D3xter

I'm mostly about exploring new worlds, concepts or philosophies and a good story to boot. For all I can say their best game as Black Isle was Planescape: Torment. In that game you played as a half-naked undead/invulnerable body with scars all over him: And among your companions you had a flying skull, a Modron, a living suit of armor and a burning man: Let's say I couldn't give a eff and am actually kind of bored about realuuusm in games at this point and getting similarly bored with recreation of Tolkiens works over and over, "realistic armor" is one of the least of my concerns... This is a rather good article on that matter: http://poisonedspong...e-architecture/ And something to look at: http://nnm.ru/blogs/...n/daniel_dociu/ And their (imo) best game as Obsidian included this thing, which was probably the best and most intriguing companion of all

Just imagine the possibilities... I wonder what kind of enchantments could be applied.

Work under restrictions from licensing and publisher: Create your own fantasy world from scratch without any licensing restrictions or publisher intereference: Dull looking fighter type: Feminism-approved female fighter: >> People complaining that they ain't realistic enough.

Trust me, it's coming and there is a difference (also see Edit above), the easiest way to make sure yourself is simply go to an exhibition that have some of those 4K/8K displays around and see the difference yourself. The question is, when you look at your PC screen or at the TV do you have the same visual experience as when you look outside a window and the answer so far is no The human eye generally can recognize details at least up to 300ppi (obviously depending on distance away and visual acuity, if you need glasses to see and don't have them a much higher resolution won't make much difference). 1080p on a 60" television is only 36ppi, which is somewhat helped by you not knowing any better and sitting so far away it will seem somewhat fine. Even 4k (3840x2160) on a 21" monitor is only around 210ppi and 8k (7680x4320) on a 30" is about 300ppi, it all depends on the distance, size and usage of the thing. But especially for phones, tablets and PC monitors that you likely have right in front of your face it makes a lot of sense and it'll come naturally for TV broadcasts too. Fun fact, IBM already had monitors with a resolution of 3840x2400 in 2001: http://www-03.ibm.co...elease/1180.wss but they ceased producing them as they exited the hardware market and sold most of their manufacturing capabilities to companies like Lenovo. In the past 10 years most manufacturers were in a race to the bottom to create the cheapest possible product for the largest market possible, but especially the mobile and tablet market in the last few years has brought some change. Anyway, that's why it would be nice if this time around they rendered/produced their backgrounds at at least 4K, it shouldn't be that much of a problem for 3D models and hand painted stuff so it'll be somewhat more future-proof than the Infinity Engine games, which we have to zoom out a lot to look good. (It's always easy to downscale something, adding detail ain't possible)

Or people could just look at it as far into development as it got and see if it was a good idea: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQcpCLCV560 I remember a large many games "turning to 3D" around that time purely for marketing reason since it was the new "cool trend" and failing entirely, to disappear from existence: That's bs, there will be 4k (3840x2160) and likely 8k (7680x4320) monitors and television in 10-20 years time depending on adoption and how technology goes on, the standards have been largely finalized as "Ultra High Definition": http://en.wikipedia....tion_television and there are working cameras for such content already, in fact the BBC had an 8k test broadcast of the Olympic games earlier this year. The largest problem at that point is bandwidth and storage. Some Apple displays are already using 2880x1800 in their "retina" displays at only 15" and there's very much more of that to expect in the next few years (along with adoption of OLED technology), this is a nice article: http://www.pcgamer.c...makes-me-angry/ This is certainly a point of contention with 2D/pre-rendered graphics. Samsung had the first 4K display available in 2008: http://www.tomshardw...uhdtv,4916.html SHARP had the first 8k prototype ready in 2011: http://www.engadget....lcd-with-16x-m/ But they're obviously too expensive for mass-production just yet. Here's a snapshot from a 4K test broadcast on Eurobird 1 (28.5°E) - 4K UHDTV (3840 × 2160) (S2, QPSK, AVC) http://hcd-1.imgbox.com/adtKNFeI.jpg?st=00urOcnHtfbEKKBBMYSX3A&e=1348870438

