Cantousent

Well, let me just let you have the last word. I've really enjoyed the discussion. More to the point, I'd love to play in one of your campaigns. It's just a shame that time and distance don't allow us to participate in every campaign we find appealing. Hell, I'd love to play a CoC game. Maybe a Paranoia game. Maybe a modern spy game. If you ever feel up to running one of these online things, you should let everyone here know. I'd join. ...And I'm far too lazy to try to break the system.

I always count every minute that I play the game. I'm also one of those foolish folks who counts replays, although I'll time the first run separately just so I can give my honest assessment of game time. Nevertheless, every minute I play the game counts for my own personal assessment. Sometimes that can be misleading, as Morrowind proved, but I generally feel that I should count the game as long as it provides entertainment to me. I'm in the third run of Oblivion and the shine has certainly diminished. That doesn't change the fact that I enjoyed the time I've put into it so far and I'm still having some fun putzing around.

I'm thinking it will probably be somewhere around 40 hours. Call me foolish, but I don't think Obsidian will make the campaign 20 hours. I expect that most players will take between 30-40 hours.

Yes, I was thinking RP creates his own character. Every character receives experience equally, there or not. Characters move in and out of the game as the players are able to participate. How does that sound?

See, that's where the DM can just sit back and enjoy the game. Even so, Baley wasn't any too happy that I chose to keep my initiative roll I made while Horace was an NPC. There's never going to be a time when the DM doesn't have to be the final word on the rules.

Okay, in California, we're in Pacific Daylight Time right now. Here's a compromise, we can start in time for Tigranes to participate and then have a little overlap for Blank and then continue a little after Blank leaves. That way everyone can play and we accomodate the most players. I'd also like to see RP there. As far as RP goes, I have a plan. Please tell me what you think. I'd like you guys to participate in decisions of this sort. Okay, Role Player can create a character. Six people means that there should be five characters in the game at every moment without being forced to NPC any player character. I'll give experience to all living characters equally across the board. So, when RP is there, his character will be the same level as everyone else. The downside is that, when he is absent, he won't have a say in splitting the loot and he clearly can't give his opinion about the party's overarching goals if he isn't there.

What I'm saying, MrBrown, is that all my experiences as DM have included making and passing judgement at some point or another. I guess what I find frustrating is that your views make a lot of sense, but I've found them almost impossible to attain during play. Granted, I can't get folks to play anything other than DnD. If I did, they'd still probably treat the game as the same. Let's take the example of the player doing what he considered "in-character." The players generally try to act in character. What about that paladin that finds it easier to slaughter the surrendering enemy even when his the dictates of his code demand that he spare anyone who supplicates himself and appeals to Zeus? The player slaughters the enemy and then says, "well, this is a roleplaying game and your job isn't to enforce the rules. I mean, sure I've created this character and one of the stipulations my order has made for the sake of my paladin status is that I spare anyone who appeals to Zeus for guest-friendship. It doesn't matter. I can make the arguments that..... insert lame, clever, or just plain crazy excuse here... and therefore I should not lose any of my class abilities." You know, even though that's completely bogus, I might be willing to let the player do that. Hell, I've seen cases where the player thinks he's in the right. Fine, say I let the player get away with something so ridiculous and lame. The other players will scream bloody murder. ...And we're not talking our local teen group, every one of whom has a special plus twenty sword of everything slaying. I'm talking about adults with advanced degrees and successful careers. Don't get me wrong because, even though I find your arguments frustrating, I can appreciate the fact that you're obviously quite intelligent. I can tell that you've given these rules careful consideration. Far more than have I. So, I don't mean insult when I say that your position is a pie in the sky sort of wishful thinking. I don't have, and don't anticipate, having a group in which your hands-free method would work. Your position is greatly appealing until you actually try to keep a game going. ...And here's the truth. Most players, even dear old mum, are like children. No matter what they say, when they sit down to play, they want a DM who is in control and makes decisions. I might want to just be there to provide the story. That's what I actually like best about the game in the first place. Dammit, I like to play the NPCs and describe the setting and pit my obstacles against the players. What I desire might be to act out the part of the Baron's evil daughter, but what I'm going to end up doing somewhere along the line is enforcing the rules. Maybe I've been playing wrong lo these many years, but that's my experience.

Plus, can I direct download Space Rangers 2? Freelancer single player didn't have much by way of replay for me, but I have enjoyed multiplayer. To be honest, however, I lan Dungeon Siege 2. Even multiplayer, Freelancer just doesn't do it for me.

So far, 11am PDT has three votes. Nick? Blank? RP?

