patch?

[jedimaster1141]

does anyone have any new info on when the patch comes out its been about two weeks since they announced it

[Guest Damar Stiehl]

Soon .

[Phosphor]

Feargus said they're on "final approach" and Chris Parker is writing up the fix list, which may not be available until patch release.

[Xavier97x2]

Feargus said they're on "final approach" and Chris Parker is writing up the fix list, which may not be available until patch release.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

Please let it be friday:) (Jumping up and down with excitement:))

[Feargus Urquhart]

What Phosphor said.

[DSLuke]

What Phosphor said.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Ever concidered a career in diplomacy?

[Darth Jebus]

I know I probably shouldn't even ask this because I know what the answer is but I just figured...hey, ya never know.

 

But, any hope of trying to do anything to help out the Xbox users?? I know, I know. The game isn't Live enabled and Microsoft wouldn't allow a patch to be downloaded anyway, but I just thought...I mean, I was just wondering if...ah, hell. I don't know what I'm asking. :">

 

Patch away.

[Dehumanizer]

But, any hope of trying to do anything to help out the Xbox users?? I know, I know.  The game isn't Live enabled and Microsoft wouldn't allow a patch to be downloaded anyway, but I just thought...I mean, I was just wondering if...ah, hell. I don't know what I'm asking. :">

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

MS doesn't allow patches, but allows extra content. If some patches are "hidden" in it, it's OK. Didn't Xbox users get the Yavin station through Live?

[Haitoku]

But, any hope of trying to do anything to help out the Xbox users?? I know, I know.  The game isn't Live enabled and Microsoft wouldn't allow a patch to be downloaded anyway, but I just thought...I mean, I was just wondering if...ah, hell. I don't know what I'm asking. :">

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

MS doesn't allow patches, but allows extra content. If some patches are "hidden" in it, it's OK. Didn't Xbox users get the Yavin station through Live?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Wasn't it through a free CD o_O?

[nerv2112]

What the hell am I looking at?

 

Now. You're looking at now, sir. Everything that happens now is happening now.

 

What hapened to then?

 

We passed then.

 

When?

 

Just now. We're at now now.

 

Go back to then.

 

When?

 

Now!

 

Now?

 

Now!

 

I can't.

 

Why?

 

We missed it.

 

When?

 

Just now.

 

When will then be now?

 

Soon.

 

How soon?

[Tyler]

It's nice to hear more about the patch... but Feargus, please! 'On final approach'??? You are so very... slimy (in a nice way).

 

This is my first post but I have noticed that all the crazy name-calling and stuff has died down somewhat. That is good.

 

And Obisidian guys, eventhough I am quite happy with KOTOR 2 (PC version) as it is, there are various flaws as many others have pointed out. It should be better, please ensure that you learn from the experience and please do not let this happen to you again.

 

The market is brutal, make one mistake and you might be forgiven; do the same thing twice... well... look at Troika.

 

Anyway, sorry for the long rant.

 

I hope your patch fixes more problems that it creates.

[kirottu]

What the hell am I looking at?

 

Now. You're looking at now, sir. Everything that happens now is happening now.

 

What hapened to then?

 

We passed then.

 

When?

 

Just now. We're at now now.

 

Go back to then.

 

When?

 

Now!

 

Now?

 

Now!

 

I can't.

 

Why?

 

We missed it.

 

When?

 

Just now.

 

When will then be now?

 

Soon.

 

How soon?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Spaceballs

 

I guess I

[Kayn]

It will be an international Patch?

[Lord Satasn]

Someone told me that they're making a sequel to Space Balls sometime in the next few years, because of all the star wars prequels......

 

I hope that's true

[DSLuke]

Someone told me that they're making a sequel to Space Balls sometime in the next few years, because of all the star wars prequels......

 

I hope that's true

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

We 're gonna have Alone Star now as a character?

 

May the Schwartz be with you.

[Gatt]

It's nice to hear more about the patch... but Feargus, please! 'On final approach'??? You are so very... slimy (in a nice way). 

 

This is my first post but I have noticed that all the crazy name-calling and stuff has died down somewhat. That is good.

 

And Obisidian guys, eventhough I am quite happy with KOTOR 2 (PC version) as it is, there are various flaws as many others have pointed out. It should be better, please ensure that you learn from the experience and please do not let this happen to you again.

 

The market is brutal, make one mistake and you might be forgiven; do the same thing twice... well... look at Troika.

 

Anyway, sorry for the long rant.

 

I hope your patch fixes more problems that it creates. 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Troika didn't get where it is today because of Bugs, it got there because of bad design decisions.

