What are you playing now?

[SteveThaiBinh]

oblivion with the OOO mod

I'm also a fan. It's surprisingly entertaining to get soundly defeated and end up fleeing for your life.

 

I'm playing Re-install Windows And Hope It's Not So Crash-Happy This Time.

[Deraldin]

I've played one and a half CivIV games since reinstalling it last week and had late nights almost every night thanks to it. Turning on the in game clock doesn't do me any good. It just lets me know how much time I just wasted on that last "one more turn" which somehow turned into 20 turns. I'm actually thinking about using the alarm feature and I was one of those people that laughed when they heard about the developers adding it in the first place.

[Kaftan Barlast]

Today I "played" X3 for two hours. That consisted of me leaving the game running while I did other things, because the game is so f'cking slow that it might aswell have been an MMO. It had to crunch all afternoon just so that I could afford ONE damn ship. Flying that ship to where I want it to go will most likely take all night, because they move so painfully slow that I could run 20km into town and back before my ship has gone from uranus to the moon.

 

 

I have no other plausible explanation for the horrible design of this game other than that its some sort of passive-aggressive getback for losing "ze war".

[Starwars]

I'm playing more NWN2. Just finished yet another replay of MotB and started up SoZ again.

I know it's probably slightly insane to replay these games as much as I do but aside from them being games I really enjoy, they *really* inspire me to work on my own mod in the NWN2 toolset. Just playing games in the engine (whether it be the official campaigns or player made mods) makes me want to create something of my own, and there are many useful tips to be found while playing them.

 

Aside from that, pondering whether to try out the Icewind Dales for the first time.

 

Also, sneaking in some time with Tropico. Probably my favourite builder of all time, it's a real hoot.

Edited December 24, 2008 by Starwars

[Diogo Ribeiro]

Aside from that, pondering whether to try out the Icewind Dales for the first time.

 

Do it. IWD2 in particular seems to share some structural similarities with SoZ in terms of combat and party dialogue, so you might enjoy it (and probably find some inspiration for that mod of yours ).

[Gromnir]

am not sure if we agree that iwd2 combats and dialogues got loads in common with soz. most combats in soz is very small set pieces on tiny maps... lots o' repetition ad nauseum. iwd2, for all its flaws, did present different tactical challenges... though far to often the developers relied on mob tactics to achieve requisite challenge (iwd2 hook horrors and barbarian attacks, in particular, come to mind.)

 

also, am curious if you is being ironic 'bout party dialogues.

 

nevertheless, iwd 1 and 2 is both worth playing. of the ie games, iwd2 did best with the character generation and rules stuff. iwd2 story were kinda... thin. nevertheless, targos were an amazing beginning town for a low level party... possibly the best such locale in any d&d game we can mention. good characters and challenges combined for worthy tutorial fodder for those unfamiliar with d&d and ie games, while at the same time targos were a compelling locale for those who not need the tutorial filler typical in such locations. ghost in the inn, and the cat lady is good stuff, and the fast travel options made even the fed-ex stuff seems less tedious. am not sure anybody has ever done a low-level d&d town better than obsidian/black isle did with targos.

 

iwd1 were the most underrated o' the ie games... it somehow got the bg-lite label from critics and fans. the severed hand and dorn's deep were fantastic crpg locales, on par with anything in bg2, and the artwork and music were beyond reproach. heck, Gromnir, who largely ignores game music, appreciated iwd score. story in iwd were straight forward, but well-crafted with intriguing characters and plausible motivations... and even a genuine hero, which is actually rare in a crpg. also, the storybook intro used in iwd, coupled with winchester's narration, may also be our favorite game intro... regardless of genre. no super fancy intro movie sequence in iwd... just good art, some well written copy, and excellent voice acting.

 

HA! Good Fun!

[Slowtrain]

I'm not a huge fan of any of the IE games, but Icewind Dale was the IE game I enjoyed the most and the one that has stayed with me longest.

 

Otoh, IWD 2 was apparently the game that killed any interest I have in ever playing a D&D crpg again.

