TSBasilisk

You're thinking of the Paper-Bag Mask option for Miranda; that's $50.

$25 option to see her face.

Okay, seriously, this is not a PC-vs-Console thread; can we please just focus on the actual topic? None of you are going to win this; nobody EVER wins this argument. It's taken up nearly half the posts in this thread; if you really want to debate it, just make a thread for it. --- http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/01/31/well-looks-like-thats-it-for-medal-of-honor-then/ You can stick a fork in Medal of Honor; it's done. Yahtzee will probably be relieved there's one less GargleSpunkWeeWee series for him to play.

VIDEA GAME NEWS!!! http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/01/30/microsoft-surface-pro-storage/ Microsoft, you garnered so much interest with your PC tablet idea... then this... two-thirds of the drive for an OS? $900 for one version, even without the keyboard? http://www.polygon.com/2013/1/30/3933344/ride-to-hell-still-in-development So apparently Ride to Hell may not be dead, but may need the punny name "Ride to Development Hell". Not quite sure what to think of the Dead Island people apparently making the next Saint's Row...

I think there are two types of stretch goals, as seen in Cryamore. The first is game quality stretch goals - voice acting, porting, and a Japanese version for Cryamore. They're not critical features, but they enhance the quality. As the product can be released without them, a smart budget sidelines them in considering the original pitch amount. The second type is the content, or DLC, stretch goal - new dungeons and weapons for Cryamore. Often the value to reach them is more than it will likely cost to implement, but it's become kind of standard I think to have those little perks to keep people from thinking "Wow, we haven't hit a milestone in a long time".

Some of it I suspect is due to the ingrained belief that a PC port will flop, either due to disinterest or piracy. According to some developers we are both thieves and have incredibly obtuse tastes... which doesn't stop us from wanting to steal their not-obtuse games. As such, they invest enough resources for a port, but not enough that it would represent a major loss in the event of a flop. Of course, it's a vicious cycle. PC gamers don't buy a ****ty port because it's ****ty, so the developer claims they can't make money off PC ports, so they don't make them at all. ANYWAY, VIDEA GAME NEWS! http://www.polygon.com/2013/1/30/3932876/research-playing-first-person-shooters-improves-learning-abilities-cognitive-function So apparently there is now scientific proof that Portal and Quantum Conundrum are good for you!

Apparently Microsoft and EA both topped the charts for best places for LGBT employees last year. Take from that what you will.

Yeah, when they were aping Starflight's big Reveal. Since it was left hanging, it's open for use in the new games as the driving question; enough to link the two iterations without one overshadowing the other.

They may want to move away from the military overtones that surrounded the first three games as a Spectre and soldier, as well as the constant presence of superiors expecting results. Wing Commander: Privateer made a fairly convincing departure from the mainline series, for example, while maintaining the space combat aspect. One aspect might be allowing you more control over your ship in the new iteration. The first three games were strictly military so you had the one ship, but a more free-lance game would allow you to choose different ships for different advantages.

"There is one thing we are absolutely sure of--there will be no more Shepard, and the trilogy is over... So first, we don’t want to make 'Shepard 2,' or Mass Effect 4 with like, 'oh there’s no more Shepard but you’re a soldier in the universe.' So this will be a very, very different context for sure, and nothing has been decided on the rest." - Fabrice Condominas, BioWare Montreal producer So the setting will remain the same, but it sounds like they're going to do their best to set it apart from the trilogy so you don't get overshadowed by the Shep. Other than that, looks like nothing concrete atm. I almost think they purposefully left at least one loose end hanging for a new series: Why is Haestrom's sun aging so fast? With the Reaper invasion it took a backseat to other matters, but what if it starts happening elsewhere?

They may just be reporting the remake exists. The Dark Eye, which Realms is based on, is bigger than D&D in Germany. Realms was the state-side introduction of the ruleset and world; a relaunch would be noteworthy.

Except souls are reincarnated, so doing that would amount to eternally enslaving a living being. I don't think many would look kindly on that, gods especially; you're on their turf at that point.

This feat I can see being available at the start and gained via in-game actions. Bounties are likely still being placed on outlaws, so you can make money off them, but without knowing there's a bounty how do you know what body parts to collect from whom as proof? You need to know about the bounty somehow to get the money; wanted posters are one way and this is another. Bounty Hunter Acquired at game start or by collecting five bounties - Guards, military members, and informants gain a "Bounty" conversation topic and will recall one active bounty in the region You could also unlock extra tiers by collecting more bounties, stacking the following bonuses. - Improves relationship with all law enforcement bodies - Grants Intimidating and Opportunist points to reputation (since OE wants your reputation to reflect your behavior; bounty hunters can be scary) As a starting Feat, this would allow easier access to bounty hunting as a start-of-game revenue/XP source.

