The RPGs that have lived most in my imagination and therefore I’d probably call my favourites are the Mass Effect Trilogy (if we’re allowed to class them as RPGs, particularly after the first game) and Dragon Age: Origins.
The Mass Effect trilogy is my favorite rpg as well!!! I love Shepard as the pc, and it is so great to import her into Mass Effect 2 and 3! Mass Effect has some of my favorite companions: Garrus, Kaidan, Tali, Legion, and Mordin! The pacing is also great in that game, and the voice acting is outstanding.
Will have to see if BG3 will become my favorite rpg once it is complete!
c.) You can hate the engine and still like the game, if the various game mechanics/storytelling/characters/etc are good enough to outweigh the inherent negatives of the engine.
Edit. f.) sometimes you just want to rant
I am not disputing any of your comments. Merely that if someone repeatedly bemoans the same things again and again with nothing really positive about those posts, it does beg the question, why continue to post those opinions.
Either way, you are absolutely correct in that (within forum guidelines) people should be allowed or even encouraged to share opinions, even (some might say particularly) controversial ones. So I stand corrected.
a.) This is in the General section of the forum, so comments don't need to suggest anything here. b.) A lot of general video game/rpg/D&D discussion happens on these forums; I personally am mostly here for that at this point. This thread in particular is about other games/game engines, not BG3 specifically. c.) You can hate the engine and still like the game, if the various game mechanics/storytelling/characters/etc are good enough to outweigh the inherent negatives of the engine. d.) Larian are (mainly "were" at this point imo) actively soliciting feedback for BG3, so participating in this form makes it more likely that the game will improve for you. e.) Although unlikely, posting criticisms of the current engine might influence Larian to make some changes in their next engine. E.g., if their engine can't handle a full pause (it almost certainly can), then enough people advocating for a full pause on these forums could result in Larian adding that functionality for future games.
Edit. f.) sometimes you just want to rant
Counterpoint: spending three years as one of the most frequent users on the forum of a game you’ve hated at every stage of early access development is weird ass behavior. He is well in his right to do it, but at this point he knows his concerns won’t be addressed and everybody who has been here long enough to recognize his name knows he hates the game. It be weird. I’m sure there must be some psychological term for it given how much of the internet is built around negative engagement.
feel free to block them then. You'll never have to deal with it again. All you're doing now is being unkind.
Having said that I have concerns about your fixation on women - Irish women in your case - and "chads" - as its terminology I have seen elsewhere. Normally here I may keep taking the piss with you but in this case I am going to encourage you to discuss these things with someone more qualified to work with you.
Was away making my millions, so only seeing this now. Actually, Hiefer, I have an unusually vivid memory, especially for the quirkier characters I encounter (anywhere) – it may be a long time ago now, but I definitely remember it was your good self who was boasting about whipping up an army of ‘chads’ to play BG3. Some multiplayer thing? I didn’t actually go through your entire post history – or any of it, in fact – but are you saying if I did, I wouldn’t find a reference to that comment?
I found it highly amusing at the time, and even had to google the whole ‘chad’ thing – it could be years back, but I remember pretty much everything that amuses me.
It was 100% yourself – I never forget. You were trying to muster up a posy of other ‘chads’ at the time to play BG3. And it was you who used that verbiage.
Your inference that I see a psychologist – ‘someone more qualified to work with you’ – signals to me that your claim about ‘I don't really get offended by anything much’ doesn’t hold much weight, because that’s quite a loaded remark, unless it’s a ‘cultural’ thing and ‘go see a shrink’ is just ‘shooting the shit’ over in Texas (it isn’t over here).
I’ll admit I’m ‘fixated’ on women because I’m straight, but my reply to your comment was the only time – I believe – I mentioned the gender in the entire discourse, and that was because of your history of assuming you’re a chad from your past remarks: aka – ladykiller: isn’t that the definition of the word? Or does it also mean...and are you perhaps…?
Anyway, you do indeed sound very salty about a great many things, but IMO just ignoring people that you don’t click with makes for a smoother ride in internet-land than trying to insult/trip them up.
