Janmanden

Only really ever been an issue to me in: FO/2: any party member being gunned down by any party member. Nooo...totally not happening *reloads* FO2: Getting a bit too smart with Lil Jesus. I took great effort not to hit any civilians, unlike the Mordinos, which then escalated into a full scale war, but still trying to protect the civilians by focusing on the Mordino thugs that kept hitting on them. FO:T:. I always take great effort to avoid friendly neutral casualties even at the expensive of my own health by trying to attract crossfire away from them. When they charge or run and are chased it gets really tricky. Especially in the (nosafe) Tough Guy mode, which means a complete restart. VTM Bloodlines: When running thru the Sabbath hideout my initial sentiment is to let the Sabbath blood-fodder, with their eye-balls plucked out, live, when it actually seems like killing would really be the most merciful cause of action. VTM Bloodlines: Killing the little slayer girl is something I generally find dishonorable, but it can be really hard to avoid with the berserker style combat system (kicks and hits everything in vicinity). BG2: Dealing with peaceful Orcs/Ogres in the 'Ranger' area (forgot name) as a LG Paladin just seems wrong to kill them (and of course there's an alternate solution, but still, I'm often at odds with the stereotype of a lawful good alignment) PS: Torment: When Annah go nuts and you are forced to kill her. *big urge to reload*. BG2: Killing the friendly thief that first offers the help of the thieves guild after you side with Bodhi just feels so wrong from any alignment perspective. BG2: Failing to uncharm the charmed guy in Nalias home castle *reloads* K1/2: Extracting debts from poor debtors with their blood *reload* K1: Killing Jedi & Malak on the SF has caused me to reload a couple times as LS in the beginning searching for the peaceful liberation alternative. KOTOR: Doing consistently humanly Evil or DS is hard, but I liked it still in K1, where as in K2 it did feel a bit too nasty sometimes. K1: Dealing with Juhani on Dantoine has caused me to reload a couple of times, even though I did kill her in my first game. Too much waste. K1: Dealing with the family feud on Dantoine or Kashyyk DS brrr...

- I convinced Atris to train me as my master, but Handmaiden kept refusing to let me go back which was very frustrating...I cared about her.

One of the best Fantasy Strategy RPG games ever made and yet so unknown: Master of Magic. It was released with a lot of bugs in 1993 that caused some rather poor reviews, but after the patches it's totally up there among the stars. A real classic like an improved Fantasy Civilization game, but terribly underappreciated. A bit like HOMM, but better, even today. And graphics and menus are really good and intuitive. Completely random game world on two planes, 8 unique races with special troops and RPG like heroes with partially randomized skills too on two planes. You play as a wizard that has special powers too and research over 200 spells from 6 different realms (only 5 since life and death are mutually exclusive). Lots of City, Worldwide and unit protection and destructive spells. Can research and create your own magic artifacts. All units except conjured monsters have a level progression that makes them tougher. I've only met 2 people that knew of the game since 1994 - a truly shocking terrible waste! I am getting restless to play again already...only played it for years. *drools* This has gotten too long already, but I can't help it...it's *that* GOOD.

Wit from life: So this guy right across the table just asked me: Dude: "Do you have an email address?" Me: "yeah, I even send you an email once, it's probably still in your inbox" Dude: "Hotmail?" Me: "Nah, it's probably cold by now..." In Real life I am so scary... edit: added a post icon post-posting.

Words are so fragile. They easily break and when old and rarely used ones do that, they stink up the place as well. If you are being a farting arse about it, they powers that be can't tell smell the difference... But we can, stay here!

I think it's the player SW dualism and belief that Jedi = LS = Good that is flawed in itself. Think about the code: Jedi: There is no emotion, but peace... Sith: Peace is a lie, there is only passion... Is clearly a lawful coldblooded type (Could be Vrook) while Is the chaotic warmblooded one (Maybe Vrook is just a bit too rigid and stern) Vrook is probably as gray and dried up as his looks and an unforgiving nature can be just as lawful... But I really doubt there is much peace.

I'm somewhat of a FO:T fanboy, so I'm biased. I've also played JA2 and Silent Storm and I can understand why they both may be underappreciated. JA2 is at least fun with the party banter, cutscenes and combat too, but Silent Storm is just plain boring unless you happen to be a die hard fan of tactical combat - and I'm not, I need more. edit: some grammar and a point.

(2:) Nah, it was rather nicely done *Influence gained* (1:) if you had any idea what you were doing, but I guess I was mistaken *influence lost*. I may be mad, but I'm not sure it's actually outwards...

Specifically in CRPG I look for Roleplaying elements and fun and replay value mostly. Two sides to the same coin, no? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Yeah... it felt like a very stupid question...that's why I made the answer longer, which you can't see here, because you cut that part out, to follow up on the retarded business of our previous encounter no doubt.

My issue was (before you start distracting me) a follow up to @Hades_One's issues with "what's the point of tactics" and @Plano_Skywalkers issues with "multilayered" combat where you respond in part with "tactical abilities" and my own response to @Hades_One that: You picked up on the 'curent' state of CRPG's in extension to these arguments, where I thought you were referring to games recently mentioned as part of your theory on the 'current' state of CRPGS. In other words: why games like KOTOR was the 'current' state of CRPG's. Dang, that was long. But I can see now, that you were not speaking of that context. So that's kinda stupid in a rather futile way to keep pushing forward, wouldn't you agree? Yep, that was a rhetorical question. edit: added some rhetorical nonsense.

