Plano Skywalker

anyone here seen Donnie Darko? If you like the (original) Butterfly Effect, you might like this....all about a guy who possesses some sort of domino-effect ability. it is kind of creepy but also a very good film.

I haven't seen CR yet but I to say the I generally agree with the list, although I'm not sure OHMSS is number 1, but it definitely one of the better ones. I'm thinking Goldfinger might be the best and I would probably replace LTK with Goldeneye, by far the best Bronsan Bond film. Dalton is a good actor but not a good Bond. However, I do like The Living Daylights...had such a Cold War feel, which is appropriate for a spy movie set in the 80's. The Moore movies were pure camp but that probably had a lot to do with the 70s and it being a time of feminism and activism of all types....his movies HAD to be corny in a sense. Connery was the best Bond but his overt sexism and imperialist leanings was part of the charm...something that could never fly again.

there was actually a sequel? wow, I had no idea. I've also heard there is a sequel to the Dungeons and Dragons movie...straight to DVD, I believe.

well, they are going to have this problem until they: 1) have a "coprotagonist" that, essentially, takes the credit for what happened in game. this coprotagonist is, of course, a hard-coded character like Bastila and would probably be in the role of a teacher. the "coprotagonist" can be controllable at different stages of the game (especially the endgame). you might even control this character during romantic dialogues, etc. 2) give the PC a fixed surname....this will allow full VO remarks about the PC regardless of gender..."Greetings Padawan Stargazer....." etc. it will also allow the game to go into your homeworld, family, etc all while being gender neutral.

that is good news. it looks like they have backed off a bit on the "few SW games" idea. they are looking at other types of games but they know their fans want SW stuff, and they know it sells.

excellent points there Savvy, I agree that there should be different *kinds* of romance, just because it is more realistic. If your character is a Dark Jedi, for instance, he is probably not interested in a long term relationship. I realize that they generally don't want a Mature rating for these kinds of games but as long as they keep it to words, expressions, and generalized cutscenes, I don't see a problem. I also agree that more characters should be fleshed out in terms of dialogue. However, I also realize that the more fleshed out the characters are, the less likely we are to get good party management. Hence, I think party members should fall into 1 of 3 categories: * releasable * non-releasable * hireling As I envision it, the non-releasables are the ones like Kreia, Bastila, Atton, etc and those are the ones with deep, unlockable backstories. Romance for these is not essential and might actually be counterproductive. Releasables would be for characters like Juhani, GOT0, etc. They might actually have an important story clue for you but, as soon as they give up their clue, they can be released. I think this category is the best for romances as romances in game should be non-essential....just as these characters are. Hirelings are releasables but with very little dialogue/backstory and may not even have a name beyond "Mandalorian Scout", etc. This category would include slots for non-sentient droids in the case of a game like KOTOR.

K3 has been the victim of a lot of unfortunate things (in a manner of speaking): * LA is going to focus on having less SW games at any one time. * They had to produce an Episode III game to go along with the movie (this is what some believe rushed K2, actually). * Battlefront, Empire At War, and Lego SW series, not to mention their MMO, are all SW games. I suspect that Battlefront and Lego will not continue ad infinitum (neither will Epi 3 games). Once those series have come to an end, there will be room. In order to help sell KOTOR 3 to the Suits, I suspect they will describe it as an action RPG, not unlike Mass Effect. Anyway, there is hope for it but not until these other SW franchises wrap up their cycle.

I'm going to have to agree with Kalfear. For Xbox, it's all about KOTOR, KOTOR 2, and Jade Empire for good RPGs. If you like adventure games, then you can get Indigo Prophecy on Xbox. Indigo Prophecy is a very fun, immersive game, although most posters on this board seem to agree that the ending sucked or just wasn't as good as the rest of the game. Still, it was an attempt to bring back the adventure game after a period of relative inactivity and it was a solid attempt. The company that produced Indigo Prophecy is working on a next-gen title called "Heavy Rain", which I will probably get (360, not Xbox, I believe). If you are looking to get a 360, then the Mass Effect trilogy is probably your best bet for RPGs. Also, Jade Empire 2 is rumored to be in development.

