What are you playing now?

[Laozi]

Metroid Prime, I had an itch so I decided to scratch it. That and my rotator cup is a little sore from all the wii sports games lately

[mkreku]

Odd.  For some reason I had figured you to be one of the many people on this board that had played the AD&D and 3rd Edition D&D games made by Black Isle and Bioware.

I've played Planescape: Torment (which I didn't like) and Icewind Dale (which I liked). I've dabbled with Baldur's Gate and I actually own them all, I've just never really played them through (I got this box with all the games in it). So no, I haven't really played them, even though I've played them. And Icewind Dale was so easy I never had to learn any rules or anything to be able to win that game.

 

The last AD&D game that really hooked me was Pool of Radiance on my Commodore 64. That was awesome. Actually it still is. I still have my original Gold Box somewhere, complete with code wheels and paragraph books..

 

 

 

ANYHOW, we've decided to try to talk more and slay less. I think we might have missed a bundle of side-quests because we were trying to go for the evil option in every conversation. I mean, I made my character into a guy with horns sticking out of his forehead, white/silvery hair (with a pony tail, as a tribute to the pony tail that got lost in Gothic 3 :'( ) and bright red skin. He's a rogue, aiming to become an assassin. I have to be evil!

 

By the way, are we doing something wrong when we're hopelessly bound to each other all the time? We were walking around in the starting village last night and my cousin was fighting Gray Dwarves on one end of the map and I figured I'd be of no use in the battle so I went back to my old house and went inside to pick up something from my father's old chest. As soon as I entered the house, my cousin appeared next to me. Why is it that I can't enter a house without automatically pulling my cousin away from his doings on the other side of the map? It just feels wrong.

 

I'm beginning to suspect that we made a mistake when we made our characters. I mean, a rogue and a warlock. Who is going to stand in the front line taking all the blows? I tried for a while, with my leather armour and shortsword, but since I only have something like 16 hitpoints I was useless at it. Can a warlock be a tank? If not I think we're screwed.

[Pop]

You know what you'd love, is Shenmue.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

*Heads over to Wikipedia*

 

Ooh, that looks interesting. Interesting characters, involving storyline, criticised by reviewers as slow-paced - these are all ticks in my book. Does Shenmue 2 have an unsatisfying, Kotor2-style 'cliffhanger' ending, or is it reasonably satisfying while leaving some unanswered questions for game three?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Well, it is a ridiculously slow game. I know many people that swear by it. I really didn't see the appeal. Plus, oh ****, what horrible, terrible voice acting.

 

But the thing about Shenmue, and the reason I (sarcastically) suggested it to you was that the main "plotline" is draaaaawn out during the games. The games themselves don't have the usual "part of a set" game format, in which every game has its own focused plot that contributes to a whole. There are fifteen chapters in the whole Shenmue saga. The first game was the prologue. The second game was the first 5 chapters of the story. The third game... never happened. So it had roughly the same effect as if, say, Bloodlines had ended right after investigating the Asylum. It's hilarious, because there are now many, many brokenhearted Shenmue fans who want the story to be resolved, but it never will be. The first game is in the Guinness Book as the most expensive single game ever made ($10 million production costs) The second game was a complete financial disaster (they lost something like $30 million) so I'd encourage you not to play the game, lest you grow fond of it and become a saddo.

 

But hey, there have been some highly dubious claims by Sega that they'll develop a Shenmue MMORPG (only in Taiwan!). That doesn't sound familiar at all. Nope.

[Musopticon?]

Defiance finished up the Soul Reaver series nicely.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Gamewise it wasa bit repetitive but I enjoyed how they solved Turel's absence in the first Soul Reaver, though there's still that weird cameo by Moebius in the end of the game (he wasn't supposed to be there) and Janos Audron's pseudo transformation at the end. Those seem to open up some potential story material for future instalments, though with Amy Hening out of the team I'm not sure if there will be future games in the series or that loose ends will be tied up.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I wish they'd make more. Kain is like the epitomal anti-hero turned saviour and a do-gooder ex-lieutanent turned avenging angel turned soul-sucking sword in his hand has got to be the most ridiculously awesome plot twists ever.

