Nonek

I've personally been remarkably lucky with Obsidian games, not having suffered many egregious issues at all: There were the missing terrorists in the airbase in Saudi in Alpha Protocol, but I knew how to avoid that by not exiting the upper level of one of the bunkers. There was the first Silver Shard unreactivity in NWN2 that was added by the Mask of the Betrayer expansion, though that was extremely irritating. After those every other game has been as stable as a rock, even New Vegas, which had only a few Radscorpions blowing majestically across the Ivanpah strangely enough. However in a big, complex and reactive RPG I expect bugs, the most perfect code never survives unscathed upon first meeting the customers varied specifications and playstyles, the important thing is the patching and here I expect Obsidian to really step up to support their product.

I most certainly would Mr Losse, the game is a one of a kind, delightfully reactive and thematically potent, and provides a narrative that will raise as many questions as it answers. On the subject of stat point distribution I am somewhat torn, though one can boost WIS and INT to massive levels, as is the commonly used tactic, boosting STR and making a more balanced build that will more than hold its own in combat is very viable. SPOILER-ISH CONTENT AHOY! Personally I leave CHA at 9 to ensure that Nameless' reception matches his appearance, and use a Friends scroll or spell in important situations. It should also be noted that there are many natural boosts to CHA. WIS I usually raise to 11 or 12 as there are a lot of WIS boosting opportunities in game, and of course tattoos and such. INT I raise to 13 or 14, important for conversations and a stat I intend to spend many points on later, until which I boost with tattoos or Cranium Rat charms. DEX I raise to around 10 or 11, there are a few boosts but this can wait until later unless one wishes to be a strangler and gain empathy for a certain incarnation. CON I always start at 14, this give you the maximum starting HP of thirty, a very good heal rate and is boosted by many, many items and effects. If one is Lawful Good, then one may not have to spend more than a point or two. STR I start at 15, for a simple reason: You start at third level as a Fighter, continue in this class until lvl 6 adding a point of STR each time and your STR will soon be 18, upon attaining level 7 as a Fighter the game will judge you to have specialised in this role and award you among other things a free single point of STR. This will not nudge you into 18 exceptional strength but will boost you straight to 19, Hill Giant strength after which most combat becomes somewhat trivial and you are free to attribute your points as you see fit. I would personally use Clubs and Knives as enchanted versions of these are very common, and some are invaluable, Justifier and the Tattoo of the Lost incarnation (gained from a rather distinctive "club") also both provide regeneration bonuses which make Nameless a very quick healer indeed. Extremely useful in combat. In this role you spank and tank and Morte also makes an excellent tank, especially with his natural ability. The combat is orders of magnitude more enjoyable when one builds such a potent combatant, and Nameless is a very formidable opponent and very good at intimidation because of the speech options accessed by high strength. Just my own favourite build however. Edit: For a Lawful character strength can be boosted even more by a later companion whom will grant anything from 1 to 3 strength points, added on to an allready OP strength score this becomes obscenely effective.

I was probably first beguiled by fantasy as a genre by my love of classical mythology, Pater spoke ancient Greek flawlessly i'm told, and had worked in quite a few archaeological goldmines. The family had long been tied to the profession, and were present at Mycenae and Knossos apparently during the famous excavations. My father instilled in me a great thirst for the derring do and human theatre that the ancient world offered, in ones dreams there were the golden stones of Troy rising above distant, exotic lands and warm sparkling blue seas, quite a contrast to the green and pleasant English countryside. A little gentle escapism that I indulged in frequently as a child, however I believe it probably boosted my academic potential, and certainly provided a diverting passtime.

Mr Bain's reveal of the shameful PR practises that one of the marketing team of Shadows of Mordor indulged in was really a very sterling example of ethical behaviour, and it has probably made a few of the more ethically relaxed PR firms take a second to think over their approaches to Youtubers and Twitchers. By Twitcher I mean those who stream on Twitch not the bird watcher or the fans of the Witcher from CDPR.

One has always considered oneself to be of the noblest lineage, and now it is confirmed that one is royalty, huzzah.

I suppose the subtext is that men are disposable, while women are to be protected and shielded from any harm that a man may encounter. A fairly typical white knight reaction that demeans women who are strong, usually propagated by those whom do not know any or have unhealthy relationships with women, such as virgin sycophants and those whom are so pathetic as to have to pay for their attention, through striptease and prostitution. They will cheerfully and hypocritically say that they stand up for women, while sustaining and adding to the abuse they suffer.

Why is the Joker still alive? I admit that i've not read many American comics (well any) but by now some of the less ethical masked vigilantes must have grown tired of his behaviour: Why hasn't the Hulk ripped him up and used him as toilet paper? Or the Punisher simply put a high velocity sniper round through his cranium? Dredd would not hesitate to do so, Slaine would probably warp spasm and eat the chap, the Stronty's would erase him from time or something equally weird. Seems a little strange.

One cannot possibly know whether the game will match your personal tastes or not Archaven, I would personally wait for unbiased, non game journalist reviews, and bide your time. The game will only grow more stable after first contact with the audience, because there will of course be bugs to squash as this is a big complex RPG, patches and the expansion may also add more content, optimised features and such. Wait and see seems to be the best advice I could offer.

How the devil are you putting up with Veronica? Her desperate squeeing usually ensured I left her beaten and shot to a pulp under the bridge I found her atop of, now that was a demonstration of wit that I appreciated.

Obsidian for me always produces worlds that burst with verisimilitude, and thus are far more interesting and nuanced than the usual modern world with a thin veneer of renaissance fayre flavour that other developers create. In Obsidians worlds I tend to ruminate and ponder more on every single event and situation.

