Mass Effect
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Referring back to the earlier "It's too serious" comments about Mass Effect...<BR><BR>I was just thinking, I hate it when they make games/movies where they don't take the sci-fi genre seriously. That's how we end up with stuff Like Star Trek.
Movies are fill of special effects ladened vehicles for stars to rake in cash. Makes me sick considering SciFi is mostly about the story , which is the first thing in the bin once the movie deals signed.<br><br>The more grown up and serious my SciFi rpg's are the better.<br><br>Firefly game anyone..?-- View image here: https://cdn.arstechnica.net/forum/smilies/biggrin.gif --
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by dantesan:<BR>Referring back to the earlier "It's too serious" comments about Mass Effect...<BR><BR>I was just thinking, I hate it when they make games/movies where they don't take the sci-fi genre seriously. That's how we end up with stuff Like Star Trek. </div></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR>Sounds like Danny Boyle's comments about sci-fi movies.<BR><BR>I find myself attracted to the serious side of sci-fi, movies like <I>2001</I> and <I>28 Days Later</I> engage the brain, whilst providing entertainment.<BR><BR>I HOPE <I>Mass Effect</I> has the same qualities, although I do acknowledge that (given Bioware's history) it's much more likely to be smart and fun; rather then try to be thought provoking.
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<div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by RobDickinson:<br>Movies are fill of special effects ladened vehicles for stars to rake in cash. Makes me sick considering SciFi is mostly about the story , which is the first thing in the bin once the movie deals signed.<br><br>The more grown up and serious my SciFi rpg's are the better.<br><br>Firefly game anyone..?-- View image here: https://cdn.arstechnica.net/forum/smilies/biggrin.gif -- </div>
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<br><br><br>Interesting you should mention it, I've read articles saying a Firefly MMORPG is in the works. So, Happy Birthday! -- View image here: http://episteme.meincmagazine.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_smile.gif --<br><br>Whether it actually ever gets finished is another issue entirely. (I do remember it being just for PC at present though)
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<div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by RobDickinson:<br>Movies are fill of special effects ladened vehicles for stars to rake in cash. Makes me sick considering SciFi is mostly about the story , which is the first thing in the bin once the movie deals signed.<br><br>The more grown up and serious my SciFi rpg's are the better.<br><br>Firefly game anyone..?-- View image here: https://cdn.arstechnica.net/forum/smilies/biggrin.gif -- </div>
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<br><br><br>Interesting you should mention it, I've read articles saying a Firefly MMORPG is in the works. So, Happy Birthday! -- View image here: http://episteme.meincmagazine.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_smile.gif --<br><br>Whether it actually ever gets finished is another issue entirely. (I do remember it being just for PC at present though)
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by krimhorn:<BR><BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by dantesan:<BR>Referring back to the earlier "It's too serious" comments about Mass Effect...<BR><BR>I was just thinking, I hate it when they make games/movies where they don't take the sci-fi genre seriously. That's how we end up with stuff Like Star Trek. </div></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR>Sounds like Danny Boyle's comments about sci-fi movies.<BR><BR>I find myself attracted to the serious side of sci-fi, movies like <I>2001</I> and <I>28 Days Later</I> engage the brain, whilst providing entertainment.<BR><BR>I HOPE <I>Mass Effect</I> has the same qualities, although I do acknowledge that (given Bioware's history) it's much more likely to be smart and fun; rather then try to be thought provoking. </div></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR>The main issues to me always are: Is the material consistent with it's own contrivances. (Fiction, in order to be truly believable needs to not contradict itself.)<BR><BR>Good examples:<BR><BR>The Dune universe<BR>The Lord of the Rings<BR><BR>Star wars COULD have been like these. (At least it's better than Star Trek)<BR><BR><BR>Also, I have a general rule of thumb for sci-fi.<BR><BR>For EVERY "hard-to-believe" element you add to a story, you must add 10 elements that support it. If you add enough referential supporting DETAIL to back up something you can make almost anything believable. The more relationships you create in the fiction that directly affect other elements that are more mundane and grounded in reality, the more believable it all becomes.<BR><BR>Blade Runner is a perfect example of an ideal "balance" of this sort. It excels at making the extraordinary look quite ordinary within it's own self-referential framework.
