Ganrich

I always wondered why these big billion dollar companies never had a handful of smaller teams to work with dated and smaller IPs, and make traditional low budget titles from their current IPs. For example, EA could have a 20 man team working on a low budget Ultima game for pc, or Bethesda could have a small team make a traditional turn-based fallout in between their big releases. I understand the fear of damaging their big selling IPs, but the floundering and forgotten IPs go unused. It would add stability to their cash flow instead of relying on a handful of AAA games to be blockbusters. I dunno. I guess there is a reason I'm not a CEO. Edit: I guess these days one could argue that these companies do this with their mobile divisions.

I'm pretty sure everyone knows you think that BG is better than PoE in every imaginable way. Do you post on the Baldurs Gate forums with the same level of dedication? Just curious. I'm pretty sure everyone knows that you vehemently disagree with Sensuki. I know when I peruse these posts I grow tired of you two bickering like an old married couple. Care to keep it consolidated to a single thread, and/or agree to disagree? As someone that enjoyed PoE immensely, I can say some of Sensuki's issues aren't unfounded. It is a taster's choice, and since this forum is dedicated to PoE (a game pitched as a spiritual successor to the IE games) comparisons to BG, IWD, and PST are expected. For better or worse.

This is a good thread.

Music and ambiance are amazing. Stepping off the boat at the beginning to the track Skeleton of a Town really sets an amazing mood. The story is pretty bog standard, but it is what it is. 3rd edition rules make it stand out from the other I.E. Games, and I see that as a plus. Not because I like 3rd more than 2nd, but because it makes IWD2 different, and that is good for me depending on my mood. I think all the infinity engine titles have pluses and minuses, but I still enjoy them all for different reasons. I always want to play the IWD games when it is snowing. So, I would go for it.

Richest country in the world, 20% of children in poverty, only just above Romania. [source] Bravo America. Indeed. To top it off. We are the country that, when the housing market crashed because of banks doing shadey stuff, our government gave the banks money to bail them out. Where they could have used that money to the pay the loans of people defaulting on their homes(because the banks doing shadey stuff), and not caused people to lose said homes. The banks would have been bailed out (they get the money for the homes) and those people wouldn't be homeless in one swoop. Slow clap for Murica.

I am going to try to play this at some point in the coming weeks. I backed it on kickstarter, but my time is limited because of work.

@Bartimaeus - yeah, I agree they could have said "Best 3D fallout" and it wouldn't be an issue. However, it wouldn't be as good a headline. Media being the media.

Isn't that nearly always the case when a game franchise goes from 2d to 3d, though? Do we do a best Metroid game and only include everything after Prime? Best Zelda game only includes ocarina and later. Best castlevania only includes post N64 castlevania games, and omits handheld games. You cannot claim to list the best game in a franchise and omit any title regardless of how different it is. Not saying I don't see your point, but I just don't think it holds water.

What a bunch of console peasants...Indeed. One would think that a gaming news site would have at least one PC gamer to try for a balanced conversation when discussing the strengths and weaknesses of consoles vs PC. Also, naming the best FO game while having not played 1 or 2 is like naming the best rock band of all time and not having listened to the Beatles, Zeppelin, Rolling Stones, etc. It shows how far IGN has fallen. Edit: I also consider Erik Kain a journalist. He is good at being balanced. Even when I disagree with him I still enjoy his articles.

To be fair, I'm pretty sure "every Link is a different one, they just happen to have the same name Because Reasons" is canon. Oh, you are definitely correct about Link. I still think that convincing a company to sequel a cult classic with a Female lead is easier than convincing a Japanese company to change the sex of a 30 year old character because of feminists in America want it.

The best way to go about this would be putting pressure on Ubisoft to finally make Beyond Good and Evil 2. It was a similar game to Zelda in a lot of ways. Changing a 30 year old character is stupid, and Nintendo already has a Female lead with Samus.

I can't find it, but on a Facebook post they responded to this question by saying that the intent is to have everyone back.

Yay!!! "Insert the breakfast pastry." "Contact Doctor Jemima."

Graham Han****'s Magicians of the Gods comes out here in the US this week. Whether, or not, you agree with his posits his books are always intriguing. This book is a sequel to his book Fingerprints of the Gods. Basically continuing on the premise of a lost chapter of human history prior to the Hitites, Sunerians, Babylonians, and Egyptians. However, taking new discoveries into consideration Gobekli Tepe, and others. Not to be confused with Chariots of the Gods by Erik Don Vaniken and the ancient alien stuff.

Lucas refused to sell his studios games in Steam or other digital stores because he was so hang up in the past or some other reason other than making money. Also Lucas seemed to be keen to do edits in his films that have made fans and other people less likely buy edited versions of his films than originals. And he also was responsible for prequels. So I am not as confident his money making abilities as you are. Because he has long history of not so great decisions. You forgot toys, t-shirts, etc. You know, merchandising? The movies, games, and even books don't hold a candle to the money made on merchandise. Lucas knows what he is doing when it comes to money. He has shown bad decisions at making a quality product. Something being of high quality doesn't mean it makes tons of money. He made those 3 prequels to bring relevance back to the franchise and increase merchandise revenue. It worked.

Yeah, I've said it to a few of my friends in the past. Those rights have done nothing but flounder under CCP. I am glad to see them set free.

Delicious. Obsidian, get on it!!! I can't think of anything else to say, really.

