Gromnir

Have you read the book of the new sun? I concur that The Book of the New Sun is the most interestingly written fantasy-ish fiction I've read. is our opinion that the short sun books is revealing the high point o' wolfe craftsmanship, but am understanding why they is a difficult slog for many readers. on the other hand, the wizard knight books is surprisingly accessible... and probable equal well-written as new sun. am gonna concede that we has never read the soldier series, so our knowledge o' the wolfe catalog is incomplete. am having an author friend who insists that the soldier books is actually the betest mr. wolfe has written, but we refuse to read-- gives our friend something to berate us for each time we meet. HA! Good Fun!

If funcroc is as good as I am giving him credit for, he should be able to detect that there is a thread going on about him on this forum. ... am not seeing as "good" per se. once funroc started monopolizing the obsidian general portion o' the fora, we assumed that funroc were an obsidian alt. no offense, but am finding it hard to believe that anybody would genuinely care enough to hunt down the info-bytes he/she (seems masculine, but you can never be certain) finds unless he/she were somehow connected to obsidian... past or present. "good" only applies if funroc is not having a connection with obsidian. after all, is not so hard to Find info if you know such info exists, and you already know where to look. however, if funroc is an ordinary (albeit somewhat snarky and dismissive... not that we is complaining) poster who has an inordinate interest in the comings-and-goings o' obsinaties, then we concede that his efforts is impressive... if a little disturbing. HA! Good Fun!

That's fairly usual, isn't it? I guess. I just think they could have expanded on the actual conflict in the game a bit more ... maybe an additional "major" quest for one of the factions in a DLC, rather than kind of "okay, let's take a minute away from this conflict to go on a side journey" type deal. *shrugs* am actually preferring a tangential focus for these dlc offerings. mass effect 2's "arrival" dlc is a good example o' why we want to keeps such stuff insular and discreet from the main story arc. am understanding that arrival answers some big mass effect story questions, but from what we hear 'bout the shooter gameplay focus of the final dlc, we has zero interest in playing. makes us feel conflicted. based on hints dropped in me and me2, we thinks we gots a pretty good handle on the direction bio is going with the story o' me. nevertheless, we admits that although "arrival" sounded 'bout as appealing as gargling with battery acid, we almost purchased... just to see some reaper questions answered. bioware game content dlc has been very much hit-and-miss. dlc is frequently shallow and short... obviously rushed developments focused on making ea money without much cost to developer or publisher. shadowbroker were fun, but most other such stuff we has played were hardly worth the purchase. thankfully, the dlc has been tangential, and we has not felt that bioware held the story hostage with their dlc... by skipping dlc, we were not missing out on integral story development aspects. keep tangential... or improve enormous. HA! Good Fun!

is not "fence-sitting" for Gromnir. we is using the primary definition o' ambivalent: we has conflicting opinions 'bout da2. is some things that da2 did well. is some things 'bout da2 that is irredeemable. is not that we cannot decide or choose, but rather that we is surprised by the degree that da2 is good And bad. HA! Good Fun!

qucik note: didn't the biowarians spend money on a language expert for da:o? thought it were a waste... until we played da2 and we were called 'sirrah' 'bout 1000 times. now we get that it weren't actually "sirrah," but am suspecting that some clown at bio were playing a joke on all the fans. HA! Good Fun!

am almost having finished a first play-thru o' da2. gonna write up a review once we has completed the game and taken a day or two to reflect. nevertheless, we will observe that da2 has moments o' good fun. is not a terrible game. nevertheless, some o' the design choices is... puzzling. ... am not recalling a game that has left us so ambivalent. is perplexing. HA! Good Fun!

pathfinder is popular 'mongst the pnp rpg crowd, but am betting that it is unknown to a vast number o' crpg gamers... folks like enoch. additional problem is that it utilizes the wotc OGL. pathfinder is a nifty setting and rules d&d rules variant, but am not seeing any way for it to be getting the obsidian treatment anytime soon. as for a new ip from obsidian, is too bad that ap were underwhelming. coulda' resulted in money And freedom... which is what every developer desires, right? HA! Good Fun!

1) am thinking that license issues preclude likelihood. 2) am wondering how much ap hurt obsidian. will be interesting to see what is next obsidian move. HA! Good Fun!