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by dantesan:<BR><BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by krimhorn:<BR><BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by dantesan:<BR>Referring back to the earlier "It's too serious" comments about Mass Effect...<BR><BR>I was just thinking, I hate it when they make games/movies where they don't take the sci-fi genre seriously. That's how we end up with stuff Like Star Trek. </div></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR>Sounds like Danny Boyle's comments about sci-fi movies.<BR><BR>I find myself attracted to the serious side of sci-fi, movies like <I>2001</I> and <I>28 Days Later</I> engage the brain, whilst providing entertainment.<BR><BR>I HOPE <I>Mass Effect</I> has the same qualities, although I do acknowledge that (given Bioware's history) it's much more likely to be smart and fun; rather then try to be thought provoking. </div></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR>The main issues to me always are: Is the material consistent with it's own contrivances. (Fiction, in order to be truly believable needs to not contradict itself.)<BR><BR>Good examples:<BR><BR>The Dune universe<BR>The Lord of the Rings<BR><BR>Star wars COULD have been like these. (At least it's better than Star Trek)<BR><BR><BR>Also, I have a general rule of thumb for sci-fi.<BR><BR>For EVERY "hard-to-believe" element you add to a story, you must add 10 elements that support it. If you add enough referential supporting DETAIL to back up something you can make almost anything believable. The more relationships you create in the fiction that directly affect other elements that are more mundane and grounded in reality, the more believable it all becomes.<BR><BR>Blade Runner is a perfect example of an ideal "balance" of this sort. It excels at making the extraordinary look quite ordinary within it's own self-referential framework. </div></BLOCKQUOTE><BR>Your ideas intrigue me, I'd like to subscribe to the newsletter.
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Blade Runner is a perfect example of an ideal "balance" of this sort. It excels at making the extraordinary look quite ordinary within it's own self-referential framework. </div></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR>And Dune, probably more so, which you already gave as a good example of well founded Sci Fi. Herbert wove intricate relationships into the various aspects of his universe. Knife fighting and hand to hand combat (especially that of the Bene Geserit) re-emerged as tactical advantages because they were the only way to get through a personal shield. Lasers were bad ideas because said shields would nuke the battle field if in contact with the lasers, etc.
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Semi On:<BR><BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Blade Runner is a perfect example of an ideal "balance" of this sort. It excels at making the extraordinary look quite ordinary within it's own self-referential framework. </div></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR>And Dune, probably more so, which you already gave as a good example of well founded Sci Fi. Herbert wove intricate relationships into the various aspects of his universe. Knife fighting and hand to hand combat (especially that of the Bene Geserit) re-emerged as tactical advantages because they were the only way to get through a personal shield. Lasers were bad ideas because said shields would nuke the battle field if in contact with the lasers, etc. </div></BLOCKQUOTE><BR>Though I'm sometimes hard pressed to tell whether he came up with what he thought was a cool concept (knife fights and personal shields), and then made up explanations why laser weapons and projectile weapons weren't used anymore.<BR>Though in either case, it's admirable that he went out and made up a plausible reason why lasers were abandoned and built it into his universe.<BR><BR>As someone else said, I don't really care what you make up, as long as your universe supports it reasonably well. I can buy a society where advanced computers are abolished, if you give me a reason.<BR><BR>(Though in that respect, I'm not sure Herbert was entirely consistent, but it depends on how you look at it - it's just that he sometimes made it sound like people thought AI's would just pop up given advanced enough hardware, and as we know, that just doesn't happen).<BR><BR>L.
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Though I'm sometimes hard pressed to tell whether he came up with what he thought was a cool concept (knife fights and personal shields), and then made up explanations why laser weapons and projectile weapons weren't used anymore. </div></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR><BR>I always wondered if he was paying homage to historial aristocracy. Centuries ago, aristocrats with enemies weren't necessarily foppish dandies who got drunk all the time. For one, they were the only people who could afford a real education, and, this included hand-to-hand combat in various techniques. I always imagined that the one-on-one skills the aristocracy had in Dune were a "natural" re-emergence of the old techniques in light of new technological limitation.