Just create a new thread. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I was trying to derail this one. :ph34r:

Yeah, we haven't teamed for a while, but if any of you happen to see Eldara in Paragon city on the Pinnacle server or Eldara's evil sister or Lord Obsidious in Rogue Isles, let me know and we can team.

Actually, that works for me very well. I have some stuff arriving tomorrow and having the late afternoon to work on it will be quite good.

Okay, what is the best time for you? What time would you like to start? Throw out a specific time.

I pre-order from time to time. I like to preorder because it comes straight to me. For a title I know I'm going to purchase no matter what, it makes perfect sense to pre-order. Now, I didn't pre-order Oblivion because I wasn't determined to buy it. I didn't pre-order ToEE, NWN, or Half-Life 2. However, I preordered, amongst other titles, IWD, Diablo 2, Myst 4, and a few other titles. I was perfectly happy with the experience. I have never been disappointed with a pre-order title and, since I was going to buy the game anyhow, I saved myself the time to go to the store. Moreover, in a couple of cases, I received the item very early on the day of release. Add to that the cases where the local storefront might have been sold-out on the day of purchase, and I'm satisfying my fix in a timely manner. I'm sold on pre-orders, even if I don't use them very often.

Can we get some sort of consensus for tomorrow? I'd like to keep it sometime between 7am to 5pm PDT. I can't give all that time, but I can give a good chunk of it.

Llyranor is clearly going to be on board no matter what else. Meta has it on pre-order and I will soon also. I'll give my honest opinion, but I also tend to find something to enjoy in most games. I'm easy that way. However, I will be scrupulously detailed in describing the length of time it took me to finish the game and why.

Thanks guys. Where can I find the newest Omega drivers?

I don't name names. To the topic, however, we're all important in sufficient numbers. It's just that folks aren't interested in putting the heat on in regards to this issue.

How do I find the Framerate in Oblivion? I'm thinking about installing the Omega drivers for my wife's Radeon 9800 pro. Will it be worth it and what are the risks?

Vol, Vol, Vol. Don't sell yourself short. You've provided some real emotion and drama on these boards. After all, I never had more requests for official warnings and moderated status than I did for you! :Eldar's slapping Volourn on the back icon: Now, Hades caused some real heartache and grief for folks at the old interplay boards. I remember advocating, in one of my more wrathful moments, giving him a lifetime ban. Hades was like a sort of twisted Pericles. He had more votes for banning, but never the majority at any one time. hahaha. Anyhow, while we'll get the answer eventually, the question will remain. Folks will ask and there really isn't anything to stop them. You think it's futile to ask the question? It's even more futile to tell them to stop asking.

It's only happened once that I recall in the last 5 years. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Gromnir usually only speaks first person when he's being entirely serious. Also, Feargus and Gromnir have butted heads on occassion. In one such case, Gromnir spoke in his actual person quite frankly regarding our favorite CEO. Gromnir is as much of the landscape on these boards as Hades or Vol. He can be a real ass sometimes, but at least you can take his comments seriously.

I agree. My issue isn't length at this point. If it's good, I'll get my money's worth in hours. I still think trying to find out what Feargus said, if anything, is a legitmate response. I also think Feargus made a mistake by saying something, assuming he did. Hell, since we can't establish that he made the comment, who knows? I'm glad Gromnir is seeking answers on this one. It's good for consumers when developers are compelled to answer reasonable questions. I'm probably as much of an Obsidian fanboy as any person on this board, but that doesn't mean I'm not willing to ask tough questions.

Are we playing tomorrow? If so, what time?

You know, I remember Interplay. If you think message boards and fan responses don't have an impact, you're nuts. Now, we don't have anything of the sort of problem as Interplay had with the Fallout crazies, but message boards have an impact, my friend. Anyhow, Vol, you'd be clamoring for answers too, if the issue were nearer and dearer to your heart. You can be quite a handful sometimes, can you not? The issue of game length is not what's important to me. Where Gromnir is entirely right is that we should keep asking the questions. I'd use myself as an example, but Gromnir's much more in your face, so I'll use him instead. Gromnir will undoubtedly keep hassling for an answer to this question. Not only is he pretty damned safe from any sort of harrassment charge, I seriously doubt if he gets an official warning for his posts let alone banned from the board. Nuts, Vol. Anyhow, I'll take time to cool down. There's no point in getting angry about a message board issue. Especially now that it's mostly academic as the original point has lost some of its urgency.

You Know, I've increasingly become a Llyranor fan over the years. You're still a yutz, but dammit, I like you. You could marry my sister.