I would love for that to be true, but it ain't and "a 3D game today" can not look significantly better than a 2D one, we aren't there by a long shot. Take one with one of the largest budgets and amount of people working on it in the industry from just last year. This was a concept art for an area: This is what it turned into: In 2D or pre-rendered 3D (again making it 2D) game you don't have to sacrifice quality if you don't want to, you aren't held back by the game having to run on slow machines or max polycount and shader operations. You can literally take the concept art and put it or parts of it in the game, or take the very closest approximation of the 2D art rendered in 3D and mix it with parts of the concept or similar in Photoshop. As soon as 3D games start closely resembling their concept arts overall we will be there, but it is at least another 10 long years, and obviously a lot more expensive to craft such an environment if you can move the camera all around it and every little detail has to be just right. Also, how many 3D games actually add the physics and "dynamic" elements even today? You could do the same stuff scripted or with a certain amount of 3D objects placed within a 2D environment too. In fact "2D" games like some of the Ultimas and Ultima Online etc. had WAY more "dynamic" elements you could affect than any 3D games that come to mind nowadays.

Yeah, I don't get it either. It's like the world has turned retardo in the last two years, moaning about every little bit of skin or semblance of primary sexual characteristics. THIS is what's already considered "sexist" today? ****ing really? Also in regards to this, the US military is actually developing Xena-inspired body-armor for women, because they actually looked at some of them and discovered that they, indeed possess boobs and would feel more comfortable if that part of their anatomy wasn't disregarded entirely in some sort of desexualization-crusade: http://www.csmonitor...armor-for-women 　 What facts? There weren't many women back then in the position to wear armor, even less so to commission it. Most of the aristocrats back in the day ordered handcrafted armor specifically fitting their size and body physique, often trying to make them look more favorable from armorsmiths mainly in Germany/Austria, Spain and Italy. A large amount of the rest were simply mass-produced and wouldn't have paid any attention to that detail since there were near to no cases to be made.

For RP/customization sake I want to look like a dragon Please make me look like a dragon! Oh, or a vampire! I like vampires! No, if you put a cooking pot on your head, this should be reflected on your char.

That actually reminds me xD

I'd just like to point out again that this really shouldn't be "typical late middle-ages Europe - The RPG", but "Obisidian's Very Own Fantasy World - The RPG". A world where magic exists and people/fighters have to contend with it, a world with many beasties of differing sizes and threat ratio trying to kill humans and use them for food, a world in which "gods" apparently not only exist but could walk among the living and there are many varying other races to contend with too, a world in which flint-lock guns apparently exist and can be used against others, a world which doesn't even have to follow earths climate or natural/mineral areas exactly nor have similar technological advances... there could even be armors and weapons imbued by magic or similar which could alter the way they are used, a world in which everyone knows and believes that "souls" move on to another plane with the likelihood of rebirth and have seen it happen, so death doesn't quite have the finality it would carry otherwise. All of this and more should be kept in mind and considered when it comes to culture and gear, not trying to make it as close as possible to the "typical late middle-ages in Europe" with everything that would involve and people already discussing fighting styles...

I had much fun with the likes of Durlag's Tower or Watcher's Keep provided it does indeed have a backstory and puzzles and is well designed/varied, more than "kill hundreds of enemies" like in some ARPGs e.g. Torchlight/Diablo/Titan Quest where you just kill skeletons in big underground catacombs for the sake of it. The faction thing where you maybe clear the first 2-3 levels and say dwarfs or whoever open up a base of operations there and give you quests and whatnot and may help you progress further down sounds like a good idea. No shame in making it gradually harder either so you can go do something else and return later during the game to conclude your skull-drilling expedition and fight towards the grand finale.

Who said anything about oversized swords and axes? Even within our world there are still a multitude of cultures and approaches, for instance there are tribes that take drugs in the belief that it gives them heightened senses and speed, they're going out hunting with 2m long blastpipes using frog poison in nothing but a **** sheath. There are people in mongolia hunting with the help of eagles mounted on donkeys and others in iceland and other parts of the world harpooning big whales from boats and bringing them to land, training their whole lives for that task alone. You practically have every possibility in the world to follow your imagination and create an all new fantasy world, and one of the very first things you come up with is a rather English-looking fellow, whose primary and only reason for standing out is that he is holding a whip in his shield hand and people are cheering because it's "realistic" or something. It's just somewhat disappointing is all. Planescape went the right way there with a rather creative selection of races, cults and different beings from different planes. xD

Also somewhat boring and rather conservative, he could be right out of one of these series dealing with the history of Robin Hood or the crusades. I'm hoping that they don't just replicate Middle-Age Europe because it's "believable", but think about design, orders etc. in THEIR fantasy world. Ye' olde getup with chainmail, leather armor and shield might be good for fighting against other human or similar attackers but might even prove somewhat useless against all sorts of monsters with claws, teeth and sizes smaller or larger than that of a normal human.

