gunsmoke on 11/4/2010 at 12:41
Quote Posted by Shadowcat
Most definitely.
gunsmoke: If your CPU is less than 3-4 years old, Terra Nova will likely run very nicely. I'm not sure what the minimum would be, but my Core 2 Duo E6750 has absolutely no problems with all the detail settings maxed out.
The dynamic core enhancements added (or at least, brought to the fore) in DOSBox 0.70 did absolute wonders for performance in a lot of games, so if you have any other games sitting around unplayed for the same reason, you should drag 'em out :)
Well, it is only a single-core AMD 64 3700+, but it still runs pretty well. My laptop is a dual core intel @ 1.83 Ghz, so it would probably be decent. All will be well this summer. I am 1/2 done buying parts for a new PC, top-to-bottom. Just waiting to see if the i5's and i7's get a bit cheaper in the next few months.
uk_john on 11/4/2010 at 12:51
Quote Posted by Pardoner
Neither Planescape Torment or KOTOR 2 were developed by Bioware.
It's not as simple as looking at the name on the box. Dark Isle worked closely with Bioware in the early day, using Bioware's Infinity Engine for example. Staff moved between Bioware and Dark Isle in these timers, and of course both companies were published by Interplay for a time. Some of the Dark Isle staff left to make Obsidian, but interestingly, they too worked closely with Bioware to develop KOTOR 1 and then developed KOTOR 2 using the same Bioware engine,
The constant use of Bioware engines and gaming styles by Dark Isle show they were very close indeed. Staff then broke from Dark Isle to form Obsidian, and they too use Bioware engines and continue to work closely with Bioware.
The gaming business is a lot more sophisticated than gamers believe. And while strictly speaking they were not the main developer, they worked with first Dark Isle and then Obsidian very closely!
Given these early relationships and titles, it's not too difficult to see how things are radically different now, with Bioware releasing Mass Effect 2 and Obsidian Alpha Protocol. Both much more action and much less roleplaying orientated.
uk_john on 11/4/2010 at 13:10
Quote Posted by EvaUnit02
"Real RPGs" and "Standard RPGs"? You're throwing around adjectives with little meaning. KotOR uses D&D3 derived d20 rules, so for example it used fucking dice rolls during combat. This gulf that you're imagining between it and NWN1 is pretty non-existent, strip away the Forgotten Realms and Star Wars settings and the game mechanics are very similar.
So in KotOR you can't zoom out the camera to a pseudo-isometric view. OH NOES MAINSTREAMING SPAT IN MY CORN FLAKES
This is what happens in a genre that's about to disappear. Remember all the debates about whether Action-Adventures had any of the adventuring that pure adventures have. Pure adventure fans were very upset that the media was calling the original Tomb Raider an 'Action-Adventure', etc. For 2-3 years in the early 2000's this was a huge debate amongst Adventure gamers. This was the time when the media was asking whether 'Adventure' gaming was dead. Fast forward to 2010 and we see hardly any mainstream Adventure publishers. It's gone underground into electronic distribution and indie publishers.
Adventure games are much easier to write than RPG's, being more linear and no/little animated graphics needed, versus the isometric/3D open world, stats and attributes of an RPG.
So now we get the same confusion with RPG's. What is an 'Action-RPG'? Is it the hack'n'slash Diablo or Dragon Siege? Or is it the likes of Divine Divinity, Fallout 3 and Oblivion? The first two you say? Well many reviewers have called Fallout 3 an 'Action-RPG' - presumably because it has guns rather than swords! Almost any isometric RPG, like Divine Divinity are also called Action-RPG's, presumably because they look like Diablo! Even Oblivion has recently been called an Action-RPG. It's no coincidence that officially Bioware call Jade Empire and Mass Effect 'Action-RPG's and Dragon Age an 'RPG'. This tells you that Bioware see the more action-orientated Jade Empire and Mass Effect as 'different' from Dragon Age and Baldur's Gate and their other 'real' RPG's.
