Rhomal

Just to add to the above, even if it was just general game dev topics or nwn2 specific I think it would be very informative and a great communication tool. Hopefully you folks can find the time to do so!

Will you have my children? Or at the very least wild vampire sex with me.. because you, basicaly, rule... *blink*

Is that were I recall his name from... he didn't have anything to do with nwn2 did he? Damn my old age my memory fails me... and I interviewed most all the core devs too!

VB.NET yes. Its a .asp site that uses .NET in the backend to run. See here: www.dotnetnuke.com Its a great free site package to drive a portal. Much better then a PHP site IMO (which nwn2news was a php site in fact)

VS 2005 has visual C#, Basic, J and C++. I need to dive into basic first as thats the lang my web site s/w is based off of and I want to build a couple specific custom modules for it. After VB ill get into C#. Not interested in python or the like.

ahh yes I forgot about that site. Rumor mill has it they are working on a SR CRPG or MMO. But its been so long since that site went live you'd think they would have said SOMETHING by now. Unless its in dev hell ie changing the rendering engine 3 or 4 times along with most of the dev team such as duke nuke em. Even the WoD MMO is 2-3 more yrs away and those devs are talking about it in bits here and there and both projects started around the same time. Unless they are treating it like fort knox *shrugs* The thing about bio is it merged then got bought out. So I am not sure how much autoimmunity it has anymore to make big calls like that. If I was to guess, its limited. There are at least 1 if not 2 mgt levels above ray and greg now who can call the shots who are, IMO reduced to middle mgt now. Sure they put on a front of how 'little has changed' but you hear that EVERY time a studio gets bought out and in the long term what happens more times then not? Bullfrog is the first to come to mind as the poster child of when studio buyouts go bad, many dozen or two others as well over the past decade. Point being while I respect DG for being a SR fan I think a. if bio did do it, it would be a mostly cookie cutter story, typical bio plot and b. even if they promised the stars of such a CRPG I simply don't think they have the independence anymore to go after such without serious convincing the 'new' powers that be. On a side note, as for DA the key word about the story is they are ATTEMPTING to go for a dark, mature story. *IF* they deliver is completely different as neither you or I can say as fact until the game is released. But if they continue their trend I have my doubts but would like to be surprised. Either way until I see something convincing and not base my opinion on little snippets of a unreleased game, I wouldn't want bio to touch SR for now.

Am looking to get back into development after MANY years away (last lang I programmed in as a job was Quick BASIC) am taking some online courses and what not but would like to be able to converse with someone knowledgeable in the field. Simply someone to pick your brain when I run into a wall with my training or have a ignorant question or two I have Visual Studio 2005 standard. Thanks!

Touche, my friend, touche. Even if the post wasn't to me I concede the point I made previously. Hard to dispute what you have said. (I think trolls will be trolls and as grom does try to spin a devs own words to 'say' something else but you can't succeed if you do not try)

huh never heard of it... *Goes to do some googling...*

Let me first start off saying I greatly enjoy reading your posts and insight. Anytime a dev can share his thoughts on a forum its a win-win for everyone IMO. And while I appreciate & respect your view, and I agree actually, about if you let trolls take over then fiction becomes 'fact' and we should do what we can to stop that. However RPGCodex is, sadly, a lost cause in that fight. As even the mods and admin there are some of the biggest trolls and bile tossers. Its clearly a free for all and they don't care about the difference between hyperbole, fiction, BS or fact. As they all see it as more or less the same. *shrugs* Again I agree, generally we should work to keep gaming forums to a certain standard. However in some cases its pointless, as in this case as what those kids over there thrive on. You don't got to rpgcodex for sane, intellectual, mature discussion or debate. Kids go there most times then not to jump into a flame war or to spout off on a topic they are completely ignorant in. Not have a civil, thoughtful exchange. I see it as the first ep of the new Battlestar Galactica, where the new president says to commander adama 'why am I the only one who sees this, the war is over. We lost'. And just like the fleet in BSG thankfully there are other places to go and call home None the less, great to see you posting and look forward to more!

Obsidian isn't Bethesda, and even Deus Ex 1 and Torment had off-putting moods before I played them, so have a little faith. As I said I want to support obsid and my mind isn't closed but the impression I get thus far isn't doing much for me. But like I said post release, which will be sometime this year, we all will have a much better idea of the style and type of game this will be.

Matters not what WotC wants, what matters is the atari/Obsid D&D license. If it says for example you can make 3.5 nwn games until 2010 then thats that. As was stated above, they don't get a license for every expansion or title its one big lic/package deal.

Considering Bio ended up scrapping their work and starting fresh by doing it themselves just a few months before it was to ship, no it didn't. However I agree with V, obsid is quite able to do it themselves. This isn't a garage level studio LOL (Best line ever V!) However is it profitable enough is the question, only the sales of SoZ can answer that.

