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Gnostic

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Posts posted by Gnostic

  1.  

    So what?

     

    I backed the first Pillars and never play it and I already backed Pillars 2.

     

    That said I already bought Neverwinter Night 2 Series, Star Wars KOTOR, Fallout New Vagas, Dungeon Siege 3 and never play them.

     

    I am really poor in free time......

    I'm confused. Why would you spend money to purchase games made by a specific company if you've never played the other games made by that company? You literally have no way of knowing if you enjoy them. For all you know, you could have just bought a bunch of games you hate and wasted all your money.

    Well I play Baldur gate 2 before. And it look like a lot of people like their games.

     

    And I like voting with my wallet for companies with pro customers practices.

    • Like 4
  2.  

     

     

    There are two issues here. Paradox's policy is steam only and that is unlikely to change for this game.

     

    Is that position of the Paradox studio, because they can't handle developing for Steam and non Steam at the same time, or it's position of Paradox as a publisher because they don't see a point of releasing outside of Steam? Or it's really one and the same?

     

    It's the position of both Paradox (publisher) and Paradox Development Studio. They are the same thing, PDS is not an independent entity.

     

    While their blog post is 2&1/2 years old (and based near entirely on Steam's 'how to sell your move to steam exclusive' PR crib sheet as well) there's no evidence at all that anything substantive has changed from that time, as such their reasons and whether they differ from those stated don't really matter. So far Paradox's entire relationship with GOG is based on PoE, which they inherited, and releasing old already drm free games there which takes no additional effort. It'd be different if they'd released previous steam exclusives/ drmed titles there as Nordic or Deep Silver have done, but they haven't. It's a bit more complicated than that* but that is their current policy.

     

    *Bottom line is Paradox needs steam, steam doesn't need Paradox. It's funny reading Johan defending steam vehemently when I know perfectly well he said that the drm/ steam versions were the same, and his hating on steam over the Divine Wind, dlc, patching etc debacles they had with them. But end of the day they just had to suck it up anyway because the relationship is just so slanted.

    Paradox have released some of their previous titles on GOG. It is not PoE only relationship anymore.

     

     

    Well, it seems all of them are games they had stop updating or developed DLC for.

     

    So I guess maybe 10 years later when Tyranny fit in this category they may release it on GoG.

     

    Oh well, it is not like there are no other great games to play other then Tyranny.

  3.  

    The margin for error in balancing Single Player is very high as opposed to multiplayer.

     

    Rather than balance, it is more like different style of playing.

     

    Why would I care the mage have a instant kill spell if I am not competing against anyone? Why should I care the paladin invincible skill last too long if no one use him but me? In the name of FUN I can throw balance into the wind and make my OP as overpower as possible.

     

    The only balance will be to balance the characters and enemies so the player will not be bored with push over battles.

     

    I don't remember there being any single player RPGs in the 1980s (unless you include Fighting Fantasy gamebooks).

     

     

    I remember I cannot 1 hit kill anyone, be invincible, have infinate money unless I cheat. So there is a little balance. Just not so prominent until PvP multi player is introduced.

  4.  

     

     

     

     

    I know that most of you know this, but I will reiterate...

     

    Making games is hard. Making complex RPGs is even harder. Take it from a person that has worked on a few different styles of games, these sprawling RPGs are insanely complex in comparison. Systems are weaved into a bunch of other systems and even the tiniest change can cause a wave of instability throughout the game.

     

    The thing that lots of people forget is that a game is a special piece of software. What I mean is that we can plan out a game completely - all of the design, art, programming, audio, etc. - and it can be executed perfectly... and the game may still be horrible. Proper planning and designing are essential in making great games, but it won't get you there alone. Lots of our ideas sound great on paper, but in practice they fall flat. Making great games require myriad adjustments and changes.

     

    Sometimes these changes are minor and don't require adjustments to a previously implemented system. Those are the best kind of changes. Other times you need to make sweeping changes to a system that have long term, rippling repercussions. We try to avoid those types of changes, but sometimes it is the only way to make something fun. As a real world example, there were some classes in PoE that went through some pretty drastic changes from their original designs. This happened because, once we started using the classes in an actual game environment, we found they weren't as fun or useful as we wanted. We could have left the original designs in place (and maybe it would have given us a more polished experience), but it might have made a game that wasn't as fun.

     

    All of this isn't to say that the project's management team is without blame. Far from it. None of these decisions are made in a vacuum and for every planned feature we change, we should be taking it out of something else - either a time buffer or another feature (or, if you are lucky, you can get more budget/time). That means if we want to revamp one of our classes, the responsible thing to do would be to see how much it will cost (in resources and time) to implement these changes and pull that from something else. It is a constant push and pull and I will be the first to admit that I can always do better in this department.

     

    Overall, I was very pleased with what we accomplished on the limited budget and resources. Nowadays games of this size have budgets anywhere from three to ten times what our team was working with.