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Lestat:<BR>It's just that he sometimes made it sound like people thought AI's would just pop up given advanced enough hardware, and as we know, that just doesn't happen </div></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR>Of course, the Mentats and even probably the Spacing Guild would have had good reason to keep a belief like that alive to protect their monopolies, and people with only a distant historical knowledge of computers would probably believe it.
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by ChrisG:<BR><BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Though I'm sometimes hard pressed to tell whether he came up with what he thought was a cool concept (knife fights and personal shields), and then made up explanations why laser weapons and projectile weapons weren't used anymore. </div></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR><BR>I always wondered if he was paying homage to historial aristocracy. Centuries ago, aristocrats with enemies weren't necessarily foppish dandies who got drunk all the time. For one, they were the only people who could afford a real education, and, this included hand-to-hand combat in various techniques. I always imagined that the one-on-one skills the aristocracy had in Dune were a "natural" re-emergence of the old techniques in light of new technological limitation. </div></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR>Well, he really didn't have to make anything up about lasgun/shield interaction. He could have just assumed that lasers were blocked by shields too. I think it was an "additive" creative process rather than a "subtractive" (making excuses) one. As to why knife fighting re-emerged. It's simple. Anyone with a body shield is impervious to fast moving projectiles. So naturally, hand-to-hand combat re-emerges. Seems simple enough to me.<BR><BR><BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content"><BR>Originally posted by Lestat:<BR>It's just that he sometimes made it sound like people thought AI's would just pop up given advanced enough hardware, and as we know, that just doesn't happen<BR> </div></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR>Granted, the prequels written by Herbert's son and Kevin J. Anderson aren't exactly PARAGONS of literature or anything, but they ARE all based off of notes left by Frank Herbert himself that were left in a safety deposit box for nearly 20 years. Anyway, the books (and presumably the notes) explain that the A.I. that overcame humanity was programmed SPECIFICALLY by a group of terrorists to overthrow the empire. It was only because of religious loonies that ALL technology became anathema. (Although after 1500 years of fighting the machines I can understand how this could happen.)<BR><BR>The prequel books could have been written better, but I don't consider them BAD necessarily. They may have been interpreted though substandard writers... but the actual plotline layed down by Frank Herbert's notes is still evident in reading them. If your main intention is just to learn more about the Dune universe's ancient history then they are certainly tolerable.<BR><BR>Two prequel trilogies written by: Brian Herbert (Frank's son) and Kevin J. Anderson<BR><BR>One trilogy covers the Butlerian Jihad (10,000 years before Muadib) Many events that take place in these books were talked about in the original Dune books. (Including the Atreides/Agammemnon cymek heritage. In the original books they always just seemed like obscure references. This book series makes those connections.) They also cover all of the origins of the Mentats, the Bene Gesserit, The Spacing Guild and the invention of body shields.<BR><BR>The Butlerian Jihad<BR>The Machine Crusade<BR>The Battle of Corrin<BR><BR>The second trilogy covers events taking place 50 years before Muadib<BR><BR>House Atreides<BR>House Harkonnen<BR>House Corrino
Kevin J Anderson is in my opinion the absolute worst writer of all time. I've read a few of his Star Wars books. In one of them, he didn't provide the characters with any dialogue, instead providing a summary of what they thought. Awful, awful writer.
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Granted, the prequels written by Herbert's son and Kevin J. Anderson aren't exactly PARAGONS of literature or anything </div></BLOCKQUOTE><BR>Those prequels are the greatest blight on modern sci-fi ever. The writing is so bad, I could not make it past the second chapter of the Butlerian Jihad. Ugh. Without question the worst I've ever read. Hell, most fan fiction is better written than those crapfests. Brian Herbert deserves to DiaF for desecrating his father's works like that.
I agree. He is an awful writer. Fortunately in the dune prequels it was a collaborative effort. So it's not nearly as bad as it could have been.