Generally I have to agree with your assessment. It would be nice to have such customization and while I am really trying to like AP it seems its just not going to be the game for me. However, in Deus Ex, you were stuck with one character as your PC and that game turned out really well and was a great CRPG. So keep your options and mind open about AP you never know. Is that advice you're following, yourself? Yes it is. I am going to assume this is not a attempt by you at a poorly masked snide comment. With that said while I have my concerns with AP and its below my radar at this point I will certainly check out the reviews and forum feedback. I -want- my mind to change in fact, and looking for reasons to do so. As I wish to support obsidian. Thus I can certainly per persuaded. For the record I thought I was going to hate DE, I didn't buy it until over 6 months after it came out. But enough positive buzz made me re-think my stance and bought it. So while I don't think AP will be my cup of tea I never said I wouldn't buy it ever. Simply I was not planning on getting it but again, reviews and more details may change my mind. I said the same about DA in fact in that thread.

PS: I asked mkreku to the prom but he would only go out with me again if he could dress up as the butch this time. *sigh* --- On a side note mkreku I fail to see how my uncertainly for the theme/mood of the game equates to 'drama queen' or how that is not a valid indicator to choose a game. So I suppose all the folks who passed on FO3 because it didn't feel like the 'real fallout' are drama queens too? I invite you to go over to NMA an post that. I'll grab the popcorn... I have been called many things but seriously. LOL Then again I have to take into account the maturely level of these boards.. heh

Generally I have to agree with your assessment. It would be nice to have such customization and while I am really trying to like AP it seems its just not going to be the game for me. However, in Deus Ex, you were stuck with one character as your PC and that game turned out really well and was a great CRPG. So keep your options and mind open about AP you never know.

You are a real ass clown. What are you 14? Strike the question aspect of that comment, clearly there's no question. Ignore him, hes at the age where he things he has all the answers, too ignorant to know he is.. well.. ignorant about most things.

So standard windows functions are now 'unsupported'? Nice, I want a job at Bios Q&A where if common windows uses frag the game up its simply labeled 'unsupported'. Good way to address poor coding. For the record I used alt-tab on civ4, gal civ2, fo3, UT, AoC and nwn2 without issue.

Best... line... ever... LOL

GENERALLY speaking I agree. However the nwn1 release was a mess on features that were hyped to infinity, and left a bitter taste in my mouth. On the other hand I found the BG series quite playable and mostly bug free out of the box. So on that level I give kudos to Bio.

The truth is a bitter pill for some apparently... and a game crashing every ~30 mins for 4-6 months after release (server/MP functions) isn't a 'tiny flaw', FYI when said game was hyped on those very features. As for nwn2/DM client issue while that stung I rather have had them hold back and polish the thing then release it in a poor state.

Its really a moot point, the 100+ hr CRPG, for the the most part, is dead. At least according to many devs I have spoken to. Will always be a 'rebel' outfit who makes such from time to time (like oblivion) but as a whole most publishers don't feel they will have the mass market appeal they did 10 yrs ago. Especially when publishers see the sales numbers of many recent CRPGs that failed on a sales level (bloodlines for example). Thus won't fund such a project, at least how the situation was described to me. I hope the situation changes but not holding my breath. Given the massive success of Oblivion and Fallout 3 though, perhaps there might be a new appeciation for the potential revenue of a large open world crpg? Especially when considering how DLC can simply be added right into the gameworld, generating an ongoing revenue-stream. Based on the sucess of Bethesda's last 2 games, apparently large open world games are enjoyed just as much by console gamers as by old school pc gamers. I REALLY hope games like FO3 and GTA4 (which is RPG-ish) and their successes does change some minds of publishers over time. But again, the way the PC market moves and changes its ways (at a snails pace) I am not expecting anything soon. But I do hope for another BG2 type game at some point and hopefully it will herald another CRPG golden age as that series did as other game pubs take note.

I certainly don't hate them, I simply have not been attracted to their last few offerings. They are console-fying everything and IMO thus dumbing, gameplay wise, everything down. Plus the writing hit its peak at BG2/ToB, however I am interested to see how DA is, if I was a hater I'd have already made up my mind like the fruit nuts at NMA or DaC did 2 yrs before FO3 came out. *shrug* Like I said its on my possibilty list. Why you insist I hate them becasue I am critical of some of their offerings is beyond me. I suppose by your view unless I fawn over them and give them praise 95% of the time I am a 'hater'... I think when you bring the word 'bias' and 'bioware' up you need to look in the mirror V.. heh. You can't heap enough praise on them and defend them constantly. I think you need to go look at the 2002 archives of the forist 2-4 months and see post after post of folks having issues for nwn1. I remember it quite well as a PW admin. The first 6-8 months was HORRIBLE client, server MP stability wise. Could I play the SP game, more or less without issue after about a month or so and a couple patches. it crashed a few times but not impossible to play, so yes. I should have clarified I was speaking, mainly, about MP as thats the only reason I got into nwn1. As the OC was one of the more unimaginative stories I have ever expereinced with a plethrea of whiny NPCs, predictable plot and massive foreshadowing. It should be, IMO, used in writing class on how NOT to create a engaging story.

Its really a moot point, the 100+ hr CRPG, for the the most part, is dead. At least according to many devs I have spoken to. Will always be a 'rebel' outfit who makes such from time to time (like oblivion) but as a whole most publishers don't feel they will have the mass market appeal they did 10 yrs ago. Especially when publishers see the sales numbers of many recent CRPGs that failed on a sales level (bloodlines for example). Thus won't fund such a project, at least how the situation was described to me. I hope the situation changes but not holding my breath.