I defragmented my hard drive (like it says is a good idea on the patch tip faq thingy) and it ran this morning...till it crashed

Sorry to hear about that Razz.

I haven't had any trouble running at ultra-high video settings, HDR at 1024x768 on two 8600gt vid cards in SLI bridged mode, but as soon as I switch to 1680x1050 (I borrowed a widescreen monitor from work) it goes haywire. And this isn't even while trying to render an a fight sequence etc. it's at the main menu screen. When I turn off SLI mode, it runs at 1680x1050, but very choppy, laggy, and jaggy. I tried switching to bloom, disabling v-sync etc. but no luck. When I enable SLI mode and run 1024x768 (stretched across my widescreen monitor) it runs just fine! . . . ƒucker

For a Dark Brotherhood contract, I just killed the retired commander of the Imperial Legion, who lives at the barracks of the city watch.

The place was crawling with guards. I created a save point and tried a few different tactics--sneaking in and waiting for him to go to bed (surrounded by a dozen other sleeping guards); killing a guard, hiding the body and putting on his city watch armor (doesn't work like it did in Star Wars btw) ... no matter what I did, I was jumped by a swarm of angry guards, and more swarming in the door, and more when I ran outside, and they chased me halway across the country before I got away and had my theives guild contact pay off my bounties.

This morning I thought of a better solution: I equipped 20% chameleon armor, a 20% chameleon ring, a 35% chameleon ring, and a Master-level 33% chameleon potion. That's 108% chameleon--total invisibility that doesn't stop working when you interact with something. I just walked in and killed him, looted the corpse, and walked out the door.

It sounds like cheating, I guess, but everything I did was made possible by my initial decision to build a very sneaky character.

Dungeoncrawl, Stone Soup is the best turn based rpg i've ever played. no plot, no graphics, just highly detailed combat. thats what i want in a turn based game; less filler, more goodies.

download a version with "tiles" in the name if you're not comfortable with completely text only mode. watch other people play, compare scores and strats, and survey class/race statistics at http://crawl.akrasiac.org/

btw, there's no reverting to saved games; you can save and pick up from there later, but there is no going back in time. think hardcore diablo II.

Too newfangled for me. I'm still stuck on the original nethack, which I have never won in 22 years of gameplay.

I'm just not very good at the game.

For my D&D 4e group (see: What is it? thread) I just built a Ranger Class Elf based on my concept of this Oblivion character. It turns out this is one of the most devastating character builds in 4e D&D.

I can do two ranged attacks in a single round with a -2 penalty to attack rolls, but I get 2 points bonus by gaining combat advantage if I have partial concealment. If no concealment is available, I can conjur up a concealing mist to hide and fire arrows from behind.

I can give stealth bonuses to my whole party (Ambush Specialist) and gain +4 initiative bonus to myself with one at-will power.

I have a "Disruptive Attack" which is triggered by another characters actions--I can attack enemies when it isn't even my turn!

As an Elf, I have better eyesight, bow speciality, and can re-roll bad attack rolls (Elven Accuracy).

I have very high wisdom which gives me incredible Perception (passive perception is over 20); and during short rests I can "track" creatures who have been through a 10 by 10 square area.

Any D&D players in the house?

i only play mmo's at this point. you know why they're popular? because they're better. rift is so so; not a wow killer.

if you're unwilling to get pwned by a grue, i only hear good things about minecraft.

on a sidenote, anyone who hasn't played portal is just not trying. why do good games have to be new?

8ish years of dungeoncrawl and i've never beaten it. thought on 3 or 4 occasions i've had the runes and a solid enough char but died clearing hell or a vault.

ps thank god this thread was reborn
pps i did not realize i've been lurking here for this long; a few more videos of people killing themselves and i'm sure i'll fix that with a banning.

Yep. I began playing with AD&D 1st Edition a long time ago.

Haven't played for quite some time now.

Hey Flint--

I've played, though I'm not playing at the moment. I'd *love* to play again sometime, but I don't have a local play group. I believe I could have, given the friends I've gained recently. They're steampunk/anime/scientist friendly, and that is a very favorable combination. I have my first edition (actually, before there were "editions") materials and character sheets here. Not to mention that little purple bag.

I'd love to play with you sometime, so to speak (heh).

@ sullage: hey have you triedout Mortal Online? It's had a rocky as fuck start (unsurprising it's a relatively tiny dev team and they've managed to retain creative control) but is looking really interesting. I haven't played for a couple of minths, but am going to return over the summer. It's much more a sandbox than the recent flurry of WoW-style rollercoaster rides.

I personally didn't like 4e. I went 3.5 and pathfinder and I am currently runny an amalgamation of the two. It is an unusably campaign to say the least, for one most of it takes place on a space ship.

I'm building a "comic book" team in 4e. No Arcane, no Divine.

A Shardmind Psion, a Changeling Assassin, a Minotaur Barbarian, a Dragonborn Warlord, and myself, the Elf Hunter. It's very well-balanced and we have above 10 in every skill. If I rough draft some conceptual artwork of the party, I'll post it here.

Sounds like fun,however, if your going superhero have you thought of the champions system http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Champio...laying_game%29.

My big issue is with how they deal with skills and feat in 4e.