Is it not a bit stupid that Exar's spirit is there thousands of years after..... you would think it would have been disturbed by some Sith wanting to learn more of the Dark-side. :crazy: *cough* CANON IS FLAWED! *cough* " <{POST_SNAPBACK}> there is nothing in continuity that would prevent Kun's spirit from speaking to someone...it's just that none have been recorded in the EU yet, apparently.

there is no "hard news", only speculation. however, I think the fact that the KOTOR comic even exists suggests they want to do more games and LA refers to KOTOR as an "ongoing franchise" everytime they are asked about it. I really think that KOTOR struck a nerve with LA/LFL employees. They saw this as the one place (now that the movies are over) where the SW story is told electronically and in games at that (yes, I know there are plans for a TV show). Wow, to be a developer of a game that will change SW continuity, not just some game where you run around with guns and tanks, but a game that affects the storyline of the frachise. I think LA employees were drooling over doing K3 in-house (in fact, there was already a team working on it). And then came the reorg, in which games like KOTOR were sent out to contractors. K2's rushed schedule, bugginess, and lack of post-production support are just inexcusable UNLESS K2 was set up to fail, kind of a TAKE THAT! to the Man who wanted to outsource the franchise. So now Dark Horse is more or less in charge of the storyline in this era and any new title would probably be developed by Obsidian since 1) BioWare doesn't want it and 2) LA just doesn't have the in-house talent for this kind of RPG. LA would, of course, produce the project but, unless their attitudes have changed, I'm not sure they need to be messing with it.

it depends on how they do it...it would probably have to remain off your ship's astrocharts....and, when you are there, you would be in a certain segment such as "Coruscant: Capital City: Diplomatic Quarter East" or something to that effect. that way, you could be in a segment of the city where flying hovercraft is the only option....no walking to speak of and no ground-based transports. if you ever need to leave the segment of the city you are in, you simply get a cutscene to take you there. I can't wait.

apparently, getting WOTC to allow an older D&D property to make its way into a video game is something of a problem, or at least there is a perception that this is a major hurdle. the idea is that, a 16-year-old plays a video game in a certain setting and then wants to run out and buy the paper rules for the setting...except, there are none. anyway, if they do bring back an older property, I think it should be Dragonlance. The Dragonlance campaign with next-gen movies and cinematic cutscenes? that would be sweet. I would, however, like to see a game based on some sort of journey to the Underworld, but I don't think it has to be D&D based (and the PC does not have to be a corpsified horror!). I would prefer an Ancient Greek setting.

I see your point but I think Atton was an attempt at something other than the Meterosexual male (yes, I've played through K2 as female Exile) as a romantic interest. so, in addition to the Cool Cat (Atton), you would like to see what? The Jock? The Flirt?

eh, yeah, let's take it easy on the ad homs, eh?

given the time period, I would say any planet (or moon) that has an Oxygen/Nitrogen atmosphere and that is associated with either the Jedi or Sith would be in order. Ziost and a much more detailed (how about 5 levels of subterrainian crawling?) Korriban would be in order. Also, Yavin 4 would be good, although it could be tricky with Kun's spirit there...you really can't do much with him (at that point in the timeline) but he is not exactly going to be ignored....still, if done right, it could be sweet. There are also worlds that are associated with the Jedi. I have no problem with Dantooine but it has to be more than what we have already seen....some sort of long-distance mission with swoop bikes would be in order there, IMO. Coruscant is a must, even though it would not have to be on the astrocharts...I wouldn't mind it being in an extremely linear part of the game.

