Cantousent

I think you have a point, Vic. If they just changed the interface, cut or rework the ridiculous mini-game, extend the dialogue, and rein in the mob of NPCs, I think they have a good chance of getting it right. I'm not writing off FO3. I don't want it to be Obsidian in the Fallout universe. I've grown more optimistic after playing Oblivion, but that's because it's apparent that Bethesda can make a great game. What they still haven't proved, however, is that they can make a great Fallout game. For that, we'll have to wait. I'm confident they can do it.

I agree. Don't know much about the Dead Sea Scrolls myself, but it seems to me that Christians emphasize too much on the significance of Jesus

Ah, the only legitimate bigotry of our day: anti-Catholicism. Yes, your lot in life is due to the machinations of the vatican. Here I was thinking we might actually have a discussion regarding the merits of the text. Instead, we resort to same old "papal" hating nonsense. The church is right to put the utmost scrutiny on these accounts. Just because some new document comes to light does not somehow make it more legitimate than what we have. In this case, the apocryphal document undoubtedly fails to bring up anything new to either the Catholic church or Christianity in general. This issue isn't even a blip on the radar. The only thing it provides is a weapon for folks to attack my faith. For most of these folks, any weapon will do. *shrug* I should know better than to think we can have a substantial discussion about issues like these.

I really did like my predecessor, Traven. However, no. The only memorable NPC experiences are the ones you imagine for yourself while in the dialogue. I'm sorry to all the other folks who've really enjoyed the game, but fair is fair. The NPCs and dialogue just plain suck. Now, some of the quests I did later in the game were really, really cool. The final quest before I took on the position of Arch-Mage was quite good. ...But even that entailed me to imagine some of the scene. The fact is, while it's not unreasonable to assume that the player bring a little imagination to the table, it would have been far better if Oblivion had something better to offer folks who focus more on writing or combat. It's ridiculous to think that folks like Gromnir and Llyranor don't have sufficient imagination to enjoy the game. There's no doubt they do. The problem is that, for their tastes, the game doesn't provide enough incentive to invest imagination. That's not the player's fault.

Works in my favor, though. I'm running a 9800pro and, while the framerates are not awesome, I have my resolution set to 1024x768. The game runs fine. No problems at all running. Now, if I minimize the game or quit to desktop, I'm liable to have problems, but otherwise there's really very rarely any snag at all while playing. EDIT: The framerates aren't awesome, but still quite good.

There is an excellent chance I would buy this MMORPG if it hits the shelves. I used to play Mordheim and still have an Eldar army for Warhammer 40K. I'm all about High Elves in Warhammer. The only problem is that it's hard enough to get my friends to buy into a PnP RPG or a lanned computer game. No one wants to spend the time or effort on a miniatures game. As far as the PnP game, everyone else here is glued to DnD. Hell, I'd like a Warhammer game, but I'd love to get a game of Call of Cthulu going. So no dice for Warhammer unless they get a good computer game going. If they make this, I'll be able to get my Warhammer fix. I'm onboard. In fact, Gorth, let me know if you get into it. We'll get a game going.

Yeah, but I think she's a cutie. She's not my favorite, no. ...But to call her ugly is just plain wrong. On the other hand, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, isn't it? I can think of a few women I find truly beautiful in one way or another whose physical characteristics are not even pretty in the conventional sense of the word. Some women are sexy. Some women are earthy and welcoming. Some women are exotic. Lonewolf shouldn't be pilloried just because he thinks KB is hot. Even if he were the only man who found her beautiful, which he is not, his feelings would still be just as valid.

I used to get crashes virtually every time I quit the game. I installed the omega drivers and since then I've rarely had a crash. Of course, you can't defend a game by saying it works fine if you install a third party driver. heh heh.

You know, I do a lot of writing. Oddly enough, because I didn't plan it this way, I almost always have a bible next to my work computer. If it's not there, it's on the shelf some four feet away. If you ever came to my house, Lucius, you could literally pick up my bible and beat me with it. Of course, I would quickly offer you a beer in the hopes that I could prevent the beating. :Eldar's laughing and offering Lucius a beer icon:

The French, during a crisis with some North African terrorists, ordered the trash cans removed from Paris, didn't they? At least I seem to recall something along those lines.

Hehehe Great thread. "outpenising" "blame the apes" hahahaha As for Ben Bernanke, I don't remember even a blip on the radar. It was all about Greenspan. That was good news for his successor. I believe there's a good chance that both of them were apes of the meat eating variety. I'm just not sure they got their meat from McDonald's.

Actually, I would say the source is excellent in terms of the scholarship. In terms of the document, wildly varying accounts have been in circulation from the very beginning. The gospels weren't even settled until 4th century anyhow, and, technically speaking, the books of the old testament weren't settled until the middle ages. So, Christianity as a whole isn't going to be torn or shattered by this translation. It will just go into the pile with other apocrypha. The article said it was based on an early Greek text. I would actually love to see the early Greek text itself. Of course, we'll probably never get that chance.

I'm glad someone is making an account of the Glaithir quest. I didn't have the patience.