What was he originally reacting to, BTW? approx quote: "if a venomous snake bit your mother in the chest, would you suck the poison out if it would mean that you would win another championship?" or something close to that. after a bad loss during the 2005 or 2006 (?) nba finals, some local radio personality asks shaq a wacky question. shaq responded with the all-purpose "your momma" bit... "i would if it was your mother." am not 100% certain as it were a while ago... and Gromnir is no fan o' shaq. am only a middling basketball fan when the Bulls are absent, and the Bulls were not in that final. HA! Good Fun!

Quick as you are to suggest wishful thinking from others, this really stands out - especially in light of Qaddafi's history with terrorism. If you bomb someone's country -twice- and make every possible commitment -except for the one that matters- to make sure he's ousted, expecting him to just sit on his hands rebuilding infrastructure for the next decades is... not terribly realistic. Not that this is necessarily the scenario you were predicting. funny stuff. sorry we didn't see sooner. # ignores that this is, for the most part, an internal libyan conflict. is not gonna resolve itself over night, and whomever wrests control is gonna be dealing with Internal conflict for some time. add to the libyan's problems with libya, nato (not the US for a change) will have destroyed a good portion o' the northern african nation's infrastructure by the time somebody finally takes political control o' the nation. sssssoooooo, how exactly is the situation gonna be worse for the US? let the libyans rage 'gainst libyans. let libyans rage 'gainst nato partners. war is not funny. people being killed is not funny. even so, listen to clinton berate qaddafi for attacking civilians is... funny. as for your observations 'bout the us economy... eh? am not certain o' the relevance. morgoth made some patently stoopid and general comments 'bout the pansy nations sitting this fracas out, as if those nations as a whole is experiencing some kinda economic renaissance. somebody wanna check the number o' euro nations who has needed economic bailout in recent years? am not recalling where Gromnir boasted o' the grand power and stability o' US economic power, but the notion o' some kinda imminent cataclysmic US economic collapse is not only based wishful thinking, it is myopic in the extreme. the only folks in europe who is looking forward to US economic collapse is undereducated, middle-class socialist brats with no awareness o' the repercussions o' such an eventuality. bah. argue that China is quickly becoming a threat to US economic supremacy is a far different thing that suggesting that the US economy is 'bout to collapse and that euros will laugh when it happens. oh, and as China's economy is a few decades behind the curve, focused on manufacture and natural resources, it ain't as worrisome a threat as it has been portrayed in the media.... but that is a complete different topic. HA! Good Fun!

Isn't GoldBox original D&D rules though? My first D&D set was the red boxed set (and red books), but that would have been 83-84' or so, not before (I think). Though I remember playing D&D in the 70's (not the color of the books though ) gold box refers to the ssi crpg stuff. the red (basic) blue (expert) came along some number o' years after the original d&d rules were released in 1974. for some obscure reason we never could figure out, the original d&d rules is often misidentified as white-box d&d, 'cause in 1976 the rules were released in a white box. the actual original rules were released a couple years earlier and had hobbits 'stead o' halflings. HA! Good Fun!

rogues couldn't use such stuff in bg1 levels, and for bards to use wands were frequent inconvenient or costly. bards were combat and spell-casting duds in bg1... which were a frequent complaint from bard fans. actual, Gromnir rare utilized the wand o' monster summons save for a couple o' battles. have a bard just so we could use for 4 or 5 battles in the game? also, we preferred animating undead for our meat(less) shields. undead were immune to poisons, so were ideal to use in conjunction with stinking cloud at lower levels. were also immune to mind affecting spells... so no ogre mage or siren shenanigans. mages had some very nice spells, particular as some low level spells scaled to very powerful... likes magic missile and acid arrow. aside-- fighter/thief were also extreme effective in bg1, but that weren't on walsh's list o' possibilities. the most difficult traps in the game could be disarmed with a 4th level thief, and if you were needing to pickpocket, there were potions that could boost such skills when rare needed. play fighter/thief would save having to waste a party member slot o a rogue character, while providing very deadly combat support. HA! Good Fun!