To get back on topic: I have multiple times praised several aspects of BG3. I have never said I ‘hate’ the game. However, I find the story-telling so completely tame and predictable that it’s not for me.
The sort of story-telling that I do admire has more bite to it: a touch of cheekiness, a pinch of controversy, the right level of mockery of modern-day horseshit. The Sopranos, as I mentioned many times before, or The Wire. I never suggested the game should have these characteristics – but even as fantasy, it’s quite lame overall. The Absolute thing. And all the other clichés.
AOE2 might not be Hemmingway, but the campaign design is perfect – the back-stabbing an so on is always a delight. It was really a surprise to me: beautiful artwork, challenging AI, and level design that is pure genius.
I would also say Binding of Isaac was quite a treat in its own way. I hate that rogue-like genre, but I was astounded by the ingenuity of the game. Again, ingenious design in terms of replay-ability/randomness. The artwork was wonderfully wretched: dank and shitty (most of the characters were even made of shit), and thoroughly horrible assets in the most inventive possible ways.
These videos might give hint which game I have considered best engine in the history.
Even the music in some major cities were fantastic. I played on Alliance side so not familiar with Horde home cities music. Below is Stormwind the human race capitol main city they are on the Alliance side.
Well and those who complain about Cataclysm personally I consider it the last good expansion before WoW got its first bad expansion. Cataclysm introduced my favorite WOW Night Elf music they are on Alliance side... Blood Elves are on Horde side.
and this:
The aboce tune at 1:20 awakens and goes into more combat like music.
Well shortly said the best of World of Warcraft MMO tunes I rate 10/10.
The RPGs that have lived most in my imagination and therefore I’d probably call my favourites are the Mass Effect Trilogy (if we’re allowed to class them as RPGs, particularly after the first game) and Dragon Age: Origins.
I like that praise, “lived the most in my imagination.” For me that would probably be Skyrim. I wouldn’t call that a great RPG, passable at best, but unlike lots of people I crafted a very specific character and took him on a very specific journey.
In short, he started out as a humble thief. Eventually he learned some enchantment and illusionist magic to become basically an arcane trickster. He worked his way into assassination, though always indirectly killing his targets, usually with a frenzy spell. After that, he enjoyed dipping into necromancy before finally reaching his apotheosis as a vampire and only then did I start the main quest line. I was probably 50 hours into the game before I actually killed anything myself.
I really appreciate that the game was flexible enough to allow me to craft a very specific character and play in a very specific way. Again, I wouldn’t consider Skyrim a great role playing game, but it gave me the tools to do some fun role playing.
To echo the statements here, the RPGs which have "lived the most in my imagination" are: -Mass Effect Trilogy -Dragon Age: Origins (What I got to play of it at least across 3 crashed playthroughs. Started a new playthrough and it keeps crashing if I go any beyond low graphics). -Morrowind -Skyrim
There's something about these games. I think part of it is the worldbuilding and contextual depth of the world. I know for Skyrim and Morrowind it's the lore, the freedom, the immersion, and the sheer level of detail to create another living universe where the world opens up in front of you.
But for the Bioware games made a decade ago and earlier, I know a massive part of it is the characters, the interactions, the dialogue, the character development, and how all of those are woven together. I think it's really difficult to describe what it is exactly. I don't want to say the characters feel "real" because that's not really it. And I also don't think the writing is necessarily groundbreaking. But there's SOMETHING that makes the world, the characters, the situations, and the developments so damn compelling. Maybe someone else knows what it is.
Remember the human (This is a forum for a video game):
The games that have lived the most in my imagination are probably the pillars of eterinity games, all three dragon age games but especially Inquisition, and Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous. Love those games. They all just resonated with me and hit a spot that needed hitting. Oh, Marvel's Midnight Suns deserves a spot on that list too.
I'm genuinely shocked that people have preferences when it comes to Engine. I probably could not tell you what engine any of those games was on. I'd probably guess guess Unreal or Unity because I hear those get tossed around the most, but I have no idea what it actually *means* and I would never be able to tell you what a given engine contributed to the final product.
feel free to block them then. You'll never have to deal with it again. All you're doing now is being unkind.
Fair enough.
