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I do think the "mainstream" or "AAA" RPGs are mutating into something else entirely, but I do think that there is hope with kickstarter. I would argue that the main things AAA titles tend to feature(extremely detailed graphics, long cinematics, and lots of voice acting) are the things that matter least to most fans of RPGs. The thing that makes an RPG a RPG is the ability to roleplay a character consistently, which does not benefit from(and in the case of voiced PC suffers from) what most AAA titles have to offer. So what most of us would call a great RPG would not really benefit from the requirements for a AAA game, and don't really need the 20 million + budget. Kickstarter comes in to play by allowing developers to crowd source directly from their customers(essentially a pre-order in most cases) to create the game the fans want. This means we can have the great RPGs without having to sit through hours of cinematics, see zots thrown at making environments pretty rather than content rich, or having less dialogue available because all lines have to be voiced. We have a real successor to Fallout with Wasteland 2, a great RPG in Shadowrun Returns, Obsidian's Project Eternity is almost certain to be excellent, and others to scratch our RPG itch that AAA publishers seem hesitant to touch thanks to the opportunity provided by kickstarter. To answer the OP's question: I think that it is Western Publishers who believe that the traditional-RPG market is not worth pursuing, not necessarily Western Developers.

I'm curious how the community in general will be playing PE.

I think that sexism, racism, jingoism, bigotry, should exist. I also think that truly horrible thing should occur like rape, massacre, and incredibly cruel torture. Why? Because of realism. Not realism in the sense of having things be exactly like they are in real life, but realistic behaviors and motives. Take bandits for example. In quite a few games they are reduced to bad people who do bad things, even though those bad things are rarely shown or even discussed. I would love to see a band of racist and/or jingoistic bandits who go around raping and pillaging towns, because that is what bandits would do.

I saw that, but I already have NWN from GOG and I think 40 is a bit steep. If NWN is on GOG, hopefully NWN2 will show up soon (IIRC it is one of the highest voted on the wishlist)or get back on Steam.

I thought the review was very balanced. The major flaw it stated(bugs) is something that has been widely reported in BGEE. Whether this is because of Overhaul/Beamdog laziness, or just something that happens when a game is release(almost every modern game released now has some pretty horrible bugs in my experience) will be determined when a patch is released. I would advise anyone who has not yet downloaded BGEE to wait about a month until a few patches have been released to correct the worst of the bugs.

Speaking of NWN2, has there been any news when it will be available for download again? It is probably the best game(counting MotB expansion) I've ever played, but I'm afraid I lost my hardcopy when I moved.

Sadly that is true.

Those cries were warranted. They should have never abandoned TB combat. Especially for a damn D&D game. Best thing they ever did. I agree. I love D&D, but honestly it doesn't make a good cRPG. There are just too many rules you have to break(even in TB) where it ends up that it is better to just create your own ruleset. RTwP did do this somewhat, but still ended up keeping rules that don't really function well outside of PnP.

I hope that PE is extremely light on voice acting. It doesn't add any actual content to the game, so I think that it is pointless.

Mark Waid.

I'm neutral on the complex character creation with hidden values that determine NPC reaction, but I love the idea that the PC has "Public Perception of Alignment" and "Actual Alignment". The one thing I would try to do is make sure that "Actual Alignment" is not no restrictive, "Lawful Good" can mean wildly different things after all.

I am not going to be anyone in the game. The PC will be a zealous Paladin who is more interested in smiting the foes of his order and slaying multitudes of creatures than curing the ill and protecting people(offense over defense essentially). He will be over-confident, stubborn, and highly opinionated, but not evil or cruel.

The locations visited are close to the inn. Adventurers would need to rest after exerting themselves. Both are actually believable. The inn-keeper is spreading stories to get adventurers to come in the general vicinity of his/her inn, I think if it is presented as something that got out of hand for the inn-keeper(like the inn is just too busy) would make it even better. A snake-oil salesman would also be quite funny, especially if his potions actually ended up working(unbeknownst to said salesman).

That's what they may want you to think, but quite a different story is told if you examine the facts... Look at MOTB- Myrkul is clearly a stand in for Capitalist Conformity, cursing Akachi for daring to oppose his free market laissez-faire theology where you have freedom, but only in the choice of which Invisible Hand of the Pantheon to worship; consume their divine product- or as an allusion to Pink Floyd's seminal anti capitalist epic become "just another brick in the wall", literally. You really think it's coincidence that the curse involves you consuming souls, forcing you to consume more in a never ending cycle where more and more consumption is needed just to stand still? And that the only sensible strategy is to battle your foul, capitalistic impulses? You even get to put that foul avatar of capitalism, Myrkul, to rest, if you want, or show him the logical end point of his appalling ideology- hardly the act of a tame American Imperialist Capitalist Running Dog company, quite the reverse in fact. Of course, you can go the other way and embrace 'capitalism', consuming more and more, but what do you get in the end? A few meaningless baubles to give you the illusion of benefit, and an ally of extreme unreliability and danger. That's not all though: Alpha Protocol has you battling the forces of capitalism overtly. Halbech; Halliburton-Bechtel. Coincidence? I think not. KOTOR 2... well, you get the picture. Clearly Obsidian is bravely battling the system from the inside. Seriously, they just had a Kickstarter, which works on a communal funding model. That's hardly the act of a "American Capitalist company .. spreading the lies of American Imperialism", now is it? I rest my case. Well played.

I'm still on the fence to be honest. I think I'm going to wait a while for fixes for and reviews of BGEE before I make my decision.

Then it looks like I will be checking out BGEE.

I endorse this idea. One of the things I disliked about NWN2 was how movement would interrupt the actions I had in the queue.

I wouldn't mind an aberration form of vampire, like some sort of hideous creature that feeds on a creature using tendrils or something, but the "standard" vampire is not something I want to see.

I would like a long quest to find an incredibly powerful weapon, only to find out it was simply a story made up by an inn keeper to drum up business. I'd work on a mod to add that content to the game if something similar is not included.

Kaiser roll(with butter spread on the inside and fried for about 1 minute) 2- 75% lean ground beef/25% chorizo patties Thick smoked bacon(not too crisp, but still firm) Texas Chili(not too spicy, but flavorful and meaty) Shredded Colby cheese Sliced Pepper Jack cheese(inbetween the patties) White or Yellow onion Now that is an amazing burger. Serve it with some fries and a nice stout.

I don't mind competent NPCs, but I would dislike an extreme power between PC and party-member NPCs. I don't think this is too much of a problem if there are points instead of rolls though. IIRC, someone said that PE is more likely to use points instead if rolls to determine attributes, as well as no rolling for HP per level.

LOL, russia today as a news source. Propoganda machine to bitch about the west and promote crazy ass libertarians. Anyway, there is a big difference between allowing free speech and endorsing National Socialism.

I think that it is impossible to role-play your own character in DA2, because DA2 railroads the PC internally constantly and you have no idea what they will say due to that damn wheel. The biggest fault any RPG can have us that it will not allow you to completely control the PC. Good luck in your video analysis anubite.

Is this game worth getting for someone that... Does not currently have access to BG Doesn't care about cinematics Does not want to sort through various mods for BG Will play in about a month so the major patches can be released

Dude, Marvel's Thor is a God.