Specifically in CRPG I look for Roleplaying elements and fun and replay value mostly. I seek the challenge of morals & combat and the immersion in itself and as part of the first to create the intimacy/close-up-and-personal-like-feel needed to actually doubt AND the freedom to go against my 'default' role. A premise Deus Ex/System Shock2 completely failed to deliver upon, and one where Fallout/PS:T/BG/KotOR excelled, imo. The default role being: that one role that everyone that votes LS and Bastila as favorite K1/K2 paths in polls pick because that's the default 'hero' role everybody can relate to. It's unfortunately a mindless role, because it's so cliche in the SW setting. I feel the major shift in 'current' CRPGs as being one of content and perspective more than one of skill. It's a GOOD shift, because the skillbased CRPG was really nothing short of a fantasy action game with a pair of character development boobs slabbed on to make it look like a female... Which thanks to that was still funny to fondle sometimes, hehe. edit: grammar yuck, it's getting late...actually: early, I mean.

Sorry if I didn't directly address concerns that you had, but I think what I wrote is relevant to the main thread subject. Turn-based (and many real-time) CRPG combat systems are often based in pen-and-paper systems which are, by necessity, turn-based. They're also often very complex. Moving to simultaneous real-time didn't really make the rules more complex or simpler as much as it made combat messier. Those are certainly nice elements of tactical combat games, but I think it gives you a lot of "god's eye" advantages. It's difficult, because ultimately giving you control over all of the characters and a good viewing perspective gives you a lot more to work with, but I think it also feels less intimate and less like you're playing one "guy" and more like you're a general playing with miniatures. I didn't dislike the slow pace of the original Pool of Radiance. Those battles could actually go amazingly quick if you speed up the pace to max and could read the combat feedback that flashed by in a couple of frames. I really hate this kind of intertwined quoting crap that you returned to me, please don't do it again. That I had?! Well excuse me, but I saw a different context here that you picked up on and contemplated further upon later. So, what exactly do you mean by 'current' state then if not referring to the imminent context of KOTOR or NWN and that 'current' state of close-up 3D fps views and tactics found in 'current' CRPGs and which are these? I sense no disagreement here since you only address the latter part to which I agree. You still ignore the shift of view, which I regard as a major part of the current state, as one of the reason behind why it has both been made easier for the casual player and harder for the tactician. But I am starting to get the feeling that you are not at all concerned about tactics in your context. Shifty. Now I think you are having a Fall out with yourself (please make FO3 instead, haha) "It took so many tries and the battle took a really long time" in a context where you use Pool of Radiance to illustrate a time consuming game. I read that as your way of saying it was a bad thing, but you don't think that?

When you start making polls about polls, then you know its time for you to go... Nothing wrong with polls, but definitely with the 'you' one. Not referring to you unless you make the same mistake of course. Imo.

I am not really surprised, but I am little disappointed that so many thinks Atris is the one most in need of a change of Attitude, since her attitude was just right for an arrogant infatuated Jedi wannabe. She's actually quite nice, once you get to know her.

Excuse me your longwindedness, but you completely failed to address the ONE point that would have made any sense in this context: The view has changed AND you virtually only have the control and the view of one char at a time instead of them all at once. It's a very important change, because you thus lack the strategical layout of the combat area, environment and enemies and the ability to effectively move around your chars...as you do with a birds eye view of an isometric game where you can move your chars around in squads, smaller teams or separately. But there is also the concept of time coupled with impatience as you do manage to mention. I too hated all that mindnumbing slowness of Pool of Radiance(2) especially when dealing with critters and monsters I killed fast. I just couldn't resist.

That's a pretty shallow view, but it's also based on a rather limited (ingame) view in itself, I'd admit. Fast tactics and combat smarts are just as important. When you need to talk with the enemy before you engage them and the game otherwise focus on close combat as well it does pose some limitations on positions, elements of surprise and tactical layouts, since they are not really possible on the grand scale, but there are other tactical elements like incapacitate and disperse enemies as well as different roles for your team. Some of the old RPG and PPG (Proffession playing games like Silent Storm or Fallout: Tactics) can be dealt with pretty fast without much (apparently) tactical thinking (thanks to experience) as well. Critters are critters in any game.

Get away from me you are contagious! I have no idea what you just said, but it sounded retarded, maybe because I've just been infected with retardedness too or it just was retarded...

If you say you love playing DS and include the "hate" context to include Johnny Inept as well, fine.

There is no way (like the highway to) in hell that I am gonna mention Might & Magic 1, since M&M VI is the best in the series, imo, but it still rates low (even though I do recognize the value) as all the M&M's do on my RPG lists. Dialogue and choices are just as important as action in itself as roleplay defining elements and those old games are really lacking in the first aspects.

Too much info.

Feh... Polls are the ONE great thing that sets forums apart from total oblivion and threads apart from the memory wipes on flipping pages. If only they were more dynamical with their options and lengths they'd be totally awesome content management tools to handle idea threads and the like. It's the voice of the people in an immediate transparent and visible context, how can you possible ignore that power?

In this poll I miss(ed) Vrook. He totally need enLIGHT(SIDE)enment. edit: (oh there he is).

I prefer humorous comics and never cared much for the semi-nude or really "super" marvel crap stories. But that's partially ignorance as I've seen some new Batman albums that looks really great. At one time I did collect Morbus Gravis "Druuna" for obvious reasons , but it didn't last that long. Comics like: Asterix & Obelix, Blueberry, Spirou (Splint & Co), Gaston (Vakse Viggo), Valerian (Linda & Valentin) are among my favorites...and some I only know in danish (Henrik & Hagbart, Benny Bomst

You are partially right; BioWare are NOT Gods, but the ONE God. I just have this one little problem: I am an atheist.

I call it Continuous Turn Based combat (CTB). Because that's what it is. You still have a limited amount of attacks pr round or second or whichever way you chose to measure it and it's based on level and skill and so on. The RT system in Arcanum is what I call CHAOS (Continuous Hack And/Or Slash). edit: added an arcane ritual...