Gromnir

agreed, but romances is popular. nevertheless, it would be refreshing to see bio use their incredible resources to do... more. HA! Good Fun!

If he starts at 18 (and fit as a fiddle) and the game ends at the relatively tender age of 28 then I suppose the biggest potential obstacle is facial hair management and trying to avoid a nascent beer belly. if an 18 year old refugee were trying to convince Gromnir that he should be given troops to fight an Ancient Evil or that he had successfully scouted and destroyed a darkspawn enclave, we would be dubious. different cultures gots different notions regarding age of manhood. individual people is also having varied opinions. as for the physical impact o' 10 years o' combat... *shrug* assume for a moment that healing spells and potions don't make you 100%... they leave scars. would that change mc pov 'bout tender age o' 28 following 10 years o' combat? we played high school football and three years o' collegiate div 1 American Football... + 1 summer as an ironman arena league player, but that is a story for another day. regardless, we were playing a seasonal contact sport and we got scars both visible and hidden. we can only imagine what kinda trauma 10 years o' bloody combat would do to a body. HA! Good Fun!

there is a da universe analog... it all happened in the fade. it were all a dream, or was it? ack. *shrug* am curious to see how bio chooses to use various announced devices, but the past few games from the cannucks has taught us to limit our expectations. am not suggesting that game will be bad, but most o' these kewl improvements don't seem like improvements so much as resource saving moves to try and make a Q1 2011 release a reality. HA! Good Fun!

we would like to give bio some Benefit of the Doubt points, but it is getting ever more difficult to do so. the ten year span seeeeeeeeeems like a good thing. if, for instance, the Hawke character starts at age 18, the writers may be able to differentiate the rp experience by having the treatment o' the protagonist's perceived youth change depending 'pon the player's choice o' beginning locales. is not a major thing, but it can add to the game and storytelling experience... particularly if the developers add some genuine gameplay obstacles related to age... or elapsed time. unfortunately, am not confident that bio will take advantage o' such opportunities. am increasingly worried that they will simply do as mc suggests. unreliable narrator? is a meaningful technique when writing a novel, but am not seeing a point with a crpg... other than to do as mc suggest. unreliable narrator is useful when it serves to contrast or distinguish what actually happened... or may have happened. the reader of a novel, unaware o' the author's Reality, may gradual learn that the narrator is unreliable and the reader needs must reexamine some preconceptions they made during the course o' reading. but in the case of da2, the player will be experiencing reality, so the untrustworthy narrator can have less meaningful impact... unless this is da2: the psychedelic experience. *scratches head* dunno, but too many o' the da2 features is looking like little more than resource saving devices for the developer. as with the dialogue wheel from me, bio is once again attempting to convince consumers that less = more; they will sell you the notion that their shortcuts ain't cuts, but is instead a concerted effort to improve the role-play experience. bio is treating their fans like marks in an extreme large (but not too subtle) confidence game... and the game journalists is so clueless that they is actual aiding biowarian efforts to bamboozle. would be funny if we were not convinced that bio's/ea flim-flam efforts regarding da2 will eventual be successful... 'cause, "there's a sucker born every minute." HA! Good Fun!

In fact, it's not something official by Bioware, but just something a user reported, and apparently no one else heard, which lends credit to theory that he was indeed a troll . Here's the link. Now that I re-read the message, I'm 99% sure he's a troll , and I apologize for not spotting him before. Still, cut me some slack, navigating through those boards is painful I tell you, PAINFUL! *nerdrages* no need to apologize. at this point even the credible previews contain considerable speculation that will be proven inaccurate between now and release. we were simply curious why something seeming so significant were getting no mention in the Concerns and Boycott threads. HA! Good Fun!

can you linky the nix'd top-down remark as we see no mention at the bio site... or elsewheres. HA! Good Fun!

