I think I will wait for a demo before I pull the trigger on this one.

You cannot make anything fool-proof. The fools are too inventive

Which is why you could easily use the Counter-Strike system.

Yes, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
No, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
And then 8 more statements, perhaps to move an NPC about in all directions. Go forward, go back, stop, fight nearest, etc.

I just can't believe we're still in the stone age of RPG gaming with a game that looks so damned good like this. I mean, please!, someone figure this basic thing out!, implement it and make the game better!

As far as the person saying you could get interupted by someone hitting you while talking. Hey that's realism. Stopping time while someone is in the process of crossing a room to kick your ass is not going to make me feel like this is realistic.

So you click the yes key & you hear your character saying..

That won't always work with Bloodlines because sometimes there are different ways to say yes or no. For example, you could say 'yes' in a positive, neutral, or negative way. Depending how you reply, determins how the NPC reacts and such. So a simple 'yes' or 'no' would be too simple for the depth of this game. And also you can have extra choices for replies if your character has the right skills.

This game looked AWESOME at the press event and I very much look forward to finally playing a Nossie. Cheers

"I fart in your general direction!"

It's all very well saying that stopping the action to allow for communication is bad (not my personal feeling on it) but what's the real gameplay benfit of not doing so? It's more fluid, you can be attacked while talking to someone by someone else?

The point of RPGs is generally advancing the story and the characters, which is not a mechanic you can do with just combat. When combat intrudes on your core gameplay mechanic without having a really good reason for wanting to do so, you're doing something stupid with your design. Being interrupted while picking a lock, for example, had a point in Thief 3: you were meant to be sneaking around avoiding being seen while you worked, if part of your work (picking locks) stopped that mechanic, you'd be interfering with the whole point of the game.

...first person rpg... hmm..
source engine? big plus.
vampire? big plus.
troika? sold.

naysayer? I've said it before, I'll say it again, pir8 to try. enjoy it? then buy.

Hrm, the problem is that it can be very difficult to "standardize" dialog choices as you suggest (assuming the scriptwriters did a good job... play Planescape). The possibilities are too many and contain too many nuances to represent in a single-word response.

That's not what I'm saying. All these so called nuances are just more ways to say yes or no. But I stated that Counter-Strike had 24 communication abilities. That's a lot more than just yes or no.

But wait there's more. The game already has it built in that you say a bunch of shit all at one time in order to say yes. So you click the yes key & you hear your character saying, "Yes, of course I'll follow you, you got me to here didn't you?" Or whatever fucked up lame ass writing they come up with in these things. The point is that you wouldn't lose a single thing. But you wouldn't have to stop the fucking game to respond either.

It depends on how much your signifigant other demands of you. Most of my friends don't game and they ask me that question

Yeah - I'm married and have a 21-month-old son. My wife teaches, and other than some Kings games, I don't watch much TV, but I still have very little time to play. I have been playing around with house floorplans with an inexpensive house design program, too, though, as we're considering building one on a 5-acre parcel available to us (I think that's going to wait a couple years, though).

I think my last 3 games have been Wolfenstein, UT2k4, and Doom3. I will pick up HL2 next week. That will probably be it for a while, though.

*************
* Warhawk *
*************

Do you know what happens to a toad when it's struck by lightning?

The same thing that happens to everything else.

I *like* dialogue trees, so pooh to you.

First of all, I'm quite happy to see this finally being released. HL2 still takes precedence (I'm a mod @ HLFallout.net, and I've already paid for it), but this is definitely on my to-play list. I also manage to have time because I'm doing my uni studies online. Most of my assignments are on a 3-6 week timeframe, so I'll slave to either get them done early or finish them off in the last few days, and alternate between that and game binges, depending on those releases. Between HL2, V:TMB, NFSU2, and EVE' Shiva/Exodus content patch, I'll have plenty to keep me busy, so these next couple of days involve a lot of slaving over schoolwork.

