of games than in previous times. So naturally any perceived problems would seem to more announced and prolific. Back in the day of older RPG the mediums of communications and depths of fandom weren't as established so less people would voice there opinions as vociferously. I guess end of the day for me Bioware didn't really screwup,the DA series wasn't as good as BG but I still support them and look forward to DA3. And I consider myself a real fan of fantasy RPG

I'm flying back to Johannesburg from Cape Town tomorrow night. I have enjoyed my week in Cape Town but I have to say I have really, really worked hard for this particular customer so they got there money worth. I finished work on Friday night at 3 am and worked on Saturday from 4 pm till 1 am Sunday morning. Its been a good project but lots of environmental issues that effected the software I was configuring and upgrading. I did get to have dinner with my sister and see some friends for drinks and breakfast so at least it wasn't all work

I was shocked to read this, as a nipper I spent a few years in Montclair in Durban, and my parents always told me that the crime rate was almost non existent. I can't really remember much except for walking along the beachfront and munching on ridiculously cheap fruit, so i'm left wondering whether this was hidden from foreign workers and their families, or whether the crime rates have actually changed so dramatically? To be honest since the end of Apartheid the crime statistics now incorporate all South Africans. Black South Africans represent 70 % of the population and they are the largest victims of crime. So its a combination of proper representative statistics and also in some cases the increase of crime But I don't want to paint a bad picture I think my country is a fantastic place to live and its people have many amazing qualities Its not like we see murders or know people that have been murdered. But the newspapers do report on the crime and police reports do have the data so we know it happens and is a concern.

A relevant point raised around the mindset of Norwegians after the Breivik massacre, in South Africa we have about 50 murders a day and other horrific crimes committed. Unfortunately this probably makes me in this discussion the person who is living in the most violent country. Despite this I still don't support the death penalty as I don't see any evidence that it would stop people committing these types of serious crimes and we know that many people commit crime in South Africa due to social reasons and other factors like a lack of respect for the rule of law.

Walsie my friend thats the beauty of debate on forums, we can agree to disagree. I like Monte so this isn't personal but as you mentioned I don't think he does care about people being rude to him. He typically posts what he wants and isn't concerned if he offends people, so I'm sure he is use to people doing the same thing in response to him?