Lorfean

That's not really how he works. Volourn only speaks in "facts". It's best not to take his posts too seriously.

Legend of Grimrock. It had been sitting on my GOG.com shelf since they released it, and after finishing Black Mesa (which was great) yesterday I couldn't decide what to play next so I showed my Backloggery to a friend of mine and she picked LoG I'm on level 4 and liking it quite a bit so far. The atmosphere is great and there is a real sense of claustrophobia and danger as you explore the corridors and venture deeper and deeper into the dungeon. The puzzles are also pretty decent and discovering secret areas feels very rewarding. My party consists of a Fighter, two Rogues (one specialized in melee and one in ranged) and a Mage. The spell-casting system is... I don't wanna say complex -- it's pretty straightforward, actually -- but unless you have a spell prepared (and you can have only one spell prepared at any time) it will take at least three clicks to cast one. I'm guessing it's one of those things that some people will absolutely hate but IMO it's a hell of a lot better than, for example, Arx Fatalis' spell system, which was horribly unreliable to use in the heat of battle. LoG's just takes a bit of practice, and it seems only fair because spells are pretty damn powerful compared to normal weapons.

This, pretty much. Also, a major turn-off in the first game (haven't played the others) were the big sword fights with groups of guards in the middle of populated areas -- any self-respecting assassin would be ashamed if an assignment turned into an all-out brawl like that, yet half of them did in AC... Don't put "assassin" in your game's title unless you're committed to making a game with actual stealth mechanics that focuses on *avoiding* enemies.

The controls are the only thing that might stand out in that regard. I suggest using only the keyboard (the mouse controls are seriously wacky) and taking your time to familiarize yourself with them. They're not bad necessarily, just different, and they might feel a bit counter-intuitive in the beginning. Other than that, I'd say they have aged pretty well -- nice graphics, great atmosphere, a lot of interaction with the environments (No Remorse was way ahead of its time in this regard), a nice variety of weapons, gadgets, enemies, etc. and cheesy 90's-style story progression FMV's One tip I can give you in regards to its graphics -- since there is no widescreen mod or anything like that -- is to play with the DOSBox settings to scale the game to 200% (or 1280x960 I don't remember the specific setting). With other scaling settings turned off, this will result in a perfectly scaled 1280x960 playing area (with black borders) without any of the blurring you would normally get on flat panels. So it will basically look like it would on a CRT monitor. It won't be full-screen, of course, but it'll look crisp and a hell of a lot better than anything you could achieve through your graphics card's scaling options. That's the way I prefer to play it anyway, as I absolutely hate blurry graphics.

I can confirm this, too. Played Crusader: No Remorse on Win7 64-bit without any problems. And, well, it's one of GOG.com's selling points, isn't it -- they make sure their releases work on modern OS'es -- so if you did have any issues, their support department is obligated to help you with that.

Although anubite is being a bit over-dramatic in this thread, I do understand where he's coming from when it comes to DA2. On a personal level, DA2 was probably the single most disappointing game I have ever played*. Not because it was such an unspeakably horrible product, not even because it was a "bad RPG" but, indeed, because of what it stands for. DA:O was heavily marketed as the spiritual successor to the BG series -- after KotOR, after Jade Empire, after Mass Effect, BioWare's first generation of fans would get something they had waited for for 8 years -- a return to their roots in the form of a true group-based, isometric, tactical CRPG. And it lived up to that. Even though it was no BG2, DA:O felt right. The way they had promised. And I think that, especially amongst PC gamers, it was like a sigh of relief. "OK, alright, the consoles can have their Mass Effects and Jade Empires -- we've got Dragon Age now." And then DA2 came along and it just threw all of that out of the window. It got rid of the isometric camera, got rid of the unvoiced protagonist who could be from a variety of different races, got rid of dialogue trees and added Mass Effect's dialogue wheel, got rid of the origins, got rid of companion gear customization, and the list just went on and on... It felt like BioWare just gave up on everything they had promised (and, largely, delivered) with DA:O. They were in a unique position where they could follow through on what they had proven with DA:O -- that *that* type of CRPG can still be profitable and that there is still a large enough demand and interest for it. But instead they chose what many felt was the easy way out and turned it into a console game. And you have to remember -- this was a time before before the controversies and disappointment surrounding Mass Effect 3 and The Old Republic. Before Kickstarter, Wasteland 2 and Project Eternity. BioWare was the industry's western CRPG giant, having just seen massive success with both DA:O and ME2, and to see them make such sweeping changes to one of their lead franchises (and alienating so many fans in the process) was mind-boggling. Now, of course, after ME3 and TOR, and after Ray and Greg's departure, the expectations for their games have changed completely, and so has their fanbase. But DA2 was a unexpected and baffling disappointment at the time. * though Diablo III certainly comes very close.