 

Their first game was aestitically difficult to get into. Combat at the begining was very bland, and you got things that you not only couldn't use, but couldn't begin to imagine how to use it. It's story just didn't pull you in when you first started playing it. Overall, as far as games go, it wasn't accessible. To be honest, I'm an RPG Hardcore, and I played BC3000AD longer than I played this one(2 hours).

 

TOEE was an alright game, but major design oversights left this one in obscurity. It did the 3rd edition rules better than any game before or after, it's combat was entertaining, and it's story was good. But it stayed with Low Level, Low Magic, which following on the heels of BG2 wasn't a good decision. It also left absolutely critical information out, like what exactly any given Magic Item actually did. To play this game adequately, you honestly needed the DM's guide on your desk. Between it's Low Level Campaign following the genres High Level BG2 success(And IWD), combined with the lack of absolutely critical information, this game was limited to niche success.

 

The Vampire game was setup for failure. The previous game, Redemption done by a different studio, left *alot* of people feeling burned. Troika *Had* to ship a 5 star product on this one. Anything less, and those burned on the last one weren't likely to buy another. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, Troika shipped a bug-ladden version.

 

That's what lead to Troika's state. They were *Very* good at shipping a decent game, but they made design oversights that crippled them, specifically a serious lack of information or initial story, making it difficult for people to get into the game. I, personally, discount Vampire because IMO they were setup for failure because of the way the last one went.

 

Obsidian is in a different position. From my observations having gotten as far as my third world(Did telos, and Dantooine, and started Nar Shadaa), Obsidian was rushed. The areas and quests that seem to dead end speak volumes to me about Obsidian being rushed to meet a date, rather than being given an extra few weeks. Dead end areas and Dialogue that seems to be missing(The quest to see if Dantooine's security head was prejudiced seems to be missing alot), just indicates to me that Obsidian had more to do with those areas, but had to cut them in Beta to make a ship-date.

 

Which also says to me, Obsidian is still the BI team that brought us Planescape, IWD, and Fallout. Given *realistic* time rather than being rushed, Obsidian can turn out games of the quality that BI did.

 

Plus, Obsidian has Feargus, and Avellone. You can't go wrong with those two. They've got more A list title between them than most entire studios.

[Master Dahvernas]

I agree that OE was rushed by LA's impossible, one-year deadline to get a game the size and scope of TSL done.

 

It is a sad comment on the state of the PC Games industry now that publisher's are "Gods" and can demand things like this that ultimately hurt developers... Especially, first time companies like OE, Troika... As well as gamers/consumers and it only looks to get worse in the future if they (publishers) are allowed to gobble up smaller dev houses and crank out crap that we will have no choice but to either take, or just quit playing games altogether (and or just play console games exclusively that have less technical problems, but aren't as artistically and technically complex as PC games for obvious reasons).

 

Dead end areas and Dialogue that seems to be missing(The quest to see if Dantooine's security head was prejudiced seems to be missing alot),  just indicates to me that Obsidian had more to do with those areas,  but had to cut them in Beta to make a ship-date.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

This quest, in particular, actually IS able to be completed, but it is not so straightforward as to how you do it AND it depends entirely on if you have Bao-Dur in your party and or if you have high Awareness or Repair for your main PC (Player Character); see spoilers below.

 

These things are both a blessing and a curse as far as game design choices.

 

They add a huge amount of replay value and depth to the game itself as it gives players an incentive to replay the game and invest in and value their party members (worth having them along) as well as how they level up their PC...

 

But at the same time, as you demonstrated, a player can also completely MISS certain side quests and key pieces of information (like Kreia's backstory) if they don't have certain party members, skills or Influence with certain NPCs.

 

Unfortunately, the latter is why you hear most complaints about on the General Discussion board and the Spoilers board with regards to game design and the overall story and it seeming "incomplete" because it is to some degree as it depends entirely too much on certain rules and conditions to convey vital pieces of info. to the player, right or wrong.

 

Also, you may not be aware, there is a ton of content that had to be cut due to the XBox ship date deadline (Christmas '04). I am going to guess because of some kind of incompatibility problems more than time restraints, but I could be wrong. These cuts becomes painfully obvious in the third act once you reunite the Jedi Masters on Dantooine as a lot of NPC subplots are left dangling with no resolutions as well as your main PC in his/her quest to either save, or destroy the galaxy at the very end.

 

Some of the cut-content is what would have, in my opinion, made this game inifintely better than the first KOTOR in every way as the resolved subplots also tie into the PC's main story arc and would have given the game more of an emotional impact and bigger sense of scale and most importantly, closure once the player reaches the end.