exactly. the folks with the talent moved on to other jobs where there talents would be useful. where is the confusion? HA! Good Fun! Yeah Gromnir because that is just exactly how the world works. Those who are talented get to move onto to other jobs in their chosen field and the hacks have to do something else. Nobody undeserving has to make a career move and everyone who has to make a career move is deserving. The universe really is just that balanced and fair that talent always succeeds on its own virtues and those that don't are talentless. *snort* conversely, we find that most often the folks that complain 'bout the lack o' fairness in the american business world is the ones who don't work hard enough or don't have enough talent. am gonna suggest that your woe-is-me scenario is far less likely than Gromnir's. yeah, the fact that a certain stench possibly adhered to a troika resume mighta made a lateral move difficult for some. even so, talented folks who works hard will get jobs. find some rare exception is possible, but the exception is noteworthy only 'cause they is exceptions... particularly as we is talking 'bout 2005 and not 2011. btw, am not saying that everybody gets the job they deserve. is all kinda politics and unspoken qualifications that sees less talented folks promoted over more talented. even so, the scenario o' a genuine talented developer not able to get job (different than don't want) in spite o' hard work is far more difficult to believe than is the unfair theory o' business. HA! Good Fun!

Thanks for clearing that up. I thought you were anti D&D and plus Atari. on-line petitions have very little impact. get far more juice from a written letter, but folks is typical too lazy to put forth the effort. am recalling that some o' the black isle developers once commented on the impotence o' internet petitions... but that were more than a few years ago. even so, as you said, is not gonna hurt. just don't expect anything from an on-line petition... ever. HA! Good Fun!

exactly. the folks with the talent moved on to other jobs where there talents would be useful. where is the confusion? HA! Good Fun!

why on earth would Gromnir be caring how vol feels? we posted in response to what you said.... and even then we simple used your post to make a point. the day we actual concerns self with vol opinions... HA! Good Fun! ps vol missed the point... again. surprise?

yes, wizard is A right choice, and clerics is powerful. as with most d&d party-based games, relative power o' the player is pointless if your party dynamic... sucks. wizards, from the mid point o' the game onward, is also very powerful... but there is a big difference 'tween the efficacy o' a bg1 conjurer or necromancer and a bg1 enchanter or diviner. as the wizard choices in the game is all kinda lame, it makes sense to build-your-own. on the other hand, there is no specialist clerics. clerics all gets access to the same spell lists... and they all got a special power that the pc cleric won't have. you already got the cleric o' tempus with her mighty hammer, right? each cleric gots a powha that is kinda nifty and very useful. ranger/clerics is probable the most powerful multi-class in the game, with fighter/clerics right behind 'em. dual-class options is even more powerful, but is kinda silly to voluntarily play a gimped character for 1/3 to 1/2 of the game just so you can be superman for the remainder. *shrug* we typical played as a cleric in bg1, but from a pure practical pov, if we were wanting to make the best use o' available jnpcs, we would makes a weezard pc. HA! Good Fun!

observation: none of the specialist wizards available as joinable npcs in bg1 is what we woulda' chosen for ourself. on the other hand, there is multiple clerics available in the game, and some o' 'em has nifty powhaz that make 'em extreme effective. from a pure practical pov, choosing the weezard is the right choice. am not sure if is counting as spoilers, but you may wanna at least look at a list o' the available jnpcs for bg1...might help make your choice for you... or not. btw, choosing cleric does not make game harder. clerics is extreme powerful in bg, and fighter/clerics with the right equipment can almost solo the game. HA! Good Fun! proviso-- there is one super-powerful specialist mage available in bg1, but he gots "issues" with other party members.

is today false dilemma friday or something? look, is ok to complain that bio shoulda' taken their time and made a fifty-hour game WITH unique maps as 'posed to a thirty-hour game with recycle. bio made all kinda stoopid claims 'bout how their changes to da2 were for benefit o' players and not resource saving shortcuts. well shucks, mike couldn't find no way to dress-up recycled maps as a feature or boon, so he did the unimaginable-- he told the truth. the thing that bothered Gromnir is not the anger directed at mike, but rather the fact that the anger were seeming misplaced. on the other hand, some folks likes to parrot bio without doing any thinking of their own... which is convenient for bio, but is very discouraging. peoples Should complain 'bout recycled maps, but folks so easy split into the hate v. love camps that it not matter what a developer actually says. if love bio, then mike must be right. if hate bio, then surely mike is a filthy liar. too easy. to memao, sorry, but we do not recall you specific. that being said, we is humbled and grateful that you would post as you did. to be fair, you coulda' been right and we mighta' been wrong. is not as if we had some kinda crystal ball. is just that so many changes had the appearance o' being resource savers... and something 'bout the way bio presented 'em as "features" made Gromnir suspicious. the manner in which bio "sells" their games to the fan-base over the years has changed somewhat. an understandable change given the manner in which innocuous board comments from developers is likely to go viral nowadays. HA! Good Fun!