I really need to get at least one of my characters to 80 so I don't have to worry about stuff like level requirements with events like this.

Guild Wars 2, Black Mesa and Icewind Dale II. Taking it very easy with GW2 (my highest chr is around level 30) but having a lot of fun exploring the world and trying the different classes and races. I'm impressed with Black Mesa and enjoying it a lot (I never played the original Half-Life but have played HL2) and expect to finish it this weekend. IWD2 is one of those games I've played from time to time but never finished, so that's what I'm hoping to remedy with this playthrough -- it definitely takes some effort in certain areas... I also got Borderlands 2 from my cousin (he got a Steam code with his new graphics card but wasn't interested) and I guess I *kinda* like it. So far I've been playing the Assassin, and although the stealth and sniping are cool, I think the game might be more enjoyable with a charging-in-guns-blazing kinda character. So I might try the Commando or the Gunzerker (...) next. Or the Siren. Hm.

Ok, here's my opinion on the matter: NWN OC was crap. SoU was average and HotU was good. Overall, the premium modules were only average too, with the the possible exception of Witch's Wake and Pirates of the Sword Coast. What lifted NWN above just being a very boring, average CRPG with one good expansion was the toolset and that's what it will be remembered for. Unlike NWN2, which will be remembered for Mask of the Betrayer, and you can count on that being the longer lasting legacy. I don't know what "top epic game" means, but agree that BG2 is great. I think that DA is a good game that, today, can be modded into a great game. The expansion was good too but the DLC's varied wildly in quality. I don't think it's underrated -- it pretty much receives the credit it's due. DA2 is not underrated. It's crap. BioWare's worst game by far and it showed us what happens when they're not given their usual development timeframe (ie. "it will be released when it's done"). ME and ME2 are not underrated either -- I really don't understand where you're getting this -- they're good for what they are and stayed true to their genre (unlike the DA franchise) and are given their due credit. Also, Lair of the Shadow Broker is probably BioWare's best DLC to date. It's up there with Obsidian's FO:NV DLC's. BG is a very solid game with an average story. Its strengths are in its combat system, colorful characters, its environments and its freedom of exploration. Tales of the Sword Coast was good and Durlag's Tower was amazing. I tend to agree that KotOR is overrated but I don't think its worse than NWN OC. It made an impact at the time because there had never been a Star Wars game like it but it hasn't aged well. I haven't played Jade Empire or ME3 so I can't comment on them.

Battlestar Galactica -- just loved this. the ending might not have been all that, but the journey was amazing. The Big Bang Theory -- love all the geek culture references and every episode makes me laugh out loud at least a couple of times. Buffy the Vampire Slayer -- just did so many things right on so many levels. Firefly -- I agree that having only one season probably helps it but dammit, it was SO good. Game of Thrones -- love the books and love what they're doing with the show. couldn't have hoped for a better treatment. How I Met Your Mother -- just a consistently great, seamless combination of comedy and drama. The Walking Dead -- this just keeps getting better with each season. hooked. Honorable mention: 24 Dexter Big Love Boardwalk Empire Chuck Farscape Friends Star Trek: The Next Generation True Blood

This, pretty much. Empire, which is (IMO) the best movie in the series, had minimal involvement from George Lucas in the writing and directing departments -- he provided the basic story outline but the screenplay wasn't written by him and the movie was not directed by him. This change of ownership opens the door for other writers and directors to bring something fresh to the Star Wars table and that can only be a good thing. Also, after the completion of the Skywalker saga with Revenge of the Sith, the (hopefully) logical next step would be to focus on a brand new story with brand new characters, which would be very welcome.

