Preview says very little of substance, but I'm starting to get worried.  Saying that the game uses the Mass Effect style of conversation is another way of saying that it's going to have a lot of one-liners and short replies, which I thought was implemented due to the console-controls of ME but apparently Bio is moving towards that direction in general.

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What exactly is wrong with Mass Effect's dialog? It's an emotional based dialog system ... You have various emotional replies to choose from and then the character does the real dialog that corresponds to your choice. I don't see how that's any reflection on "console controls", or having the entire dialog tree consist of "one-liners and short replies". It's a great way to keep the dialog moving forward - closer to what would happen in the real world, instead of having pauses while you read through 90 words just to pick the reply you want.

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No one is thinking that the idea of having "real-time, emotional responses" as a bad design choice. But with Bioware's recent trackrecord in terms of substance, this very feature leaves many worried that Bioware will turn Mass Effect into a Halo with stats and adhd-responses for the graphicwh*re-generation.

 

 

 

Phew, i think i went on a 'codex parade there...

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Recent track record? Huh? KOTOR and Jade Empire were full of dialog and substance, especially Jade Empire.

We will know once we see a screenshot, really. If it says

 

"Kill Dragon"

"Save Dragon"

"Get Dragon loot"

 

...yeah.

 

I remain excited by DA, if they remain 'honest' to their 'bullet points' from past and present - by that not 'live up to the hype', because nobody does, but not distort that vision - then I think we can have a nice nice game to play in a year or two.

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Dragons' hordes = much goodness.

O Dragon, all I wanna do is kill you...and steal your loot.

"But with Bioware's recent trackrecord in terms of substance, this very feature leaves many worried that Bioware will turn Mass Effect into a Halo with stats and adhd-responses for the graphicwh*re-generation."

 

O Really? With BIO releasing their best written RPG last year in JE which is also their most recent game and the fact the role-playing has basically improved from game to game, I have nothing but expectations it will continue to improve.

This is pretty much a sure buy for me. Considering that most of my pre-orders work out for me very well, I'm not worried in the least. I'd have to see something substantially negative to change my mind.

They do tend to reuse story points and gameplay in their games however. If they have another trial by five judges thing again I am just going to scream.

"But with Bioware's recent trackrecord in terms of substance, this very feature leaves many worried that Bioware will turn Mass Effect into a Halo with stats and adhd-responses for the graphicwh*re-generation."

 

O Really? With BIO releasing their best written RPG last year in JE which is also their most recent game and the fact the role-playing has basically improved from game to game, I have nothing but expectations it will continue to improve.

 

Role-playing improved from BG2 to NWN to KOTOR?

"They do tend to reuse story points and gameplay in their games however. If they have another trial by five judges thing again I am just going to scream."

 

They aren't the only ones.

 

P.S. Please tape your screams. I wanna hear it!

 

 

"Role-playing improved from BG2 to NWN to KOTOR?"

 

Yes.

Edited November 27, 200619 yr by Volourn

You can make the argument that NWN improved RPing. I mean, the DM client alone allowed for more extensive roleplaying. The nature of the multiplayer game really does provide a lot of opportunities for roleplaying. You can attack NWN on a variety of levels, and I have, but it's an improvement on the RPing aspect of computer gaming.

Even without the DMC, and just counting the OC, NWN improved the role-playing. I prefer BG2's story and characters; but the OC's role-playing was actually better than BG2.

Edited November 27, 200619 yr by Volourn

"But with Bioware's recent trackrecord in terms of substance, this very feature leaves many worried that Bioware will turn Mass Effect into a Halo with stats and adhd-responses for the graphicwh*re-generation."

 

O Really? With BIO releasing their best written RPG last year in JE which is also their most recent game and the fact the role-playing has basically improved from game to game, I have nothing but expectations it will continue to improve.