false dilemma/dichotomy makes baby jebus cry. HA! Good Fun!

is good that they went out of business. talent that were being wasted at troika gots dispersed to other more viable developers. the system works. huzzah. most o' the folks who has been applauding arcanum in this thread is part o' the same dozen or so that has been building arcanum's non-existent legend over at codex for the past decade. in their addled estimation, arcanum appears to have actually become better in the last few years. strange. nothing new. if one feels like sharing hugs with like-minded fans, make an "I LUV ARCANUM" thread over at codex. no doubt it will leave you all warm and tingly. http://www.rpgcodex.net/index.php is nothing being developed by obsidian save dungeon siege iii, which hardly even counts as a crpg. absence o' casual fans leads to more concentrated hardcore pov... which may not be a good thing now that we consider. HA! Good Fun!

the plebeian crpg fans with no sense o' history or pov would fail to recognize white box is original d&d rules.... though Gromnir had the wood-grain version. bishop/sawyer still posts, if a little less often. fergie almost never posts. war never changes? *shrug* HA! Good Fun!

am not doubting that da2 were rushed. in spite of all the bio commentary 'bout improvements, so many o' the changes from da:o to da2 had the appearance o' being little more than resource saving moves to aid the developers in meeting a deadline. the change in the camera were clear not benefiting pc players. the adoption o' a dialogue wheel and a fixed protagonist may have been welcomed by some, but it also were a time-saver for the writers. recycling maps were also a resource saver. but some folks is checking their objectivity and sense o' fair-play at the door. the quote that folks is slamming mike for is not deserving venom. does it suck that da2 were a rush job? hell yeah... is why we were complaining for the year leading up to da2 release. nevertheless, recognizing that da2 were rushed, mike gots a choice 'tween recycling maps and giving players more quests, or using unique maps and cutting content. is a tough choice... is a no-win kinda choice. even so, as 'tween substantial cut content and recycled maps, we would choose map recycle. and this ain't directed at enterix, but we believe that many folks is purposefully ignoring just how much me1 recycled. am not sure why that is so. HA! Good Fun! ps you is wrong that nobody would be complaining if da2 were costing $30.

you mentioned me1. folks seemed to suffer through me1 ok. also, as noted, is a resource saving approach. so, if game had been X hours shorter, then how many additional people would be complaining 'bout shortness? me1 and iwd2 prepared us for considerable recycle. sure, mike has shown how myopic he can be regarding fan-base feedback, so we ain't surprised he didn't learn lesson from me1, but the either/or scenario being presented seems reasonable. HA! Good Fun! ps keep in mind that Gromnir were at the forefront o' those complaining that so many announced da2 features appeared to be little more than resource saving features. the entire approach the developers took regarding da2 bothered us and we complained when many others remained silent or asked for understanding. am disappointed with the da2 economy approach. that being said, the fact that the aforementioned quote results in hate does not appear justified.

am not certain where the hate comes from on this issue. don't get us wrong, we do Hate some o' the things mike has done to the franchise, but recycling maps to so that more player quests were possible seems like a reasonable point to debate, and is a tough choice to be making. having not played da2 we don't know the degree to which maps were recycled, but we assume it were substantial to be causing so much venom. nevertheless, bio recycling o' maps has been common in many o' their offerings. bg, bg2 and mass effect is all games that used considerable recycle. heck, look at iwd 2. the obsidian developers recycled much o' their iwd maps no doubt to be saving resources. more quests at the expense o' recycled maps? some other mike nonsense regarding end bosses, camera pov, and the bio reliance on, and misinterpretation of, data mining makes us a little queasy. even so, the statement you folks quote is hardly gonna inspire our hate... 'cause is sounding like a reasonable design choice with no perfect solution. yeah, after the first mass effect game one would assume that bio had recognized that their fans could only tolerate so much map recycling. biowarians can be inordinate obtuse. nevertheless, it would be interesting to hear just how much content bio estimated would needed to have been cut if all unique maps were incorporated. HA! Good Fun!