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Hellboy:<BR><BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Granted, the prequels written by Herbert's son and Kevin J. Anderson aren't exactly PARAGONS of literature or anything </div></BLOCKQUOTE><BR>Those prequels are the greatest blight on modern sci-fi ever. The writing is so bad, I could not make it past the second chapter of the Butlerian Jihad. Ugh. Without question the worst I've ever read. Hell, most fan fiction is better written than those crapfests. Brian Herbert deserves to DiaF for desecrating his father's works like that. </div></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR>Is it because of the writing style or the plot though? THe writing was pretty crap in Butlerian Jihad but the story itself was tolerable I thought.<BR><BR>Note: I thought the writing in the (50 years before Muadib) trilogy was better.
No argument there. The background story is fine, it's the reason I picked up the book (in hardback) in the first place. It's the terrible writing I just couldn't take. I'm still pissed I spent almost $20 on that steaming pile.
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Hellboy:<BR>No argument there. The background story is fine, it's the reason I picked up the book (in hardback) in the first place. It's the terrible writing I just couldn't take. I'm still pissed I spent almost $20 on that steaming pile. </div></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR>Yeah, that's essentially what I thought. Hire ANY other writer and have him tell the SAME EXACT story and they'd be 3000x better. Although Anderson didn't fuck up the second trilogy AS bad. I am such a dune junkie I would have probably read and enjoyed a crackhead's scribblings as long as they were based off of Herbert's original notes.
I read Mass Effect Revelations,,, Damn I want this game so bad. It was an okay read. I'd classify it as comfortable pulp reading. It's not too technical and it has a decent amount of action.
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by dantesan:<BR><BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Hellboy:<BR>No argument there. The background story is fine, it's the reason I picked up the book (in hardback) in the first place. It's the terrible writing I just couldn't take. I'm still pissed I spent almost $20 on that steaming pile. </div></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR>Yeah, that's essentially what I thought. Hire ANY other writer and have him tell the SAME EXACT story and they'd be 3000x better. Although Anderson didn't fuck up the second trilogy AS bad. I am such a dune junkie I would have probably read and enjoyed a crackhead's scribblings as long as they were based off of Herbert's original notes. </div></BLOCKQUOTE><BR>Rubbish. Herbert's amateurish style added a sense of reality to the story, as did his reluctance to delve too deeply into the history and heritage of his world. You had to guess, use your own brain, as to how this had happened and why that was being used.<BR><BR>The opposite is Michael Crichton, where the story gets blocked by over-writing and becomes mere candy.
...could this thread get anymore off-topic, by chance? I mean, I know that you're all arguing how people keep their own created worlds logical and whatnot, but... wow.<br><br>Just wondering, y'know... -- View image here: http://episteme.meincmagazine.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_wink.gif --
I like some of the new vids shown. The speech stops and starts, making the faces twitch a little in between transitions, but that's tough to fix when you're talking about input from the player. Because the text doesn't subtitle the voice acting, I've found that they keep terser language and get to the point. That's nice. One of the weaknesses of KOTOR/Jade Empire were the readings that went way too long and felt like a script, not believable dialog.<BR><BR>I still like how they've evolved some of the dialog options. Like in Fallout or BG2, your intelligence and prior actions can open up dialog trees that weren't available before. Also, being "chaotic good" allows shooting people in the face as one of your aggressive actions, while extra diplomacy dialog is available if you're "lawful good". <BR><BR>Another thing is you can't just bust out the blaster whenever you want. You have to talk and argue so the context makes sense. Think Han Solo shooting first. Han didn't awkwardly shoot first then explain himself later. He had some words with the alien, then shot him first.
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">The prequel books could have been written better, but I don't consider them BAD necessarily. </div></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR>Nope, they are. I read the first two, and they're "Jesus-Christ-almighty" levels of "terrible". The guy can write about as well as I can, and I don't write.
Heh, Dune fans figuring out KJA can't write his way out of a paper bag with instructions on it.<BR><BR>Feel the pain of Star Wars fans from the early 90s! FEEL IT.<BR><BR>He's by far the worst author I've ever had the misfortune to encounter.
