Amentep

They are a gameplay factor in the begining; I guess you could make the argument that as your PC gets more experienced with the ins and outs of the wasteland, they do improve in everything (I think the problem is the perception that being at 100% implies expertise...the trail of broken bobby pins in my wake proves otherwise...)

Yeah it doesn't make sense. A bit like saying "Combat shouldn't be changed because you don't HAVE to use the minigun, you could use to 10mm Pistol the entire game" (I don't necessarily want the skill system/combat system changed, just for the record. That said, I think it'd be interesting if there was more importance on tagged skills. But then I wouldn't mind a cap on skills based on the level of SPECIAL if it worked within the game system. But mostly I want to have fun and shoot supermutants in the face with a laser rifle).

I guess (perhaps wrongly) also that as the opponents scale, 100 pts on a character with 100 hp might become 155 points on a character with 200 hp (which may effect the players perception on the usefulness of the weapon)? And there is damage resistance as well, I'm guessing (unloading into a mole rat is different from a supermutant?) I don't really mind the combat system - like I said it is an abstraction (and the same thing happened in the other Fallouts, where shots to the eyes with guns blinded but didn't kill and all). It is kind of unusual first time a rushing Raider has an assault rifle unloaded into their face and doesn't die, but it wasn't something that broke the game (for me at least).

You and Hell Kitty both used this argument. Which fans would these be? The Codex? Here? How much of that was based on hate for anything that Bethesda did rather than how well the game actually managed to convey the feeling of Fallout? They were here, Bethesda's forums, at the Codex and at NMA as near as I could tell. Probably other places. These are the same people who created all the chaos on the old Interplay boards when the action/RPG Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel was announced. The same people who basically would complain at any Fallout game that didn't use the same engine FO1 & 2 did and any developer who didn't hire Tim Cain to make it. I've never played X-Com; I just find it interesting that love of the game is so dependent solely on a specific style of gameplay (even to the point that expanding the universe outside of bases and generic mission locations is seen as violating the gameworld).

Back and forward are cool...I think comicpress does it automagically too if I understand its functionality (so maybe it hasn't added them since there's only one strip?) My one caveat about the comic is you might want to look into lettering the comic digitally (possibly not a large chance with the already done strips) but handwritten text has to be really clean, clear and consistant to scan and look good (we had the same problem with our comic; my brothers handwriting was good enough for normal reproduction - we'd both done college newspaper strips - but scanning isn't kind to handwriting.) EDIT: I also see only one credit, shouldn't there be two, you and the artist?

Fallout 3 was hardly something completely different from the originals in the way that an FPS X-Com is likely to be. What made Fallout what it was? Arguably, it was the world setting, the lore, the characters. It was all the fluff behind the scenes that defined what Fallout was rather than the clunky isometric turn based combat. Whether Fallout 3 managed to capture those aspects is up to the individual, but there was nothing inherent in the switch to FPS combat that said it couldn't be a good Fallout game. Except the legions of fans who decried that Fallout could only ever be Fallout provided it was turn-based and isometric. In a FPS are you any more likely to meet characters who aren't panicked civilians? And if they flesh out the setting to make it more interesting...is that a bad thing? The problem is - and this is just my opinion - that you're getting stuck on game mechanics as the sole definition of the game. A fleshed out XCOM game that is a shooter and good is still a good game, yes? It may not be what you want, but objectively is a company making a good game a bad idea? Either XCom is a game idea (humans vs aliens with particular specific designs) or its a game mechanic ("turn based squad combat and the overall management of your ... organization"), And if its only a game mechanic, I can't see why the games are all that popular given that a few years ago there were dozens of good, bad and ugly turn based squad combat games.

Regardless of the hopelessly romantic prism through which you are reviewing history, are you sure that using this guy as an example of what you are saying is a good idea? The guy who peacefully dismantled the Soviet Union? Yes, that might be quite the good example. He didn't exactly intend to dismantle the Soviet Union. If you payed attention in history class you'd know that. He thought he was pressing the button for "Soviet Union 'Country Tea' Dispenser" and much to his surprise found out he'd actually pressed "Soviet Union Country Dismantler". Such an easy mistake to make, but not really one you expect from a veteran politico.

IIRC, It has been suggested that language learning in the brain is different for early childhood primary language development and learning additional languages later in life There is a theory, again IIRC, that suggests specific trauma to the area of the brain that houses the primary language "storage" may force the brain to use the "additional language" storage when the individual attempts to communicate. As Gfted1 suggests, the girl in question has studied the language (and watched TV/movies in German) so possibly has the material in her "secondary language storage" at her disposal to use to communicate. So when she tries to talk she does, but in German. As far as knowing dead languages as Gfted1 asks - hard to say. I could say for example, that while I can't read hieroglyphs or speak ancient Egyptian, I have read books that detail both hieroglyph meanings, translations into words and pronunciation of ancient Egyptian (as best guessed). So it could be theoretically possible for my brain to pull that information out if necessary (or even unnecessary but just happened because of brain trauma). Without knowing specifics of any given case of people waking up speaking Babylonian or Egyptian, I'd be loathe to think they didn't at least at some point come across the tools to speak the language (if the stories are true).

