Nonek

Suffer not the Xeno's to live? Edit: It does make one wonder however whether we will ever (if possible) invent some stable form of Gap drive? The nearest theories i've heard that sound remotely feasible involve shackling a singularity and forming a wormhole, and one imagines the cost and effort of such an endeavour would bankrupt all of Earth. It may be that the colonisation of other worlds might be for all intents and purposes a one way trip. With vast generation ships upon which families of engineers, mechanics, gardeners and whatever other trades are needed, breed, grow and repair on their conveyance until it reaches the destination. Such an undertaking would be again an almost prohibitively expensive undertaking. A most interesting topic.

Three obvious questions arise: Primus - Does the planet have a strong enough magnetic field to support a viable atmosphere and block out harmful radiation? Secundus - How do we reach the planet, cryostasis, generation ships? Tertius - How do we protect the crew of these ships from the cancers that arise from high levels of radiation exposure during quite (in comparison) brief space voyages? I admit though it does raise hope of there being habitable planetoids nearer to our home system, though if they show any signs of life would it be moral to expose them to our microbe and alien bodies?

I like the idea of your chosen weapon absorbing a portion of the soul of the defeated foe, but perhaps this could be a unique ability of the Watcher protagonist, a power that only he could use on the fleeting soul of a powerful monster. Imbuing his personal choice of weapon with an ability bound to that creature, fire for a Dragon, strength for a great Jotun etcetera. Edit: Personally I think the Monks forearms being stained with the blood of the great foes he has slain sounds very interesting, maybe even catching fire during combat, or perhaps access to a new appropriate spell for the Mages.

Not this evening, milk of the poppy and Courvoisier tonight old boy.

Seems a little simple for such a tragic air, unless perhaps the lady in question was a strong souled individual whose loss has sparked a series of catastrophes for the little village, or maybe resulted in some kind of malady inflicting Lord Harond perhaps. I certainly look forward to definitive proof in the Winter.

The one question that arises for me from the Dyrford refrains tragic air is, what has passed in this place to lend it such a melancholy ambience? Edit: Personally I don't see too much of a similarity, other than a mournful string arrangement, that said my ear does not have the nuance and training of a professional musician.

I would say no to forsaking player agency OP but I am sure you are just exaggerating for effect there, however on everything else I fully agree with you, and I too believe that Kreia was an excellent example of this. Someone who questions and asks you to think about your actions rather than simply doing as the code of the Jedi or Sith demands, or even buying into the whole binary tyranny of the Force that sees no victor and ultimately gives no benefit to either side, through courage and experience she has worked out that the only path to winning is to simply not play that game. In a way I believe hers is the only morale path in the whole game, and personally i'd have liked to see her win, but obviously Obsidian could not go that far. But even here I believe that developers can go further, and that NPC's can undertake their own tasks without the protagonist, as has been stated above the urge to make everybody but the "special" main character an incompetent, idle and unmotivated servant is something I find far too devaluing to the gameworld and the characters of it. It also robs the antagonist of any potency, if one is defeating a pathetic foe where is the challenge? As you say Obsidian is better than many developers in this respect and its NPC's and antagonists are usually more realistically implemented, so I too have high hopes for even more independence and self motivation in Poes cast. And of course less blatant hero worship and ego stroking, in fact I personally would not mind playing as an utterly despised character who maintains a mask to try and conceal his actions, like Nameless' lack of identity for instance or Ravel's many branchings.

Splendid idea.

Bravo sir, I enjoyed that immensely and was somewhat reminded of the pastoral pieces of Vaughan Williams and perhaps a little New World Symphony. However I must admit that I was a touch disappointed when reading the Polish part of the document that Chopin was not mentioned, haha.