 

Its odd how I could find the first game pretty compelling and the second rather tedious and in places downright painful. The "clear mob from room/rest/clear mob from next room/rest wash rinse repeat" gameplay wasn't a whole lotta fun when repeated ad infinitum, and it seemed far more pronounced in IWD2 than it was in IWD.

 

I do agree with Gromnir that Targos was a good start, but similiar to Lionheart, everything went downhill fast from that point on.

[Diogo Ribeiro]

I still haven't finished IWD2, so I admit I may be missing some of the complaints. But having *finally* managed to beat IWD1 recently, I jumped into IWD2 and have been enjoying it a lot. I think the IWD games and Torment are pretty much my favorite IE games now (although I still have some of the spellbased combat in BG2 and ToB in high regard).

 

CrashGirl, you have a point in how battles are structured but to be honest they aren't bothering me a whole lot. I mean, I loved Wizardry 8 to bits and that one is based on the same premise with an even more unforgiving party structure since party members move as a single unit (which produces problems such as being unable to send a Rogue alone to scout ahead, for instance, or moving weak spellcasters away from harm).

 

Grom, from what I read SoZ allows players to switch characters during dialogue and let them bring different dialogue paths into the mix. I know IWD2 doesn't do exactly the same (so I guess I wasn't being ironic, but my usual stupid self), but it lets players switch characters before and after some dialogue to bring alternatives (like a Drow being able to read certain languages or a Bard calming a spirit by writing a song about it). In a way, that seems a similar technique to SoZ.

 

I also liked IWD1 a lot. You're right about the narration; from the voice to the ending twist, it's great. And the whole game, from music to artwork, gave off this vibe of a melancholic beauty.

[Deadly_Nightshade]

"S.T.A.L.K.E.R. The Shadow of Chernobyl - Oblivion Lost: Homebrew Edition." a.k.a. Let's see how badly I can ****-up modding the game this time!

[Shryke]

i thought you were doing mods for The Witcher?

[Deadly_Nightshade]

i thought you were doing mods for The Witcher?

 

I've got a few of those going as well - although they're going alot better than the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. ones.

[WILL THE ALMIGHTY]

i thought you were doing mods for The Witcher?

 

I've got a few of those going as well - although they're going alot better than the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. ones.

Sounds fun. Modding for Warcraft 3 is so much easier and quicker.

[Maria Caliban]

Titan's Quest. I constantly compare it in my mind to Diablo II and for every hour playing it, I spend about an hour online reading about it.

 

All the while speculating about Diablo III, of course.

 

Right now I'm obsessed with item drops and why/how they're so different. In Diablo II, I always played an Amazon or an Assassin, and while playing, I almost never felt that I *needed* to farm an area. I still did so, yes, because I wanted something cool to drop. I was being greedy, and when it got boring, I moved on. Titan’s Quest is different. I feel as though I’ll slip too far below par if I ‘just play’ and don’t farm end bosses. My first character (a few years ago) ended up getting through to the end, but there were times I’d *constantly* die, especially in China. I know I had a bad build – I always have bad builds – but it was ridiculous how much pain I’d endure trying to survive any attack with, say, fire in it.

 

Also, while playing class X, I never found myself regretting the choice to play class X. In Titan Quest, I constantly think 'Gee, if I were playing a different class, I'd really be able to use this blue item.'

 

I resent both the games for their save systems. I don

Edited December 25, 2008 by Maria Caliban

[Nightshape]

It's just that Diablo in the past has always gritty, Diablo III has very very different art direction.

 

beauty in games doesn't make a game good, much as with women, the good looking one's tend to often be the most shallow.

[Aponez]

Remembering all times with the old Panzer General II

[Hurlshort]

It's just that Diablo in the past has always gritty, Diablo III has very very different art direction.

 

beauty in games doesn't make a game good, much as with women, the good looking one's tend to often be the most shallow.

