How is that case going? Any new information in the last.... while?
They are probably still in discovery or something. It has only been 4 months since the compaint was filed afer all. No news that I can find beyond the intial announcement.
How is that case going? Any new information in the last.... while?
They are probably still in discovery or something. It has only been 4 months since the compaint was filed afer all. No news that I can find beyond the intial announcement.
Oh wow, for some reason I thought the complaint got in a lot longer ago than that.
Heh. If that's the case, I guess we can check back in, oh... 2 years or so?
Right now, I would hope that Wizards can focus on the tools on DDi. That they want to do it all completely inhouse instead of letting competent programmers use tools they already have (had) and tweak them a bit to their specification is confusing to me. Lone Wolf offered to have a complete and running Character Generator for the DDi at launch (and they could have done it!) but Wizards wanted to forge ahead on their own.
With the exception of Bioware continuing their streak of luck after having Bauler's Gate (I & II) hit and Neverwinter Nights showcasing the 3rd edition strongpoints, Wizards has had a horrible track record with games and "electronic aids." The game that came out between NWN and NWN2 (can't remember this forgettable game) had a lot of bugs, horrible story, and didn't do well. NWN2, though it is alright, is not as good as the first game, though the graphic engine is upgraded. It had so many bugs at release that it was unplayable.
Let us not forget E-Tools. CMP had it working as good as it was able to be, but just before RPG Forge was to be released (with both 3.5 and 4th edition capability) the plug was pulled on all the "licensed" work that they had with the program, including the individual info packs that had for both that and the free program they worked with.
DDi is not much better, to be frank, though the Character "builder" is a good program. The problem this last month is the latest update (fixed for now, I believe) had bugs in it that messed up the some of the class's implements and how they fit in the bonuses and some other stuff mostly to do with Divine classes and Superior Impliments. Hybrid Rules are not fully supported as of yet (though they are in my Lone Wolf program) because Wizards does not have enough coders to do the work in such a short amout of time.
The Adventure Tools is basically a monster data base right now, with some ability to change up the monsters, though I couldn't get one monster to hold a fricken weapon. (having to guess at the damage instead, as it would not let go of the previous bonus)
Dragon is alright, but tends to be preview material for future products, and Dungeon had adventures that were made to tough for the level they were ment for, though I don't know if they tempered it down since then (I know that they never changed but a handful of the previous adventures)
My guess, EA will grab the license when Atari loses it, and take over the support for NWN and NWN2, and try and have Bioware make a D&D game once again, hopefully based on Eberron.
I'm not sure what it's like, but it shows that they're serious about making Dragon Age a serious brand amongst gamers. With that much invested in a brand, why work for the competition?
I think that is why Obsidian got NWN2 in the first place, now that I think about it, with Bioware only doing advising for the game.
I still think EA may get the license. Perhaps Black Isle will reform. Whatever happens, it will prolly be at least two years before a game is released.
But Bioware has Dragon Age already. I think they would rather have their own fantasy IP than getting a license from WOTC.
I think Areola is right, I would bet that Bioware wants to keep it all in house. Dragon Age has been a huge success and they're keeping up the momentum with new releases. I wouldn't be surprised if Dragon Age was more well known with kids than D&D. Bioware even authorized a RPG system based on Dragonage. www.greenronin.com/dragon_age/
I'm not sure what it's like, but it shows that they're serious about making Dragon Age a serious brand amongst gamers. With that much invested in a brand, why work for the competition?
The only reason I'd want BioWare to create the next D&D franchise of games is simply because they've been able to show a real dedication to making CRPG's more than just level grinding. NWN was buggy but I think that was mostly due to trying to adapt 3.x rules into a real time combat setting. 4e I think lends itself quite nicely to squad type turn based combat (think FF Tactics or Ogre Battle). I can totally see a similar game that has less grinding and more story driven encounters. With the amount of races and classes that are available today you'd have a more diverse game than any FF Tactics game to date.
If you've played Dragon Age you'll notice the game play wasn't anything spectacular. If you played as sword & board warrior you could have played with your eyes closed it was so easy (even at higher difficulties). In fact, often enough I felt like some of the dungeon crawls were getting in the way of my story. Mass Effect does a much better job at telling a story with a simplified shooter.
As for a setting, I'd say move away from Forgotten Realms and go to either Eberron or Dark Sun. That would be different enough from Dragon Age. Even if a company picks up the license, and it isn't BioWare, you'll want to separate yourself from that style anyways. Eberron would be a great way to show Square|Enix how to make a game with a story that marks freaking sense too.
and for all the guff that nwn2 got for initial release it was still a solid game with a great story. i would have gone different with the art direction though, something more 'sexy' then the look they had. though that look wasn't bad, i do think it kinda killed it with some audiences.
what i would love to see is the developers take it to the next level and allow as many races and classes as they possibly could, if not all of them. rather then what they have always done in the part and select the most common.
and for the love of melora please dont make it turn based!
Nod...
I think that is why Obsidian got NWN2 in the first place, now that I think about it, with Bioware only doing advising for the game.
I still think EA may get the license. Perhaps Black Isle will reform. Whatever happens, it will prolly be at least two years before a game is released.
EA wouldn't get it and also, EA owns Bioware, so technically if Bioware got it EA would technically have it. Pray for Bioware. EA has a history of killing companies it takes over and taking them apart and absorbing them, for the worse. Don't count on Black Isle ever reforming. The people from that went to form Obsidian and Troika.