Gromnir

we got ours for free... an xbox 360 elite. is not having the new chip. however, as we got as a gift, we splurged and got the super extendo warranty. ... am considering whether we shoulds develop mysterious problems so as to get new model. is there a performance boost with the new chip? if not maybe we waits til they work out new kinks with new chip 'fore we experience our accidental meltdown. HA! Good Fun!

were not til high school that Gromnir started going to school on a regular basis, so our pov regarding formal education is atypical at best... and the school we first went to on a regular basis were widely considered to be one of the worst in Chicago. very little o' Gromnir's education (pre-university) ever happened in a school. in any event, we thinks that the biggest mistake many parents make with their kids is that they feels that formal education ends parental responsibility insofar as teaching their kids is concerned (no suggestion that taks is such a fool.) sure, maybe mom or dad helps with a science project or a homework question, but for the most part it seems that parents leaves the teaching o' their kids to teachers. is a mistake? thinks back and try to recall the number o' teachers who got you to enjoy learning. is you more or less likely to be able to instill love of science, reading and/or history in your child than than some yutz who only gots a teaching job 'cause their GRE/MCAT/LSAT scores weren't good 'nuff to get 'em into a good grad school? ... who gots time to genuine teach their children? not Gromnir... which is why we not have children. even so, we thinks that more important than paying for expensive education is the continuing parental duty to attempt to show children that learning can be fun. read to 'em. take'em to museums. does basic science experiments in the garage... whatever. other than those weird asian kids with the pocket protectors and 0 social life, the kids who did good in school always seemed to be the ones who liked to learn. parents got inside track. taks not need Gromnir advice... but we is a preachy bastard by nature. HA! Good Fun!

from games radar "Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer is currently scheduled to release on December 10. " tack on another few months? can't recall the last expansion that got this kinda development time... but we didn't pay attention to that oblivion expansion, so maybe over a year is now nomal? hope it pays off with a better product. HA! Good Fun!

based on i can't recall how many years worth of posts, i'm convinced you'd give vol's right or left anything to get such things, maybe even both. i've never been a cleric fan from an RP perspective so the issue never bothered me. i can understand, sort of, why it bugs those of you that are bigger into pnp, however. taks taks is the guy that developers such as obsidian and bio has to make games for. in spite o' what fergie said, rules accuracy is not a big concern for the average fan, so we understands why stuff likes domain spell lists is low priority. nevertheless, being an unreasonable guy our self, and recognizing that josh's big complaint 'bout bg were the way it mangled d&d rules, we hopes that maybe josh can reconcile his personal standards with the demands o' obsidian. if bg were so broken 'cause of busted rules... this is a crpg. is simple reality that not all pnp rules can be actualized accurate in a crpg... 'least not in a cost effective manner. but for those rules that can be done right... why not? HA! Good Fun! ps makes skills more important in motb than they was in nwn2. thanks in advance.

do what you can. one of the things in iwd2 that impressed the heck out of Gromnir were your domain implementation. sure, it were all deity specific, but the results were clerics with spells lists far more recognizable as 3e cleric spell lists than we ever has seen in any nwn game. josh getting stuck playing a nwn2 red knight cleric with horribly butchered spell lists? unthinkable. HA! Good Fun!

is this possible patch fodder, or simply a dead end feature that if it not make it into motb won't make it into nwn2? after all, fergie made a specific 'point in q&a suggesting that more accurate rulez implementation issues were a big deal/focus for obsidian with motb. HA! good Fun!

that was kinda our point. nevertheless, as to the interview, this is well-trodden ground and chrisA has said little that is new... though your contribution to the thread is notable in that it seems that chrisA will finally admit that mechanics were clunky/bad. is maybe a good way for collin to get his name back into public conscious just in time for his book... but that might be just our cynicism speaking. HA! Good Fun!

btw, domain spells shoulds fills a domain slot... is not simply added to cleric's spell list. some of the domain spells (such as the new and improved 3.5 disintegrate) is pretty powerful and shoulds probably be limited to a 1-a-day use situation. air were a real popular nwn1 domain 'cause call lightning and chain lightning were simply added to spell lists... which ain't really resulting in good balance compared to some other domains. g1 explanation makes sense... al we know is that we asked nwn2 developers if domains would be fixed in nwn2 so as to match da rulez more close, and they said, "No." were pretty much the end of the story. HA! Good Fun!

where we say it was his fault alone? is a reading comprehension issue or is you too being purposefully obtuse? Gromnir were happily beating on kel every step of the way. clearly we were involved... but he ain't contributing no more, so what is point? am not apologizing for nothing and am not playing victim as some others do. *shrug* HA! Good Fun!