I'm afraid I also have to respectfully disagree, the Baldur's Gate games were not really innovative except in a couple of areas, that being a fairly good and more importantly fun approach to combat and the implementation of AD&D rules. When compared to earlier games such as Ultima, they were very much lifeless theatres of conflict, with no npc routines, no enviromental interaction and far less features. However they were very good looking and approachable with a solid intuitive UI, but that is hardly innovative. In the end I believe where they did innovate in combat was ultimately a drawback, because with a lifeless world, no skills and very little else to do they were forced to rely on every encounter being resolved by combat alone. The world had very little to it that did not revolve around this feature, whether it was loot to increase ones combat potency, inns to return to maximum combat potency or temples to buff and heal. One of the few features that modern games have improved upon has become their crutch, and robbed their worlds of life and variety. Torment I do believe did innovate in making that crutch purely optional, and making the world react to ones alignment, class, wit and charm rather than just what they could slay. That and like Betrayal at Krondor before it recognised the simple power of good prose as a medium of communication, which has almost limitless scope at a fraction of the cost of the equivalent graphics. A motion captured emotional scene in a modern 3d engine, with close ups of the protagonists face and his body language as he reacts to some event is prohibitively expensive for this project, so using the simple power and nuance of text to convey that is eminently more sensible and affordable. And personally this is where I hope Poe innovates, in mixing good prose with Obsidians exemplary use of choice and consequence as seen in New Vegas and others, while hopefully making a world that is more than just a lifeless theatre of conflict. Also hopefully making combat not just fun but a risky and dangerous endeavour, rather than a grind to be undertaken every ten feet.

The Cudfather starring Al Pacano?

I most heartily agree. These should be warm, boisterous places where we can sit back, throw another Elf on the fire, stick our boots on an orlan's head and relax in good company. With of course some jaunty tunes as the evening commences and more sluggish, melodic fayre as our pallets beckon.

Time to watch Species again. Aging like fine wine indeed.

Personally I found the female characters refreshingly well crafted, Philippa of course being the magnificent bastard she is, Sile cold, bitchy and imperious, Anezka the Witch disdaining the outside world, Mama Loredo sitting on all that stolen gold. They were very well designed and potent, and also followed their own agenda rather than sitting around coming and going at the protagonists convenience, I found this refreshing after most games treating women as incompetent, unmotivated slaves of the main character. The potion system I found eminently sensible, I simply took generic Swallow, Rook and Tawny Owl when venturing beyond civilisation or catered it to the foe I was pursuing if I knew them: Nekker's, Endrega, Rotfiend's etcetera.

Fair enough Mr Chris, personally I never saved her either so this is not a defence of her in the second game, I merely find discussion of the finer points of the game to be interesting. Unlike most modern rpg's it has quite a solid and coherent plot, yet with shades of subtlety that I find attractive. Edit: For instance the bonus to magic resistance one gains at the Roses of Remembrance if one rebuffs Triss is interesting, it points to the fact she was either using magic or the Roses to manipulate her friend.

She's Slayer snacks. Running around after bats all whacked up on Slayer snacks.

No the motive to catch and resolve the Kingslayer enigma was to clear Geralts name of regicide, of course Triss might be a factor for people who care about her as an old friend of the White Wolf who'd saved his life repeatedly, but personally only the former reason mattered to me. Her attempted manipulation of Geralt's feelings and conversation with Philippa at the beginning of Chapter 3 of the first game left me untrustworthy personally, and her safety was not my characters primary responsibility. There is also Geralt's curiosity about a Witcher following this different path, and Letho's prior knowledge of him, which feeds into what may be the theme of the second game, what is a Witcher? As opposed to the first games, what is a monster?

Well to be fair she had overextended herself magically in the situation where Roche has to carry her from the Shore to Flotsam, that is not a sign of being a damsel in distress, merely having limits on her power so I personally had no problems with it. Then again I did not like her voice actress in the second game but also never slept with her, so the objections you raise to her and Geralt being intimate did not matter to me, it was simply part of their backstory. Edit: Personally I preferred her in the first game, saving Geralt numerous times, coordinating the alliance of power brokers against Salamandra, saving and mentoring Alvin, advising Foltest of course and all while taking advantage of Geralt's fledgling memories of a Sorceress being important to him. She was quite a little Yennefer in that instance, and showed signs of being so again before Letho interrupted her and Cedric in Sile's apartment.

In fairness damsel in distress was Geralt's role in the first game, where Triss rescued him repeatedly, so turn about seems fair to me. Personally though Philippa is of course my favourite, a character almost on a level with Kreia in my opinion. Edit: I find Triss interesting in only one respect, that is her manipulation of Geralt's feelings and slumbering memories, after Yen's last talk with her on this subject I expect there to be fireworks when the two finally meet. If Yen's memories are restored, and she's not Emhyr's consort herself as Drudanae postulated.

In a market where a multi million selling game cannot break even because of inflated budget and marketing however, a modest profit selling to an established fanbase seems more than sensible. If Poe makes a few hundred thousand sales on top of us seventy thousand or so backers, which I personally think is likely, then it will most probably be regarded as a sustainable model. Especially when combined with Obsidian's sterling work on other peoples intellectual property, which has been proved with South Park and New Vegas both hitting it out of the park. Personally I see this as a far more sensible method of perpetuating ones work, rather than risking all to go after the big payday, something we have seen in the Financial sector carries great risks. Slow and steady wins the race, long terms goals and secure foundations.