it will be interesting to see how the House Democrats position themselves....obviously, the war will take up much of the talking points. still, Democrats have their own "kooks" and their own version of flag-burning amendments, marriage amendments and any other devisive issue you can think of. will Pelosi careen to the left (which is where she has lived most of her political career) or try to be a Clintonian centrist? will she be able to hold together a moderate/liberal coalition, will she be able to get Republican votes on certain bills when she needs them? all of this remains to be seen. in the Senate, there is a razor-thin majority and, all told, the Senate should not change its DNA all that much...plus, you don't have to have a majority to bottle up nominess....all you need is 41 senators. the House Republicans had a cynical strategy of holding on to power: spend money like drunken sailors on every pork project you could think of and throw the religious right a bone every once in a while. that is not Conservatism. Conservatism wins at the polls....trouble is, it is not often found on the menu.

as long as the Dems don't try to bottle up executive nominations with procedural maneuvers, I think I can live with them in charge of both chambers...heck, it might even get this 2-term president the chance to use his VETO PEN, something that he has not yet used, if I recall correctly. make no mistake, this was a referendum on the Iraq war....this is the same issue that lead to Tony Blair's demise.

K1 is the more complete product with textured graphics, changing skylines and other "little things" that make a big difference. Taris was an "oh my god, this is a good map" type world that has not been rivalled in the franchise since. however, the story of K1 is sooo transparent. KOTOR 2 is the more mature, introspective game that had so much potential. it just suffered from a lack of development time and post-production support. K2 is my favorite game (between the two)....Taris is my favorite world in the franchise so far. they are both very good cRPGs.

bottom line: it needs to be a gameplay thing and not just a roleplay thing...there should be real, quantifiable advantages to "going steady" or getting married in-game. the designers will always have corny flirt lines and the AI needed for a more believable romance would be, well, asking a lot.

one way you could have returning characters from previous games (and still respect the kind of contingencies that Architect is talking about) is that you see them and speak with them but they never sail with you on your ship. example: your first mentor has gone away (at least for a good, long while) and the game is trying to set you up with your second mentor. by that time, the game should know whether you gravitate more to LS or DS. if LS, you might run into Jolee and he teaches you a few things....he has a few sidequests for you....do all the sidequests, and he teaches even more. if DS, this secondary mentor could be Visas, for instance. same thing applies to non-Force types....you bump into them and they have information and sidequests for you. I agree that Canderous should play a HUGE role in K3 but should not be a joinable.

Clannad -- "Magical Ring" album

I really don't care if the joinable NPCs are retreads or new...I just don't want to wear my mentor like a cheap suit this time (a la Kreia in K2). there should be more than one mentor in K3, just like in JE, you had Master Li as your beginning one and several others throughout the game....you were not just "stuck" with someone. that is my biggest complaint about K2.....too much reliance on your teacher and stuck with only one real teacher. JOINABLE FACTIONS FTW!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I roleplay for the complete sense of immersion that an RPG experience has the potential to bring. As such, romances are a part of that and I rather like them in RPGs. The problem is that they are little more than teasers in their current state. There needs to be more cause/effect to them. K2 had it so where if you talked to Visas at length, you couldn't train Brianna to be a Jedi. That is good. However, there would have, ideally, been a way to talk your way out of the doghouse with Brianna, especially if you stopped talking to Visas. Like all NPC interactions with the PC, they just aren't organic enough. We are starting to see the ability to get married in open-ended RPGs (i.e. Fable), which is good. Thing is, there is no reason why the romance has to be with a fellow adventurer. As Mal on Firefly said "shipboard romances complicate things". I like how, in the game Pirates!, your spouse becomes your informant when you are in port. Anyway, linear RPGs need to start incorporating some of these other aspects into the romances, I believe.

so there really should be no "downside" to gaming on a Dual Core system?

I have no immediate plans to get NWNs2, partly because I don't have the gaming rig for it and partly because that new products (especially on the PC platform) are normally quite buggy and require patches. I will get NWNs2 once a number of patches have made their way into the shrinkwrap. However, if you are concerned that post-production support for NWNs2 is going to be akin to that of K2, I think you can rest assured that this is not the case. Atari may be called many things, but they do care about QA, post-production support, and customer satisfaction.