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I disagree. They have turned into a shallow, Michael Bay-version of RPG developing. KotOR worked because it was a nice ode to the original trilogy. JE didn't work at all since the plot was the most basic kung-fu rip-off that there is.

Even without the DMC, and just counting the OC, NWN improved the role-playing. I prefer BG2's story and characters; but the OC's role-playing was actually better than BG2.

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No.

Disagree all you want. It's your right to be wrong from time to time.

This isn't one of those times.

 

NWN's OC was a step backwards from BG2.

Not in terms of role-playing.

I guess it's true from a multiplayer perspective. I don't think it's true at all when we're talking about single-player alone.

 

And if you approach things from a multiplayer perspective, then KOTOR was definitely not a role-playing improvement over NWN.

 

I should note that I haven't played NWN's expansions so I don't know how role-playing fared in them.

Edited November 27, 200619 yr by Pidesco

Yeah, the packaged campaign wasn't a shining moment for RPing. The DMC and multiplayer aspects were. The packaged campaign was lackluster, but I've heard it explained that Bioware was mostly concerned with the DMC and toolset until just before the end.

Not in terms of role-playing.

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In terms of role playing in the OC in single player mode, yes.

Hopefully they won't dumb everything down for eight year old gamers, like was done with Ultimas VIII and IX. After years of great story telling, a decent franchise was stripped to the brainless simplicity of Doom.

 

I've enjoyed games of the past with different, yet derived rules, games like the singleplayer Ultimas and Bard's Tale, so I'm not too concerned about DA's rules. I do hope the story is well thought out and deep enough that I can't solve the entire plot while talking to the first bad guy I meet. Some of us gamers are adults, and expect a little more from a game than the kids do. I'd even be willing to pay a little extra for it, if that's what it takes to motivate developers. Perhaps the 'limited edition' would contain a more cerebral story and dialogs, thus actually being worth the extra cost. At least it'd be worth more to me than mere trinkets.

 

Regardless, I am looking forward to DA. I don't mind its release being estimated as a year away; there's a lot I want to do with NWN2's toolset first.

Edited November 27, 200619 yr by Wistrik

Yeah, the packaged campaign wasn't a shining moment for RPing.  The DMC and multiplayer aspects were.  The packaged campaign was lackluster, but I've heard it explained that Bioware was mostly concerned with the DMC and toolset until just before the end.

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If you believe that excuse.

I don't understand this knee-jerk sentimentality. There have been significant improvements in roleplaying. Take the influence mechanism introduced by Obsidian (K2/NWN2) for example. I don't know about you guys, but I prefer affinity based interactions with my NPCs rather than the scripted events of yesteryear.

I don't understand this knee-jerk sentimentality.  There have been significant improvements in roleplaying.  Take the influence mechanism introduced by Obsidian (K2/NWN2) for example.  I don't know about you guys, but I prefer affinity based interactions with my NPCs rather than the scripted events of yesteryear.

 

 

But Volo's comment was about Bio's games specifically.

" Take the influence mechanism introduced by Obsidian (K2/NWN2) for example. "

 

Thyat's not an improvement. Espicially since influence has beena round for ages well before Obsiain coined it. Lame example. Sorry. Espicially since we were discussing improvement sin BIO games. Not BIS or Obsidian.

 

P.S. Youa re wrong again Sand. NWN OC is an improvement by a mile over BG2. At minimum.

I don't understand this knee-jerk sentimentality.  There have been significant improvements in roleplaying.  Take the influence mechanism introduced by Obsidian (K2/NWN2) for example.  I don't know about you guys, but I prefer affinity based interactions with my NPCs rather than the scripted events of yesteryear.

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But Volo's comment was about Bio's games specifically.

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Ah, okay then.

Could you give examples of improved role-playing in NWN's OC?

Indeed. One of worst ROLEPLAYING experiences ever. NWN OC I mean, same with SoU. HotU was above average, but still not very spectacular. NWN2 offers IMO one of best roleplaying options ever.