 

I'd much rather wake up next to Titan Quest than Diablo 2

[Kaftan Barlast]

Both are friggin idiot bastard grindfeasts. But atleasth the guys who did TQ went bancrupt so they cant do it again

[Morgoth]

I enjoyed Diablo2 eight years ago with friends. It also had a lot of atmosphere. But I can't get into these newer (Sacred 2, TQ etc) Hack&Slashers anymore. I'll make probably an exception for Diablo3, because I'm such a Blizzard fanboy.

[Nightshape]

I never said they were any good... They both suck, but the art direction for Diablo III is s***

[Morgoth]

Art direction for D2 is awesome, especially Act 4. Back then in 2000, it had one of the nicest bitmap graphics, despite it's low resolution.

[Musopticon?]

The art direction for Diablo 3 is hardly ****ty, just look at what they've done in terms of 2d art, but some of the color choices could be a bit subdued. In contrast, the Diablo 2 was way too gray for anyone's tastes.

 

And as far as hack'n'slash goes, the Diablo series is the crown jewel of the genre. Just look at games like Revenant and Prince of Qin for failed art direction and design.

[Morgoth]

I'm fine with D3's choice of art direction. I was a bit surprised at first, but now I'm kinda start to like it very much.

 

More importantly, Blizzard never failed me to deliver a fun and addicting experience. Plus Leon Boyarsky is also involved in D3, so it gets even more props from me.

Edited December 25, 2008 by Morgoth

[Hurlshort]

Saint's Row 2 - Most comprehensive character creation I've ever seen. There are about a dozen different ways to have your character walk.

 

So far it's fun. It's a lot like the previous GTA's, good fun and mayhem to be had. If GTA4 is "Once Upon a Time in America" then Saint's Row 2 is "I'm Gonna Git You Sucka".

[Jaesun]

I don't know why, but I have a craving to re-play Vampire the Masquerade: Redemption. Not the worlds greatest RPG but one of the FEW RPG's in that setting.

 

If only OEI could do a VTM game...

[Diogo Ribeiro]

The art direction for Diablo 3 is hardly ****ty, just look at what they've done in terms of 2d art, but some of the color choices could be a bit subdued.

 

I'm not sure how much of the media that's been released so far will be featured in the final game. I look at it and think of them as a general direction, mostly.

 

I think the whole "WoW gayness" is totally overblown, and even more ridiculous than what would expect from, say, the 'average' Fallout fanatic. It boggles the mind that on certain gaming communities you have people pinning for the medium to become art, but in others, when an artist or studio decides to create something akin to a personal art style that connects all of their works (World of Warcraft, Starcraft 2, Warcraft 3, Diablo 3) it becomes objectionable. That's why I enjoy id's take on artistic direction even if I don't appreciate most of their games. It may often be excessively brooding and gothic but it's consistent. Unlike other contemporary games where you go "oh, it uses Unreal tech as an engine", you look at an id game and usually recognize it by looking at the artwork alone.

 

It's Wind Waker syndrome all over again. Quite likely the best Zelda in the series - charming, inventive, and quite likely the only Zelda title to capture Myamoto's idea of childlike wonder and wanderlust that influenced the games - but for the average gamer it comes across as "kiddy". Which is why we returned to the series with Twilight Princess which was pure vanilla in terms of artistic direction. It's also why some people look at Introversion's games and can't help getting past the "it's retro looking so it's crap" mentality.

 

Videogames are only considered art insofar as the audience's tastes are pandered to.

 

 

And as far as hack'n'slash goes, the Diablo series is the crown jewel of the genre. Just look at games like Revenant and Prince of Qin for failed art direction and design.

 

I kinda dug Revenant at the time, although that probably had more to do with the engine itself than anything else. The art direction may have been poor but I liked the colorful artwork. Same goes for that Delphine dungeon crawl, Darkstone, with its randomized dungeons and stuff. And Fate is a kind of DC I keep wanting to go back to because it's just too damn fun even when the gameplay starts to get repetitive. Feeding fish to your pet to shapeshift it into powerful animals and sending it to the surface to sell loot is awesome.

Edited December 25, 2008 by Diogo Ribeiro