So, I normally drop a tune in here every once and a while. However, I just found these guys, and was saddened that they had broken up after only 2 albums and a split disk with another band called Machine. They are a psychedelic band, but they are really laid back and warm. This isn't something I am use to from the genre. It is incredibly fuzzy, groovy, and warm. They build up to heavier parts incredibly well, and I just fell in love with their sound and style. I feel sharing a song isn't good enough. So here is their first album (self-titled album). It is only about 40 minutes long, but atleast give the first two tracks a listen. The songs are "If" and "Intermezzo." They have a second album called Mirador. I no more found them, and realized they had broken up, that the news came that their guitarist had committed suicide. If you are intrigued save yourself the trouble of looking through Google Play or the Apple App Store because they aren't on either. I had to order from Amazon. I intend to get the vinyls next. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this as much as I have, do, and will. They really were something special IMHO. Edit: the split disk album can be found on Bandcamp, but it is only 3 tracks by them. Also, IMHO they are weaker tracks than what are on the two albums. Edit: Reread my post, and I didn't want to downplay their second album. It is just as good, if not better, but intermezzo is something that should be experienced. If you wanna just here it then I think it starts around the 8 minute mark, but I don't recommend skipping the first tune.

Inxile has been posting about their new New Orleans location today. I dint know the details, but that part is more than rumor. Whether it is to help regeneration of the area... I am unsure.

These guys are amazing. I love everything they have done.

Poor guy. I don't have Twitter, but I wish him all the luck in the world.

Yes, and no. The few space sims that came later, and supported M&K on top of joysticks were fairly balanced. Even Elite Dangerous (a cousin to Star Citizen) is incredibly balanced between Hotas and M&K. Titanfall on PC initiated aim assist on PC if analog input was being used, and was pretty balanced. Star Citizen isn't close to balanced. They are following War Thunder, and it will lead to a split server or a lot of irritated players... Just like War Thunder. The problem is the gimbals move instantly like a mouse cursor. They don't have slew rates. As a byproduct the ships have to turn on a dime, and start/stop on one as well, to give people using fixed weapons a chance. This has thrown out the "real life physics" (a core promise of the Kickstarter campaign) in order to have an attempt at balance. Not even to mention that instant gimbal slew rates is a physics breaking mechanic to begin with. Mice use something called Interactive Mode (IM) which basically has the ship follow where the gimbals are pointing. Basically like Freelancer. Something we (early backers) were promised wouldn't be the case. There are quotes saying the game would play like Wing Commander, and not like Freelancer. They specifically said "no freelancer controls." Joysticks control gimbals via Look Ahead Mode (LAM) which pushes the gimbals ahead of the ships trajectory. Another discrepancy is that IM covers nearly the entire screen while LAM only moves halfwayish from the center of the screen to the edge. The 2 systems are completely different gameplay types. That creates an near impossibility to balance. I would also like to say that if mice had lower skill floor, but a lower ceiling while joysticks had a higher floor and higher ceiling... I would be fine. However, we have mice and keyboard as a lower skill floor (easier barrier to entry) and it performs better at the top skill levels (lower ceiling). While Hotas have a higher floor and ceiling meaning they are harder to learn and even at peak won't reach equal footing. I wouldn't have any issue if the Devs hadnt said "no freelancer." I wouldn't have had issue if they hadn't been funded on KS initially by the very Hotas users that loved Wing Commander because that is the game most referenced during the initial campaign, and now those backers are being kind of hung out to dry. So we have fudged real life physics and Freelancer gameplay. 2 major broken promises from the initial campaign. Even if you take the aim issue out of the equation the flight system is borked. It doesn't use real life physics. Ships turn instantly where as in space it wouldn't be nearly as responsive. Ships have speed caps... Something else that wouldn't be the case. Using your boost only works during acceleration, and has no function at top speed. The little thrusters have equal power to the giant engine sticking out the back because "that engine is just for when jumping to warp speed" (can't remember what they are calling it in SC). So many gamey things done to the physics yet we cannot use those things to give some balance to control input. It is a bit sad. Don't get me wrong... I am glad this ambitious game is being made, and although I think the Dereck Smart stuff is BS, it isn't all sunshine and roses like many of the SC press releases make it seem.

What was wrong with it ?The maneuvering thrusters are just as powerful as the main thrusters. So, the gameplay is strafing up, down, left, and right while using gimbals to fire at your target. It is incredibly fast paced, and aim intensive, because of this. It has been said it plays like a "FPS in space." Coupled with the "realistic physics" that have you sliding around... It is very tiring to me. Ymmv. Keep in mind that I have a full CH Products (stick, throttle, and pedals) setup. The game is far easier to play with a simple mouse and keyboard. I am completely biased here as a byproduct of using those peripherals. If you are just going to use mouse and keyboard you may be fine with the game as it is at present. Edit: As I said, they have changes to the flight model coming. Supposedly. Also, the mouse controls gimbaled weapons like a normal cursor. While sticks can only aim ahead of their trajectory. It creates a huge imbalance. This last bit is only relevant if you are interested in PvP, though.

SC trailer looks cool. Now if they could get the flight model of the game to not play like crap... Supposedly an update on that flight model is coming, and hinted to be the first of many changes. We will see. If so, I may boot the alpha up for the first time in months.

Saw these guys the other night, and although they didn't play this, I have been on a kick. Figured I would share.