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by dantesan:<BR><BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Hellboy:<BR>No argument there. The background story is fine, it's the reason I picked up the book (in hardback) in the first place. It's the terrible writing I just couldn't take. I'm still pissed I spent almost $20 on that steaming pile. </div></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR>Yeah, that's essentially what I thought. Hire ANY other writer and have him tell the SAME EXACT story and they'd be 3000x better. Although Anderson didn't fuck up the second trilogy AS bad. I am such a dune junkie I would have probably read and enjoyed a crackhead's scribblings as long as they were based off of Herbert's original notes. </div></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR>which begs the question: if Kevin J Anderson is such an awful writer, how in the world does he keep on getting high-profile novel writing gigs? who is he having homosexual relations with????
He writes fast, probably doesn't charge a lot, and turns out crap, but crap that still sells because people are suckers for Star Wars and Dune.<br><br>If you look at his bibliography, it's really only a ton of licensed-universe stuff and very little original work. Even half the stuff that's arguably not out of a series (be it Star Wars to Starcraft to X-Files) is a "retelling" of, say, War of the Worlds. It's pretty clear the guy can't or doesn't write books that stand up on their own.<br><br>Also his website is straight out of 1997 and he has a Myspace page. I REST MY CASE! -- View image here: http://episteme.meincmagazine.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_wink.gif --
Has anybody been able to gleam from the numerous previous how the planets are setup? Can you land anywhere and roam till your are sick of it? Or just certain hotspots, that are limited by artificial or geological formations? Loading times between levels/segments or streaming?
Supposedly there are so many planets you can land on and explore, that no one at Bioware has had enough time to be able to visit them all.<br><br>Not kidding. Not sure if this is a good or bad thing though -- View image here: http://episteme.meincmagazine.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_smile.gif --
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<div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by hello world:<br>I've read a few of his Star Wars books. In one of them, he didn't provide the characters with any dialogue, instead providing a summary of what they thought. Awful, awful writer. </div>
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<br><br>Really?! NO dialogue? The wordiness of someone like Robert Jordan bored me to tears so I appreciate brevity, but an entire book being like the Encyclopedia Galactica sounds amazingly boring in the exact opposite way.<br><br><blockquote class="ip-ubbcode-quote">
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<div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by morello:<br>Supposedly there are so many planets you can land on and explore, that no one at Bioware has had enough time to be able to visit them all.<br><br>Not kidding. Not sure if this is a good or bad thing though -- View image here: http://episteme.meincmagazine.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_smile.gif -- </div>
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<br><br>?<br>Hopefully all of the planets are populated and, more importantly, thoroughly play-tested. If they're just vast areas with almost nothing going on, that's just an insulting 'jerk your customer's chain' move, just like much of the Hong Kong level from Deus Ex.
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<div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by hello world:<br>I've read a few of his Star Wars books. In one of them, he didn't provide the characters with any dialogue, instead providing a summary of what they thought. Awful, awful writer. </div>
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<br><br>Really?! NO dialogue? The wordiness of someone like Robert Jordan bored me to tears so I appreciate brevity, but an entire book being like the Encyclopedia Galactica sounds amazingly boring in the exact opposite way.<br><br><blockquote class="ip-ubbcode-quote">
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<div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by morello:<br>Supposedly there are so many planets you can land on and explore, that no one at Bioware has had enough time to be able to visit them all.<br><br>Not kidding. Not sure if this is a good or bad thing though -- View image here: http://episteme.meincmagazine.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_smile.gif -- </div>
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<br><br>?<br>Hopefully all of the planets are populated and, more importantly, thoroughly play-tested. If they're just vast areas with almost nothing going on, that's just an insulting 'jerk your customer's chain' move, just like much of the Hong Kong level from Deus Ex.