Originally Posted by Zerubbabel
Originally Posted by Warlocke
Originally Posted by The_Red_Queen
The RPGs that have lived most in my imagination and therefore I’d probably call my favourites are the Mass Effect Trilogy (if we’re allowed to class them as RPGs, particularly after the first game) and Dragon Age: Origins.
I like that praise, “lived the most in my imagination.” For me that would probably be Skyrim. I wouldn’t call that a great RPG, passable at best, but unlike lots of people I crafted a very specific character and took him on a very specific journey.
In short, he started out as a humble thief. Eventually he learned some enchantment and illusionist magic to become basically an arcane trickster. He worked his way into assassination, though always indirectly killing his targets, usually with a frenzy spell. After that, he enjoyed dipping into necromancy before finally reaching his apotheosis as a vampire and only then did I start the main quest line. I was probably 50 hours into the game before I actually killed anything myself.
I really appreciate that the game was flexible enough to allow me to craft a very specific character and play in a very specific way. Again, I wouldn’t consider Skyrim a great role playing game, but it gave me the tools to do some fun role playing.
To echo the statements here, the RPGs which have "lived the most in my imagination" are: -Mass Effect Trilogy -Dragon Age: Origins (What I got to play of it at least across 3 crashed playthroughs. Started a new playthrough and it keeps crashing if I go any beyond low graphics). -Morrowind -Skyrim
There's something about these games. I think part of it is the worldbuilding and contextual depth of the world. I know for Skyrim and Morrowind it's the lore, the freedom, the immersion, and the sheer level of detail to create another living universe where the world opens up in front of you.
But for the Bioware games made a decade ago and earlier, I know a massive part of it is the characters, the interactions, the dialogue, the character development, and how all of those are woven together. I think it's really difficult to describe what it is exactly. I don't want to say the characters feel "real" because that's not really it. And I also don't think the writing is necessarily groundbreaking. But there's SOMETHING that makes the world, the characters, the situations, and the developments so damn compelling. Maybe someone else knows what it is.
BioWare games are really all about having a fantasy adventure with a group of friends. The companions are very much designed around that principle. Not a fan myself but I get the appeal.
I'm going to recommend an odd one: the Dark Waters homebrew campaign for Neverwinter Nights 2. An absolutely ridiculous high-seas campaign set in a homebrew worldspace.
feel free to block them then. You'll never have to deal with it again. All you're doing now is being unkind.
Fair enough.
Originally Posted by Zerubbabel
Originally Posted by Warlocke
Originally Posted by The_Red_Queen
The RPGs that have lived most in my imagination and therefore I’d probably call my favourites are the Mass Effect Trilogy (if we’re allowed to class them as RPGs, particularly after the first game) and Dragon Age: Origins.
I like that praise, “lived the most in my imagination.” For me that would probably be Skyrim. I wouldn’t call that a great RPG, passable at best, but unlike lots of people I crafted a very specific character and took him on a very specific journey.
In short, he started out as a humble thief. Eventually he learned some enchantment and illusionist magic to become basically an arcane trickster. He worked his way into assassination, though always indirectly killing his targets, usually with a frenzy spell. After that, he enjoyed dipping into necromancy before finally reaching his apotheosis as a vampire and only then did I start the main quest line. I was probably 50 hours into the game before I actually killed anything myself.
I really appreciate that the game was flexible enough to allow me to craft a very specific character and play in a very specific way. Again, I wouldn’t consider Skyrim a great role playing game, but it gave me the tools to do some fun role playing.
To echo the statements here, the RPGs which have "lived the most in my imagination" are: -Mass Effect Trilogy -Dragon Age: Origins (What I got to play of it at least across 3 crashed playthroughs. Started a new playthrough and it keeps crashing if I go any beyond low graphics). -Morrowind -Skyrim
There's something about these games. I think part of it is the worldbuilding and contextual depth of the world. I know for Skyrim and Morrowind it's the lore, the freedom, the immersion, and the sheer level of detail to create another living universe where the world opens up in front of you.