I dunno, never played the first one and - if its a straight shooter probably won't play the new one. But can't say I'm offended by its existence.

The RAF fighter planes aren't as clear as the saucer in the video, perhaps implying it is much closer to the camera than the planes. But most suspiciously, the footage conveniently cuts before the supposed arrival of the RAF in the saucer's space. I'd say hoax.

Might be the only thing to get me to wearing bulky headgear (I like my headband with a +1 to perception).

But for the big gun expert, his mininukes are mininukier! I think this is the sort of thing that leads to being able to shoot a rifle into the head of anyone from 3 feet and have it take a dot of life off if you have no skills in the weapon. To be honest, since combats a bit of an abstraction its always been something I just rolled with.

He *is* losing the all important "Developer" tag (maybe). The Horror!

Because I had the same problem on 2 different PCs (and two different games), my guess is: a) It is fairly common, if not universal b) The game has a grudge against x64 systems and/or nvidia 200 series cards c) I'm just plain and simple unlucky. Along with a whole bunch of other people However, I fear the same thing: No changes to the engine. It'd be time consuming; time Obsidian doesn't have... One can always hope, though. It locks up on the 360 as well as my PC. I can understand different configurations of hardware presenting a problem with PC development, but the 360...? Well looking away from crashes, has there been any word about whether they'll look at tweaking how the game renders skin tone? Its a bit annoying to have a multihued PC because the clothes I'm wearing doesn't actually reflect the color I chose on my face (which was hard to gauge anyhow in that little dark screen) EDIT: Just to be clear, I mean when I'm wearing armor my arms, for example, are often a different tone than my face. But also certain skin types seem to be naturally multihued for no real reason.

Yeah the crashes are pretty wild. I'd forgotten how many times the game just died, but upon replaying there's nothing more frustrating than that (particularly when one hasn't been liberal with the saves). Of course there are other bugs - the flying protectrons, the stretched figures and whatever happened to me in Shalebridge (after which the game stopped recognizing ramps so I couldn't go to the second floor of anything and had to reload a save game from a day prior) that hopefully won't be present in FO:NV (since they never appear to be addressed in FO3).

The engine supports weights down to the ten thousandths place in data but it only displays weights to the tenths. You know I could have sworn I'd actually seen a 1lb pencil in the game but it appears I was mistaken. Its listed as 0lbs (which I guess means a fraction, as opposed to -- meaning no weight).

I was excited about, then I wasn't, then I was, then it was delayed and I stopped thinking about it but am getting excited again now that its getting closer to coming out. Obsessed, never.

To be fair... - - -

Really now. Weirder than carrying around multiple suits of armor along with 20 guns and a cornucopia of random "stuff"? Because...somehow a person could actually carry multiple suits of armor? I prefer the 1lb pencil over that, though I think there's got to be a better way for both sides of the argument. Actually no I don't think its weirder than that. Both are weird (and I say this as someone who recently carried about 4 outcast power armors some distance to store in my Megaton House). As I mentioned above I think no upper level limit to encumbrance is also weird! I was carrying 530 lbs and still walking and shooting! Still enjoy the game, but its got some weird elements in it. Ideally I'd rather some negligible weight stuff (like pencils) and an uppercap on how much you can carry that you can't move with or pick up past. Ideally IMO no one should be regularly carrying around 220 lbs of gear anyhow particularly not for long distances...80 is probably going to be a problem for an average person I'd think.

I think if they can't go under a pound that certain items with a weight well under a pound should be weightless rather than a pound personally. Picking up a 1lb pencil and having it make you encumbered is just weird.

I watched Planet Terror again recently and it IS amazing.

When I briefly ran a webcomic it was hosted by other people so I can't help you there, alas. In fact given that I'd like to start it back up, I need to start figuring out how to host the thing myself. However I was a total scanner & clean up digital than tablet guy. I gather from online reading is that the Bamboo Pen is supposed to be an entry level type tablet - more general use than art focused. But given that this is kind of a fun sideline, it might be worth looking into. Slashgear's Bamboo pen & touch review

I hated the Fallout 1/2 inventory, although as you say FO2 was slightly less hair-pulling. I don't mind limitations on where you can place stuff with a paper-doll system. I mean if the repair system doesn't require me to carry around 5 missile launchers than certainly having to have the missile launcher in the over-the-shoulder back location would make sense. One inventory thing I found odd was that there doesn't actually appear to be an upper limit to how much you can carry. At one point I had around 50 pistols and about 60 rifles in my inventory. My carry weight was around 530 lbs, but I was over-encumbered at 200. There's no way I should have been legitimately walking around with 530 lbs, much less shooting enemies in the face while slow-walking. So has there been anything said about a max carry weight for FO:NV?

If nothing else can you announce when you'll announce when the official announcement will be?

Ah...hadn't heard about the lawsuit. I had been kinda surprised that a 4E game hadn't been announced already (from some publisher or another) and was wondering why...