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<div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Psion:<br>He writes fast, probably doesn't charge a lot, and turns out crap, but crap that still sells because people are suckers for Star Wars and Dune.<br><br>If you look at his bibliography, it's really only a ton of licensed-universe stuff and very little original work. Even half the stuff that's arguably not out of a series (be it Star Wars to Starcraft to X-Files) is a "retelling" of, say, War of the Worlds. It's pretty clear the guy can't or doesn't write books that stand up on their own.<br><br>Also his website is straight out of 1997 and he has a Myspace page. I REST MY CASE! -- View image here: http://episteme.meincmagazine.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_wink.gif -- </div>
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<br><br>I don't know what's worse: The Jedi Academy Trilogy, the single standalone book Darksaber, or the Young Jedi Knights series. Well, it's KJA, so I could say with a fair amount of honesty that they're all equally awful.<br><br>KJA, DIAF, KTHXBAI
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<div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Psion:<br>He writes fast, probably doesn't charge a lot, and turns out crap, but crap that still sells because people are suckers for Star Wars and Dune.<br><br>If you look at his bibliography, it's really only a ton of licensed-universe stuff and very little original work. Even half the stuff that's arguably not out of a series (be it Star Wars to Starcraft to X-Files) is a "retelling" of, say, War of the Worlds. It's pretty clear the guy can't or doesn't write books that stand up on their own.<br><br>Also his website is straight out of 1997 and he has a Myspace page. I REST MY CASE! -- View image here: http://episteme.meincmagazine.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_wink.gif -- </div>
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<br><br>I don't know what's worse: The Jedi Academy Trilogy, the single standalone book Darksaber, or the Young Jedi Knights series. Well, it's KJA, so I could say with a fair amount of honesty that they're all equally awful.<br><br>KJA, DIAF, KTHXBAI
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<div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by morello:<br>Supposedly there are so many planets you can land on and explore, that no one at Bioware has had enough time to be able to visit them all.<br><br>Not kidding. Not sure if this is a good or bad thing though -- View image here: http://episteme.meincmagazine.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_smile.gif -- </div>
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<br><br>Hopefully it's more of a "there are so many planets in the game that no single employee has played them all" kind of thing rather than a "there are some planets which haven't been tested by anyone" kind of thing.<br><br>I wouldn't necessarily mind if there were planets which didn't have a lot of plot-advancing material on them, but were rather the "untamed wilderness" you can go motor around in and basically just level up. It's areas that *should* be full of activity but aren't which annoy me.
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<div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by morello:<br>Supposedly there are so many planets you can land on and explore, that no one at Bioware has had enough time to be able to visit them all.<br><br>Not kidding. Not sure if this is a good or bad thing though -- View image here: http://episteme.meincmagazine.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_smile.gif -- </div>
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<br><br>Hopefully it's more of a "there are so many planets in the game that no single employee has played them all" kind of thing rather than a "there are some planets which haven't been tested by anyone" kind of thing.<br><br>I wouldn't necessarily mind if there were planets which didn't have a lot of plot-advancing material on them, but were rather the "untamed wilderness" you can go motor around in and basically just level up. It's areas that *should* be full of activity but aren't which annoy me.
Hey! This thread is about excessively hyping Mass Effect. It is not about how Kevin Anderson is a massive drooling tool. -- View image here: http://episteme.meincmagazine.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_razz.gif --<br><br>Go make a KJA/DUNE PREQUELS SUX thread if you want to discuss that. -- View image here: http://episteme.meincmagazine.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_wink.gif --<br><br>(Actually, to be honest, I'm a little put off by the minor flaws in the dialogue video on that Kotaku link. I'm putting it down to the Uncanny Valley effect; the characters look so almost-real that I expect them to move with perfect fluidity, etc, and have totally believable voice acting. Not that the animations and existing voice acting aren't, you know, really freakin' good, but for some reason I was expecting something even more hyperbolic. That may even have been a semi-pointless "chitchat" sort of scene that the animators and VAs just phoned in, but... Oh well, still gonna have to buy it.)
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Rising Tide:<BR>Hopefully it's more of a "there are so many planets in the game that no single employee has played them all" kind of thing rather than a "there are some planets which haven't been tested by anyone" kind of thing. </div></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR>In the Gamespot E3 video Casey Hudson (Project Director) said that he "hopes" (I read that as hyperbole) that between the MS and Bioware testers they will have tested every planet. He also said that even he doesn't know how many planets are in the game.<BR><BR>From his comments around the 8:30 minute mark, it sounds like some of the worlds will just have some small thing to do, and other (non-story) worlds will have larger side quests. I'm thinking it will be similar to KotOR: you go to a world and the area you can explore is constrained by the geography to the section where there is something to do.
if it just have a fraction of the planets that where available in elite, and you can go to the surface of them all, i will be happy.
