Wow. Hasbeen needs to get their licencing back and sell it to a good company.
I'd suggest CCP, but considering they're the same company as White Wolf, lol. :P
Valve... hmm... D&D: Source?
BioWare is the obvious choice.
To be fair, the concept of Neverwinter to be built by the user after finishing the main adventure would be stellar if it could be pulled off. NWN and NWN2, as well as Dragon Age, has a good system to do this with, and to have a persistant would be built up like this would be a worthwhile pursute. I Imagine that Cryptic wasn't really committed to this aspect of the game and was concentrating on the ready made game instead. Atari may not have liked this.
Cryptic sold to China? The Neverwinter game is now officially dead. I hope WotC can get their rights back. This has the potential to get sucked into a lawyer vortex for a long time.
Considering Atari will be back to sitting on the license and doing nothing with it. Daggerdale is hardly an effort.
I really hope WotC does something about this.
*edit*
Bethesda might be another good choice.
Cryptic sold to China? The Neverwinter game is now officially dead. I hope WotC can get their rights back. This has the potential to get sucked into a lawyer vortex for a long time.
Considering Atari will be back to sitting on the license and doing nothing with it. Daggerdale is hardly an effort.
I really hope WotC does something about this.
*edit*
Bethesda might be another good choice.
Bethseda would be an absolutely horrible choice. They just eliminated attributes because they couldn't figure out what the point of Intelligence is. "Oh, it only exists to raise Mana, it doesn't do anything else!"
Never mind the fact that it's supposed to govern...intelligence! The ability to figure things out, understand complicated concepts, etc. Now I can roleplay a complete idiot who can discuss quantum mechanics and challenge the greatest wizards for supremacy, while being completely incapable of figuring out how to open a ketchup bottle.
Bethseda hates RPGs. They love Adventure game, and they're hellbent on convincing everyone that an Adventure game is an RPG, while removing anything that even remotely threatens to look like you're taking on a Character's Role.
besides, you think they would of learned from us, banning anything and thus making it illegal doesnt always work.
that and they own them now???
hehe, maybe it will be for thew better for cryptic or maybe it wont.
I remember they banned something recently... couldnt say what though.
besides, you think they would of learned from us, banning anything and thus making it illegal doesnt always work.
that and they own them now???
hehe, maybe it will be for thew better for cryptic or maybe it wont.
They banned Time Travel. Apparently a soap opera not on the state owned channel had become too popular with its Time Travel storyline.
Cryptic sold to China? The Neverwinter game is now officially dead. I hope WotC can get their rights back. This has the potential to get sucked into a lawyer vortex for a long time.
Considering Atari will be back to sitting on the license and doing nothing with it. Daggerdale is hardly an effort.
I really hope WotC does something about this.
*edit*
Bethesda might be another good choice.
Bethseda would be an absolutely horrible choice. They just eliminated attributes because they couldn't figure out what the point of Intelligence is. "Oh, it only exists to raise Mana, it doesn't do anything else!"
Never mind the fact that it's supposed to govern...intelligence! The ability to figure things out, understand complicated concepts, etc. Now I can roleplay a complete idiot who can discuss quantum mechanics and challenge the greatest wizards for supremacy, while being completely incapable of figuring out how to open a ketchup bottle.
Bethseda hates RPGs. They love Adventure game, and they're hellbent on convincing everyone that an Adventure game is an RPG, while removing anything that even remotely threatens to look like you're taking on a Character's Role.
I see a lot of nerd rage that makes absolutely no sense here. :P
Didn't China recently ban such things as Mythology and Fantasy?
I know they've baned outspokenness and democratic concepts :P
I think it's a mixed blessing for the fate of Neverwinter. Atari is in a tough spot. If Cryptic is still developing the game and it comes to fruition, it will mean Atari licenses the D&D name to PW/Cryptic. Didn't Atari get sued by Hasbro after something like that with Turbine? Then there's that whole sitting on the license and not doing anything ligitation. I doubt Daggerdale alone would be considered "doing something with the license" (nevermind whether said action was positive or not). Atari was obviously desperate to get a D&D game out quickly, regardless of quality. Worse comes to worst, Cryptic will finish the code for Neverwinter but not get the licensing, forcing them make do another IP like what happened with Champions Online. And then, Atari will probably compel one of the studios they own to rush a mudball of code for a game and slap the D&D name on it.
