Cantousent

Because I am a resolution whore. I will not lower my resolution. I like the large, empty spaces on my screen. anything that results in lower resolution is not an option. Frankly, if I weren't so cheap, I'd get the largest sized monitor available. Like other folks, I'm on a limited budget and I don't much like the idea of spending more on the monitor than anything inside the case. I have, however, considered the widescreen LCD. Why is that a better choice?

My 19" CRT monitor, only a year old, btw, is too small. I run my computer at 1600x1200 and I'm starting to wonder about the effects on my vision. So, I'd like to get something larger and I thought I'd ask you good folks about it. Should I go LCD or CRT? I'm inclined to CRT because I think they're technically superior, but I'm not sure about that. Without delving into the sort of nonsense that plagues next gen console discussions, could you guys give me some advice? Remember, I don't dwell on these things forever, so I'll likely act on sound advice pretty quickly. I'd rather not spend over $500. I don't give a damn about easy of travel. If the CRT is better in all other areas then size, weight, and bulk are a non-issue.

In either case, as much as I'd like to see the Black Hound, I don't think the thread warrants a sticky. I hope we get more news before 8 months pass. However, I think we should give the modder enough room to work out details and get the mod started before we hound him.

DOOM is a great example, as I loved the game myself. It also serves to highlight something else that's been peculiar in my experiences: I've played a lot of a player created mods for DOOM in my time. However, DOOM is rather old. I don't remember the DOOM team pushing the modability, although it did lend itself well to modding. The real downfall of your argument, however, is that DOOM is not an RPG. At any rate, it all boils down to the same thing. Folks with vision who are dedicated enough to learn how to work with a game engine will do so. If the "toolset" (which I didn't see advertised on the DOOM box) is easy, that's great, but dedicated folks will learn it anyhow. The point is, I'm not looking at this as a modder or a game designer. I'm looking at the issue strictly as a player. I want great games and I don't want a game where the toolset came first, with the end user in mind, before the rest of the game. The gameplay is first, to my mind, then the story and other elements. Mods? Only an afterthought. ...And if easy modding leads to tilesets, I would rather not have any modding at all.

We don't need to sticky a thread as busy as this. We'll end up with a second iteration before we need to sticky it.

Personally, I come at this from a different perspective. It frightens me that developers create and ship games with end-user friendly tool-sets. I think they tend to be less powerful and thus lead to inferior games. I liked it better when games were the product of people dedicated enough to master complex and powerful toolsets. Now that they're made to accessible to the rank and file of end-users, the developers are confined to what anyone can master. That toolsets should become easier to use only means worse news for me as a gamer as opposed to a modder.

I like being a bit stingy with gear and magical items. When I do give them, however, I like to make them more varied than weapon or armor enchantments. Really, you can even get away from numerical values altogether. That might not be as easy in a CRPG, but I can envision an item that provides extra dialogue options or grants characters access to otherwise hidden areas. This might be something like a treasure map, only the idea lends itself well to a whole variety of designs. Some might only work if worn, such as the feathered hat of the Men in Tights faction. Others could work if simply possessed, such as the beacon of troublesome imps. Still others could work if visited; for instance, the springs of crystal worship, which gives the characters extra insight into the crystal and why it should be worshipped.

I love the internets, but I don't always trust them. For example, I also thought that Microsoft announced that the 360 was no longer a loss leader.

We does everyone get this sort of information? I mean, I'm curious enough to want to know, but I thought most companies hid those kinds of details.

I don't think there's anything inappropriate in Vol's post. I think there's a lot involved, such as availability and price, but the 360 is bound to come up in a conversation comparing sales of next gen consoles.

An epithet is something you put on someone. I don't know what Salah ad-Din means, but if it means something along the lines of "cunning Aristes," then we could call it an epithet. By the way, we won't need to bump this topic as long as Sammael continues to get new information. I'm sure we'll keep it bumped up all by ourselves. However, if you want to bump this topic, my demonic friend, I think we wouldn't mind at all. As far as the Baldur's Gate name goes, I'm happy enough if Sawyer drops it. The game should be judged on it's own merits, and not as the next iteration of a series that, by rights, should be over. I loved the Baldur's Gate games, but the whole story came to a logical end. I'm sure that the publisher wanted to take advantage of the name, but The Black Hound sounds plenty good from where I'm sittin'.

I'd pay for the mod. If it's finished, I'll pay for the mod. If it's good, I'll pay for the mod for friends. No matter what else, this is a classy move on Sawyer's part. It's no surprise to me.

That's been my experience. I'm the most hardcore gamer of my set. I play with my brother in law, my brother, my sister in law, and a family friend. I'm in it for the fun, not the bragging rights.

Well, I took the plunge and installed WoW. Fun so far. Silk Road wasn't too bad, but I'm afraid I'd get bored long before the whole "purchase or pay" dilemma.

