Bioware/Bethesda appreciation thread

[GreasyDogMeat]

Bioware - While I hate their direction lately, they did make Baldur's Gate, the Infinity Engine, Neverwinter Nights and Knights of the Old Republic, some of the best RPGs. I also do enjoy Mass Effect for what it is.

 

Bethesda - Fallout 3 rocks. It aint perfect of course, but I had a blast with it.

[Gizmo]

Speaking of which, WoW does not have a single-player subscription-free campaign, i think. DOES IT?

I don't think so...I finally tried the game after they begged me, and after 20 minutes I thought, "this is it ???"

I quit and let the rest of the 10 day trial expire.

Edited August 20, 2009 by Gizmo

[alanschu]

Obsidian did improve KOTOR 10-fold. I like your attitudde.

 

 

Then why so mad that BioWare is NOT making a KOTOR 3?

[Maria Caliban]

On 7. You have a high tolerance for repetition.

 

This from someone who's played through BG. I recall taking down legions of kobolds, orcs, orges, gibberlings, wolves, bears, and skeletons with 1) shoot arrows, 2) pause every five seconds as you select a different target for your archers, 3) continue until the enemy gets near, 4) run off until they stop chasing you, 5) come back and shoot more arrows. That's 75% of the fights right there. Though when I was really feeling saucy, I had Minsc stand in the middle of a crowd while my archers picked the opponents off one by one.

 

Wow, you were pretty **** at the game.

 

What? It's a cheap tactic that will win a huge amount of fights. It's one of the reasons BG II was a much better game.

 

Speaking of which, WoW does not have a single-player subscription-free campaign, i think. DOES IT?

 

Nope. It's an MMORPG. Why would it have a single-player campaign? You might want to try something like Guild Wars, which has no subscription and is highly instenced.

Edited August 20, 2009 by Maria Caliban

[bhlaab]

-Planescape Torment used the Infinity Engine

-Bioware at least look like they're trying

-Baldur's Gate was a respectable game

-Bioware is quite good at character animation, cutscene direction, voice acting, even dialogue

-Neverwinter Nights, while having a lacking OC, was a very interesting new direction to take in terms of online gameplay and editing tools

 

-Morrowind was great if you don't try to pretend it's an RPG

-Fallout 3 could have been worse

-Oblivion could have been, uh, unmoddable

-The Bethesda message boards are run by very... efficient moderators

-Bethesda's creative directors are very competent businessmen

[Oner]

Obsidian did improve KOTOR 10-fold. I like your attitudde.

Then why so mad that BioWare is NOT making a KOTOR 3?

Didn't you misread there something chief?

[aries101]

I like Bethesda for the great ability to make open ended sandbox game where you can do pretty much what you want to do; I haven't even started the maian quest in Oblivion as of yet (on my second or third playthrough). I also like Bethesda's way of delivering a very nice visual world that adds to the storytelling; sometimes I wonder around at night (in the game, I mean), and look up at the sky; very beatiful it is, especially with the two moons hanging over me....

 

I like Bioware for the great way of telling compelling stories which really touches the heart and the head at the same time; the dialogue choices they give are somewhat more meaningfull than in any other game(s) I have played. When I play, I just want to find out what happens next - in the story. Bioware's voice actors are among the best in the industry, I agree completely. edit: Writing memorable characters that almost everyine remembers is also one of Bioware's strongest sides.

Edited August 20, 2009 by aries101

[Slowtrain]

This board is definitely not Bethesda friendly, no matter how much we try.

 

 

Which is too bad since they are the biggest wrpg maker out there, atm. But they dig their own grave really.

 

 

It's a good sign that FO3 gets some positive reception here though.

 

 

Is Oblivion the most bashed game on these boards? Possibly.

 

 

I'm really curious to see what happens with ES V. WIll it be a move forward from Fallout 3? Or a regression back to Oblivion style of play?

[Pidesco]

I wouldn't say Fallout 3 was a move forward. I'd call it a move sideways into Bioware and Obsidian territory. So I'd imagine ES V will be Oblivion, just as lifeless but a bit smaller, with less options and about the same number and type of fetch quests.

 

I hope they'll pick up the ball again and move the open world type RPG forward, but I'll be really surprised if they do.

[bhlaab]

I like Bethesda for the great ability to make open ended sandbox game where you can do pretty much what you want to do

 

Really? Because what stood out for me in Fallout 3 and Oblivion was how so much of what I wanted to do was artificially blocked because they didn't want to have to design around silly things like the player thinking outside of the box

[Gizmo]

.... Is Oblivion the most bashed game on these boards? Possibly.

 

 

I'm really curious to see what happens with ES V. WIll it be a move forward from Fallout 3? Or a regression back to Oblivion style of play?

It just seems to me that the upper management there tries to cater too much. They seem to want a superior seller instead of a superior product (and those are not always one in the same ~Or in some instance even possible).

 

For me, Arx Fatalis is an Oblivion killer ~Its not as big, not as demanding (machine-wise), has equal but different art (though... the Stone Golem looks quite like the Atronach, only Arx shipped in 2002) ~Design-wise I prefer the creatures in Arx to Oblivion, and the subterranean environments (which is the only fair way to compare ~Since Arx has no surface world in the game).

 

Arx did not sell as well as Oblivion, but it is IMO the better game, (and its even an unofficial sequel to Ultima Underworld, but they never got the license).

*Personally I consider the better RPG as well, but for many that term outright requires that they be allowed to create their own PC ~but which for me there is no such requirement for RPG's.

 

Here is a small excerpt from the manual that shows the drive behind the game.

