Agelastos

I'm experiencing the same bug, and I just can't bring myself to disable achievements (I'm a compulsive completionist). Please, fix this bug! Sorry for necroing an old thread. It won't happen again.

Can't say that I have, no. In fact, I've never even heard about a charity vow of silence before. But I have spent time in Norrland (Northern Sweden), which is kind of like swearing a vow of silence since people up there are about as laconic as they come. In certain parts, they don't even use words to express agreement. They just inhale audibly through the mouth. I guess "yes" is a bit too long-winded for them.

I see your point. But I think being able to partake in all the childish name-calling would help me feel like I was actually part of the group, and of the South Park universe. I want to form an actual relationship with the guys. Bond with some, insult and/or bully others. That would make the game a lot more enjoyable to me, and probably to many others as well. But, like I said, I'll most likely enjoy the game either way. It's not a huge deal. But a definite answer from one of the devs would still be appreciated. If there is no dialogue system, I hope the other kids will hang a lampshade on the fact that the new kid never speaks. It doesn't have to be a running gag or anything, but it would be nice if they at least commented on it once or twice.

I already knew that The New Kid, a.k.a. "Sir Douchebag", would be a silent protagonist. However, I always took that to mean that, while the player character wouldn't have a VA, there would still be some kind of dialogue system - like in other Obsidian games. But, after watching the gameplay trailer, I'm not so sure anymore... To me, RPGs are all about interactive dialogue and moral choices. That's the reason I've never really liked jRPGs (okay, that's not completely true - I used to love them back in the mid-'90s, but that was a long time ago). I knew this game would have FF-esque combat when I pre-ordered it, but I also knew there would be character customization and that it was being developed by Obsidian, so I assumed it would be more "western" in terms of dialogue and decision making. Was I wrong? As a fan of both South Park and Obsidian Entertainment, I'm sure I'll enjoy the game no matter what, but I would still like to know: will there be any kind of (interactive) dialogue system?

It's not? Hm. Pennalism is a form of institutional hazing or bullying which occurs in some academic milieus. The older/stronger students bully the younger/weaker students in order to "help" them by making them "stronger" and "preparing them for life". By having extracurricular academic clubs and athletic teams right there in school, you create an (often anti-intellectual) intergroup hierarchy where the strong and the "cool" usually reign supreme while the physically weak and/or "nerdy"/socially awkward (and people with interests associated with "nerdiness") become the subject of ridicule and bullying. And since most school shooters seem to be academically gifted but socially and emotionally challenged...

Gun control laws help, but they only treat the symptoms, not the disease. Want to cure the disease? Then do something about the near-pennalistic social hierarchies in your high schools, the fear mongering of your news media, and your huge wealth disparity.

A wide variety of monsters is not necessarily a good thing. Not if it's just for the sake of "diversity". I don't want a bunch of weird creatures that are just there, without any explanation as to what they really are, where they came from, how they fit into the food chain, etc. They have to make sense in the context of the setting. I won't mind if the list of monsters is short, as long as they are well-fleshed out (and preferably make some kind of evolutionary sense - i.e. no mimics, flumphs or roving maulers). Also, I hope there won't be monsters around every corner. Too much supernatural stuff just ruins the sense of wonder and makes the fantastic mundane. There's a ton of real-world animals they can use. And since P.E. is going to be an old-school isometric game, I'm sure there will be a lot of carefully planned hand-crafted encounters. So even if there were nothing but human(oid) enemies, combat could still be plenty diverse and exciting.

He's supposed to be a Rashemi berserker, but since there was no Barbarian or Berserker class in BG1 they made him a Ranger instead (closest class available) and gave him a negative Wisdom score so that he couldn't cast any spells. They added the Barbarian class, the Berserker specialization, and the Rage ability in BG2. Instead of changing his class and risking to piss off the fans they decided to keep him a Ranger and just give him the Rage ability instead. The reason he uses a greatsword and has a Chaotic alignment is to make it more obvious that he is indeed a Rashemi berserker and not just some Ranger. All Rashemi berserkers are sworn to serve and obey the hathrans (Rashemi witches), despite the fact that most of them are Chaotic and NONE of them are Lawful. It's all part of FR lore. Great post, but it seems like something is... missing. From the end, specifically. I think it could use a little bit more... I... what?!

It's neither. Lamellar is pretty much scale armor, only the scales interlock with eachother instead of being attached to a layer of cloth or leather. And a gambeson is a padded cloth jacket (they look nothing like that). The armor in the picture is just some kind of leather cuirass.

It's your choice evolve or be extinct. The kind of forced evolution proposed by most transhumanists would not allow you to choose for yourself. It's all about liberal eugenics: selective breeding and embryonic genetic engineering - not adults deliberately exposing themselves to gamma radiation like in some bad superhero origin story. Or were you talking about biomechatronic prosthetics, perhaps? Or nanobots? That's not evolution.

Soule's rendition of Nobuo Uematsu's Terra from Final Fantasy III (or VI, I guess it's called now) is just... sublime. Haven't heard anything by Bell, AFAIK, but I'm sure he's good too. Was kind of hoping for Michael Hoenig, though.

