I'm not sure a Game of Thrones rpg is actually necessary. CollegeHumor.com already covered what it would look like pretty well: http://www.collegehumor.com/video/6579356/game-of-thrones-rpg

Originally posted by travamars

DYNAMIC.....

Seems that DYNAMIC gets said with every game review these days. What 3 times in that very short review.

Can you go into detail and explain what is so DYNAMIC about the combat and other features you mentioned? Or at least give me your definition of what DYNAMIC means when refered to a game?

I can expand on that. The combat is combo and condition-based. For example, if you block with your shield and then attack with your sword, you do a different move than if you swing your sword three times. You can also switch weapons on the fly, each of which has a different set of combo/reactive effects. It's all pretty intuitive, too; there are no button combos to memorize, it's all timing.

EDIT: That said, they've stated multiple times that it's very much an RPG, not an action game. Their goal was to make it feel very fluid and exciting, but easy to pick up and play for anyone who's interested in doing so. There are some things more "actiony" than your typical RPGs (rolling/teleporting out of the way of attacks), but stats and equipment still play a huge role in how well you do.

@Garrett:

I'd be really interested in seeing a review of the PC controls as the game gets closer to launch and they have more of a chance to finalize said controls. So far, all of the game-play footage and reviews I've seen have been of the Xbox version. I greatly prefer playing on the PC, but only if the controls are easy and intuitive (which isn't always the case with multiplatform games).

My account got hacked after a period of inactivity, too (I'm a lifetimer, but hadn't logged in for over two months). Some of my guild members noticed my character logging on, but that it didn't respond to hails. Seeing that it was in my housing development, they went there and witnessed the character being stripped of its equipment. They then reported it, and the account was banned.

I contacted customer support by email and got some instructions involving running some recommend antispyware/antivirus programs (all of which I used weekly anyway) and changing all of my passwords, which I did. I never did end up contacting them further to get the account unbanned, though. I just couldn't bear going back and trying to replace the lost gear, special housing decorations, etc.

I go back to MUDs every once in awhile, though I think it's easier for those of us who actually spent time with them in their early days than it is for people who've never played them before (the lack of graphics is a pretty tall hurdle). The main advantages MUDs have over MMOs are tighter communities due to smaller population numbers (everyone knows everyone) and developers who do what they do out of love for the game rather than financial obligation. Both of those are really refreshing palate cleansers after bad MMO experiences. Then again, MUD developers don't have anywhere near the amount of time or manpower AAA MMOs do, so change occurs at a glacially slow pace, if at all.

For my MUD recommendation, I'd say Project Bob (I know, the name's terrible) is probably the best I've played, and I've played hundreds. That's based on my own standards and expectations, though. It has things I really care about, like essentially endless levels and a really deep alternate advancement system, housing, pets, optional quests, random events, characters that are skill-based rather than class-based, and one of the most detailed loot/crafting systems I've ever seen in a MUD. It's not hugely populated, though, nor is it really a roleplaying MUD. It's mostly a progression-based game with lots of things to keep you busy.

A fun fact mentioned in the PAX East videos for the game, the voice actor that plays the gnomish scholar at the Well of Souls (your contact in rebirth) is Jim Cummings, the same person who voiced Minsc in Baldur's Gate. "Go for the eyes, Boo! Go for the eyes!"

I was really hoping the new instances were going to be a viable endgame path for soloers (I know, I know, we're all evil and need to be destroyed), but after watching several videos of solo players in full raid gear running them, that just doesn't seem to be the case. You pretty much need either a second player or, as mentioned in the article, an "ultra-buffed" character. Even in raid gear, it wasn't at all uncommon for people to die several times.

Essentially, this move to make the story more accessible to everyone still isn't making it accessible to soloers. If you want to run them alone, you'll have to get geared up in raids first, which seems counterintuitive.

Rift isn't the game for me, but the bit stating "Multi-month subscribers earn all the rewards from their game time up front" is quite clever. I'm sure it'll push some people up a subscription category or two.

Originally posted by etlar

thought this was an xbox only title....

Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.

Wow, that EVE character creator is astonishing! The makeup options alone make me want to resub, even though I know the game doesn't offer much for my particular playstyle.

Originally posted by SlyGamer79

Originally posted by Groovydutch

Skyrim for PC prolly best platform to play this game anyway.

i never quite got why care to enlighten me ?

 

Mods. More specifically, everything from character creation items (new skins, eyes, hairstyles, et cetera), item skins (weapons, armor), new ui elements, new player houses, new quests, pets/companions and hundreds of other things. Fallout 3 mods even included things like IR/UV nightvision goggles that actually worked and complete overhauls of the game's difficulty. Granted, a lot of the quests that modders come up with are of horrible quality, but there are far more things available in modding communities than nude skins and hacks. Mods can add months of additional game-play and really allow you to tailor games to exactly what you're looking for.

Originally posted by bartoni33

Originally posted by gaou

for those worried that it will suddenly sneak up on you and be forced into a SGRA:

Lastly for those of you who seem concerned that you will be 'tricked' into any romance arc in the game - all romance choices are clearly marked. You will be aware you're making those choices as you make them.

As every Bw game (DA:O& DA2, ME2&prolly ME3) does.

TLDR: You will not be suddenly turned queer or get gang-raped by a bunch of Tender Young Jedi Man-meat in TOR. Second Life is that way--------------->

It's going to be even clearer in TOR than in other BioWare games. Every romance dialogue option is flagged in the chat wheel with [Flirt]. Apparently, though this is just second-hand knowledge, you have to select a Flirt option before any romantic chat happens at all; if you don't initiate it, you never see it.