Disagreed. And you ignored the first part of his sentence -- both might have been cash grabs from the publishers' point of view but I think that, comparing the two games, it is definitely a valid observation that KotOR2 seems to have been developed with a lot more care than DA2 was. There's probably a multitude of reasons for that, but I think Obsidian can be (and should be) proud of KotOR2, whereas DA2 has very few redeemable qualities that BioWare can look back on with pride. Agreed. Though, purely looking at the way it approached the setting and raised questions about its core concepts of the light and dark sides of The Force, etc. it is defintiely one of the best Star Wars games out there. If not the best.

What a strange question. Or, perhaps, a strange way to formulate a question... I doubt DA2 even crossed Obsidian's mind when they were making their plans for PE, but what I think you're really asking is whether we think they purposefully picked a type of RPG that isn't really being made anymore to "pull in" gamers who aren't satsfied with today's modern CRPG offerings (like DA2)? And yes, I think it's very likely that they realized this while planning PE, but I also think they -- and many other developers, including those working for BioWare -- genuinly love the Infinity Engine style of 2D, tactical, group-based CRPG's and really really wanted to make a game like that. And so, recognizing the demand for that type of game (a demand that had existed since long before DA2 was released btw) and seeing an opportunity in Kickstarter to satisfy that demand with a great degree of freedom, without the interference of a publisher, and create a brand new Intellectual Property that they would own all the rights to, they simply went for it. And then it became the most succesful video game kickstarter to date

$ 250,- plus $ 30,- for shipping and $ 25,- for an Obsidian T-shirt. And my girlfriend pledged $ 25,- even though she hasn't played any of the games mentioned in the pitch (though she has played F:NV and DS3) -- she loved watching all the updates with me during the past few weeks and joined me in watching the live stream last night to the very end, which was around 2:30 AM for us.

It's been an awesome ride for sure, and I honestly never thought we'd pass 4 million and get to ~15 levels with The Endless Paths... Crazy! But now, as they say, the real work starts. I don't even want to try to think of how excited I am that this game is being made, and by this company / these people, but I think I will also have to distance myself a bit. I'm looking forward to future updates by the team, but I don't think I'll be on the forums much. Instead, I'll focus on RL and getting through my backlog of games, and hope that will make the wait seem a bit less long

This is definitely a real danger. I don't think it is. They obviously don't need to make each level the same size, and there's a ton of different designs and styles they can use for the various levels: Od Nua's quarters servant/apprentice quarters library observatory aviary armory chapel gardens guard training halls secret experiments lab mines forge prisons torture chambers underground temple tombs a flooded level caves etc. etc. It's gonna be awesome.

For reference, IWD's largest dungeon was Lower Dorn's Deep, which consisted of 12 maps of varying sizes. Look here for details. LDD was by far the largest section in the game, and freakin' awesome at that, so I think it's a fair example of one way they could approach The Endless Paths. I can already say that it's probably my most anticipated feature in PE -- I'm a sucker for mega dungeons and it's been a blast to see Od Nua's castle grow to such epic proportions over the past few weeks.

I'm also playing IWD2, but started before PE was announced. Pushing myself to get through the Ice Temple exterior in Chapter 2 now, which I've always found a drag. Well, the big difference between this and D3 is that most of the elements that made D3 a bad game and vastly inferior to its predecessors seemed to be the result of decisions made on the "business" level. Always online DRM, no LAN, real money AH (which heavily affected the game's loot system), etc. and the fact that they approached the character progression system in an extremely MMO-like manner. In other words -- two of the main goals for D3 seemed to be 1) to find a way to keep the money coming in post-purchase, and 2) to appeal to and draw in the MMO crowd. Which resulted in a big departure from the previous games in the series and alienated a lot of fans. You could say that what Obsidian is doing with PE is the exact opposite -- by crowd-funding the project and not having to answer to a publisher, they won't have to approach PE in the way Blizzard approached D3 (as a business, instead of a game), and they can actually make a game they love and can be proud of (as I'm sure some of the folks at Blizzard are embarrassed by some of the stuff they did in D3). And by communicating clearly and openly with their backers and discussing details on lore, gameplay, rules systems, etc. from very early on instead of keeping everything behind closed doors, they don't run the risk of "doing it wrong" but actually involve us and our suggestions in their decision making process. I think the risk of this turning into a disappointment is very, very low. I think we will get those after the Kickstarter has ended. Sometime next week, at the earliest.