 

But without Henning, I think any hopes of a worthy successor are in vain. Crystal Dynamics did make the new Tomb Raider, which was a good effort, but it has always been the monolithic lore and absolutely spell-binding twisty story around the second-to-none anti-heroes that has kept the drive of the series on.

[Diogo Ribeiro]

Amen brother!

 

I still dream about hearing Vae Victus again...

[astr0creep]

I'm still on FF12, 68 hours in and just past the halfway point in the story. How can I only be lvl 33 at this point you may ask?

Well, I'd rather ask how come Blind, Silence, Slow, Immobilize, Poison, Toxify and pretty much every other status effect spells in the game rarely connect?

 

:angry:

[metadigital]

This is my honest opinion, and I'll probably get chewed out for it (and I'm sure some of these whippersnappers who have never seen me post before will point and go HAHAHAHAHAH N00B!) but I actually like linear stories more than these newfangled free-form games. Seeing how Linear stories can get blood pumping through veins, and more complex than stories that have to make a billion gazillion checks before Old Lord Bakersfield informs you that you already allied with the Hobgoblin Hordes, slayed the Noble Princess Magnifica, and won the breakdancing contest. He then sneers in contempt and tells you to plow his fields anyway.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Gabe Newell thinks as you do; from a utilitarian pov, he thinks it is bonkers to invest loads of effort into a scene that some/a lot/most people would miss, or to miss a genuine emotional experience because it isn't on the critical path.

[Calax]

This is my honest opinion, and I'll probably get chewed out for it (and I'm sure some of these whippersnappers who have never seen me post before will point and go HAHAHAHAHAH N00B!) but I actually like linear stories more than these newfangled free-form games. Seeing how Linear stories can get blood pumping through veins, and more complex than stories that have to make a billion gazillion checks before Old Lord Bakersfield informs you that you already allied with the Hobgoblin Hordes, slayed the Noble Princess Magnifica, and won the breakdancing contest. He then sneers in contempt and tells you to plow his fields anyway.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Gabe Newell thinks as you do; from a utilitarian pov, he thinks it is bonkers to invest loads of effort into a scene that some/a lot/most people would miss, or to miss a genuine emotional experience because it isn't on the critical path.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

CHEERS to the downfall of sandbox gaming. No offence but the GTA stuff only works in one setting... when they start making free form into a fps it's time to get scared.

 

I have to wonder how GTA SA got such high ratings when you have to be an addict to find everything.

[astr0creep]

Does a video game need genuine emotional experience to be enjoyable and fun?

[metadigital]

Need?

 

I would say that a game WITH emotional experience

[astr0creep]

Need?

 

I would say that a game WITH emotional experience

[Rosbjerg]

Well a good writer can tell you what triggers to push .. I personally believe it's a matter of staying on the course and let the reader/player/viewer slowy get involved and invest more and more emotions in a certain plotline - which you then bring to a climax and then the person seeing it will do the rest.. cry/laugh/whatever.. because the best stories imo build up over a some time and then deliver at the crucial moment where you are dying to know what will happen.. or are least expecting it!

[Gfted1]

Im still playing WoW and will continue to do so until they pry it from my cold dead fingers. Wound up quitting NWN2 after the third update as I just didnt have it in me to start over again and suffer through all the cut scenes. As much as it pains me to say so, I think I no longer enjoy D&D.

[mkreku]

Me and my cousin went on our second tour in Neverwinter Nights 2 co-op tonight. We had our first crash to desktop too, right as the game was auto-saving itself (I set the server to auto-save every ten minutes) and it corrupted the save file. I believe the crash to desktop was caused by us both clicking on the blue circle that takes you to the world map at once.