Nope. This is capitalism. ...And while the developers would undoubtedly return some of that profit to the employees, it would be much better for the developer as a company to have this sort of control over the process. Now, I'm not an economist or a game designer, but I'm sure the problem with this idea is the sheer cost. If developers could rely on something like the Steam idea, then that would cut out at least some of the costs, but I wonder how much of what the publish finance is simple distributing. The developers probably need quite a bit of money keeping the operation going while they finish the product. At any rate, the bulk of the developers costs are almost certainly talent in the first place. If not, then they're crazy. On top of that, developers, even indies, are businesses and must maintain some level of profit to continue operating. The closest thing to communism I've seen out of the whole thing is the idea of EU or Swedish funding, which is a terrible idea. It's just relinquishing artistic control and switching it from one corporate entity (the publisher) and placing it in the hands of another, far more powerful entity (the government). We'd all hate it if the lawmakers managed to impose, by law, harsh controls over content based on recent high profile events. Coffee, anyone? How much easier would it be to impose such controls if you didn't need to pass a law punishing publishers, developers, or retailers and simply withhold funding for developers some politician or another deems unfit. Beware the Holy Grail of government subsidy. The water might look cool and clear, but it will taste quite brackish to the palate.

Oh, you mustn't make a mistake. I'm arguing completely from personal preference. Also, I'm willing to keep flogging you guys. Mostly, I like spitting vitriol at the horses. It's kind of fun. Every now and then, I like to pile it on. It's better to target the horses than you guys. Anyhow, You've made the most eloquent and compelling argument in favor of the Oblivion horses I've seen so far.

Frankly, if we're going to have a candid discussion about the game, we're going to cite the things that irritate us. We're going to bring up those little features that detract from our experience and we're going to praise the things that make the experience more enjoyable. My main beef with horses for the game is that it doesn't add anything substantial other than the fact that you can own a horse and ride it from place to place. Inside ruins and other places, you're going to suffer from less mobility and speed, which is a hidden side effect from relying on your horse to travel. While I'm mostly just giving folks a hard time, I honestly do think that the time spent implementing horses in such a manner would have been much better spent improving the game. It's not a deal breaker for me, but it is a legitimate topic for discussion. In regards to the board, however, I think the "realism" arguments are out and out stupid. Horses in Oblivion are not "realistic." So, on a message board where, at least in theory, the developers might see our comments, I want to voice my observations about any aspect of the game that springs to mind. This is not only true for the odd Bethesda developer, but even moreso for Obsidian developers. Mounts in any game should provide enough of an experience to warrant the resources spent on them. If folks argue against my observations, I'll probably continue to argue. I'm usually not one to beat a dead horse, but I'm going to continue flaming this one. On the other hand, you're right, mkreku. I've enjoyed the game immensely. The fact that I hate the horses does not change my overall satisfaction with the game. Furthermore, it really is my biggest beef with the game so far. The dialogue, weird item drops, the occassional visual glitch, or any other such irritation have not come close to changing my mind about what has been a great experience thus far.

Nuts. Of course, I misread your title and thought that the Fed chairman had somehow linked McDonald's to deforestation.

If you're a member of the mages' guild, there's a free copy of the book of Daedra in the Anvil guild library.

Gromnir can speak for himself, but I think he has a point when it comes to the realism argument. Realism only goes so far as the individual wishes to push it. For instance, SL, you like the idea of aimed horse urination or the special horse bowel movement feat. Great. I notice you didn't say you'd like to implement the other "realistic" ideas I cited in my post. Originally, folks made an argument for the way Bethesda implemented horses because the experience was "more realistic." Is it not true that Bethesda could have created a level of realism with horses that would have been tedious and boring to all but the most horse enamoured of us? It's like the folks who argue that Rainbow Six is superior to Half-Life because RS is more realistic. ...But we could form groups and hunt each other with real weapons. That's even more realistic, isn't it? It is not absolute realism we seek, only the level at which we will enjoy the game. Yeah, I really hate horses. Since I've spent many hours playing the game now, I must have been able to overcome my disdain of horses. Still, I will continue to deride horse as Bethesda implemented them. I expect others, those misguided enough to enjoy horses in the game, to defend the method Bethesda used.

I've always gotten a kick out of the title "Archon." Of course, it's really more of a General's title, but I figure my character will be the head of both the fighters' and Mages' guild before the end of the game. If I can stomach creating another character, I might build a fighter/thief sort of fellow next. He'll only use magic to supplement his combat.

Very nice, my commie friend. I like that.

That's only because you've been wearing them on your head instead of your behind. By the way, my first class was a custom class: Archmage. Ironic as that was the position at which Catherine retired. My new class is called Archon. Both classes were custom. I prefer constant effects that help my spell casting over armor, but I use both. I might try enchanting some armor with good constant effects this time.

You know, that unicorn is the only steed I find tempting. I don't know how you access it, but that sounds great. Unless you're pulling my leg. In which case, I think you're a rat bastard.

Well, wish me luck. I'm taking Deirdre out on a test run tonight. She'll do the quests around Imperiel City first and then it's to the city with the haunted house. It's a nice sized house for cheap. Since I'm going the alchemist route, I want a place to build a lab.

Wow, you really like cats, don't you?