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<div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">...and 28 Days Later engage the brain </div>
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<br><br>Yeah, especially the double-penis shot at the beginning of the movie. Really mind-bending stuff -- View image here: http://episteme.meincmagazine.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_rolleyes.gif --<br><br>Sorry, I had to get that in -- View image here: http://episteme.meincmagazine.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_wink.gif -- I absolutely loathed 28 Days later.<br><br>Mass Effect -- Hope it turns out cool. Looks like a Star Control 5 or something.
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<div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">...and 28 Days Later engage the brain </div>
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<br><br>Yeah, especially the double-penis shot at the beginning of the movie. Really mind-bending stuff -- View image here: http://episteme.meincmagazine.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_rolleyes.gif --<br><br>Sorry, I had to get that in -- View image here: http://episteme.meincmagazine.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_wink.gif -- I absolutely loathed 28 Days later.<br><br>Mass Effect -- Hope it turns out cool. Looks like a Star Control 5 or something.
Enough KJA dissing, yes he's a plague but this thread is about Mass Effect -- View image here: http://episteme.meincmagazine.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_smile.gif --<br><br>As for the planets thing, I'm guessing you can only go to one or 2 smallish locations on the planets surface making them less planets and more "locations".<br><br>I know it's impossible to make fully explorable inhabited planets but whether or not it will feel 'on rails' or not I don't know.<br><br>I'd feel better about it if the story dictated everything happened on smallish space stations/habitats.
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<div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Wudan Master:<br>Enough KJA dissing, yes he's a plague but this thread is about Mass Effect -- View image here: http://episteme.meincmagazine.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_smile.gif --<br><br>As for the planets thing, I'm guessing you can only go to one or 2 smallish locations on the planets surface making them less planets and more "locations".<br><br>I know it's impossible to make fully explorable inhabited planets but whether or not it will feel 'on rails' or not I don't know.<br><br>I'd feel better about it if the story dictated everything happened on smallish space stations/habitats. </div>
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<br><br>Remember in KotOR, they had 4 worlds to play around on, but they were actually fairly small locales if you think of them in terms of "worlds".<br><br>Now, if each one of these worlds is the size of those in KotOR, and there are hundreds of them... well now, then I'd understand them always saying that no one tester has been everywhere.
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<div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Wudan Master:<br>Enough KJA dissing, yes he's a plague but this thread is about Mass Effect -- View image here: http://episteme.meincmagazine.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_smile.gif --<br><br>As for the planets thing, I'm guessing you can only go to one or 2 smallish locations on the planets surface making them less planets and more "locations".<br><br>I know it's impossible to make fully explorable inhabited planets but whether or not it will feel 'on rails' or not I don't know.<br><br>I'd feel better about it if the story dictated everything happened on smallish space stations/habitats. </div>
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<br><br>Remember in KotOR, they had 4 worlds to play around on, but they were actually fairly small locales if you think of them in terms of "worlds".<br><br>Now, if each one of these worlds is the size of those in KotOR, and there are hundreds of them... well now, then I'd understand them always saying that no one tester has been everywhere.
In the long interview with the developers at Bioware they said:<BR><BR>1) No one has counted/seen all the planets<BR><BR>2) All planets would allow you to do "something." (Such as simply scan to see if it's a life supporting planet or what elements it contains. Possibly make radio contact with surface dwellers.)<BR><BR>3) A large quantity of them you will be able to land on. (Even if you don't actually do much when you get there but kill some defenseless native aliens and collect some items)<BR><BR>4) Some worlds would have 2 minutes of something to do, others would have between 4 and 10 hours.<BR><BR>5) It wasn't stated in the interview but we know it's going to support downloadable content. So a lot of those planets that AREN'T explorable can become so later.
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