Humodour

Out of my thread! Shoo! Thanks for the input guys. Will respond tomorrow. But quickly, what's TuTu? Is it just using BG2's art in BG1? Because I much prefer BG1's art (from side panels to character avatars/dolls). CrashGirl: the xpack doubles the xp cap, IIRC, making it a bit more balanced in that regard.

That's awsome. I thought it was particularly impressive, too. It's like a modern case of the Tortoise and the Hare. Go you underdog, go! Also, ion drives are bloody awesome looking. There is no massive rocket fire or afterburn, just a consistent, eerie, pale blue glow where the ions are emitted. Very futuristic-looking. That's for the ones that emit many ions at once of course.

OK, I'm really starting to get **** bored of hearing that claim. It's completely untrue and completely unfounded. People assume that because PS:T was 'deep' and had a slightly steep learning curve, then whilst they enjoyed it, others probably wouldn't. Yet it seems that's rather fallacious thinking. All reports indicate PS:T sold at least consistently and moderately. It was a commercial success and by no means a 'flop'. I distinctly recall Feargus at one point saying it sold extremely well over time.

Has Obsidian worked with Atari before? NWN2 and KOTOR2 was such a partnership right? I'm not sure of Obsid's stance on it. I think they're over FR/D&D games, but there's definitely an epic game or two left in IWD.

It's like ****ing Microsoft the way they kill XP so the sales of Vista increase, even they they themselves acknowledge Vista isn't a suitable replacement, and that sales reflect that. *cough* But yeah, um, have you tried the game MotB? I heard it is in a similar vein to Torment. One of the Obsidian guys is also working on a fairly professional Planescape mod for NWN (2 I think) in his spare time.

Won't ever happen. We have the same old problems now as we have always had, along with many new ones. And there are many old problems we don't have now.

So I'm going to play through BG1 and then export my character to BG2. I'm thinking of playing as Fighter and then multiclassing to a Druid in BG2. I may play as a Blade instead, though. Not sure. Advice/opinions/ideas? I will get all the books of knowledge this way, too, including the 3 wisdom ones! Whoohoo! What are your favourite party members from BG1? What about BG2? The characters I like are: Jan (only thief in the game to get HLAs, and also a back-up mage and kind of funny) Imoen (core) Viconia (core) Sarevok (core) Minsc (funny, but Sarevok kind of replaces him yeah?) Jaheira (kind of annoying) Haer'Dalis (kind of annoying) Mazzy (kind of annoying) Aerie (kind of annoying) Nalia (redundant because of Imoen) The rest don't work for me or don't work with the party (Keldorn kills Viconia, Edwin and Minsc slap each-other) but suggest them if you want, I'll consider them!

PS:T is on my top 3 list of best games ever. But I don't want a sequel. Let it lie peacefully in immortality as Deus Ex one should have. Also, Wizards of the Crapper abandoned that license, so even assuming you could get game company to make a new Planescape game, WoC wouldn't let you.

So you're not a fan of art for arts sake? Did I say that? I was explaining what the guy probably meant by 'artistic value'. I did not include 'aesthetic appeal' because that's what his meaning was being confused with. I appreciate games for their aesthetic appeal too, which I believe I explained earlier is one reason why I prefer BG1 to BG2. Aesthetically speaking, IWD1 is the winner. It's a beautiful game and has a melodious musical score to boot. Absolutely, the idea that artistically lesser works are more entertaining is simply wrong. It's an opinion, Dan. Pidesco specifically said "I usually get more enjoyment out of deeper games" and "It depends on taste". I fail to see the absolutist judgementalism you appear to be mocking. Why so argumentative?

Ron Moore already said it isn't Roslin. And so what, it's a Cylon-Cylon baby? If Cylons can have human-Cylon babies, they very likely can have Cylon-Cylon babies, especially since the final five are "fundamentally different". All we have so far is the fact that the first Seven can't use stolen ova for some reason which they concluded was "lack of love" or some rubbish. Yeah right. It's obviously not the mitochondria which are gained from humans, since Hera's mother is a Cylon.

Yay, for once our minds are in the dance of accord!

Interestingly, a game I afford similar tactical status is Fallout (1 and 2). I believe the huge weapon variety, traits, perks and stats, as well as enemy detail (variance and weaknesses/strengths) made up for a lack of nanonics/magic/psionics/super-powers. I'd say that turn-based combat is important for tactical enjoyness of a game, but Deus Ex didn't have that, so... I just made up a word, didn't it? Enjoyness... enjoyment?

I was never a fan of "mage duels". I tried them a few times, but I always end up casting some sort of protective buff on a fighter and sending him in to swiftly kick the living daylights out of the mage, or I strip just enough of the mage's protections away to cast a nullifying spell. I usually used fear, dispel magic, miscast magic, insect plagues and immunity spells. It was far more satisfying to see the mage explode into chunks or hopelessly try to cast spells than cast all those dumb debuff spells. Anyway, mage duels are a somewhat limited area of combat and tactics. I do love casters, though. I really liked the Bards and Druids in IWD1. There's nothing more fun than casting entangle and spike growth on an area in IWD1, then luring the hordes into it, then casting a few fireballs or snilloc's snowballs and such (depends on their resistances and weaknesses of course).