I was half-expecting to find something to be displeased with, but everything sounded awesome. Every change is in the right direction IMO (at least on paper).

He's supposed to be a Rashemi berserker, but since there was no Barbarian or Berserker class in BG1 they made him a Ranger instead (closest class available) and gave him a negative Wisdom score so that he couldn't cast any spells. They added the Barbarian class, the Berserker specialization, and the Rage ability in BG2. Instead of changing his class and risking to piss off the fans they decided to keep him a Ranger and just give him the Rage ability instead. The reason he uses a greatsword and has a Chaotic alignment is to make it more obvious that he is indeed a Rashemi berserker and not just some Ranger. All Rashemi berserkers are sworn to serve and obey the hathrans (Rashemi witches), despite the fact that most of them are Chaotic and NONE of them are Lawful. It's all part of FR lore.

Oh, math is just the Devil's mad libs. Who needs math and scientific facts when they've seen the blinding light of "truth" that is the Father?

I wasn't arguing for or against the inclusion of monks. I was merely pointing out that wizards DID exist, regardless of whether magic (as in actual, functional magic - like what we'll have in P.E.) did or did not exist. Even in a medieval (or pseudo-medieval fantasy) setting completely devoid of functional magic, there should still be witches and wizards. It would be "unrealistic" otherwise.

Wizards ARE based in reality. Does functional magic exist? Probably not. Did wizards exist? Definitely! It doesn't matter whether magic is real or not, because people thought that it was - and some still do. There were practitioners of High Magick (i.e. learned magic such as: Ritual Magic like theurgy and goetia, Natural Magic like alchemy and astrology, etc.) at pretty much every royal court in Europe up until the Age of Enlightenment. High Magick was usually not considered maleficium (harmful magic or "witchcraft"), and even if Inquisitor General Nicholas Eymerich, in his Directorium Inquisitorum, wrote that all forms of sorcery were to be considered heresy (because he thought that all magicians had to enter into a pact with the devil or a demon in order to receive their magical powers [the fact that a lot court wizards claimed to be able to summon angels and demons didn't exactly help]), the Inquisition didn't pay much mind to the (usually male) court wizards - at least in the beginning. No, maleficium was the weapon of the poor and unwashed masses - of hedge witches and other rabble - who (despite what most postcolonial feminist scholars would want you to believe) actually DID try to put hexes on their neighbors. A white (as in good) witch was not considered a maleficar and would only be harassed by the Inquisition if falsely accused of practicing maleficium.

Sergei Sinyakin "Monk at the edge of the earth" Сергея Синякина «Монах на краю Земли» (1999) Based on the 1934 Soviet balloon "Osoaviakhim-1", said to have reached a record height of 22,000 m, then having an accident with all crew dead... I didn't mean the edge of the atmosphere. If the world is in fact flat, like a disc(?), then is it possible to reach the edge by... boat, for instance? If it is, then what would you see there?

So, is it possible to reach the edge? What's beyond the edge? Or is the earth an infinite plane?

I don't know. Not a big comic book fan (read a few published by Dark Horse and Vertigo when I was younger, but that's pretty much it). I guess a Spider-Man Action-RPG in which you get to create your own original character. It would still be set in NY, you'd still get to fight against Spidey's usual nemeses, and he could still be present as an important NPC - maybe even join you for certain missions.

Okay! Sorry! That was rude of me. So, the slope of the earth that you see - with your own eyes - when you fly in an airplane, or when you're at the top of a tall mountain... that's all just an optical illusion?

Fellthvian, I applaude you! You're the best troll I've seen in years.

I was trying to avoid anti-Semitic posters. What's to interpret? Most caricatures exaggerate the subject's most prominent facial features. That one pokes fun at the Semitic nose.

East Germany (little Siberia) trained v. rigorously for invasion and counter invasion scenarios. This needs more Nazi propaganda posters, but they mostly depict Jews so they're not art

You don't understand difference between art and propaganda. This is art This is propaganda In other words: It's only propaganda if it's in German. Good to know.

I'm thinking that it'll be just the opposite. Anakites were simply large humans, though very impressive specimens. The planetouched of Planescape have a bit more panache and are suitably "other" in appearance to make a strong first impression upon videogame players. That's exactly what I don't like. They (at least the Tieflings) are too different. Reminds me of how people complained that the Qunari looked "just like bigger humans" in DA:O. Really? They were giant, grey/black-skinned, white-haired, red-eyed bodybuilders with leaf-shaped ears. Didn't look like any humans I've ever seen. So what did Bioware do to further distinguish them from humans? They added horns and pretended like they were supposed to have had horns from the very beginning. And pretty much every damn RPG has done the same thing with their elves. Made them shorter and/or thinner than humans, made their ears larger and more pointy than they were originally described to be, made them androgynous... even given them weird skin and/or hair colors. And then we have the orcs. Green skin. Huge tusks. *shudder* Need I say more? So what if you can't tell the difference a mile away? As long as there's some kind of giveaway once you get up close... The differences (between demi-humans, that is) should be subtle IMO, lest they start looking like caricatures.