Ah quite near the hometown of Mrs Nonek, no wonder I picked up on it. Much obliged Oerwinde.

I agree that AoS has improved considerably, and about time. However I noticed that the young scientist lady with the cut glass accent does, upon the occasion of growing flustered or angry (with Coulson most recently,) lose her accent and speaks in a more flat, broad tone. Sounds quite northern, Lancastrian or Yorkshire perhaps, I wonder if this is intentional or unintentional?

The Orphanage of Sir Mortimer Whether it be the most righteous and holy of priests or the fairest maiden of the day, none is more beloved than good Sir Mortimer and his daughter Margaret. Together they were once a common sight in the city, trawling the slums to find the unfortunate or beseeching the high born for charity and succor. Now however their noble work keeps them locked behind the high walls of their estate, administering the Orphanage that the gentle Knight created after the Broken Stone War, they have been kept busy in this thankless endeavour ever since Margaret fell ill a scant year past. Here they take in the unfortunate and the dispossessed, teaching, feeding and caring for them as best they can, and occasionally even finding foster parents to take on the younger children. But fate is a cruel mistress and sickness and plague have regularly plagued the Orphanage, leaving many small bodies to be buried in little paupers graves outside the walls, a heartbreaking sight. Even little angelic Margaret might have suffered the same fate last year, for she fell ill and no cure could be found for her ailment, Sir Mortimer seemed a broken man and the city mourned. A miracle came in the form of a man of science and learning. A wise Animancer passing through the city offered his services at a price to beggar a Prince, but the old Knight called in favours from all across the metropolis and gladly paid the amount. Little Margaret was saved, and though pale and of a much more introverted composure was soon seen accompanying her Father on his work, a little spark of hope and goodness in the dark heart of the city. The people quietly rejoiced and felt cheer that a good life had been saved. Of course it was a lie, hope is an illusion and there are no happy endings. Little Margaret was dying and nothing could be done but Sir Mortimer beseesched the Animancer to save her, promising an obscene sum and eternal gratefulness. Grudgingly and for a vast fortune the Animancer did as the old Knight asked, and then fled, for what lay in the sick bed was no longer a child but a flesh eating Fampyr. Sir Mortimer had selfishly damned his child, for loves sake. It only grew worse, the angelic child now craved bloody flesh, and not even the rarest cut of the steak would satisfy her. Finally shedding tears at the cruelty of fate, and wracked by his daughters tortured screams Sir Mortimer took a dying child from the Orphanage, and let his daughter feed. His mind cracked a little then. The next morning however he found his beautiful child humming and skipping, carefree as the wind, and thought that his prayers had been answered. Together they walked out into the city and performed their good works, and the proud Father watched his comely little daughter curtsy and charm all who passed, as she had done before the nightmare. They returned to the Orphanage under blue skies and laughing with hope and joy, but that night as darkness came his child grew hungry again and fed on the boy bound in her rooms. She hungers eternally but a child may provide much meat, even a starving sickly one, and Sir Mortimer will give her no other kind of meat but that which is allready dying. It is perhaps the last of his morals guiding him. Still her prolonged absences have been noted, as have the old Knight's and the young scallywags of the Orphanage who beg and roister in the city are all somewhat subdued, though they are not sure why. A strange malaise has gripped their once lively home, and a mournful air pervades the place. There are even rumours of a small shape slipping over the rooftops and through the shadows, haunting the place and luring boys and girls to come and play, but these are surely childish fancies. Sir Mortimer is sure his beloved has not regressed so much as to be hunting their charges, for she is a good girl, and it is that evil Animancer's spells that cursed her and caused this. Margaret is as innocent as she ever was. Meanwhile the gravedigger at the Pauper's Graveyard shakes his head at the condition of the little bodies, something is wrong here, little rat like teethmarks mar what remains of the poor childrens corpses. Bones have been broken and the marrow sucked out, while hardly any flesh remains, no sickness does that.

I'll take your 2015 and i'll raise you 'til 2017.

The protagonist becoming the Slayer through knowing himself is in my opinion the weakest part of the above argument, i'd also think the Slayer would manifest when the human element was removed, a la Imoen's soulless state.