Xydonus

I'd join in if I wasn't already busy with my own sessions. Hopefully the 2nd edition will have better multiplayer compatibility than the first one. Far as I know, isn't the first edition one still buggy, multiplayer wise? Me and a few mates have been having great craic on BG2 using Gameranger. The multiplayer experience is very smooth, didn't encounter a single bug/glitch, and we are on Chapter 3 atm. I remember reading a few posts on the BG forums from people who scolded the multiplayer experience, and I seriously can't fathom why. This is the most fun I've had in a rpg for awhile now and it puts other rpgs to shame. On my last session (trying to avoid spoilers as best as I can here) we took on a Shadow Dragon. Anyone familiar with the DnD ruleset will know that Dragons are incredibly tough and are not easy to take down. We were having a bit of trouble during the fight so I decided to recast protection from evil (I'm playing a Sorcerer) for the entire party to prepare for what was going to happen next... I then proceeded to summon a fiend, a very powerful berserker demon, to aid us in our fight. Well that was all fine up until dispel was cast, instead of breach on the dragon. Everything was going peachy until I realized that my Sorcerer's protection from evil was gone, while everyone else in the party still had theirs, courtesy of the dispel area effect spell, that just happened to only go for me. Cue a big fiery pissed off demon eying up my squishy Sorcerer for din-dins. In comes the benny hill music, and there goes me running around with a demon on my heels while I'm frantically screaming for help. The main issue here is that I'm the host, and in Baldurs Gate if the host dies its game over for EVERYONE. So yeah, there was a lot of panic since the rest of the party managed to kill the dragon only to have a fiend to deal with now, and nothing would suck more than me being killed by my own summons and having to reload the whole fight again... Thankfully we prevailed ... But there's few games out there that can capture hilarity like that.

Still remember that classic Thief level in Thief 3, the one with the haunted orphanage and the 'old lady' ... Great way to mix horror in a game!

Mostly playing Baldurs Gate 2 with a few friends on Multiplayer, then from that Neverwinter Nights once we finish BG2.

I see... Interesting, yes, very interesting. Now, please lie down on the couch, I won't be a second ... *Fetches Pillow*

If you want to try your hand at drawing art for your game, I recommend having a look at GraphicsGale - http://www.humanbalance.net/gale/us/ The free version should do the job just fine. Also, http://www.aseprite.org/ is a 2d sprite editor, which would be handy for making all sorts of things from characters to swords, etc. I personally use ArtRage for backgrounds and aseprite for everything else.

As long as dip-dop Charlie Hunnam isn't in it, I'll be getting this.

Step 1 - Hire a marketing guru that doesn't mind telling blatant lies Step 2 - Don't bother to hire a new AI programmer. Instead, use the same no-talent bullshitter. Have him spread his lies through vlogs Step 3 - Clever Marketing Clever Marketing Clever Marketing Clever Marketing Clever Marketing Clever Marketing Clever Marketing Clever Marketing Step 4 - Profit

I shall be keeping an eye on this one, could be good. I noticed this on the Greenlight page for it - "Inspired by Dwarf Fortress, Firefly, FTL, and Dune." ... But no mention of Prison Architect, in which the art, mechanics, interface and general gameplay just scream Prison Architect more than anything else.

....

Do you have an alienware PC? ^n^ Nope. Wouldn't throw my money away like that.

Great thing about being Irish is I can just sit back, sip my delicious pint of Guinness and watch the world burn...

Payday 2 is another disappointment for me. Don't even play it anymore. I think the main thing that does it for me is the repetitiveness of the gameplay that isn't fun and the sheer lack of maps. I am quite amused however that I unlocked the Alienware mask on my first game which I believe is supposed to be some super rare mask...

There were some very excellent suggestions on the old forum about this. Can't remember them atm due to alcohol tearing through my brain and eliminating cells at the moment. I suggested an option myself but can't remember. Perhaps a synchronized server sleep setting, set at a certain point. If you miss it, you'll have to make do with getting tired throughout the day until the next sleep point.

I totally agree. But what can ya do? That's the world we live in sadly. Perhaps stricter regulation on Kickstarter? That will only hamper developers and in the end make it harder to achieve funding. If you create a system with little to no regulation that relies on trust, its going to get abused. Fact. Those who funded The Dead Linger despite the fact that their Kickstarter page contained nothing but a few models and abstract concept art are also equally at fault. Although some might argue that's exactly what Kickstarter is; for funding early prototype projects regardless of the lack of content on their page. Not everything coming out of Kickstarter is going to be a gem. There have already been plenty of failures and a few scams also. Nature of the game. However much the Kickstarter funding scheme gets tarnished by failed projects, scams, let downs and in some cases just blatant false advertising, the general public are a forgetful bunch and they'll fall for the same trick time after time. People will wise up aright but you'll still have masses out there who will gladly throw their money at the mention of Zombies and other hypes. Steam is also another culprit; they don't regulate what goes onto Greenlight or its Early Access program. They'll only act when they get hounded by complaints and even then that's temporary punishment. Kickstarter/Indiegogo and Steam in general are all built on trust. Its a flawed system but again; whats the alternative?