A Few Words From The Developers

Arx Fatalis has been dear to our hearts for many years. It was the project that

inspired us to found Arkane Studios. Arx was not created solely to make us a lot of

money, it was created because we are gamers and have a genuine passion for games

that carry us off into dreams of lost worlds. As far as the philosophy of the game is

concerned, we see Arx Fatalis as a profound role playing adventure. So lean back,

relax, and start exploring the world of Arx Fatalis

[Purkake]

I wouldn't call Oblivion demanding, the game is three years old.

[Gizmo]

I wouldn't call Oblivion demanding, the game is three years old.

Did I?

 

ARX system requirements are less demanding than Oblivion's.

System Requirements

Minimum requirements

Pentium

Edited August 22, 2009 by Gizmo

[kingofsquid]

This board is definitely not Bethesda friendly, no matter how much we try.

 

 

Which is too bad since they are the biggest wrpg maker out there, atm. But they dig their own grave really.

 

 

It's a good sign that FO3 gets some positive reception here though.

 

 

Is Oblivion the most bashed game on these boards? Possibly.

 

 

I'm really curious to see what happens with ES V. WIll it be a move forward from Fallout 3? Or a regression back to Oblivion style of play?

 

Then again, TOR may also be the most bashed game (especially in the TSL forums, or now forum). And um I ain't mad at Bioware because it ain't makin Kotor 3, I'm mad at it because it is killing the chances of Kotor 3 with an MMO that might possibly(hopefully) flop....

 

Hey, never played Oblivion, but loved Morrowind, at least in the massive amount of area and RPG elements (it had everything). The only problem was that it was TOO big, couldn't find jack snot unless I stumbled upon it by accident.

Edited August 22, 2009 by kingofsquid

[Purkake]

I wouldn't call Oblivion demanding, the game is three years old.

Did I?

 

You said Arx is less demanding(machine wise), but it really doesn't matter in this day and age.

 

It's a fun game, but that really isn't a selling point anymore.

Edited August 22, 2009 by Purkake

[Gizmo]

I wouldn't call Oblivion demanding, the game is three years old.

Did I?

 

You said Arx is less demanding(machine wise), but it really doesn't matter in this day and age.

 

It's a fun game, but that really isn't a selling point anymore.

Its a point of admiration though... Its always best to do the relative most with the relative least, and its easier on the machine... See, you can play Arx Fatalis while rendering out a batch of 3d frames in Vray, or another renderer. You can play it on a 3 year old budget laptop too.

 

*And like I said, Arx Fatalis shipped in 2002.

Edited August 22, 2009 by Gizmo

[Purkake]

Playing anything fullscreen while something cpu-heavy is running is usually a very bad idea.

 

It's like saying that Zork is a great game because it doesn't require any graphics. I'd say it's a good game in spite of having any graphics.

[bhlaab]

Playing anything fullscreen while something cpu-heavy is running is usually a very bad idea.

 

Uhhhh, why? Unless your cpu is being cooled by a paper fan it should be fine.

[Gizmo]

Playing anything fullscreen while something cpu-heavy is running is usually a very bad idea.

 

It's like saying that Zork is a great game because it doesn't require any graphics. I'd say it's a good game in spite of having any graphics.

Zork is a great game because it doesn't require any graphics.

 

Imagine Zork 2010 ~text based and done in pure assembly... but with the same system requirements as Fallout 3.

(or ASCII graphics perhaps)

 

The point of those games is pure imagination and response. Even drawing the dragon as cool as a pro illustrator is still their vision of a dragon and not the player's. (also though... Zork was designed for the early Personal Computers ~IE 4.MHz and a fiddling Kilobyte amount of ram).

Edited August 22, 2009 by Gizmo

[Purkake]

Playing anything fullscreen while something cpu-heavy is running is usually a very bad idea.

 

Uhhhh, why? Unless your cpu is being cooled by a paper fan it should be fine.

 

In my experience fullscreen stuff doesn't really like other resource-dependent stuff in the background. Possible issues include flickering and random minimization.

[Gizmo]

In my experience fullscreen stuff doesn't really like other resource-dependent stuff in the background. Possible issues include flickering and random minimization.

Fullscreen is less demanding than Windowed mode.

 

If you are running a fullscreen game designed for a Pentium 2, on a modern quad core system ~You have load(s) to spare.

Edited August 22, 2009 by Gizmo

[kingofsquid]

Well, on the laptop I play Age of Mythology on, I start task manager just to check the CPU usage, and it's usually between 70 and 100%. And besides some stalling in the intro, it works FINE! That is what we're talking about, right?

[Purkake]

In my experience fullscreen stuff doesn't really like other resource-dependent stuff in the background. Possible issues include flickering and random minimization.

Fullscreen is less demanding than Windowed mode.

 

If you are running a fullscreen game designed for a Pentium 2, on a modern quad core system ~You have load(s) to spare.

 

Sadly I'm limited to two cores.

[Gizmo]

In my experience fullscreen stuff doesn't really like other resource-dependent stuff in the background. Possible issues include flickering and random minimization.

Fullscreen is less demanding than Windowed mode.

 

If you are running a fullscreen game designed for a Pentium 2, on a modern quad core system ~You have load(s) to spare.

 

Sadly I'm limited to two cores.

That's still twice what the game would usually expect.

 

Windows is multicore aware, but most software is not, and only wants one core ~and Windows happily runs two at a time across both or can be set to run one app on a specific core.

Edited August 22, 2009 by Gizmo

[Purkake]

Just speaking from my experience.