Just to be fair, the one saying that was the same guy who talked about Xbox360 being the lead platform, something Bioware's developers have denied on their boards. So, take it with a grain of salt. our trust in bio is limited, but am not gonna believe that top-down view is being removed unless we sees some biowarian confirmation. doing so would alienate a significant % o' pc gamers. da2 seems to be excessive streamlined, perhaps in an attempt to meet an aggressive release deadline, but we still cannot accept that the da2 developers would sacrifice the overhead perspective. HA! Good Fun!

the game were successful, but were the origins. bg were a successful game, but the biowarians changed many things 'cause o' overwhelming complaints and perceived feedback. we never saw no payoff for the extravagance o' the origins, but we does also like the more ambiguous bhallspawn and grey warden protagonists. developers not gotta add origins to keep a protagonist vague. however, we didn't see much complaint 'bout the origins. sure, there were some folks who, having played multiple times, observed that origins had little impact and changed very little in the da:o gameplay experience. nevertheless, we never observed any kinda fan fallout regarding origins. regardless, bio ain't doing origins in da2. why? whim? doubtful. the obvious reasons we can come up with for abandoning origins so soon after da:o is cost and player preference. if bio data gathering showed clear that folks much preferred ReavnSheps to origins (in spite o' what we were seeing on their boards,) then the origins abandonment would make sense particularly if such origins were prohibitive expensive to implement... more zots. am not seeing a "The Origins as an Experiment" kinda thing from bio. is too expensive to experiment that way, and even if it were a one-shot feature, why would bioware abandon if it were successful? am recalling that biowarians were mildly surprised by the overwhelming approval regarding the bg2 romances. Gromnir loathed such stuff, but the fans liked and bioware is noting if not reactive. romances quickly became a staple o' the bio crpg experience. HA! Good Fun!

... am not thinking that you meant what you said. how the heck can a "narrative shift" have an "always"? perhaps you suggest that the narrative focus were always directed 'pon the protagonist/pc... but that ain't what the quoted material is saying. *shrug* bio, sadly, appears to be returning to the Revan/Shep kinda protagonist... a far more defined protagonist than were available to players in da:o or the bg games. am kinda sad that we were correct 'bout the waste and impotence o' the origins. if origins had been more successful, and more capable o' producing differentiated storytelling, then perhaps bio would not have abandoned so quick. 'course the "narrative shift" stuff could all be more bio bs. this game gots a relative short development cycle, and the move towards full vo no doubt necessitated some changes. writing dialogue for Hawke, a human protagonist with defined qualities, makes the writer's task much less onerous... and by utilizing the dialog wheel, bio can save significant vo resources as well. this Hawke stuff may simply be a time/resource saving measure that is getting sold as a boon to the player. HA! Good Fun!

So tell me Vol, where exactly were you when I was playing Dragon Age? Because in those three cases the first time I played I almost lost my party (and did totally in the fourth case) and I don't remember you being there. But thanks for the compliment on my gaming skills (even if you overestimate them)! there were a number o' threads on bio's da boards that observed the relative difficulty o' attempting redcliff as a first option post lothering. vol is being vol. the deep roads were probable the toughest challenge for a beginning player, but redcliff weren't far behind on the frustration-meter as expressed by posters at bio. the battles in redcliff tended to be loooooooong, and given the fact that many players had only morrigan (and probable little or no lyrium potions) as a non-healing spellcaster, there were far less margin for error than the elf or mage portions o' the game... you were not able to inch towards daylight. also, am wondering what kinda sick joke were the flaming oil. the undead would run through the fire quickly, being burned for minimal damage, but apparently our defenders liked to camp out and enjoy the flames. HA! Good Fun! ps the dialogue wheel... sucks. have 5 v. 3 emotes not make much difference when you still only gots 2 genuine vo responses. is developer sleight-o'-hand.

vol should takes a quick quiz: is a statement more or less credible if the author includes "LOL" four or more times in one line o' text? vol played the watered-down console version... and we suspect he played on a less difficult level than Gromnir. consoleized version sends smaller version o' mobs, and redcliff difficulty is linked to extreme long mob-laden battles, potentially with the aid o' only 1 mage who may (or may not) have access to a single healing spell... and possibly 0 lyrium potions. 'course vol is just repeating the same tired nonsense at this point, and we ain't particularly feeling likes following his lead. 'course, with respec, or as a mage pc, then the situation is considerably different... and am also assuming that the player ain't a nutter. HA! Good Fun!