I hope you're thinking about the future this time around and keep higher-res assets and the likes safe for some re-release or optionally render at higher resolutions to start with and have the option in the game, so people on their 4K displays (3840 x 2160) and higher can still play the games the same way 10 years from now xD Apple's already getting close with their "Retina Displays". It's always a lot easier to scale something down, than trying to add detail where there is none

It's rather funny how people are talking about witch trials and burnings in past tense as they wouldn't still be happening *today* widespread in several countries throughout Africa: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/books/how_modern_day_witch_trials_are_LgfeNAhgpuUSeUNyh9IG2K There are even rather graphic videos of this still happening in Kenya, Ghana and similar places as far back as 2011. It's always hit me as rather ironic when people rather get outraged over what they deem "objectification" and treatment of video game or movie characters and similar and let modern feminism fall into ill repute with borderline insane sounding arguments regarding perceived gender inequality on LEGOs and pure bickering over trivial matters, when there is still so much actual work to be done around the world.

Baldur's Gate Trilogy/Planescape/Icewind Dale and even Fallout still look great to date with High Res Patches: Compare those with some of the isometric/top-down 3D-based games coming out later with low-poly characters and backgrounds, which look absolutely horrible today. One thing they should do is keep that background art and assets safe under lock and key if produced at higher resolution, even if they decide for 1080p withing the game. 10 years from now it may just well be in demand for a rerelease in regards to 4K/8K screens. The artists really have the chance to create some great, timeless art here

The dwarfs did it. Anyway yes, I had much fun with the likes of Durlag's Tower or Watcher's Keep provided it does indeed have a backstory and puzzles and is well designed/varied, more than "kill hundreds of enemies" like in some ARPGs e.g. Torchlight/Diablo/Titan Quest where you just kill skeletons in big underground catacombs for the sake of it. The faction thing where you maybe clear the first 2-3 levels and say dwarfs or whoever open up a base of operations there and give you quests and whatnot and may help you progress further down sounds like a good idea. No shame in making it gradually harder either so you can go do something else and return later during the game to conclude your skull-drilling expedition and fight towards the grand finale.

No, just no.

I prefer the Gothic/Risen way of doing it e.g. not at all, in Baldur's Gate the happiest moment was finding the Bag of Holding and "player.modav carryweight" is probably the most useful console command in Bethesda games. It's always somehow seemed kind of stupid if there is some urgent pressing concern or you're in the middle of a dungeon and suddenly have to start folding your underwear.

Because I'm not going to be using Windows 8 any time soon.

If they were smart, they wouldn't be working for EA, lke Brent Knowles, Trent Oster, Drew Karpyshyn or these guys: http://www.indiegame...he-banner-saga/ http://www.escapistm...are-Hello-Indie There's no future to be had there, only layoffs.

Yes, I want legendary and talented Jennifer Hepler to design romances!

Yeah, there's definitely a gap in the physical tiers, a lot of people would likely pay a lot more than $20 if there wasn't. Wasteland 2 had a big box + manual + cloth map and a lot of digital goodies like soundtrack, novella etc. at the $50 tier ($65) and a lot of people went for that. There was already a collector's edition at $100 ($115) with miniature, badge and it went on from there. On Project Eternity $65 ($80) is just a boxed version of the game with a manual, and the way it sounds e.g. not "LARGE BOXED COPY OF WASTELAND 2" in capitals does sound a lot like just a DVD case with a manual. The next worthwhile physical tier afterwards is already at $140 ($165) with the cloth map and patch.

Posting in an Epic thread

Why'd you suddenly disappear from RPGBoard btw.?