But for the Bioware games made a decade ago and earlier, I know a massive part of it is the characters, the interactions, the dialogue, the character development, and how all of those are woven together. I think it's really difficult to describe what it is exactly. I don't want to say the characters feel "real" because that's not really it. And I also don't think the writing is necessarily groundbreaking. But there's SOMETHING that makes the world, the characters, the situations, and the developments so damn compelling. Maybe someone else knows what it is.
BioWare games are really all about having a fantasy adventure with a group of friends. The companions are very much designed around that principle. Not a fan myself but I get the appeal.
In tabletop and multiplayer with friends, I find it hard to keep a straight face and stay in character. There's so much ridiculous stuff going on, and I know that the characters are being played by my actual friends, and it's all improv... resulting in it being REALLY fun, but not very immersive. I can't say multiplayer RPGs or tabletop campaigns have been immersive for me. But the idea that I can pick up a game and go into another world, and that there are lifelike characters that are well-written and can't break character is compelling. Maybe you have a point. I like Skyrim and Morrowind because I can really feel like I'm immersed in another world that lets me do whatever (until it doesn't). Part of the appeal of Bioware games is that there are interesting characters interwoven with my own character who tag along for the ride in this other world.
Also I would never try to romance my friends in a tabletop campaign. Nope. Never. Not in a million years.
Last edited by Zerubbabel; 11/02/2312:50 AM.
Remember the human (This is a forum for a video game):
I’ll admit I’m ‘fixated’ on women because I’m straight, but my reply to your comment was the only time – I believe – I mentioned the gender in the entire discourse, and that was because of your history of assuming you’re a chad from your past remarks: aka – ladykiller: isn’t that the definition of the word? Or does it also mean...and are you perhaps…?
If you’ll take some audience feedback from one of the female forum members who hang around here, your comments about women in your previous post made my skin crawl, and your innuendo in this one makes me cringe too. In short, I might not agree with exactly how Blackheifer expressed his response, but he’s not the only reader who found your post somewhat disturbing.
I’m not going to engage with you further on this, just hoping that you’ll take this on board when considering what might be amusing to or well-received by the folk reading posts here.
"You may call it 'nonsense' if you like, but I've heard nonsense, compared with which that would be as sensible as a dictionary!"
If you’ll take some audience feedback from one of the female forum members who hang around here, your comments about women in your previous post made my skin crawl, and your innuendo in this one makes me cringe too. In short, I might not agree with exactly how Blackheifer expressed his response, but he’s not the only reader who found your post somewhat disturbing.
No, I won’t take it ‘on-board’, nor do I remember you being invited to the conversation. I see everyone above tried to get the thread back on track (as I did), but you and Heifer keep stirring the pot.
Your melodramatic reconstruction of what I wrote – I’ll admit I’m ‘fixated’ on women because – is about as ludicrous and hysterical as it gets. ‘Fixated’ was the language Heifer used, not me in any of my remarks – so I just lazily paraphrased: the clue to the insincerity is in the inverted commas in which 'fixated' resides, but perhaps that's not a thing in modern UK English? Either way, I didn’t think anyone would be crazy enough to get hung up on quoting a word from another person, but here we go, I guess.
‘I’m into women’ is essentially what any stable, sane person I would assume infers from that. Again, I’m not the one who brought ‘fixated’ into the conversation.
Quite petty and silly really to seize on that one word and blow it up in the nuclear way you did – that’s more creepy to me than anything else.
Again, to get back on topic: I would also say Hollow Knight is quite an incredible piece of art, on every level. They say too many chefs spoil the broth (BG3?), but Hollow Knight only had 2-3 devs on it and it shows.
The art is evocative, majestic, original, incredible. The story is mysterious, and compels you to piece it together with your brain rather than being hit over the head. The gameplay is fantastically balanced – easily one of the best designed games I’ve ever played.
Edit: anyone that thinks I’m creepy to women might want to head out to PM me about where you can find me singing at the weekend: I have the place not just rocking but the girls definitely do not find me ‘creepy’ haha – you're welcome to prove me wrong of course
Last edited by konmehn; 11/02/2310:23 AM. Reason: editing out specific personal info
I'm going to recommend an odd one: the Dark Waters homebrew campaign for Neverwinter Nights 2. An absolutely ridiculous high-seas campaign set in a homebrew worldspace.
