Elerond

Next Battlefield comes even more spectacular looking graphics than BF3, but was it waste of effort or will it pay back in the end. Any guesses? http://www.battlefield.com/battlefield-4/videos/single-player-gameplay

Vaga Animas (Wandering Souls)

As long they don't paint objects that should have depth they don't will not have any problems, but painting on existing surfaces is not problem. Depth information is needed for mapping, which that lightning algorithm knows how much light it should be on any given pixel. Nice video that shows some of technics that obsidian probably uses to make that lightning.

Publisher changed to Ubisoft, as THQ filled bankruptcy. Length is question mark.

Dynamic shadows from the scenery is almost certainly not going to be implemented ... not unless the environment artists/programmers can come up with some serious code-fu. They plan to go with static shadows as they will look better and don't add specs requirements. But technically dynamic shadows would be possible to implement, but they don't fit in obsidian's artistic vision or their goal to aim to as wide range of machines as possible without losing their artistic vision. Or that is my understanding why they plan to go with static shadows.

Sure we can because they do. In the end it's up to consumer to say that graphics are good enough and force development onto other areas. It just so happen they never say that and given industry driven by release sales graphics have become absolutely vital. How? Not buy games with better graphics? Buy games with weaker graphics? Buy games with better gameplay? I wonder if Tomb Raider failed because it was expensive to make or because the previous 3 releases were really mediocre games (ok, 2 of them were, Anniversary was offensively bad)? Eidos had positioned the game for a mainstream audience, but that audience is already pampered by the competition, when it comes to graphics and it wasn't expected to offer anything significantly different gameplay wise. If you have two games with similar gameplay in every way and same price but other has better graphics, which one you buy? Or do you buy both? If the gameplay sucks, I buy none, otherwise probably both. It's a simplified equation though, not a realistic one. Usually other factors play a role too, like DRM, time investment, post sales support (patches, not DLC), and so forth, but if put in some kind of isolation where only gameplay and visuals were a factor, I would go for gameplay I like. I agree that buy both is only option if you want give message that you support gameplay thst you feel is good. And I agree also that other factor probably would make this gesture much harder to implement in real life.

Sure we can because they do. In the end it's up to consumer to say that graphics are good enough and force development onto other areas. It just so happen they never say that and given industry driven by release sales graphics have become absolutely vital. How? Not buy games with better graphics? Buy games with weaker graphics? Buy games with better gameplay? I wonder if Tomb Raider failed because it was expensive to make or because the previous 3 releases were really mediocre games (ok, 2 of them were, Anniversary was offensively bad)? Eidos had positioned the game for a mainstream audience, but that audience is already pampered by the competition, when it comes to graphics and it wasn't expected to offer anything significantly different gameplay wise. If you have two games with similar gameplay in every way and same price but other has better graphics, which one you buy? Or do you buy both?

I am pretty sure that one of the pet choices is cat, you only need to follow Josh in Twitter to know why

Sure we can because they do. In the end it's up to consumer to say that graphics are good enough and force development onto other areas. It just so happen they never say that and given industry driven by release sales graphics have become absolutely vital. How? Not buy games with better graphics? Buy games with weaker graphics? How about just paying much less attention to it? Graphics are almost the whole reason why Nintendo has to go for casual players.Hardcore gamers are still laughing about how weak GPUs Wii and WiiU have. But how you show that you pay less attention to graphics? Leave games with good graphics in shelves? As otherwise companies try to sell you products that look like those that you previously bought or better, as it is easy to sell them. 'Hardcore' gamers laugh also how weak GPUs XO, PS3 and even PS4 have. But those aren't really hardcore gamers but gamers that like technically good graphics (that usually also need to look cool too). So just those players that buy graphic focused games and make noise about them in their social circles. So how you make these guys not to be intrested how good games look or even say that they look good enough, when some company make much better looking game (and there will probably always be someone who does so)?

Sure we can because they do. In the end it's up to consumer to say that graphics are good enough and force development onto other areas. It just so happen they never say that and given industry driven by release sales graphics have become absolutely vital. How? Not buy games with better graphics? Buy games with weaker graphics? Someone will always try to make games with better graphics, at least for that reason only that it easy to say when technology and aesthetics for game is such level that it is easy to market. But as we know good graphics don't equal good game (or movie or even piece of art), but there will always be some one who tries as it easy road to take if you have money. Because games, movies and art with out cool and easilly marketed graphics are much harder to sell, as it is difficult to show people gameplay, story, ability rise feelings, etc. things in marketing material that is easy to distribute and intresting enough people, that don't actively seek information about product, to look and interest them. But there is those who try to stand out, like for example Nintendo success for sort time move marketing from how games look to how games are played, but was marked as 'casual' platform maker because of that and have now lost it's momentum and strugle to get it products sold.