Doing the licensing is probably the lesser pain for Atari. They need money and the D&D license is one of the few things they have that generates money. Is Atari smart enough to use it? And is Atari aware of their own track record and that putting out enough garbage games might give Hasbro a way to take the license back? Another tough spot for them...
Atari's exclusive license for D&D video games expires 2015. I don't they will wisen up and want quality games made before that time. As much as I'd like to see that license pried off of Atari's rotting corpse earlier, I don't think it'll happen. I can't see Hasbro caring enough about the D&D video game license to buy it off of Atari (nevermind Atari agreeing and both suceeding in the rough negotiations) or even buying Atari again. Waiting it out is so depressing... playing a few hours of Bioware's Neverwinter Nights and Capcom's Shadow Over Mystara cheers me. But then I'm reminded of what could be and I get sad again...
I wonder how many people realise Perfect World owns Runic Games (of Torchlight fame). Considering how that turned out, I'd say Perfect World knows what they're doing. I'd say PW is looking for more ground in Western markets. Regardless, it's good news for Cryptic Studios though. Leaving Atari and not heading for one of the other Fail Four (SOE, EA, Activision), things can only get better for them.
There are two basic types of purchases, when one company buys another. Perfect World bought Runic as it was peaking, and the synergy between the two allowed the smaller entity to reach a higher potential while the larger was able to make a nice profit from the investment. This is the same type of purchase as the Microsoft/Bungie purchase, two companies that really have something to offer one another.
This is very different: PWC bought Cryptic in decline. This is generally not done because the larger company actually want to sponsor the smaller. This is done because the smaller company wants possession of the assets owned by the smaller company. Since Cryptic does not own any successful IPs (STO and CO both failed, and Atari is still the D&D licensee) I can only assume they want Cryptic's patent of their character customization system, which has always been the one thing their games always do very very well.
I think Torchlight was horrible, so I can't agree. No multiplayer in a hack and slash RPG = fail. :P
Odd. I hate most multiplayer and loved Torchlight.
The only good multiplayer is console multiplayer with people who are family or closest friends.
I think Torchlight was horrible, so I can't agree. No multiplayer in a hack and slash RPG = fail. :P
Odd. I hate most multiplayer and loved Torchlight.
The only good multiplayer is console multiplayer with people who are family or closest friends.
I enjoy single player games, too. Just not Diablo style games. Gets very old very fast. I also don't game on consoles. :P
I think Torchlight was horrible, so I can't agree. No multiplayer in a hack and slash RPG = fail. :P
Odd. I hate most multiplayer and loved Torchlight.
The only good multiplayer is console multiplayer with people who are family or closest friends.
I enjoy single player games, too. Just not Diablo style games. Gets very old very fast. I also don't game on consoles. :P
I prefer single player games. I never played Diablo (I have played and still own and run through Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance and Champions of Norrath). If I am to play multiplayer, I have to be able to trust that the person I am gaming with will not be a dick, and I can't trust that unless I know them personally. I enjoy the mindless killing of hack-and-slash, as much as I like to follow storyline and deep characters. I find that hack-and-slash can be fun by itself, and sometimes more fun with friends. And I much prefer consoles to computers. I run into less bugs overall in the games I play. Computers are only for games I don't have or won't get the system for, or can't afford a system for. Anything else, consoles will always trump computers for me. I grew up on NES, SNES, N64 and Gamecube, diverging off just slightly to PSX and PS2.
Also, in a not unrelated note, I <3 Nintendo.
I remember they banned something recently... couldnt say what though.
besides, you think they would of learned from us, banning anything and thus making it illegal doesnt always work.
It works in China, they either kill you or imprison you for life. That whole "Human Rights" thing isn't hugely popular there.
I see a lot of nerd rage that makes absolutely no sense here. :P
There's a reason for that.