     

    The important thing is to take the lessons learned from PoE and move it forward into our future projects. Much easier said than done, though.

     

    I don't think a lot of people realize... RPG mechanics are a spider web and that making a change anywhere on that web causes all of the other parts of the web to change position slightly. Changing a class's armor value can cause healers to become OP, or UP. Change a group buff and suddenly and entire class of monsters are too weak to be considered threatening.

     

    I'm not a game dev, but I suspect creating balance is one of the hardest parts of your job and involves lots of spreadsheets.

     

    That's why it's a good idea to use an existing ruleset, rather than try to create one from scratch.

     

    But the thing about "balance" is it a much more recent concept than the RPG. It didn't really become a big deal until the 90s. RPGs had got along perfectly well without it for 20 years.

     

     

    Balance has been there from beginning of RPGs. People just don't understand what it actually means.

     

    As someone who has been playing RPGs since 1979, I can tell you that simply isn't true.

     

     

    This is what I played:

     

    AD&D 1st edition: no class balance, no attempt at class balance.

     

    Traveller: RNG character generation could give you a 22 year old Scout with Pilot-1, or a 48 year olds space marine with Plasma Weapons-5, Demolitions-3, Leadership-3 and Vac Suit-1. 

     

    FASA Star Trek: Similar to Traveller, RNG character generation took you through your previous career, giving you a character ranging from super-spock to redshirt.

     

    Golden Heroes: RNG character generation could give you Superman or Hawkeye.

     

     

    Balance WASN'T EVEN MENTIONED in the 80s. It started to be discussed in the 90s, but it didn't become an all powerful god until MMOs became popular.

     

     

    I have played RPGs from beginning (EDIT: Or at least near beginning) and I know for certain that balance has been part of them from beginning, it is just that people don't know what it actually means, which seems to be the case with you.

     

     

    The margin for error in balancing Single Player is very high as opposed to multiplayer.

     

    Rather than balance, it is more like different style of playing.

     

    Why would I care the mage have a instant kill spell if I am not competing against anyone? Why should I care the paladin invincible skill last too long if no one use him but me? In the name of FUN I can throw balance into the wind and make my OP as overpower as possible.

     

    The only balance will be to balance the characters and enemies so the player will not be bored with push over battles.

  5. Today, finally, after many emails with support and threatens to denounce Obsidian I received my collector's edition (In June!!!).

     

    A big pretty ... half empty box ... After opening I asked myself: this is what I paid 140$?

     

    I can hardly describe in words my current mood.

     

    I get it is bad of Obsidian to deliver the physical goods 2 months late, but don't you get everything you paid for?

     

    Why a half empty box is worth complaining about? Any physical goods promised missing?

     

    Would you be happier if Obsidian delivers a smaller box so it will be full?

  6.  

    Kind of an odd question. Just speaking from personal experience, but I find things are more productive and easier to manage when you work with your team in person.

    But there is not a single thing you can do in physical proximity that you can't do online, except for sex.

    Everything else rests on organization, are you saying that bothering with organization is not worth the big costs of having to maintain a physical building, not to mention travel and everything else?

     

     

    Well do the cost saving offset the effectiveness and time when you have a team at a physical location?

  7. Now, now, everyone. Contrary to popular wisdom, strangers on the Internet are not drooling monkey feces that have somehow developed the ability to type. Not all of them, anyway. 

     

    Steam benefits from being the big player with the most resources to handle these kinds of issues - though the reputation of their customer service is a bit of 'take what we offer or we will take everything you have and leave you naked on the curb'. 

     

    I look at me reflection and don't think I have a monkey face.

     

    But I think my ancestor most likely elvoled from monkeys or apes and as his / her decendent I developed the ability to type :w00t:

     

    Sorry for putting it in the wrong forum.

  8. Sadly, I'm incredibly broke and have a giant backlog (SteamLeft says 2700 hours, not counting console games and non-steam games), so I'll have to pass on this. Still haven't finished Dragonfall(by finished, I mean got passed the first battle). Will definitely wishlist it and grab it when my backlog is less. Glad its blasted passed its goal though. Looks like it will definitely get all its stretch goals. Good, because the Matrix was the worst part of the first one.

    Well just put 1 dollor in so you can get the news, and you would have the chance to upgrade when your gamming budget increase

    • Like 1
  9. After reports on Origin getting hack about a year ago

    And reports regarding Origin vulnerabilities to hacking

    You would think EA would become more careful, but no, last month there are reports of unauthorized purchased on Origin and EA denined their security breach.

    Given security breach of the user own fault unlikely to happen to a huge number of user in a short time, it is likely EA is lying out of their teeth again

    So whoever jump aboard the Dragon Age hype train, please reconsider as this Origin exclusive game. There are more games out there than we can play in out entire lives, no need to get this one game and risk your security.

