Nonek

I was just trying to be friendly as a relative newcomer to the boards, for some reason my attempts at affability are always misinterpreted as sarcasm for some reason (probably because of my verbosity.) No offense intended Wombat, which is why I was admitting that I had rambled somewhat off-topic in my previous post.

That was a trifle off topic wasn't it my marsupial friend, still least said soonest mended. Personally i'll just keep buying, playing and recommending obsidians games no matter the platform as sterling examples of what the modern genre should be aspiring to. The sheer amount of innovation, depth and reactivity that they manage to cram into their products such as alpha protocol, new vegas etcetera is worthy of brand loyalty in my opinion.

Always wondered in Torment, when you get to the practical incarnation and he states that he is so disgusted by your constant questioning. Is that Chris Avellone stating that he'd like some other form of gaining information in games other than through dialogue, so much of the game expresses disgust at the tired old forms used by the fantasy genre and then flips them on their heads with amusing and fresh approaches that invigorate the genre and i've always wondered if this was one of those situations.

Playing through Torment once again, my gut coiling with trepidation and scarred hands shaking as I approach Ravel and know that eventually the question will. Must. Be asked. What can change the nature of an industry? Is it potent and clever protagonists who can shape the world through their actions, is it confrontations with unique and dangerous enemies who you can hate and pity but must always respect, perhaps it is the women, strong, broken, devious and blunt whose writing humbles the two dimensional barely discerned sketches we see in other games or maybe it is the reactive worlds and factions that shift and slide around the hero swimming in the seas of self forged fate. Probably not, most likely it is sales and latching on to powerful franchises and then repeating infinite permutaions of the same weak stories and solid gameplay with minor tweaks each year so that another edition can be bought. (An infinite modron maze.) But it shouldn't be, the industry lumbers forward on the whipped and bloody backs of lumbering oxen and nobody sees that they have lost the path and the few lone wolves who still dart into the mists of originality and innovation clouding the road ahead are cast out and mocked for the smallest of flaws. Yeah, i've had a couple of shandies but i'll say this: In vino veritas. Hell I was tepid on the charms of the new wasteland until a bullet in the head opened my eyes and let me see a new fire burning in an old fireplace.

Apparently twenty eight people had previously escaped from the camp over the last few years and reported the situation, one has to wonder what the local constabulary were doing.

Usually i'm on the side of detesting most crafting, there are two notable exceptions: Ultima 7 (no idea why) and the original witcher which was not actually crafting just taking rare ores, runes and what have you to a smith and telling him to crack on with it. In the sequel when we have to gather every little component such as twine, iron and cloth I just felt like I was in bloody trade not a feared monsters bane, strangely enough the alchemy system they slimmed down by removing potion bases and extra ingredients which is a core feature of the profession, odd. I'll have a pint busty serving wench. Okay, i'll need hops, a barrel, a pint glass, water and.... You get the picture, daft.

Cheers for the answers Nathan, however I was more wondering about the systems themselves as in the players skill and responsiveness as opposed to in game charcter statistical skills and which you prefer to design for and play. Personally if implemented well as in dungeon siege 3 I can adapt fairly easily whereas in the witcher I found combat somewhat over twitchy and at points unresponsive despite generally liking it. Poorly written question I suppose, mea culpa.

This is a breath of fresh air, playing through recent games i've felt like a stupid dog being patted on the head and fed treats when i've done what the devs wanted and there's been no sense of accomplishment or immersion. The dude bloody gets it, give me a challenge and let me fail if i'm stupid because the payoff when I win will be all the sweeter.

Was Lukas modelled off of Kyle MacLachlan in dune. What would be the ideal intellectual property you would like to work with. Both Dungeon Siege 3 and the Witcher 2 mix the players skill and in game character skills in their combat systems, which do you prefer as players and designers.

Voted NWN2 mostly because of Mask of the Betrayer.

Damn good game, needed a lot of trimming I think but hell I can't fault anybody for ambition and the simple mechanic that tied the main character into the plot, the harvest festival tutorial and the awkward distant foster father were masterfully done in my opinion. And for some reason Nolaloth the long dead dragon will always stick with me, don't know why. Never got the vitriol that was spat on it.

There is always something in obsidian games that hooks me in and won't let go such as the survival horror opening and confrontation with Atris in kotor2, the cold and haunted Daeghun in nwn2 and the realisation of your accidental role in the entire conflict, going off radar for alan (raziel) parker during the training mission in alpha protocol and once i've weened myself off the witcher 2 this weekend i'll be tearing the cellophane off my copy of dungeon siege and giving it some large. So yeah I agree keep on buggering on obsidian with all your ambition and innovation, we love you but not in a creepy uncle kind of way.

Yes, yes I do.

Being an old AD&D nut i've never minded character creation, it gets me salivating for the main campaign but I can understand how somebody not versed in the rather OCD nature of roleplaying games might be somewhat bewildered by all the stats and such. Would a system such as the old Ultima gypsy questioning system work better for making a character but rather than questions based on the virtues have it be actions based on your circumstances. Say for instance in the prologue chapter you awaken in a prison cell with slain guards all around you (original eh) having no real conception of your character other than their looks and voice, you hear the sound of guards running to investigate and get a number of options that will begin to shape your character say: A, Pick up a sword from one the dead bodies and prepare for combat (strength). B, Change clothes with and hide among the dead bodies (cunning). C, Wait patiently in your cell and try to reason with or bluff the guards (persuasion). D, Gather your will and summon the shadows to hide you in the gloom of your cells depths (willpower/magic). E, Sneak through the shadows, hiding amongst empty cells and such (agility). Be a lot of work keeping track of such things but thinking about it Alpha Protocol kind of does this with its perks and makes the game all the more reactive in my opinion.

Wondering if they'll be using any of the original dungeon sieges soundtrack (Jeremy Soule?) as it was one of the brightest points of the first game, well that and you could go and make a sarnie and a cuppa during combat.

Enjoyed it, played as Lucas 'cause I dig the classical greek hero look he's got going on which is a refreshing change for a protagonist and really enjoyed the easy and intuitive controls and absolutely stunning visuals which though not of witcher 2 quality were still eye catching. The engine seemed steady as a rock and though Ravens Rill seemed a bit lifeless i'm not expecting Assassins of Kings depth from a dungeon siege game, the other characters appearances gave interesting hints as to their involvement (i'm guessing Kat's sis isn't destined for a happy fate) and all in all I think i'll nab it when it comes out.

Just finished my second run through of the game and just had to say this is what games should be: ambitious, innovative, reactive and utterly engrossing, when I sat back after my first run through I just thought next weekend i'm going to start again as a veteran and when I finished that I let out a contented sigh (after stopping laughing at someones demise) and stated "now that is quality". I ran across three bugs while playing none of which bothered me in the slightest and though I did not exactly like Michael Thorton (too baby faced and the voice was a little too nasal for my tastes), he did his job of immersing you into the world and the characters who loom large within it. The scene with a prominent antagonist in the mediterranean sent chills down my spine thanks to the music, dialogue and voice actor really conveying a sense of cold menace. As usual your games continue to enthrall me with their depth and sophistication, thanks obsidian.