I prefer single player games. I never played Diablo (I have played and still own and run through Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance and Champions of Norrath). If I am to play multiplayer, I have to be able to trust that the person I am gaming with will not be a dick, and I can't trust that unless I know them personally. I enjoy the mindless killing of hack-and-slash, as much as I like to follow storyline and deep characters. I find that hack-and-slash can be fun by itself, and sometimes more fun with friends. And I much prefer consoles to computers. I run into less bugs overall in the games I play. Computers are only for games I don't have or won't get the system for, or can't afford a system for. Anything else, consoles will always trump computers for me. I grew up on NES, SNES, N64 and Gamecube, diverging off just slightly to PSX and PS2.
It's much less of a problem today. Hardware specific bugs are very uncommon now, with DirectX abstracting away the hardware, and since hardware's consolidated down to a very few companies. The only major problem today is onboard sound, since that's usually poorly done in order to maximize profits.
Aside from that, Software bugs are prevelant on both platforms. Fable series is a great example, even on consoles they had game killing bugs.
Doesn't really make a huge difference though, consoles are computers these days anyways. They're not custom chips anymore, they're all designs intended to be used for a wide range of computing projects. Still can't figure out why neither company will release a mouse and keyboard so gaming can finally be unified.
As far as the Chinese go, could go either way. Some companies just try to push out cheap stuff, some demand perfection, all depends on which the parent is. We haven't really seen a Chinese gaming effect yet, it's up in the air.
I think Torchlight was horrible, so I can't agree. No multiplayer in a hack and slash RPG = fail. :P
Odd. I hate most multiplayer and loved Torchlight.
The only good multiplayer is console multiplayer with people who are family or closest friends.
I enjoy single player games, too. Just not Diablo style games. Gets very old very fast. I also don't game on consoles. :P
I prefer single player games. I never played Diablo (I have played and still own and run through Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance and Champions of Norrath). If I am to play multiplayer, I have to be able to trust that the person I am gaming with will not be a dick, and I can't trust that unless I know them personally. I enjoy the mindless killing of hack-and-slash, as much as I like to follow storyline and deep characters. I find that hack-and-slash can be fun by itself, and sometimes more fun with friends. And I much prefer consoles to computers. I run into less bugs overall in the games I play. Computers are only for games I don't have or won't get the system for, or can't afford a system for. Anything else, consoles will always trump computers for me. I grew up on NES, SNES, N64 and Gamecube, diverging off just slightly to PSX and PS2.
Also, in a not unrelated note, I <3 Nintendo.
I grew up on the original NES and Atari 2600 as well. Consoles can never touch computers in terms of graphics and overall performance, though. Computers are waaaaaay ahead. The bugs you mention are largely non existent now. Unfortunately, most computer games that are nothing but console ports are horribly optimized for PC (GTA4 is a good example). I'm also a big fan of FPS games, and couldn't imagine playing them without a keyboard and mouse.
In terms of cost, a super gaming computer is expensive, yes. However, I can build a computer that will blow any console out of the water for under $500. Phenom II x6 1055t overclocked to 4.0ghz and a GTS250 would make any console look foolish, and that is far from high end hardware now. It's very cheap, too.
Back on topic, I think Neverwinter is dead. The weird thing is, I'm not that upset about it. Mainly because I want WotC to do something about Atari, and I had no faith that Cryptic could make a good game.
I think Torchlight was horrible, so I can't agree. No multiplayer in a hack and slash RPG = fail. :P
Odd. I hate most multiplayer and loved Torchlight.
The only good multiplayer is console multiplayer with people who are family or closest friends.
I enjoy single player games, too. Just not Diablo style games. Gets very old very fast. I also don't game on consoles. :P
I prefer single player games. I never played Diablo (I have played and still own and run through Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance and Champions of Norrath). If I am to play multiplayer, I have to be able to trust that the person I am gaming with will not be a dick, and I can't trust that unless I know them personally. I enjoy the mindless killing of hack-and-slash, as much as I like to follow storyline and deep characters. I find that hack-and-slash can be fun by itself, and sometimes more fun with friends. And I much prefer consoles to computers. I run into less bugs overall in the games I play. Computers are only for games I don't have or won't get the system for, or can't afford a system for. Anything else, consoles will always trump computers for me. I grew up on NES, SNES, N64 and Gamecube, diverging off just slightly to PSX and PS2.