 

Otherwise it's been quite fun. But I'm surprised at how useless my rogue is. We're forced to have Neeshka, a stupid dwarf and an annoying druid in our group and that really takes away all the sneaking I can do. They always rush ahead and attack things WAY before I can sneak up on things. Also, I still have NO skills to use in combat, but at least I am fighting with two weapons without penalty now. I just wish I could get more options in battle. I was aiming to become an assassin, but my rogue is now level 4 with 15 in hide and 12 in move silently and the prerequisites for Assassin is supposed to be 8 in both those skills. I still couldn't choose it! No idea why.

 

My cousins warlock is coming along nicely. He is wearing a scale mail and is wielding a burning mace of some kind. He's also gotten some weird spells that he keeps tossing over my head. Myself, I'm stuck with a rapier +1. It's ugly. And gay. But I have a studded leather +1. It doesn't make me a tank but it feels good to at least have something magical on me.

 

We've been visiting a lizard cave, a bandit camp and a grove of some kind, and our next goal is a cemetery. Let's hope I get more use out of my rogue then. It's no fun to be able to pick locks as my only usable skill.

[Deraldin]

I was aiming to become an assassin, but my rogue is now level 4 with 15 in hide and 12 in move silently and the prerequisites for Assassin is supposed to be 8 in both those skills. I still couldn't choose it! No idea why.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Not sure where all the ranks are coming from so I can't be sure, but you have 8 in both skills before modifiers right?

[metadigital]

Yeah, it's got to be natural score without bonuses / penalties.

[Hurlshort]

I'm pretty sure you can't choose any prestige classes until level 7 or 8.

[Darque]

I'm pretty sure you can't choose any prestige classes until level 7 or 8.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

6th is the minimum.

[Deraldin]

I'm pretty sure you can't choose any prestige classes until level 7 or 8.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

There is no level restriction on prestige classes, beyond the levels needed for any skills/BAB/other pre-reqs. An obvious question here, but you are playing an evil character right mkreku? That's the only other requirement that I can see for the class.

 

EDIT:

I'm pretty sure you can't choose any prestige classes until level 7 or 8.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

6th is the minimum.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Where did you get that from?

Edited January 4, 2007 by Deraldin

[thepixiesrock]

The question is where didn't you get that from?

[Darque]

Where did you get that from?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Checking the manual, and working the numbers.

 

It also depends on class of course.

[Deraldin]

Where did you get that from?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Checking the manual, and working the numbers.

 

It also depends on class of course.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Oh. I get what you're saying now. Nevermind. "

[Haitoku]

Decide to take a break from my little RE marathon...

 

Playing Baten Kaitos Origins and Growlanser Generations... two very underrated JRPG/SRPGs.

[Tale]

Suikoden V

 

Liking it so much more than Final Fantasy XII. I have no complaints about FF XII, it's just boooring me now. And grinding in a single player game is not something I am a fan of.

[mkreku]

There is no level restriction on prestige classes, beyond the levels needed for any skills/BAB/other pre-reqs. An obvious question here, but you are playing an evil character right mkreku? That's the only other requirement that I can see for the class.

Oh yeah, we're both evil. We only do stuff for money (well, in the dialogue that is, we'd do the side quests anyhow for the xp). We've tried to kill Neeshka and the dwarf and we were trying to be rude to the druid, but they still forced themselves upon us. Now, every time they end up in an argument, we're like, "FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!", but they never do.

 

How can you tell what your skills are without multipliers and bonuses? I mean, the prerequisites say a number, naturally I check my skills page and see that they are way above that. Do I somehow have to recalculate them myself in a backwards fashion to get some seed number that only a true D&D geek would know? I don't get it.

 

Another thing that irks me is that Neeshka's build seems to be exactly the same as my own (tiefling, rogue). That means, she's useless in combat, but when the combat is over she'll happily run off and pick the lock on whatever she gets her sights on. That means I'm mostly standing around in combat, trying not to get killed. When combat is over, it's a race between me and Neeshka for the role of feeling useful. She often wins.

 

By the way, is there a good prestige class for an evil half-elf Warlock? Not that he needs it right now (as his character is useful) but it would be fun to have something to aim for for him too.