gets a little more clear-cut (morally) if you played a dwarf noble origin. as for redcliff, the game developers sends you some pretty strong signals that redcliff is your best starting point following lothering. al make a couple comments 'bout how you should start in redcliff that would seem to be the typical crpg blunt force trauma method for guiding a character to the optimal destination. the only reason Gromnir went to the mage tower first is 'cause previous to playing the game we had read at the bio site that wynne were a spirit healer, and we assumed she would be available at the mage tower. ... having played the game multiple times, we wonders why a developer would want a player to attempt redcliff first. am given to understand that the redcliff battles is watered-down on the console, but am still dubious 'bout the choice o' redcliff being first even for the console folks. HA! Good Fun!

Identity confirmed? I'm with Thorton_AP here, she looks like someone out of Conan or Red Sonja. she vague reminds Gromnir o' mellisan (sp?) from tob, but if those inexplicable armoured boots gots high heels as in the concept art... HA! Good Fun!

I've often wondered why huge areas are created but only bits of them fleshed out, rather than a smaller area but with a higher degree of depth. EPIC rare happens entirely in the village of Hob or the town o' Swert. you need scope for epic, so regardless o' whether you use all spots on a map, you need a map that can support an epic clash o' persons and armies... 'specially if you envision multiple sequels. no doubt it is better to ere on the side o' caution and does too much map rather than too little... can always open up the "Here There Be Dragons" edges o' the map later. HA! Good Fun!

am telling you folks, custody battles often makes everybody involved looks crazy. you couldn't pay us enough money to do domestic/family law... and we weren't kidding when we said that the lawyers most likely to be keeping a gun in their desk drawer is the folks dealing with custody crap. assume that everybody is lying and you probable is much closer to the truth. lie, cheat, steal, assault, kill... the laundry list o' evil and loathsome deeds committed ostensibly in the name o' "love" for one's children is extensive and horrifying. to watch such stuff is the sorta thing to makes you lose your faith in humanity. the real victim is the child. HA! Good Fun!

While talking we are talking about Mel's weird antics followed by a discussion as to why actor's behave kooky. Now you bring to the board that most of the actors you know were a little damaged, so whether you meant it or not you are associating your view on actors as damaged with the cause for all this Hollywood nonsense. regardless o' how you see it, the actual statements made are not stereotyping... not in the least. there were no generalizing of a whole based on experience with a few. walsh and Gromnir simply imparted our experiences with a few. Gromnir, for one, never hypothesized the "why" actors is kookie as you suggest. disagree with us if you will, but there is no need to mischaracterize our statements to fit your assumptions and conclusions. HA! Good Fun!

the knee-jerk demand by publishers for multiplayer and rt hobbled many a good game. 'course, am also gonna concede that given the length o' some fo:t missions, to remain in tb mode for the entire game would force players to endure an excess o' the "soul numbing" quality o' fo tb combat. fergie is the guy who once observed that even the best tb combats could become soul numbing, particularly as such combats dragged on interminably. toee actually made some very nice improvements to traditional squad-based tb combat. is too bad so many other aspects o' that game and its development were busted... coulda' possibly helped resurrect tb combat in crpgs. HA! Good Fun!

how do you know that he hasn't exploited underage girls following his flight from justice? as has been noted already, a very large % o' pedophiles were abused as children and suffer from serious and enduring traumas that does not disappear with prison time. the incidence o' recidivism is extreme high for pedophiles, even for those who voluntarily seek help. polanski, on the other hand, has shown little remorse since his flight from justice. the best we can say is that it is unlikely that polanski has abused any underage Californians since his escape. as for the civil case, am not seeing the relevance. sadly, victims o' sexual abuse commonly and desire anonymity. 'course it ain't victims who bring criminal charges... is the State. HA! Good Fun!

to be fair, much o' the broken mechanics were due to the fact that the developers were relative faithful to special. many broken aspects o' fo:t were more easily exploited in rt as 'posed to tb, but such issues could be avoided simply by avoiding rt. HA! Good Fun!