Yes, I'm aware there is a "my favorite version verus 4e" thing but basically this is the version I play because this is the version that the group I got invited to has the rule books for, and I really can't say I have any problem with it. Every system has a design philosophy, and every one will have differences that set them apart. It isn't a "good" versus "bad" thing--just a "different" thing.

I've heard that 4e isn't customizable enough, whereas I have seen voluminous examples that it is exponentially MORE customizable. I've heard that it is too restricted in what you are "allowed" to do with your character design. Well, we'd all like to build an undefeatable God character, but there has to be balance in the system, doesn't there? There are trade-offs. Just like in real life, you have to make design decisions which will have consequences.

I've heard that the system of rules don't allow you to use your imagination. Well, as I figure it, imagination comes from within. If you need a rulebook to "allow" your imagination, then you don't have one. Terry Bozzio tells a great story at his drum clinics about a musician that is commisioned to write a song for the King, but the King has this really restrictive set of rules about what kind of notes he can use and so forth. The moral of the story is that working WITHIN a set of rules is what ALLOWS you to let your imagination do its best work. I'm sure I haven't made the point effectively, but I assure you I have seen and experienced this in action in various aspects of my life, and have no reason to believe that a gaming system would be any different. Aside from the fact that large groups of people just don't like change of any kind and will criticize whatever is new.

playing oblivion on xbox....

seems strange that I can go into the guild hall of the mages ( im in that guild and the fighters guild somehow) and pick stuff up, then go two rooms over and sell it to the guy there. then i can spend that gold to buy spells in the next room.

I have found the RPG I was looking for. Turn-based, grid-based, level-up with experience, find cool gear.

Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance

Perfect!

A Nintendo GameCube title I am now playing on my Wii console.

So, Jim. It took you two years to get in touch with your RPG side?

I like RPG type games, but don't get into the massive multiplayer online thingies. I can waste more than enough time all by myself.

Lately I've focused on Epic Mickey (or is that considered a platformer?).

My phone has opened a whole new world of stupid resource management games to me.

My second favorite is one where I'm trying to build a drug dealing empire. It's called BT (Big time) Gangsta. In order to earn in-game money, I met my first favorite, Contract Killer, in which I get to shoot people in the head. Both of these are way better than Bug Village, which is very cute, but I have to pay too much attention to it. The damn bugs want tending multiple times a day. My Homeys are cool with me checking in once or twice a day.

So right now I'm downloading Oblivion again. I haven't played in years, should be fun to revisit.

What I've been doing for the last month or so is playing Elder Scrolls III, Morrowind-- arguably the best game in the series for immersion and storytelling. And with a few mods*, totally playable by modern standards.

I tried to get into Daggerfall (part II), but it's a tough sell. The music/atmosphere and retro graphics are charming, and the size/scope of the world is impressive (albeit procedurally generated), and the level of actual ROLE PLAYING is supposed to be higher than any subsequent title, but an even worse version of Morrowind's "dice-roll" attacks make it a chore to play, even with the Unity Engine's addition of WASD movement. Oh, and you can CLIMB.

*Morrowind Graphics Extender, Code Patch, Optimization Patch, Patch for Purists, Animation Compilation, Enhanced Overhaul, Better Heads/Bodies/Clothes/Armor/Dialogue Font, Remiros Groundcover, Darknut's Creatures and Weapons re-textures, Glow in the Dahrk, Enlightened Flames, Idle Talk, Improved Inns, RUN FASTER, Visible Persuasion Chance, Apel's Rain Replacer, Encumbrance Increaser, More Barter Gold, Accurate Attack, Skyrim UI, .... . . .

I beat Daggerfall, despite the bugs. Impressive game, but they definitely bit off more than they could chew.

I know someone who worked on it; the development process sounded insane.

interesting observation
 

if you turn the 'tree distance' slider in Oblivion down to zero, the trees and bushes act just like sprites in Daggerfall-- 'carboard cutouts' that pivot to face towards your pov

I recently started Wasteland 3, a callback to the old Fallout 1 and 2 games.

I started Oblivion last night with Alternative Start Arrive by Ship-- your game begins in the quarters of a traveling ship, on the desk are your immigration papers. The immigration papers initiate your character creation-- race, class, appearance, AND a 'background' which grants you some possessions. You have an option of where the ship will take you. While waiting, you sleep in the bed, and have a dream about the Emperor which gently nudges you towards the main quest.

It avoids the confusion of you being a prophesied "chosen one" when the protagonist and "chosen one" of the game is actually Martin Septim.

It feels pretty good to step off that boat and begin your new life with a back story that doesn't involve you being in jail for whatever reason.

I love the moddability of Bethesda games. Hope it continues after the Microsoft purchase.

What has distinguished Bethesda to this point has been Bethesda the publishing entity being formed by a group of Morrowind-era Bethesda developers. I'd like to think that their consistent ability to produce lightning-in-a-bottle has earned them the right to be free of editorial oversight.

Like Neil Peart said, after Rush made 2112 as a sprawling sci-fi epic, against the advice of literally everyone, and their fans loved it-- that experience was a "skeleton key" which opened a door they could enter, and close behind them. From that point, every work they produced was handed to the record company as a FINISHED set of master tapes. Masters of their own destiny.