Oh, the game isn't so bad. It's really all about whether you have friends who play, which is true for all these MMORPGs on the market. The graphics really aren't so bad. In fact, I was quite impressed that the game sports the graphics it does. I have to say that you have a lot of griefers in the game... more than CoH/V. The pathfinding literally made me laugh. I had to go places in right angles to get around a wall. I could stand a foot from the end of the wall and run in place against it while clicking on the other side of the wall. I had to click one foot away, click one foot to cross the plane, and then click the one foot from where I was standing on the other side of the wall. That's not pathfinding. The force and weapon systems aren't so bad. You have sword, spear, and bow weapons available, and I presume each has an advantage and a drawback. For force, you have four choices: lightning, fire, force, and cold. I've been using cold so far, which slows the enemy. I also use a sword, which allows me to use a sword/cold combo move. Do I suggest this game to others? It's free. Give it a shot if you like. ...But it lacks the polish of the higher end games.

Please do not spam my thread. It was already half spam by the end of the first post, and I'd like to see if we can get something interesting from the other half. :Cant's non smiley face smiley icon: Also, if I were a bot, I'd've included a link to Silkroad Online. http://www.silkroadonline.net/

Sorry, it's a RPG set in a Japanese/Chinese hybrid setting. You fight giants and monsters and some such. You can set up shops to sell stuff and whatnot. The typical fantasy MMORPG only in an Asian setting. The servers, if I'm not mistaken, are set in Korea. That would SOUTH Korea to you.

Well, I've just downloaded and installed another game. It's called Silk Road. I'm playing this one inbetween my NWN2 runs. One of our own, Ghengisken, has urged me to give it a try. He insists it's a great game, mostly because it is free FREE FREE. I'm not convinced, as yet. Part of my problem is that I have very little time to play computer games these days and MMORPGs are a grind. The only one I've been able to play for any extended periof of time is City of Heroes/Villains. Even then, I don't play that any more. The pluses: *The female character models look good. Let's face it, if I'm going to play a game, I want to look at something aesthetically pleasing. *It's free, so I don't have to pull out the credit card just to see how it plays and whether I like it. *If I choose to spend money, it will be to get cool ingame items like the pet that grabs loot for me. *I know folks who play already. *It installs easy. *It looks good for a free program. The minuses: *When I am exhausted from all the crap I'm doing these days, how much fun can I get out of the game? *If I do get hooked, it will be a huge time sink. *It's yet one more remote program accessing my computer. At any rate, anyone else play this?

Still playing NWN2, but I took a short break and played FEAR Extraction point. A little more of the horror element this time, but still more of an FPS than a horror title. Hell, Painkiller and Alice had scarier moments.

I'm quite the opposite. I read the dialogue quickly and then left click to hit the next passage or my dialogue options. I don't like having to wait for the voice over work. Some of them sound sexy to me, including Neeshka in her own whiny way. Still, I just can't sit through the voice over after I've read the text.

She'll get smarter as you get older, alan. :Cant's poking alan in the ribs icon: Anyhow, I liked PS:T. It's my favorite game so far. I completely agree with Diamond that the atmosphere made the game. I also agree with mkreku that folks who couldn't find interest in the setting were cut off from much of what made the game so enjoyable to the rest of us. PS:T is one of the few games I consider art. The design team followed a real vision. I think that's why it won so many awards but received such a tepid response commercially. Folks can see how hard the design team worked to create the game. They can see that the design team crafted a game with an overarching vision that certainly transcends a game. I'm probably not the smartest person around these parts. Maybe even one of the dumbest. Nevertheless, the argument isn't so simple as thinking the folks who didn't like the game are illiterate fools and the folks who did like the game are pretentious snobs. Some folks who didn't like the game undoubtedly didn't understand it. Some folks can't understand pacman. It's a cruel world. Some folks who like the game really do believe their personal tastes set them a notch higher than the unwashed masses. Too bad for them. The rest of us should avoid the gross generalizations and discuss the merits of the game.

Although Naomi Peters (pictured) is credited in the manual as the voice of Neeshka, she was actually voiced by Robyn Kramer, as credited in the read me. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Yeah, but is Rboyn Kramer as much of a hottie as Naomi Peters?

I can see your point, Wistrik, but it's still nuts. I think other folks have covered the salient points, so you may take this post as support of their responses. Their incredulous, humorous, or even barb-wired responses. With that, I agree that you have every right to post here. You're an intelligent and reasonable member, and certainly a great addition to the community. ...But, yeah, the honesty in publicity thing is nuts as a working model. EDIT: Now, outright lying is a different matter. Even then, you wouldn't expect to hear about the problem on their own web-page.

This topic is closed for the time being. In fact, maybe we can restart it without the posturing. Sarge, behave yourself! I know you like hurling fire, but you're going to end up in the middle of a conflagration. If we can't post without calling each other names, then some of us will end up having our posting rights put on moderated. That's irritating not only for the poster, but also for the moderators. It'll annoy my peers, so don't get to that point. You know you who are. Sarge.

The graphics looked dated to me on release, but the dynamic lighting sure looked good. The problem with NWN graphics, at least from this gamer's chair, is that the colors were all drab and the tileset made everything look like it was made of different colored building blocks. Terrain didn't look natural.