Good point. I lived in a house with actors and actresses many years ago, and they were ALL wankers. the actors and actresses we has met is, without exception... difficult. we has actual been friends with a few actors/actresses, but am gonna note that we thought they was all damaged or nutty to a lesser or greater degree. not wankers (some were very nice people) but all was kookie. HA! Good Fun! You are correct, of course. Damaged is a better description. But many of them hurt others by their damage. Like a backpack with a broken pole. You both are stereotyping a group of people because of the interests they share. There are other things to consider here, difference on generation, individual factors, not all actors can be "damaged" you and krez is misreading. Gromnir and walsh is not stereotyping a group o' people 'cause o' shared interest. Gromnir and walsh specific mentions the actors and actresses we personally met, without necessarily making judgment on all actors actresses. is maybe some misunderstanding regarding the meaning o' stereotype? perhaps you is assuming that we stereotype actresses and actors as a whole based on the board comments made, but you clear not have any evidence to support such a position. HA! Good Fun!

yes HA! Good Fun!

ausir, and fo fans, keep missing a very important point: strict adherence ain't necessarily a good thing. maintain spirit w/o crippling creativity is often a more meaningful approach/goal. the twisted fo fans, who react with over-the-top vulgarity and a nutty preoccupation with their personal notions o' canon is, wacked. we referenced the nutter who complained 'bout the basalisk war droid on the kotor boards? the nutter were Right from a canon pov... the war droid obsidian chose did not match previous depictions. obsidian made a Better version, and lucas approved. unfortunately for the makers o' fo:t, they found out too late that success would only have come with slavish devotion to the dogma o' cain. fo:t were actual a pretty good game (first 2/3rds at least) but fo fans helped kill in spite o' the fact that taylor, the original fo lead, didn't have no real problems with the changes... not til after the game were released and the fo fans did what fo fans is expected to do. *chuckle* but bethesda shows up and the caininites learn that a developer trying to make a fo game with mass appeal can ignore the fo bible and the original fo fans and still be ridiculous successful. actuall, we mispoke. the fo fans didn't learn nothing from the fo3 experience. HA! Good Fun!

I'm not saying he was limited to tech on FO, but I'm saying that his role on FOT was limited (just like the role of Bethesda's producers is on FNV - they have input, but they're not directly working on the game). I'm far from dismissing is work on FO1. I'm not saying that he has diminished capacity to speak on the spirit of Fallout, far from it. I'm saying that he was not responsible for the departures from the said spirit in FOT as much as you imply, since he was not directly involved in the creation of the game in most of its aspects, and his role was mostly supervisory. ... a supervisory role is pretty darn significant.... just ask folks who has had to work on lucasarts games. also, as already noted, taylor's pre-release comments (some of which is still archived at nma) did not suggest a tangential or limited role... and he clear never expressed any serious concerns 'bout the direction o' the game. heck, his immediate post release comments were in defense o' the game. *shrug* and personally, we kinda liked the look o' the updated power armour. the entire robot section o' the game sucked, but the armour were hardly worth flaming. HA! Good Fun!

fair enough regarding josh post chrisA departure. nevertheless, such an observation does not diminish the initial point that you implied that taylor's knowledge and opinions were more easily dismissed 'cause he were limited to tech on fo. taylor carried same job description on fo as did josh regarding vb... post chrisA departure, and regardless, the notion that you would even suggest that a developer o' the original fo games would have diminished capacity to speak to the spirit o' fo is unfortunate and misguided. btw, we saw comments from taylor (multiple places... including nma.) he sure didn't sound as dismissive or unrelated as you would paint him. gonna try and blame publisher arm twisting or something similar. perhaps thorton has a point, but am not certain that a sorta internet napoleon complex is enough to explain. HA! Good Fun!