  10. Not to mention, physical rewards mess up the perception people have of the campaign.  For instance, I've heard that roughly 1/3 of the funds raised in the Shadowrun Returns Kickstarter ended up going towards fulfillment of the physical rewards...    Which means after KS fees, taxes, and KS rewards, HBS probably had to develop SRR on less than a $1 million budget.  Yet a lot of people look at the Kickstarter and say "Oh they had almost $2 million to develop the game..."  Sure these people are idiots but they influence others so you end up with a distorted expectations of what the game should be like... I saw so many people saying the game was too short "for a $2 million game" or why couldn't feature X have been within their "$2 million budget"., etc.  

    In a nutshell, I fully understand and support HBS decision to keep physical rewards to a minimum.   

     

     

    No, physical rewards do not count for so much because according to Jordan K. Weisman himself

     

    http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/197132/QA_Learning_from_Shadowrun_Returns_Kickstarter_success.php

     

    35% of their funds is inclusive of kickstarter & amazon fees & microsoft royalty.

     

    Kickstarter & Amazon fees should take 10% so that 25% left. I donno what microsoft royalty cost, but a stab in the dark for 5% so maybe 20% left?

     

    Well maybe the real premium of physical cost comes from the time taken out of developing games to prepare all the physical rewards and shipment? Then customer service for missing / damaged goods, negotiate with factories, sourcing for cheap alternatives

    • Like 1
  11.  

    . If I were a backer, I would be angry if the same tier was offered at a lower price down the road.

    I wouldn't. The whole idea of backing the project is to get the game made - a game we want to play. The goodies are nice extras, yes (and don't get me wrong, I want them as well), but if you're pledging just for the goodies and/or to get them cheaper than someone who decides to buy the game when it's ready, then IMO you're missing the forest for the trees.

     

     

    Yes there is no problem for me too. And I would add, I don't want Game Changing kickstarter exclusive that are inaccessable to normal customers too.

     

    I had pledge around $200 in PoE and are entitled to any exclusive ingame items, but I don't want it to be a trend. I don't want some day I am happily playing an awesome game, then my happiness dimished once I found out I will miss out the full experiance of the game because I missed the kickstarter that time. I don't want to crack my head hacking the game for the kickstarter content anymore. :banghead:

     

    Sell that as a director cut edition if you need to, or bundle with your next expension.

  12. I prefer GOG because I buy many extra goodies for PoE. I don't want to crack my head finding where is the sound track is hidden by steam so I can easily copy it over to my phone / mp3 or what to listen any time.

     

    I suppose hacking / cheating / modding the DRM free version will be easier, I cannot use mods for steam because the steam version is not the same with the public version (Dungeon Siege 2, I believe Titan Quest too,)

     

    And I am not a fan of auto - patching that nerf some stuff that my stratedy I used for half of the game is no longer valid and I have to start with a new party or feel my current party is underpowered.

  13.  

     

    Waifu sim.

     

    Desu desu kawaiii, Krieger-san.

     

     

     

    I'd like a version of the Shadowrun game that didn't suck.

     

    Jordan Weisman went through hell getting that license back. I don't see Hairebrained farming it out anytime soon.

     

    Actually you are in luck, Harebrain host a new shadowrun kickstarter and very likely it won't suck.

     

    https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/webeharebrained/shadowrun-hong-kong/comments

  14.  

    I can't believe this! a publisher using some developers to crowd-fund their games!!!!!! :verymad:

     

    Already been done a while ago for Jagged Alliance: Flashback.

     

    I don't see where it said Jagged Alliance: Flashback says it is partnered with a publisher

     

    https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2079547763/jagged-alliance-flashback

     

    It says "While we have managed to secure the Jagged Alliance license, we have chosen not to pursue any funding through the license holder bitComposer, as we wanted to maintain and stay true to our vision of the game."

     

    Google for news of Jagged Alliance being used by publisher but results are negative. Can I know where you get the information from?

  15. It seems that it is not their games, but indie games from indie studios. Square Enix's business idea in this seems to be offering support, visibility and possible distribution deals for those studios and get 5% of crowd sourced sum and 10% of revenue (if they distribute the game) as compensation.

     

    To me it seems to be cheap and easy way for SE to search talents that they can use to develop their bigger tittles in future, given that it will get some wind under it wings.

    And the poor publisher have to pay indiegogo and paypal for processing fees in addition to Square Enix fees. Not to mention the negative preception people have on publisher.

     

    I thought it should be opposite where Square should fund / invest in games rather then pushing the risk to gamers. Well times changes, lets see how many games will flop under Square name.

     

    I wonder If said developer can get more or succeeded in funding if they do not use Square name at all.

  16. I am looking at some crowd funding site and stumble on this.
     

    I can't believe this! a publisher using some developers to crowd-fund their games!!!!!! :verymad:

    Well based on this anti consumer practice
    http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/04/16/square-enix-drm-essential-to-profits-for-foreseeable-future

    I have to make sure Square Enix does not get any profit from me.

     

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