Should there be any sequels (fingers crossed), I would imagine Obsidian might be more interested in telling several different stories in this universe than in continuing the same story across multiple titles. And looking at KotOR2, NWN2, F:NV, DS3, and even Icewind Dale II back at Black Isle... I think I would actually prefer that. Story-lines for individual games can be continued in expansions, like they did for NWN2 and F:NV, but sequels are a great opportunity to explore other stories and areas of the world.

That would be 7 pm here and it's 2.30 pm now. Yeesh. Luckily I'm traveling from 4 pm to 8 pm, so I won't really have to "camp" here and the update will probably be online by the time I reach my destination. Also... John Mayer? What, would he sing the narration or sth? And I actually never noticed Felicia Day in FNV... which character did she voice?

I'm actually quite happy with all the goals that have already been achieved. More races and classes are always welcome of course, and George Ziets would be awesome, but something like strongholds isn't that important to me -- I'm satisfied with the player house as a base of operations -- and, if the NWN series are any indications, a modding toolkit would cost tons of development time and resources, which I'd rather see spent on the game itself. More companions is an interesting notion. The companion count is at 8 right now, which is the same as F:NV had but there you could only have two with you at any time and most of them were fully voiced, making them more expensive to develop. So, arguably, the number for PE could easily increase because A) they are not restricted by VO costs, and B) larger party size means it's much more likely that all companions will be utilized by players. Then again, I want each companion to receive enough attention and have deep and complex character development. For comparison -- BG and BG2 had 25 and 16 companions, respectively (although in BG they were more like followers, with little to no story development). PS:T on the other hand had 7. Some more counts from games that were mentioned in the PE pitch video, with implementation ranging from simple followers to complex companions: - Arcanum had 30 - F1 had 5 - F2 had 15 - NWN2 had 13 (15 if you wish to include Amie and Bevil) - MotB had 6 - SoZ had 11 - KotOR had 10 - KotOR2 had 12 All of these games differ in their implementation of companions / followers but, roughly, the (logical) general rule seems to be: the higher the number, the lower their individual complexity. With BG2 and F1 being anomalies. I think most people here want to see deep, complex companions, like the ones in PS:T, MotB and KotOR2, and for that I think the sweet spot is probably around 8-10. I wouldn't mind if they left it at 8, but one or two more would be a worthy stretch goal to me. As for other goals... I just want them to make the game's rules system, its world and its story better, deeper and more complex, really. No more fancy, outlandish features, etc. just expand what they've already confirmed. I will also say that I have really enjoyed seeing The Endless Paths go deeper and deeper, and hope a few more levels are added before all is said and done

Maybe he's confusing it with a sequel to Neverwinter Knights II. (seriously, whenever the first sentence of an interview contains a mistake like that it makes me sigh, roll my eyes, and brace myself for the rest of it while expecting the absolute worst)

I bought and played all of them when they were released and finished the BG series and IWD + expansions multiple times throughout the years. Haven't finished Torment or IWD2 yet, but I'm sure I will eventually. I'm playing IWD2 now and got a PS:T savegame from last year where (I'm pretty sure) I am over halfway through the game, and it's just a matter of picking that up again and finishing it. I can't really put my finger on what has made it so difficult to finish -- love the story and the setting, don't mind the amount of text, etc. The original IWD is the IE game that has gotten the most playthroughs from me, and is IMO overall a much stronger game than BG1 and in some ways better than BG2 as well. The art, the dungeons, the pacing, the story -- all of it was just incredibly well put together and with a (seemingly) very clear vision of what type of game they wanted to make.

I agree with what's already been said above -- I am happy to support Obsidian and don't expect anything extra for joining the Order. If they do decide to reference us in some way, I like the dialogue / legends / lore and drunken-fools-at-an-inn suggestions As for merchandise -- if Order-related merchandise somehow became available, I'd definitely buy it. Especially if part of the proceeds would, for example, somehow be donated to Project Eternity. But I don't expect anything like that to be made available to us as a gift in addition to the tier rewards or anything like that. And that would kinda go against the purpose of the Order as well, wouldn't it?