Gromnir worked at a Juvenile Hall in Northern California for a year and a half while we were in law school... cheez-its or strawberry pop-tarts were common bedtime snacks. am not a fan o' either such foodstuff no more. see some crazy kid's room smeared with poop and pop tarts/cheez-its a few times gives one a real adverse reflex reaction afterwards. nevertheless, if kel not really wanna discuss issue he/she raised initially or how he waffles and wiffles, then Gromnir sees no need to chase him 'round no more. give him/her one more free shot if he/she feels need. HA! Good Fun!

the thing we don't get is why the spell lists is wrong even when the appropriate spell is available. not got any of the lists in front of us, but am recalling that destruction domain not get disintegrate spell. why not? spell is in game. too powerful? not powerful 'nuff? is there even a reason or did obsidian largely simply grab nwn1 domains and import into nwn2? just one example of Many such oddities. HA! Good Fun!

this is you being ironic, right? paragraph 1 makes complaint... then you does in paragraph 2 what you accuse us of... neat. you trying to one-up each o' your previous posts... get worse and worse? and as for tale response, we does think that fo3 will be useful to dispel myths. ps:t were portrayed as different. fo3 is portrayed as different. both is 'possedly dark. both is atypical crppg fare. if simply being dark and unfamiliar were the problem with ps:t as many have suggested, then should that not spell doom for fo3? no? fo1 and fo2 didn't sell all that great after all. if fo3 sells as good as the first two titles, it will be considered as big a failure as were ps:t, given the 'mount o' money that is going into development and the multiple platforms it will be available 'pon. HA! Good Fun!

developers seem to suggest that it ain't easy... or they woulda' done for nwn2. am honestly not certain what the difficulty is as we ain't a programmer, but there has been some very poor attempts by community members to gets right spells/powers combos to correspond with the nwn2 domains. fact that results is so terrible seems to suggest that this ain't an easy fix, but am only guessing based on limited info. HA! Good Fun!

personally, we would give vol's right arm if obsidian would fix cleric domains rather than giving us new crap likes races and classes n' such, but we understand why obsidian gotta do what they is doing... follow the wotc model as it were. ... Gromnir were pretty damned impressed with the recent raveloft hardcover adventure release. 1 new prc and some spells and a couple class modification options, but mostly it were all 'bout the adventure... and keeps in mind that we weren't a big fan o' the original ravenloft adventure that we played through way back in the 80s. would prefer if obsidian had approached motb likes wotc did ravenloft revisit, but such is life. so we gets epic and prcs and new sub races... crap. HA! Good Fun!

My impression, from what I've read, is that you're entirely right. MotB seems like NWN2's older smarter brother. I guess we'll see. too bad it is nwn2's shorter and more streamlined brother. is too bad that the organizational problems facing the nwn2 got bad 'nuff to hamper development 'cause we actually liked nwn2 for the most part... were just too critical path focused and many characters/quests seemed underdeveloped and rushed... were not as bad as a troika development, but... HA! Good Fun!

there is no question that the unfamiliar setting contributed to failure of ps:t... is always one of Gromnir's top reasons as to why we thinks ps:t failed, and is possibly the main reason. 'course, is kinda a cheap dodge too. ps:t universe were big 'nuff to include those aspects of fantasy crpgs that people seem to need... like elves and dwarves n' such, and is not as if dark is universal doomed. there seemed to be a great deal of anticipation regarding ps:t pre-release. the game magazines were hyping and there were a great deal o' buzz... is not as if people were turned off by ps:t w/o having seen anything more than an advert or two. this were a major release by interplay. they clearly didn't thinks that there where problems with the setting pre-release. also, we suspect that fo3 is gonna sell like hotcakes. if it does will that finally put to rest the nonsense that a dark setting can't work in a crpg? will have to wait and see. btw, another factor that maybe were a problem for ps:t sales that rare gets mentioned: bugs. ps:t were buggy and had terrible memory leak issues that almost made impossible to play for even Gromnir, who loved the game. somehow the performance issues gets forgotten as the years roll slowly by, but they were a big factor at the time. HA! Good Fun!

gamespot article am not a big fan of new classes and prcs, but favored soul (if some of the cheese is made more mild) is probably gonna get a run through from Gromnir. hopefully they makes skills more useful in the expansion. nwn 2 weren't half bad in this respect, 'specially compared to nwn 1, but almost always seems likes there is little reason to has high int non mages in a d&d 3e crpg... is wasted attribute points. 'course this goes counter to how Gromnir plays d&d... when we plays d&d. skills is always much important in our campaigns. heck, we actually were moderate intrigued by some of the prcs in the complete adventurer book simply 'cause o' skills focus... and we hate prcs. 'course we still didn't buy the book, but it were a close thing. anyways, we were somewhat surprised that nobody 'round here mentioned the new fergie info... is not too much new stuff, but there is some. HA! Good Fun!