People today argue that Mass Effect is an RPG because you can upgrade your armour and weapons and you have some conversation choice. But what about the huge open world to explore? What about the ability to use diplomacy and/or sneak skills? I just cannot see how a game, like Vampire Bloodlines, for example, with it's multiple Vampire Clans each with multiple stats and attributes and a wealth of gameplay options, with multiple ways to roleplay the gameworld is the same RPG as a Jade Empire or Mass Effect!
So as we go to more action orientated Alpha Protocol and Mass Effect type 'RPG's so we are watching the end of real RPG's from the major North American publisher's - 'Action-RPG's' is to the RPG genre what 'Action-Adventures' were to the Adventure genre - a sign of the death of a genre.
Comparing Mass Effect with Baldur's Gate is like comparing Sam and Max with Tomb Raider.
Sulphur on 11/4/2010 at 13:22
Black Isle, not Dark Isle.
While there may be some truth to Bioware and BI sharing/exchanging employees during Planescape Torment's development back in the day, I highly doubt an out-and-out collaboration wouldn't have been mentioned. BI did, after all, help out with Baldur's Gate II's development, and that was stated quite clearly.
KOTOR 2? Almost completely Obsidian, with some help from Bioware around the workings of the engine.
Be that as it may, lead creative development for both games was overseen by one person: Chris Avellone, and he was from Interplay, not Bioware.
Note that I'm not necessarily disagreeing about current-day RPG's becoming more action-oriented. They are. They blend with shooter mechanics quite agreeably, as KOTOR, FO3, ME2, and Borderlands can attest.
If you're looking to roleplay in an RPG-shooter, the palette may not be as broad, but I find the focus makes for a more compelling game. The only things I see that these 'new' RPGs really lack in comparison to ye olde RPG mechanics are detailed stats juggling (which I don't miss) and the option to play as a pacifist (which I do to an extent). Open-world vs. linear RPGs is a completely different debate altogether, one which goes way, way back in time. Let's not confuse the two.
Zerker on 11/4/2010 at 14:00
Quote Posted by uk_john
Eastern Europe, as far as I can see, is our only hope for PC games and especially totally PC RPG's. When you think of games like The Witcher, Drakensang, STALKER, Divine Divinity 1 and 2, Arx Fatalis, Gothic, Metro 2033, Space Rangers, Romance of the Three Kingdoms XI, King Arthur the Roleplaying Wargame and others, have all been, at least, real PC games for PC players, with no 'multiformat streamlining' that we see so often from the major North American publishers.
That's a bit of a misleading set of games. Divine Divinity 1 & 2 were made in Belgium (Divinity 2 being multiplatform), Arx Fatalis was made in France (and has shown up on Xbox 1 if you forgot), Gothic and Drakensang were made in Germany, and Romance of the Three Kingdoms XI was made in Japan (and is a console game first). The only games in your list that actually ARE from Eastern Europe are Witcher, STALKER, Metro 2033 (also on consoles) and Space Rangers. I can't find anything definitive about "Neocore Games" who made the King Arthur game, but their whois implies Hungary, which is more like central Europe.
Regardless, I'm not exactly sure what you're getting at, considering about a third of your games are on consoles anyways, and more than half are outside your geographic "only hope for PC games".
Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some games to enjoy regardless of where they came from or what their target audience is.
BEAR on 11/4/2010 at 14:11
Tribes 2 still looks damn good. Its probably one of the most crisp clean looking games I've ever played. The menu's are elegant and responsive, and the whole game just feels great to move around in. The HUD is spacious and clean, so much so that sometimes after playing games that feel cluttered, I want to just go back and play it just a little to calm my mind down, even if its just hopping in a shrike and flying around a bit.
Sulphur on 11/4/2010 at 14:20
Aha, so you must be Bearicus from that IRC chat a year ago. I agree about the game's clean look, but the art direction doesn't really make it stand out much, IMO. Still a fascinating multiplayer game, nonetheless.
BEAR on 11/4/2010 at 15:07
No, it was never really meant to be particularly artful. But its visuals are still pretty much perfect for the game (many multiplayer games still manage to be cluttered and ugly unnecessarily).
june gloom on 11/4/2010 at 17:30
Wow, uk_john is completely delusional.