As for the text-menu thing, why not just have it action-based (at least, for the simple go-or-don't actions)? The guy talks to you, says "If you're interested, follow me" or "Meet me in the alley behind the bar in a few minutes. You leave first." If you go along, it starts the mission, if you don't, you stay in the world like normal, and there's no dialogue needed. Of course, this doesn't really work for cutscenes with dialog, but there's not much you can do about that. At least, not until games and quality voice recognition software collide.

To all you smart asses that said Masqerade would ship MUCH later then HL2, and wouldn't listen to any other opinion:

Fuck You.

Hrm, the problem is that it can be very difficult to "standardize" dialog choices as you suggest (assuming the scriptwriters did a good job... play Planescape). The possibilities are too many and contain too many nuances to represent in a single-word response.

You're neglecting deaf people. That's why movies have subtitles, and action rpg's have text descriptions.

That said, I do like the idea of trying to keep the game more fluid, but I don't really care, as in the end I listen to them, then hit a response key and continue. So there's no real difference.

Of course, what makes a game, particularly an RPG, is its story. So I think your title is just a troll attempt.
This comment was edited on Nov 9, 22:04.

As I looked through the screenshots for the very first time for this game, I came across the old and tired response queue.

1. Sounds fun, where do we begin.
2. I'm not doing that.

OMG! WTF!????!? Everytime you get into a communication sequence with anybody the action ceases so you can read & then decide your *ONLY* alternatives. This means that the game ****STOPS**** and that means that you are taken out of the immersion of the game.

****************STUPID****************

What they should do is give the player a group of responses. In counter-strike, you can communicate by setting up 3 keys & then using the number keys. There are 24 possible statements. Just use that system!

That way, when you have to respond to someone, and believe me, after playing a couple RPGs you'll spend a great deal of your time stopping the game to read, you would have to read a damned thing at all. A person talks, you respond, the game moves on without stopping. Why is it that gaming companies are so fucking retarded that they can't make an RPG that people would actually want to play?

I mean, basically, the game is set up this way already. THe only difference is that words are added on. Most of the time it's 1=yes & 2=no "Yes, I think you have a point. Lead on." Why in the fuck do I have to stop the game & read all that garbage. Just say it when I hit the yes response. I have ears. I can hear the response. You don't have to stop the game so I have to fucking read it.

Hey, we all need to visit this site everyday to vomit out our daily bitching and whining. Who else will put up that shit on a daily basis - your boss, girlfriend? I don't think so!

Blues News is therapy man, therapy

You cannot make anything fool-proof. The fools are too inventive

I'm planning to buy it before HL2. I'm still getting my action fix from T:V right now anyway.

My post (25) basically said the same thing... I use the same name (sc4r4b) on T:V. What's your handle on T:V? Maybe we could duel?

...

I, too, find it amazing that so many people seem to buy every game that comes out. Last game I paid full retail for was Frozen Throne, and War 3 before that. Since then I have bought some games when they droped to $20, but not many, and I only actually finished one of them. I doubt I will even buy half-life 2. Just too much other stuff going on in life. But, like someone else said, I still visit this site multiple times every day!

I don't think I get as much out of each game as most people do. I only play most SP games one time through, unless it's really good.

OTOH, I do buy a shitload of games, but I try to wait for average titles to go down to 20 bucks (latest case in point, I just bought Thief 3, which took this weekend to beat, but was fun while it lasted). I figure a 20 dollar game which amuses me for ~12 solid hours is a better investment than two 10 dollar movie tickets, but not as good a finding a good book (which seems to get harder and harder)

The most important thing to remember: MAKE SURE TO STAY AWAY FROM MMORPG-CRACK!

If you'd read any of the print mags (or the illegal scans of same), you'd know that HL2 promises to be a hell of a lot more than "the same old run and gun". But there's no need for me to say so.. you just wait and see.

fuckin SWEET!!! im really in no rush to buy HL2 - honestly Im really not that much into straight SP FPS games anymores... and while CS:Source is OK... its nowhere NEAR as fun MP as Tribes V

now, STALKER - thats something on the top of my list, but then again its not really straight FPS either

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"They come as men, as graven images, as the White Stone, as a whirlwind and as a cloud;
it is a fire unfolding itself, the color amber; they are now in the Heavens looking over thee."