"EDIT: also, let's keep in mind that the IWD series and BG2 were released after Torment, so the developers can take everything they've learned from working with previous games to make the newer ones. I've rarely seen anyone compare BG to the later games, but the improvements made over it in later games were numerous. " oddly 'nuff, we often seen bg1 compared to later ie games. is strange how people convince selves that bg1 were a superior game in spite of all the improvements made by later incarnations. in any event, we admit that the experience gained from seeing how bg1, totsc and ps:t were embraced factors into the equation... but keeps in mind that chrisA has said many times that he doesn't thinks that ps:t combat were bad... or even a problem. can't fix a problem if you not recognize. in any event, am curious as to what developers were thinking... 'cause we ain't never really seen an explanation. sure, likes insomniac, we all guess 'bout why ps:t is different in some aspects and how choices were arrived at, but it would be interesting to hear a developer pov, 'cause only thing we hears in past were that ps:t combat were fine as far as developers were concerned and they not say no more. HA! Good Fun!

you know, Gromnir would be interested to hear why the ps:t developers didn't makes ps:t combat more similar to iwd. why were enemies all (with some very few notable exceptions) mindless mob fodder no different that swarms of bg1 gibberlings with different animations? why were ranged weapons removed? no summons spells. etc. the iwd developers were some o' the folks that worked on ps:t, and were also a handful o' n00bs, and yet they got combat down better than the ps:t guys... and iwd sold far better in spite of rush development and limited resources. imagine if iwd had gotten joinable party members stories and dialogues as compelling and involved as ps:t characters. iwd, for all the folks that complained that it were a dungeon crawl, had pretty good story aspects and FAR superior combat to ps:t. in spite of prentions of rpg purists, d&d evolved from table-top war games... were first and foremost a squad-based tactical combat game. why largely ignore that aspect of a d&d game? HA! Good Fun!

1) you are not doing a very good job of saving face you were wrong that ps:t has equal combat. you do like ps:t (in spite of initial protests and ridiculous rationalizations after the fact) and you concede that ps:t combat is hardly a selling point... and STILL you continue to argue. amazing. 2) "By the way wouldn't someone have to buy the game to Judge it's combat, and lack of sales is what hurt the title? " so then there is no way to guess why exactly sales were bad, 'cause the people who didn't buy didn't play so they can't critique? that make sense to you? many people who DID buy game posted on the boards back when josh were the web monkey, and Gromnir and other potential purchasers listened. there were a lot of pre-release hype and adverts ofr ps:t, and the box art argument is a bit tired. bad games tend to sell less well. but how can that be so if people gotta buy to find out if they don't likes games. is the great conundrum of our age, or is it not nearly as complicated as kel seems to s'pose. duh. you is really not helping yourself. HA! Good Fun!

That's only recently, I hated it and I do mean HATED IT for years. Funny how things change. If you add Torment. Then it goes like this. Baldur's Gate 2 > Baldur's Gate > Fallout 2 > Fallout > Work> Taxes > Dentist > Torment ... you are boardering on vol stoopid with this. Gromnir were responding to your post in this thread when we noted that you obviously like ps:t. why we should know or care of your past ps:t feelings is... *shrug* we made an observation and clearly we were correct, but still you argue. how obtuse is you gonna be with this? HA! Good Fun!

sorry kel, but you haven't corrected an error by Gromnir. there were fewer combats compared to ie games and the other rpgs that were popular at the time. it were a Frequent complaint that there were too much talky in ps:t... too much talky means, by deffinition, less proportion o' fighty. so, either decrease talky or increase combats. btw, is nice to see that you admit that Gromnir were correct when we identified that you obviously likes ps:t... so why quibble over that point too? seems to be a pattern with you. and sorry kharn, but mechanics in ps:t were different. example: ranged combat were pretty much eliminated. by time peoples got nordom, most players had quit. enemies didn't use ranged neither. fiends and critters with spell-like abilities almost never used those ranged components. even the pc weren't an effective spell caster til 1/2 through game, so couldn't really use spells as a ranged component. ps:t combat were different... and less. HA! Good Fun!

*chuckle* then what is the point of disagreeing? *shrug* we suspect that some people likes to post just to see their count grow... but if you wanna compare kills in iwd or diablo or bg to ps:t, then be our guest. take out respawns and you will find that ps:t lags in combats encounters per hour o' gameplay... probably by big margin. HA! Good Fun!

am tempted to use the eye roll icon. you obviously like ps:t. the question is, why didn't more folks like ps:t. there were combats in ps:t, but they were all pretty mindless and pointless. skeletons and thugs and larvae may have looked different, but they were all same as far as gameplay were concerned. also, if there had been more combats, then we is confident that fewer people would have complained that there were too much dialogue. only seemed like too much dialogue 'cause the combats in game were relative small, short and awful... and 'cause, as mentioned earlier, individual dialogues were a bit long. HA! Good Fun!

chrisA STILL refuses to admit that ps:t combat suckage were a serious contributing factor to ps:t downfall. "marketing" is how the developers makes selves feel better 'bout own shortcomings... can blame ps:t failure (and it were a failure) on the suits. ps:t had too little combat, and combat that were there were mostly bad. 'cause chrisA put so much dialogue into ps:t (much of which were pretty tedious and overblown... though some of it were pretty damned inspired too,) the lack of fun combats were even more noticeable and pronounced. *chuckle* one developer from a rival company told Gromnir that ps:t inspired them to adopt a 3-line guideline for dialogues: no single dialogue response shoulds be more than 3-lines long. why? 'cause average gamer got bored reading and just kinda clicked through the long dialogues so that they could gets to the combats & stuff. ps:t combats suckage should have made chrisA's list... but it didn't/won't. HA! Good Fun!