Actually this is very true, and a good point. 2013 and I would even say 2012 to boot, have both been very disappointing years for gaming. This year the most. I'm the same; trying to remember any games I bought this year and I've not bought any with the exception to Starbound. It's definitely been a year of anticipation though. Lots of games that I'm keen on are still in current development/pending so I reckon 2014 will be a mildly good year. If GTA V comes out on PC within that year, that will be an added bonus.

The definition of alpha in game development seems to always take different forms. Its never consistent and only serves to cause flame definition wars on forums throughout the internet. Developers will have their own sense of what an alpha means and in a lot of cases just twist the meaning for their own desires. It will differentiate from what others think and cause a rift. I don't know at what point did the true meaning of alpha development cease to exist, but it doesn't exist anymore. It has become incredibly murky territory. I like to think I know what an alpha is when I see it but sometimes it just gets harder to tell...

With the year coming to a close soon, I'm eager to hear opinions from others on what was their biggest disappointment in a game that launched this year. It could be indie or mainstream. You don't have to write an entire review on your selection, just sum it up in a few words on why it was a disappointment. It be best if you picked just one game. For me personally: Rome:Total War II. Never pre-ordered because I always felt a bit iffy about it, and I had the good sense of knowing that my mate would be getting it and I'd be hitching a free ride to try it out. All I can say is it was a huge disappointment and letdown for the series as a whole. If anything it only further strengthens my anti-preordering stance now. What was yours?

Starting out with Dublin is the easiest way to start, though Yep; you don't have to worry about global politics as much and nobody will give a damn what you do in Ireland. Mostly. I tend to favor playing as Byzantium and attempt to reforge the Roman Empire which you can only do if you have the Legacy of Rome expansion. Fun times I would recommend trying out the CK2+ mod which you'll find in the mod forum under the new thread, CK2 continuation or something like that. It keeps the flavor of CK2 but adds a ton of stuff to the game. Improvements that you can't say no to. Just a word of warning though: CK2 patches tend to break save games and mods which is a real annoyance.

Simply put: CK2 is a family dynastic political strategy game that covers Europe and parts of the east. There is practically no trade/economy aspect to it other than taxes and that. You do have the military side of it though which is somewhat similar to EU IV. EU IV is a grander scale strategy with focus on trade, conquest, deeper diplomatic treaty agreements and covers the entire world. There is also a colonization aspect to it. In EU IV, you play the country, not an individual with a family. Your ruler still matters as he has different stats and that, but they are nowhere as deep as CK2. They are similar graphically and how they play out on the campaign map, but the similarities end there. I've got both of them and have played them extensively. I personally prefer CK2 as I find it a far more complex game with a lot more depth to it than EU IV. It has more character due to the political intrigue and you grow attached to your virtual characters that you essentially raise throughout the game. Playing EU IV has none of this feeling. You don't really feel attached to your country and the depth just isn't there. Don't get me wrong; its a great game but I find CK2 is just vastly superior despite their differences. I also find CK2 has more layers of strategy to it rather than just marching your armies across Europe to conquer. You'll find yourself being a victim of a scheme or perpetrating some schemes yourself. To balance this very one-sided CK2 favoritism out that I'm showing, EU IV has its own charms. EU has a nice trading mechanic that allows you to manipulate it directly giving you an added layer of strategy to deal with your foes. It can be quite difficult to understand at first however. It also has a colonization mechanic that allows you to search for new lands (America) and colonize them for your country. EU also has a far deeper diplomatic treaty system. Discussing the terms of surrender to an enemy is fantastically detailed giving you lots of options and feels very satisfying. Anyhow, its up to you what you want. If you want a deeper attachment to your country and to deal with family/politics; CK2 would be it. If you want a far simpler approach of controlling a country but playing on a bigger stage with economics thrown in; EU IV is it.

To be honest; that's how I feel about most of your discussions here. It's a bit of a head scratcher, especially your last statement about open-sandbox = not challenging.

Losing a mate; be it natural causes or something else... What does this message say? G T Y O R J O T E O U I A B G T Hint : Count the letters and try splitting the letters up into groups.

He only outsmarts you because you let him. You're much smarter!

Your a dark twisted individual with an unhealthy obsession about ... Your a lovely person, I'm sure. Now lets share a cup of blood wine together and discuss the potential damaging effects of death metal on the delicate eardrums.

He wants to slip his sausage into your love canal and moan passionately as you vomit blood. He's had donkeys of experience in that regard. So Enigma tells me..