A good choice of name if I may say so, the Barghest, Black Shuck, Old Grim and all of the other alias' that the Black Hound uses, still echo throughout mythology. Indeed i'm not sure about other parts of the world, but in the Isles the legend looms large in many places, some say that the hound runs with the Wild Hunt, others that the Devil or Wotan send them forth. It's an interesting myth for sure, and an extremely ambiguous one, which adds to the attraction for me. Edit: There's a local legend of a witch being hung in a nearby town square, and the hound which came and howled at that place the very hour and day she died for nine years following.

I really can't comment until i've played the first game, however if that turns out to be as satisfying as all of the other Obsidian properties i've played, then yes I would commit to the same value probably...unless a higher tier opened up something I particularly desired. That said if the sequel had an option of turn based combat, and a more simulationist/intuitive approach that was tied to the games mechanics, then I would probably commit at a far higher tier.

Yes, thus the use of eventually in my first sentence. Thank you however.

What is the penalty for speciesism against non existent fantastical being? Does stating that elves all look alike to me counts as speciesism, and is anybody so deluded as to self identify as an elf in the real world? All this and more on Jeremy Vile tonight!

I've got to say that one thing that interests me is the effect firearms will eventually have in Eora, namely the shedding of plate armour en masse, with the exception of a few heavily armoured holdouts such as cuirassiers. I would personally like to see this in a setting, with the sturdy buff coat or more exotic harness being favoured by sellswords and roisterers. Mechanically however I imagine that implementing this would be enormously complicated, without the clear progression of padded to plate as a familiar guidestone.

Yes it is subjective and that is the point, I found my system far more satisfying and frequently urge other GM's to do the same if they want a perfect individually tailored system. As for GM's, no a friend of mine whom now works in the pen and paper industry was always a better GM, especially his old Warhammer campaigns which I remember fondly.

I've never had much affinity for the Realms, or AD&D itself, and I was a big supporter of the movement that tried to broaden the scope of the game back in the nineties. Planescape, Athas, Ravenloft, Birthright, they were all trying to bring a fresh coat of paint to AD&D, because it really needed it. The Realms are overpowered, monty haul boredom personified, even Greyhawk looks far more interesting. My own home brewed system and settings were in the end far more imaginative and satisfying to play through, rather than another copy and paste god killing spree in Toril. As for the CRPG's I did not particularly like BG1, I had played Ultima 7 just before and it was a clear degeneration, with no environmental interaction, no NPC routines, no open world untouched by loading screens, and far less detail, content and features. BG2 was far more satisfying, in part because of the richness of the locale in a well realised Amn, but was still limited by the Realms. ToB was one of the worst expansions i've ever played, boring, overpowered, and indicative of all the problems the Realms and high level AD&D share. IWD was good for narrative, setting, music and combat situations. Torment was a masterpiece of course that i've showered far too much praise upon. All told I have no particular affinity for the IE games, I simply want another Obsidian game, and to see where they can go when unrestrained by publishers. I'm in fact a little disappointed that they chose a Realms like world, but when investigated the details of the setting are quite unique and the proof of the pudding will be in the eating.

Finished Fallout and watched Cole my dweller wander off into the wastelands, still touches me every time I see that ending. Looking at it from an analytical viewpoint Fallout is a masterpiece, with the Fixt content making it even more so, and one of the few games where I think streamlining worked to benefit the game rather than punish the player. It is tight, masterfully designed and free of any flab or needless excesses. There is a place for everything and the limited scope allowed more detail to be poured into what remained, ensuring a coherent and satisfying experience. I would say it stands out as being one of my favourite game in terms of design, and I don't know if it's just me but in retrospect I now see a lot of Fallout in Torment. I hope Obsidian and Mr Cain have the chance to work on another west coast Fallout property, of course I realise that it will never be isometric and turn based again, but New Vegas was and is a towering achievement and a massive seller so I hope that there remains a possibility there.

If I remember correctly it is neither, rather a vanished country and culture formed of multiple species, that is now protected by the Glenfathans. I may be misremembering however.

One minor quibble, is not Poe's spell system more appropriately compared to BG1's? They are both after all low level games with a quite low level cap, whereas in BG2 we are beginning to attain a measure of power that dwarfs the prequel. Just a thought.

Reminds me I haven't read the Jewel in the Skull in years, must remedy that.

Ah maybe I am overreacting to this area looting, I can certainly see why the team decided to implement it, seeing it as a popular feature of the new alternate editions of BG and IWD. I can't help but retain my distaste for it however, it is to me just a further step on the road to handwaving everything away for the sake of convenience, and Kickstarter was what I hoped would signal a reverse of this harmful trend. However I will simply have to accept it, no game can be tailored to one individuals tastes, and at this point options are obviously rather set in stone and other matters prioritised. I would humbly ask that if possible in a future patch or expansion that we do recieve an option to disable this feature however, but I will not be enormously put out if we do not.

Hello Yaerius, may the Grue never find you.

I sometimes wonder whether an Egyptian crafting a Senet board by the Nile millenia past had the same thoughts? Whether one approves or not gaming and entertainment have probably been with humanity since before we were humans, apes and monkeys certainly indulge in games and frivolous passtimes.

This handwaving away of mechanics is really beginning to bother me, where does it end, and was clicking on a corpse really so egregious? I'm currently playing Fallout and i'm not at all upset or bothered by clicking on a fallen opponent, in fact there's a little thrill when I see what he was carrying or if I need any of the items. I like the little things that speak of verismilitude, and I really object to shortcuts that make absolutely no sense, such as teleporting loot and invisible backpacks. We're losing so much of the little details in worlds and design for the sake of convenience. I want to play the game, not have it automate everything for me, I am in no way, shape or form incapable and I adore little details in games.