Also, in a not unrelated note, I <3 Nintendo.
I grew up on the original NES and Atari 2600 as well. Consoles can never touch computers in terms of graphics and overall performance, though. Computers are waaaaaay ahead. The bugs you mention are largely non existent now. Unfortunately, most computer games that are nothing but console ports are horribly optimized for PC (GTA4 is a good example). I'm also a big fan of FPS games, and couldn't imagine playing them without a keyboard and mouse.
In terms of cost, a super gaming computer is expensive, yes. However, I can build a computer that will blow any console out of the water for under $500. Phenom II x6 1055t overclocked to 4.0ghz and a GTS250 would make any console look foolish, and that is far from high end hardware now. It's very cheap, too.
Back on topic, I think Neverwinter is dead. The weird thing is, I'm not that upset about it. Mainly because I want WotC to do something about Atari, and I had no faith that Cryptic could make a good game.
It's about the games, not specifically the graphics. I prefer CRPGs, adventure games, platformers. I can't find Mario, Link or Samus on the computer. And unless I want to struggle with the legality of certain games, I can't play Nintendo DS games on the computer. The only thing I have consistently used the computer for game wise is for games like Civilization. Until about 5 years ago, I never had anything else. And I find the interface more unweildly on the PC.
Also, I hate 99% of all FPS games. Heck the only ones I have are AvP2 and 2/3rd of Fallout 3. ;) I could play Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy for hours on end.
Did I mention that I also <3 Squeenix?
Which is who I would pick to make a D&D game. No, really. America has had it's run, let Japan see what it can do for us.
Did I mention that I also <3 Squeenix?
Which is who I would pick to make a D&D game. No, really. America has had it's run, let Japan see what it can do for us.
Ugh, no. I mean, I love Square Enix and have played every FF game ever made... but D&D doesn't need to be a Japanese grind CRPG. I agree with the others that Bioware would be the best fit. They're the total package for this type of game.
I can't find Mario, Link or Samus on the computer.
Sure youcan, Mario teaches typing! :P
Did I mention that I also Squeenix?
Which is who I would pick to make a D&D game. No, really. America has had it's run, let Japan see what it can do for us.
Eh they pretty much already did with FF1(original version as I believe some of the remakes decrease some of the D&D elements). Although I suppose that is an older edition of D&D and not 4th edition. Although I personally don't think that SE would be able to make anything particulary good as I haven't been a fan of most of their stuff since the PS1 days(except for Kingdom Hearts which I love).
As much as I love the FF series. With the exception of the graphics involved the last truely good game was 8. #9 was to cartoony, 10 was filled with whiners, and the same goes for 12 & 13. Haven't played 11 or 14 as I hate MMOs.
I really think Boiware is the only company that would be able to do D&D justice.
8 sucked because of the battle system same with 12 they combined the overdrive gauge with the MP gauge then made it where summoning can only be done with a full gauge. So you either popped ethers all day or you didn't use magic or you didn't do summons or you didn't do your special attacks...
I actually played 11. Because of its non-PvP nature it was actually pretty fun. You could solo if you wanted or you could group up in massive 18 player parties. It gets kind of swingy near the top levels (75 max until recently) the players get anal about what your character is wearing and what you are doing, at that point it starts to lose its fun factor and turns into a grind... I stopped playing at level 70 red mage...
13 was ok, but it literally played itself. You told the group what kind of actions you wanted them to do but in battle they picked the actual spell or attack, it has fancy graphics and a decent story but it really gets old grinding and not even telling the characters the particular actions. It'd be like playing D&D and picking your role, but rolling on a random chart when you get into battle to determine your actions:
1. Charge nearest enemy and attack
2. Full Defense
3. Use at-will one
4. Use at-will two
5. Use encounter power (reroll if out of encounter powers)
6. Use daily power (reroll if out of daily powers)
Its interesting for a while, but then it just gets old...
I didn't play 14, but from what I hear it was so bad that they are letting people play it for free instead of paying the planned monthly fee...
Bethseda would be an absolutely horrible choice. They just eliminated attributes because they couldn't figure out what the point of Intelligence is. "Oh, it only exists to raise Mana, it doesn't do anything else!"