I know this. I can say he was according to me best module maker in Neverwinter Nights 1 and 2. He used even his daughter for some voice acting to that and possible other persons as well as voice actors for Dark Waters adventures.
Anyway if saying long list of games: BG 1 and BG2 ... Dungeons Dragons 2nd Edition. Neverwinter Nigths 1 and Neverwinter Nights 2 Dungeons Dragons 3.5 (perhaps NWN 1 was 3.0 and NWN 2 was 3.5 but whatever) Age of Conan MMO Full nudity women++ played on Full PvP world.
Newerwinter Online MMO played it more then 1,5 years before I quit. Dungeons Dragons 4.0 and Action combat.
Pathfinder games that are evolution from Dungeons Dragons 3.5 reminds of that. Pillars of Eternity 1 and 2 they are not Dnd but very good games. Solasta and Baldurs Gate 3... Dungeons Dragons 5.0 games boith support multiplayer nowadays.
While not my favorite game had full nudity Women: Witcher 3 Witcher 4 will be made with Unreal 5 engine.
However the game that got me most hooked like a drug was World of Warcraft MMO I played actually like 4 years it roughly:
No other game has got me so much addicted to it before I rate it 10/10 and actually to good I waste to much time playing games if would start playing example WOW Classic that would be my choice now.
I have played many other games. but I wanted say those that I personally have enjoyed most. Well and yes I like even FPS games but none of them would I rate as best games that I have played they are not exactly my favorite taste. I have also tried some other MMO:s that I did not mention above, but they have not impressed me or I have not even played them or played them so little that I do not want to evaluate them.
I'm going to recommend an odd one: the Dark Waters homebrew campaign for Neverwinter Nights 2. An absolutely ridiculous high-seas campaign set in a homebrew worldspace.
This looks interesting, if it's based of the cartoon show I used to watch when I was four, it'll be the cat's pajamas.
@Everyone in an argument: Click on profile of the person you with whom you keep arguing --> Click "Ignore User" --> (Optional) Resist Temptation to click on hidden posts. --> (Optional) Enjoy life more. Let's not get this thread locked.
Anyway, I find that BG3 scratches the old Bioware itch somewhat (not fully or as much as I would like, but enough) while having more compelling and thoughtful gameplay and exploration than Dragon Age: Origins or Mass Effect 2+3 (I liked Mass Effect 1 Exploration a lot).
Actually, on second thought, I really liked the shooting in Mass Effect 2+3, but that's fundamentally different than turn-based strategy.
Last edited by Zerubbabel; 11/02/2302:09 AM.
Remember the human (This is a forum for a video game):
The block is not as effective as the greasmonkey script I wrote. For many reasons - log out, for example, and you'll see.
I include it below again in spoiler tags. You just need to install the greasmonkey plugin for your browser and copy and paste the below script for Larian forums. It works perfectly with the markup (I'm quite proud of it in a way).
For non-coders, const BLACK_LIST just needs anyone you don't ever want to see added with in this way:
const BLACK_LIST = [ 'hated persons name', 'hated person name 2 ];
Trust me, it's a million times more effective than block. Block is session-based (login) and even then you'll see the blocked person being quoted by others.
This script will remove the person on all levels: quoted, posts, whether you're logged in or not.
Really, it's been a breath of fresh air for me, but I've so far only used it on 1 person.
Back on topic: shit I'm running out of games I can 'big up'... but, eh, BG2 - man, I love that game. BG1 was good. I liked how rough around the edges it was. I liked the crudeness and the low-level-ness of it. And that red demon in the expansion pack was properly tough. Loved the art as well.
BG2 though is a masterpiece - we won't see this with BG3, and I think we all know that. How did they do it?
I think they just gave less of a fuck about making it 'epic' and made their own strange thing. Irenicus was an usual antagonist. Plus the voice actor completely nailed it. I'll never forget this game - every piece of artwork, every fight. And installed the 'tougher fights' mod... The illithids were also far better done in BG2. Their architecture was stranger, more convincingly alien. They were also more intimating, as at the level you fought them they could kill you with one hit...