 

This is why I am personally in favor of trying to convince LA to authorize and invest in a "director's cut" (or downloadable patch) that lets OE finish the game and restore a lot of the cut-content as I and many other gamers think it would put both OE and LA in a more favorable light than currently because the number one issue on all message boards regarding TSL is that the game is just not finished (meaning you can play it, but it is missing so much it is not an emotionally satisfying experience at the end and is almost a waste of time in that respect).

 

Spoliers on Khoonda Milita Quest:

 

 

What you need to do is get the side-quest from one of the Milita men you meet on the Dantooine plains (he is right outside the station by a pair of wrecked swoop bikes on your way to the Crystal Caves).

 

He tells you about some atmospheric sensors -- That, if Bao-Dur is in your party, seems odd -- And that he'll pay you 1000 credits PER SENSOR if you bring them back to him, no questions asked, working or not.

 

Go to the Crystal Caves.

 

You will find the sensors in there somewhere (it may be random ruble drops; try the alcove with the supplies on the West side). If your PC has high Awareness and Intelligence, he/she will notice something odd. Have Bao-Dur examine the senors. He finds listening devices in them. This triggers the "resolution" of this side-quest in that you now have the evidence Buron was looking for against Zherron (the Milita Leader) to prove he was up to now good.

 

Go back to Administrator Adere and tell her that you found some listening devices in the sensors and she will remove Zehrron and make Bruon the new Milita Captain. There is no DS or LS points for this. In fact, Zherron gets put back in charge of the milita later on anyway.

 

The point of this side quest is mainly XP... As well as to drive home the notion that not everything in the galaxy is good or bad, black-or-white and ties in with the theme of the entire game and Kreia's teachings.

 

[11238_1556103629]

God, if they could just fix the loading bugs I'd be eternally grateful, crappy ending or not I just really want to get on with playing the game again...

[softnerd]

Troika didn't get where it is today because of Bugs,  it got there because of bad design decisions.

 

Their first game was aestitically difficult to get into.  Combat at the begining was very bland,  and you got things that you not only couldn't use,  but couldn't begin to imagine how to use it.  It's story just didn't pull you in when you first started playing it.  Overall,  as far as games go,  it wasn't accessible.  To be honest,  I'm an RPG Hardcore,  and I played BC3000AD longer than I played this one(2 hours).

 

TOEE was an alright game,  but major design oversights left this one in obscurity.  It did the 3rd edition rules better than any game before or after,  it's combat was entertaining,  and it's story was good.  But it stayed with Low Level,  Low Magic,  which following on the heels of BG2 wasn't a good decision.  It also left absolutely critical information out,  like what exactly any given Magic Item actually did.  To play this game adequately,  you honestly needed the DM's guide on your desk.  Between it's Low Level Campaign following the genres High Level BG2 success(And IWD),  combined with the lack of absolutely critical information,  this game was limited to niche success.

 

The Vampire game was setup for failure.  The previous game,  Redemption done by a different studio,  left *alot* of people feeling burned.  Troika *Had* to ship a 5 star product on this one.  Anything less,  and those burned on the last one weren't likely to buy another.  Unfortunately,  for whatever reason,  Troika shipped a bug-ladden version.

 

That's what lead to Troika's state.  They were *Very* good at shipping a decent game,  but they made design oversights that crippled them,  specifically a serious lack of information or initial story,  making it difficult for people to get into the game.  I,  personally,  discount Vampire because IMO they were setup for failure because of the way the last one went.

 

Obsidian is in a different position.  From my observations having gotten as far as my third world(Did telos,  and Dantooine,  and started Nar Shadaa),  Obsidian was rushed.  The areas and quests that seem to dead end speak volumes to me about Obsidian being rushed to meet a date,  rather than being given an extra few weeks.  Dead end areas and Dialogue that seems to be missing(The quest to see if Dantooine's security head was prejudiced seems to be missing alot),  just indicates to me that Obsidian had more to do with those areas,  but had to cut them in Beta to make a ship-date.

 

Which also says to me,  Obsidian is still the BI team that brought us Planescape,  IWD,  and Fallout.  Given *realistic* time rather than being rushed,  Obsidian can turn out games of the quality that BI did.

 

Plus,  Obsidian has Feargus,  and Avellone.  You can't go wrong with those two.  They've got more A list title between them than most entire studios.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Er...didn't most of the Fallout team end up at Troika, not Obsidian? There was definitely a lot of stuff cut from this game (including some QA perhaps... ). When are distributors going to learn that you can't rush these things? You end up with a chopped up presentation and lots of bugs...NOT a good way to to sell copies of a game, and not a good way to get repeat customers. It's also really unfair to the dev company. It's really hard to estimate EXACTLY when a piece of software is going to be 'done'. It seems like that would hurt sales more than pushing back a release date, but what do I know? I'm just a gamer and a software engineer...I guess I enjoy games too much and am too logical to understand the magic of Marketing!