Not that I want Bethesda doing a D&D game necessarily, but that choice for Skyrim was actually a good one in the context of how the Elder Scrolls series has always been. Attributes in that series have always reeked of being superfluous.
As for Final Fantasy, X was the last decent one. X-2, XII and XIII are some of the worst games I have ever played in my life. I haven't played XIV but have heard nothing but bad things about it. For the most part, Square has sucked ever since it merged with Enix, really, and I want Squeenix as far away from D&D as humanly possible.
38 Studios would be an interesting fit, considering that they have RA Salvatore, Todd MacFarlane, and Curt Schilling as the front-runners of the company.
NCSoft would be interesting as well, if everything that we are seeing from them on GW2 is as delicious as it looks.
VI, on the other hand, deserves every bit the praise it gets.
I actually like IX quite a bit more than VII. VII's solid, but not the God's Gift to Games that everyone makes it out to be.
VI, on the other hand, deserves every bit the praise it gets.
IX is a solid third for me in Final fantasy series. FFVII is #1 with FFX and FFXI tieing for #2. FFI and FFII are in the top 10 though...
Bah FF9 was the last great FF and FF13 was not horrible(around the low end of average maybe).
I think the only thing 13 had going for it was the visuals. (if you had a large enough tv to read the text.)
The game play sucked and the storyline wasn't much better than that.
I admit it doesn't have the best storyline or gameplay ever.....but they are both a large step up from FFXII.
I admit it doesn't have the best storyline or gameplay ever.....but they are both a large step up from FFXII.
That's like saying getting shot in the head is better than getting beaten to death with a baseball bat.
Personally, I hate XII and XIII more or less equally. They're both two of the worst video games I have ever played in my lifetime.
Bethesda, or rather Obsidian Entertainment would be good; they kept thier very RPG nature of Fallout to work in the Bethesda published games.
If I want a company to do something decent with DnD, I'd give it to From Software or Level 5. Or even Atlus, Imageepoch and Marvelous Entertaintment or Vanillaware. I might even think Squeenix would be good, but it would have be paired with another outside source, like Jupiter or once again Level 5.
As it is though, Cryptic released a trailer for Neverwinter at E3
As much as I love the FF series. With the exception of the graphics involved the last truely good game was 8. #9 was to cartoony, 10 was filled with whiners, and the same goes for 12 & 13. Haven't played 11 or 14 as I hate MMOs.
I really think Boiware is the only company that would be able to do D&D justice.
I loved 9, hated 8, was meh about 10, ignored 11, loved 12 (the game, not the characters). And enjoyed 7, 6, 5, 4, 3 and 1. 2 was an offense against God.
6 and 4 are my top two Final Fantasies. 9 honors the third spot. Then would have to be 1, 7, 12, 5, 3, 10 . . . and that's it. I'd not be able to be paid to play 2 or 8 ever again.
Though I am basing my vote for Squeenix on my love of more than just FF. The Seiken Densetsu series, Chrono games, Dragon Quest, Kingdom Hearts, Actraiser, Illusion of Gaia, E.V.O., Soul Blazer, Terranigma, Star Ocean, The 7th Saga, and the list goes on and on. Every system I have grown up with that had Square or Enix games on them I played as much as I could. And if I could get more, I would. It's the only prevailing theme in my game library, other than Nintendo games.
Also, I think Bioware is busy enough with Dragon Age. Not to mention their extremely "hit or miss" nature. Original NWN campaign? Boring. Jade Empire? Awful. KotoR was fun but way too damned short. The Hordes of the Underdark was . . . Sort of interesting. I can't even recall what the first add-on to NWN was. Oh, and a few Black Isle games I remember.
I much prefer Bethesda for Computer based RPGs. Oblivion and Fallout 3 have kept my attention infinitely longer than any Bioware offering I have ever played.
I also like Level 5's recent work.
Though for a Tactical RPG, I'd rely on Nippon Ichi.
Lit, I am sure Mass Effect 2 is great for people who love Mass Effect. Other than that, I was not even interested in trying that one.
Totally unrelated, but I hope Squeenix puts out more Legacy of Kain games now that they have Eidos.