The problem with magitek in this setting is that the majority of magic here is powered by the soul itself. As such, I think creating enchanted items, especially large-scale machinery, would be incredibly difficult. If they haven't undergone an industrial revolution-type situation, creating any type of advanced machinery will be a major undertaking due to lack of raw material and man-hours required. Much like Rose, I'm imagining a world where the possibilities exist, but nobody has yet bridged the gap to realizing them meaningfully.

I think technically Shepard would be considered on detached duty while carrying out Spectre duties; while still active in the Alliance military, he's been reassigned to serve under the Council. The same likely holds true for any Alliance military serving with him, and also extends to his ship. Despite this, he still retains his rank and some obligation to the Alliance, which with his new status is met by carrying out special ops. When Shepard was declared KIA at the start of 2, he was effectively removed from the Alliance roster and thus their chain of command; as such he couldn't be charged with dereliction of duty. He also doesn't have any authority other than what he can possibly get by being reinstated as a Spectre.

The arbitrary skeptic. Think the Turian councillor from ME, who dismisses pretty much every claim you make because it fails to fit his worldview. If we're going to be in a game where souls, gods, dwarves, elves, ancient curses, etc. are all real, I don't want to deal with some idiot who doesn't want to believe this slightly-more-extraordinary thing is possible.

True, it is a bit on the cynical side. They may have just set this amount because this is what they need to finish overall production. Hopefully their backup plan was to use any revenue from sales to polish release content updates. It kind of feels like they half-expected to reach the goal quickly, and planned out stretch goals in advance.

Cryamore (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/robaato/cryamore-a-true-first-class-take-on-the-action-rpg?ref=category) A new IP that's aiming to be an ode toward old-school classics like Zelda, Metroid, Megaman, etc. The most impressive thing about this project is that it's managed to nearly reach its target of $60,000 in only three days. They have, however, stated this will mainly allow a bare-bones release; they're hoping to keep up the momentum to allow them to add non-critical features.

The Portal prelude mode used synthesized voices, I think, and they sounded pretty life-like, but the inflections were too flat and there wasn't any emotion to them. It was obviously synthesized, which ruined the intended immersion.

As I understand it, while Relic developed the games it was Vivendi that owned the actual IP. THQ acquired Relic and Homeworld separately, meaning they are not a package deal. Homeworld and other inactive IPs will be part of another auction. THQ is large enough that it's going to take more than two auctions to finish the gutting the bankruptcy process.

Under THQ, the release was set for April with many retailers claiming March. With Ubisoft moving in, they've set it "calendar year 2013" for the time being. Any delay will likely be due to the transition of rights, correction of any issues with the new publisher, and Ubi making room in their publishing docket. Hopefully any issues will be cleared up quickly and a revised release date will be set soon after.

If the campaign doesn't reach its target, they still get the money; and there's no legal obligation to refund anybody who donates if their attempt fails. Besides, I'm more than a little certain that you'd need a pretty solid studio to develop an actual Homeworld game; a mobile-app developer? Yeah...

The arrangements involving licensed games can be confusing and are generally kept under wraps. In this case, SPS directly approached Obsidian to act as developers for the game. THQ acted as the publisher and was granted the license for using the IP. That license, and the associated published rights, were what went up for auction. FOR THOSE STILL WORRIED: In a recent article I see mention that several companies that had voiced objections to the auction, including SPS, have stated their objections were resolved. http://www.polygon.com/2013/1/23/3907840/thq-bankruptcy-vigil-bids "Lawyers for companies like 505 Games, South Park Digital Studios, Viacom, Crytek, Games Workshop, Yuke's, and others — all companies that had business relationships with THQ — were either present in person or on a conference call to acknowledge the resolution of their objections. Many will carry over to new relationships; for example, Games Workshop will "work in good faith" with Sega — the new owner of Relic, the studio that created titles based on its intellectual property — in order to satisfy its objections to the sale." My legalese isn't too good, but it looks like SPS may be agreeing to let the sale go through and will hash out details with Ubi.

Hm, thought they were backing down a bit on DRM after September...

Look on the bright side; considering the company is bankrupt and has just been gutted and sold to the highest bidders, they probably don't have the resources for a significant legal battle. Hopefully it'll come down to SPS dropping the fees in exchange for having a say in whoever gets the license.