Originally posted by RedFanny

Originally posted by L0C0Man

What would be the difference between pets being undead (in the case of necromancers) or beasts? (other than graphics).

Just wondering because other than being minions instead of beasts the necromancer in Age of Conan seems to fit the bill. Basically you get up to 8 points, and there are 11 kinda of different minions you can summon to fill them with different abilities (some are melee, some casters, some leech life, and so on). Each minion can take 1, 2 or 4 points to summon, you can mix and match them as you want. The end result is that necros always seem to be walking with their own personal army.

 

I guess the difference for me is that the necro's I know can only summon pets for a short time, then they die or disappear. While pet handlers/beast masters can keep their pets out as long as they can keep them alive.

You might try City of Heroes/Villains as was suggested. Mastermind pets stay out as long as they live, and they can live pretty long. You start out with access to just the weakest, eventually gaining more of that tier (up to 3); then you get access to a lieutenant, then another one, and finally a "boss" type, and you can have all six of them out at once. The pets have their own powers, can be micro-managed, and (depending on your power sets) your character gets powers that permanently upgrade them, temporarily buff them, heal them, or assist them with damage/crowd control. It's a pretty robust system, though there are no "beast" Masterminds.

I think a 2D MMO could be successful, but it'd need to be released on the right platform, namely smartphones and Facebook. I don't think it would stand a chance if it were competing directly with current-gen MMOs, but it could find a market among non-gamers or gamers-on-the-go.

1. Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

2. *Elder Scrolls: Skyrim (The only one from your list)

3. Guild Wars 2

4. Star Wars: The Old Republic (maybe 6 months after launch)

EDIT: 5. (Almost forgot!) Torchlight 2

I pretty much only play RPGs and MMORPGs, and I tend to be very picky even within those genres. On the plus side, I save a lot of money, since not much is marketed to my interests.

@Elikal

I don't think the old games were quite as group-centric as you remember them. Ultima Online? You could solo your character for pretty much everything. Asheron's Call? You could solo your character for pretty much everything. Going back even further, most Diku-based MUDs?  You guessed it, most allowed you to solo your characters for pretty much everything.

However, there were also LP MUDs back in the day, many of which were group-based. Some of the Envy and Circle MUDs (not many, but some) were group-based. Moving forward again, EQ was group-based. Much of Anarchy Online was group-based. City of Heroes was group-based.

The flaw with modern MMOs isn't the fault of soloing, or combat, or leveling speed or teamspeak. The flaw is a lack of variety. Variety is what MUDs had (and still have), variety is what the early MMOs had. Variety went away. You can blame that on a new market, new measurements for success, increased costs for development, the economic downturn, increased risks for investors and probably several other factors, but variety is the thing we're missing.

A demand in the market exists that is not being met anymore due to a shift away from product specialization and towards a one-size-fits-all approach. What I think we all hoped was the market would evolve in such a way that we'd see lots of little MMO "corner stores" selling their own hand-crafted products for specific interests; specialization drives innovation which, in the end, benefits everyone. Instead, it evolved into Walmart.

Originally posted by Siveria

"Aww great a bloody malkavian just what I needed!" heh. I need to find that game and the fan patches.

You can get the game on Steam (http://store.steampowered.com/app/2600/) and the patches are linked in my earlier post in this thread. Unfortunately, you missed the daily special on it a month or two ago ($4.99), and it's a bit on the pricy side now for a game of its age ($19.99). Still, it provides quite a bit of playtime.

Here's the site I use for unofficial patches (located just below the official patch, which is also hosted there): http://www.patches-scrolls.de/vampire_bloodlines.php.  When you install the latest unofficial patch, you'll be given the choice to install either the normal version or the "plus" version. The normal version is essentially just bug fixes, whereas the "plus" version adds content that was in the original data files but never implemented. In some cases, that results in significant changes to game-play, so it's usually recommended to start with the normal version first.

Here's the site I use for mods: http://planet-vampire.com

Originally posted by marinrider

Does anyone have any videos or info about how open the game is as far as the world.  I know that this dungeon was pretty linear but I'm hoping the world and the cities are not so much.  

The game's lead designer is Ken Rolston, who was also the lead designer on Morrowind and Oblivion, which is a good sign. He was referred to in the Kingdoms of Amalur PAX East videos mutliple times as someone who emphasized the importance of "wandering in the weeds."

I think they talk about the openness in the third video* of that series, maybe the fourth, describing how they have a metaphorical "golden path" that tells you where the main story goes, but that you can choose to just go off on side paths, or even where there aren't any paths. They then follow one such path off the main road where they run into a boss, along the way stating that many off-the-beaten-path areas have rare rewards of varying types.

Whether or not the side paths are as truly open as Bethesda's titles, or are instead more like terrain hallways with invisible walls a la BioWare, is yet to be seen, but I'm hoping for the best.

*EDIT: Around the 7:12 mark in part III: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWU8bc-y4xA&feature=relmfu

For those of you interested in the game who haven't seen the PAX East panel/demo videos, they're definitely worth watching and cover a wider array of topics with even more detail on combat, Destinies, crafting, etc. There are five parts, about an hour of coverage overall.

Here's a link to the first PAX East video on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSdQq4T-oyg (You can just continue after each one to move on to the next section).

The game's website has all of that footage and some E3 coverage, as well as two other interviews: http://www.ea.com/reckoning/videos