It would combine the best things about (the good) Final Fantasy games - their story and music - with a solidly programmed system that could easily be tweaked to mimic D&D - from Lost Odyssey - and classic D&D visuals from one of the long time great D&D artists...
Of course, I'm probably the only one that would think it was any good...
I say we hand Hironobu Sakaguchi a pen and ask him to write a story set in a specific D&D setting, let Mistwalker program the game, and beg Nobou Uematsu to compose the score... but have an American artist, somebody like Larry Elmore, handle the character design.
It would combine the best things about (the good) Final Fantasy games - their story and music - with a solidly programmed system that could easily be tweaked to mimic D&D - from Lost Odyssey - and classic D&D visuals from one of the long time great D&D artists...
Of course, I'm probably the only one that would think it was any good...
Actually sounds like fun.
Finally got some shots: kotaku.com/5809694/even-the-giant-flesh+...
It's certainly shiny.
Wait, what were we talking about?
I would think that if Bioware would get any license of D&D, it would be through Electronic Arts instead of being a license exclusive to Bioware. EA would be able to have other great developers do the brand justice as well as have Bioware make NWN3, or take over the Neverwinter game if Atari somehow gets the license yanked.
To be fair, the concept of Neverwinter to be built by the user after finishing the main adventure would be stellar if it could be pulled off. NWN and NWN2, as well as Dragon Age, has a good system to do this with, and to have a persistant would be built up like this would be a worthwhile pursute. I Imagine that Cryptic wasn't really committed to this aspect of the game and was concentrating on the ready made game instead. Atari may not have liked this.
You have to be kidding EA? EA is classic for intrusive spyware BS and other crap, I hate EA.
You have to be kidding EA? EA is classic for intrusive spyware BS and other crap, I hate EA.
Links, please?
www.news.com.au/spore-spying-outrage-evo...
Sure, heres one;
www.news.com.au/spore-spying-outrage-evo...
I see allegations. Where are the results of these allegations?
Note: anyone can make an allegation.
OMG I'm not a God Damn lawyer, they're have been other cases with them putting spyware into their products, its not the only one and I'm not going to get into it with you so forget it, it's not really worth my time or sanity, if you like spyware, so be it enjoy. I was just saying I don't and I really don't buy EA products anymore because of it.
Why are you getting so mad? I am just asking for backup of the claims you and your link are making. I mean, if you are a lawyer, then you know what an allegation is, and you also know why I would ask for thoroughness and the results of your claims.
For the record, I am a network consultant, IT implementation specialist, and have been working in computers for 17 years. I have used EA products for longer. I have not seen any evidence of these claims on my computer, and I know how and where to look. But if there is something out there that I am unaware of, I would very much like to know about it.
You have to be kidding EA? EA is classic for intrusive spyware BS and other crap, I hate EA.
Links, please?
He can't.
Just did are you link blind?
www.trainsim.com/vbts/showthread.php?263...
Oh here is another news feed on them;
www.joystiq.com/2006/12/18/eas-spyware-t...
Could you possibly find anything that is not 3 to 5 years old. If you cant find anything any more recent than that I would venture to guess that these complaints and law suits went nowhere.
Corporate class-action lawsuits nearly always end in a settlement, a settlement which involves non-disclosure of all information regarding the case. Nothing is entered into public record, and no information into who "won" or how truthful any allegations may have been.
That said, I do think the DRM fuss with EA circa Spore were a whole lot of ruckus of very little. We've been clicking "I agree" to EULAs that allow the guy on the other end to do basically whatever he wants to us and our computer, AND to change the terms of the contract whenever they see fit. It's terribly one-sided, but we sign them anyway, so we have no recourse to complain.
Spore was a fantastic disappointment to me, but it was because the game wasn't any good; it had nothing to do with a toy company maybe being able to get data about what kind of naughty pictures I look at. Hell, the privacy issues with all the new smart devices are far more concerning than anything EA has ever done, but that doesn't seem to be getting many people very upset.
nor do I even wish to be either.
however, might I suggest we get back to neverwinter and take the BSing EA hate to the offtopic.
I hear the elf and half elf are confirmed