[Tyler]

Troika didn't get where it is today because of Bugs,  it got there because of bad design decisions.

 

Their first game was aestitically difficult to get into.  <snip>

 

TOEE was an alright game,  but major design oversights left this one in obscurity.  <snip>

 

The Vampire game was setup for failure.  <snip>

 

<snip>

 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Here's my take on Troika. My longest experience with Troika in terms of gaming is Vampire:Bloodlines. Boy... you do not understand the term unfinished game until you have played that. Jerky as hell (Athlon64 3400+, 1GB ram and 1 6600GT) and crashes constantly. Had me scouring the web for solutions, even ended up adding RAM and overclocking my processor just to run around town in the rain without looking like a slideshow.

 

And Vampire: Redemption was quite OK, the story is good; the graphics and gameply somewhat repetitive.... etc.

 

As far as TOEE was concerned, I quite like the game; played it until the last area but it is sort of Icewind Dale to me. Bought it, played it but didn't get me into the game enough for me to finish it. Good set of rule implementation but severely lacking story-wise and performance was also pretty bad.

 

OK, OK, I am off topic enough already.

 

Anyway, I am still enjoying KOTOR 2 while waiting for the patch arrives. Like I said earlier, give me an expansion on KOTOR 2 (include cut areas : HK factory, droid planet and maybe... hmmm... what's the name of that underwater city in Ep. 1?) and I will go buy it in a flash.

 

I do not NEED KOTOR 3 at all... :D

[11238_1556103629]

Ahto City....

I hated that planet...

[EUIX]

TOEE had no polish, the weapons and items had no descriptions, ditto to the spells. I enjoyed the low level nature of the game but it was incredibly short. Dialogue consisted of two lines. The whole place felt like alpha copy.

[Kiwegapa]

ToEE was entirely Atari's fault. Development was not only given a deadline, but suddenly halted and even reversed to some extent because Atari vetoed a bunch of stuff which broke the game even more after it was removed. The devs working on ToEE wanted to release a patch to fix the game, but Atari denied them the funding or permission. Only after continuous reports of how badly broken the game was and pleading by both the devs and the fans did Atari relent and authorize an official patch.

 

The whole situation was more complex and nastier than that, but that's the basic summary. I will not trust Atari as a publisher for a long time, if ever, because of how they mishandled that game.

 

 

The situation with LucasArts and Obsidian is an entirely different matter, and it's not fair to compare the two situations. Until we hear how LucasArts responds to the Kotor 2 issue, we can't assume that they're actively malicious, as was the case with Atari and ToEE.

 

Obsidian has acted to the best of their ability, and I respect them for not only taking some serious flack, but for shrugging it off and talking with us on these forums as openly as they're able.

 

'Wait' is a four-letter word, but it's what we've got to do. Hold tight and be patient. The patch should be out of testing and up for download soon. Until then, keep contacting LucasArts and let them know we want them to give Obsidian a free rein to patch/fix/restore KOTOR 2 as much as they can.

[Tyler]

ToEE was entirely Atari's fault. <snip>

 

The situation with LucasArts and Obsidian is an entirely different matter, and it's not fair to compare the two situations. Until we hear how LucasArts responds to the Kotor 2 issue, we can't assume that they're actively malicious, as was the case with Atari and ToEE.

 

Obsidian has acted to the best of their ability, and I respect them for not only taking some serious flack, but for shrugging it off and talking with us on these forums as openly as they're able.

 

'Wait' is a four-letter word, but it's what we've got to do. Hold tight and be patient. The patch should be out of testing and up for download soon. Until then, keep contacting LucasArts and let them know we want them to give Obsidian a free rein to patch/fix/restore KOTOR 2 as much as they can.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Thanks for the clarification on ToEE. I did not know so much went on the in background, I bought it around 6mths after release.... don't ask me why.... I think they put a spell on me.

 

Yup, I agree wholeheartedly to what you are saying. If they can get a COMPLETE patch in terms on content and bug-fixes, I am willing to wait for another 6mths. And if they'd just put in that.... underwater city thing... from Ep.1 (no, it's no Ahto City, it's where Jar Jar Binks was from). One can hope, can't he? :cool:

[Master Dahvernas]

Troika didn't get where it is today because of Bugs,  it got there because of bad design decisions.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I see someone read the Gamespy article of the same name...