So it sounds like those types of things (at least for now) are scripted. They said this also their gameplay demo video.

http://www.shadowrun.com/forums/discussion/25197/shadowrun-returns-faq-unofficial/p1

@Spiritofpower they have told as in updates that there will not be any item use restrictions for classes and that all classes can learn all skills, but classes will differentiate from each other how they can access their soul power, and this accessing reflect their beliefs, upbringing, schooling and etc. things. Some classes have bonuses in some skill and as other classes again have bonuses in different skill, which also reflects how these character have come to be. And game will also have variety of different kinds of equipment and they try make rulesystem such that there is also incentive to use other armors than heaviest that you can find (as it is in IE and other D&D CRPGs usually).

I thought these nice books to children fit quite nicely under this topic as they present two tropes that are aimed to different genders. And these t-shirts for children have quite similar theme Pictures are from these articles http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/11/sexist-avengers-t-shirts-_n_3063942.html?utm_hp_ref=tw http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/07/how-to-be-gorgeous-kids-book_n_2641073.html

In world where bullets go through every magical defence that there are, which is reason why even wizard have started to use plate armors, I think that your description is not entirely accurate Maybe low level mages and novices.....at mid to higher levels a bullet "getting through" would likely amount to slightly less than "hahaha, that tickles!!!"....at insane difficulties any kind of protection will probably be a waste of time since the toughest protection ever will likely be almost as strong as wet tissue paper. That would be very bad game mechanical design that is even against world's lore. Highest difficulties should make player need all the gear and tactical skill that s/he can muster, because these things is what makes tactical combat intresting and fun.

In world where bullets go through every magical defence that there are, which is reason why even wizard have started to use plate armors, I think that your description is not entirely accurate

In my opinion aesthetics style which they use in these concepts make female and male character look different from each other, as armor is fitted to fit character's build and they don't need any special aesthetics to make that difference for more noticeable. And for to me this pragmatic aesthetic style what they use in these concepts is better than any what I have seen typical fantasy games. And what comes to seeing character role from his or her gear. As they aim to make it possible build any class to any role in combat it is, so you should put such gear on your character that s/he can most effectively fill that role which you have choosen for him or her. And when speaking about full plates, they should be rare and nearly unique pieces of art and armor, which cost so much that player can acguire at most one or two of them with money and other ones should be rewards of most difficult side quests. And so when your character wears one you will recognize him or her by quick glance always.

True. I just can't say with certainty that there isn't some vector program/graphics-engine-component that someone designed specifically to take individual 2D components and create a shadow layer-copy of them, mathematically skewing them for various perspective angles, etc. Or some kind of mask over the 2D image, etc., and everything not under it gets shadowed. *shrug* Even then, if anything like that existed and made the process much more efficient/easier, it might still be not worth the resources. I mean, how the hell did they raise and lower water, fluidly (pun completely intended), on a 2D image? It seems like the whole "you'd need a completely different shadow for every single stage of sun/light placement" doesn't necessarily have to be that complex. Here is line of sight demo, which uses vectors to map walls, but if one with little motivation could quite easilly conver it to light source and shadow casting. http://jsfiddle.net/bornander/vUZvz/

Most important factor in RPGs is how control of things is given to player, more player can roleplay better roleplaying game it is. With roleplaying I mean how much player can control what character does in the game, how character reacts happenings in world, how character solves problems and puzzles, what character does in fight, where character goes and why and etc. So great rpgs are always compination of things in questionary, but any of this things don't make game as RPG, which is why focusing one of these things or multiple these things don't make rpg, as RPG is game where these things make it possbile for player to roleplay his/her character and mechanics are there only to give player tools to do so. And when those mechanics give player ability to play such character they want then game is great rpg at least for that character.

Yoy haven't missed anything, they haven't yet sent questionares for backers.

Document worth to watch, about english armours and especially full plates http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HO-pX9PrzSI

And with adamantium weapons you have quite killing machines on your hand, which can challenge even demi-god level heroes.

When speaking about women using men sized breast plates it should be remembered that average men has larger chest size than average women, so women problem with men's armor is not that they don't fit in but that armor is too large to use and move comfortably. For example comparison in shirt sizes http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_do_you_convert_men's_shirt_size_to_women's_size

In my experience easiest strategy to win in MoM was to make custom wizard with all point put in life and take Invunerability spell, which make unit/hero immune to non-magical weapons, which make it very easy to conquer all neutral cities near you with your spearman and swordman unit that you get in start and this gives you quite good ability to expand more and more and then conquer both dimensions quite easilly, even in highest difficulty levels where computer gets humongous starting bonuses. Of course magical creatures are still problem but you usually can evade them until you got 8-10 cities and troops that can destroy them easilly.

Idea was that if we take assumption that armors will be fitted to women we would only see smaller armors from visual stand point and other changes are such that onlooker can't see them, such as different paddings and etc. As they did now even 15th and 16th century how to make under garments and clothes to fit women where men.