Haha crap. I make no claims to the unique origins of crate worship, but I can honestly say that's the first time I've ever seen or heard of that page. Also, it disturbs me. It disturbs me because it claims crates are bad design. No, crates are awesome design. Also, those games look awesome. I'm gonna play them.

Yep. I definitely Ctrl+Y (instakill) through about one in three 'mundane encounters' in the BG series now (e.g. oh god, another swarm of hobgoblins?). This occurs with higher frequency in IWD series for natural reasons; I'd rather spend my time on the 'fun' battles (which is why I still enjoy most BG2 battles). Natural reasons? Maybe not. Personally I found most BG2 battles short-lived and um... 'stale' I guess. I deliberately try to take mostly caster parties now simply to spice things up. IWD1 battles were always full of life and interesting. I thought IWD1 was a brilliant game for tactics and stuff. I have no qualms with replaying IWD1 because the battles are 'fresh' each time, and I can try any multitude of various party builds and tactics. The undead level of Dragon's Eye is one of the most fun because you get to blast the mindless hordes to oblivion in new and exciting ways each time. Now, before you make the Diablo 2 comparison, I am a Diablo 2 fan, but it's not the same. Diablo 2 requires no tactics - IWD1 is all about tactics. Similarly, IWD1 has an excellent, albeit linear, story, whilst Diablo 2 does not. Now when I talk about BG2 being sub-par and stale and not that good, I am obviously speaking in relative terms; comparing it to PS:T, IWD1 and BG1. As a stand-alone game, BG2 is pretty great, and it's got all the elements of a good RPG.

"Artistic value" likely means things like intellectual or cultural worth. In this sense, games like Deus Ex, Torment, Fallout definitely rank higher than things like KOTOR, BG or IWD.

Haha yeah it is, CrashGirl. Should be fun. Regarding BG2, I really disliked the direction they took with the artwork and atmosphere compared to BG1. BG1 was more natural, earthy, a mix of feudal and colonial Europe/England - I really enjoyed it. BG2 was more surreal and Middle Eastern, less mediaeval. I did not like the change at all. Comparatively, Icewind Dale 1 had a superb atmosphere and artwork direction, as did Torment.

It would be a humorous twist if Cally were a Cylon.

Yet of all the forces for change in this world it is the Internet which has the most power in that regard. *shrug*

1) It's got nothing to do with Bush 2) China isn't part of the Western space initiative, so I am of the mind that America/Europe/Russia has the highest chance of getting into space. Has China even built a permanent space base yet? Most private contractors work with the governments instead because that's where the money is. It'd be good to see some more involvement from other investors, but personally I think space is something that should be frontiered by governments first and foremost. Really? Personally I'd prefer if governments work together for a greater cause, such as space stuff, and waste their money on space stuff, than on weapons and border concerns. I see it as a way to help unite the world.

How? The more the West pushes, the more the people of China become patriotic and defend their government, regardless of whether or not the West is right. It's a common phenomenon for authoritarian regimes to use wars to unite the people and so shift focus away from their corruption and tyranny. China vs Tibet & the West is just one such 'war', and it seems to be working spectacularly to unite the Chinese people in blind nationalism. =/

I played Fallout 2 before Fallout 1. I enjoy them both equally, but I'd say in terms of story and atmosphere, and innovativeness Fallout 1 has an edge. I used to be a massive cheater. I didn't play a single game without it as a kid. As I grew up a bit (maybe 14 or 15) I cheated less and less, and went back and played old games (Fallout, BG, Deus Ex) without cheats. It was great fun. It was great fun with cheats and great fun without cheats. *shrug*. I don't cheat at all anymore unless I get stuck or something. I'm like an anti-cheater. I still powergame a fair bit though - the mathematician in me?

No, I'm thinking of things like pervasive wireless access, greatly expanded mobile device access (including not only phones, but laptops, and integrated systems), the death of TV as the primary content delivery system, expansion of Youtube to higher quality and longer length content, etc. Not to mention social networking and similarly innovative and revolutionary concepts being pushed to the mass market (forums have existed for years, but Facebook and co brought internet social networking to the layperson). I dunno. By it's very nature, innovation is hard to predict, but I guarantee the next two to 3 years we'll see yet another innovative concept or two spring up in the wake of yet more bandwidth. Heh. Maybe somebody will even manage to destroy the botnets which account for more internet traffic than humans.

I never said there was cause to worry. They'll deal with the expansion just fine! I was more trying to elucidate how significant and consistent the growth of the internet is, has been and will be. With traffic currently doubling every two years, that still means massive lifestyle changes to keep up with it. Any predictions?

I mean once I upgrade my computer. The list: STALKER Bioshock NWN2 MotB Mass Effect Jade Empire The Witcher Oblivion NOLF2 (doesn't really work on this machine for some reason) I think that's it.