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In the news - March 15, 2002 (Servertime: 05:10)
  17:14 -Jeremy Soule does music for NWN
  17:12 -Everquest - Major Changes Ahead
  17:08 -HoMM4 - Town Artwork
  15:48 -MMIX: Lots of Hands-On Info @ TELP
  15:25 -First English Gothic Mod!
  14:41 -Pic of the day (13)
  14:21 -Divine Divinity Movie (different kind of)
  14:18 -Gamers Hell looks at Dungeon Siege
  14:15 -EQ: Shadows of Luclin Review at GameOver
  14:10 -DAoC Interview at CV&G
  12:34 -AO: Funcom vs. BlackSnow - The Dirty Files
  11:32 -Thank you
  11:29 -Warcraft 3 Preview at tbreak
  11:27 -Horizons Developer Diary
  11:24 -New Might & Magic 9 screenshots at Bonusweb
  11:20 -Lost Continents Site Update
  11:17 -Morrowind Hands On Preview and Screenshots
  11:13 -NWN Chat Log Online
  10:57 -Freedom Force Movie
  10:55 -Disciples 2 Scenarios for Download
  10:52 -End of Twilight Review (German)
  07:55 -Icewind Dale II Forum Update
  06:35 -Summoner 2 Preview at AE
  03:17 -Morrowind (XBox) Preview at Team XBox
  03:13 -HoMM 4 Interview at HomeLan
  03:10 -Deus Ex Chat today
  03:07 -Warlords Battlecry 2 Review at EP
  00:19 -Black Moon Chronicles First Impressions at PCGC
  00:16 -New Shadowbane shots
  00:15 -Citizen Zero Screenshots
  00:11 -Atriarch Site Update
Back to Today's News
More News: 2002-03-13 | 2002-03-14 | 2002-03-16 | 2002-03-17
Latest News Comments (click here for more)
 -  RPGDot Feature: Avernum 4 Review by niteshade2
 -  Titan Quest Modder's Guide @ TQ Vault by Coiffio
 -  The Witcher - New Movie and Screenshots @ Official Site by Guest
 -  Not the Time For Dragons Screens @ cRPG.ru by r3dshift
 -  NWN 2 - Two Prestige Classes Revealed @ NWN 2 Warcry by Guest
 -  Atari Responds to the Cancellation of NWN Support @ Firing S by aboyd
 -  The Witcher: Concept Art @ Official Site by Guest
 -  More Oblivion: More downloads and expansion coming by Father Omally
Latest Features (click here for more)
 Avernum 4 Review
  We take a look at Spiderweb's latest Avernum epic.
 - Drakensang: The Dark Eye Interview
 - The Age of Decadence - An Interview
 - A Conversation on The Broken Hourglass
 - A New Tale in the Desert
 - Ultima 5 Lazarus - A Review
 - Pirates of the Burning Sea: The MMORPG for All?
 - I AM NOT A NUMBER!
 - SpellForce 2: Shadow Wars - First Impressions
 - Neverwinter Nights 2 Interview with Chris Avellone and J.E. Sawyer
 - Optimising Oblivion, Part 1
 - Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion - A Review
 - Frater Interview
Latest Games Comments (click here for more)
 -  Drakkhen (PC, Single-Player RPG) by TheCleric
 -  Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 3 (PC, Single-Player R by KOTORIII petition
 -  Dungeon Siege 2 (PC, Single- & Multi-Player RPG) by spyk
 -  RuneScape (PC, MMORPG) by Guest
 -  Ultima 7 - The Black Gate (PC, Single-Player RPG) by Hindukönig
 -  GoldenLand (PC, Single- & Multi-Player RPG) by Arngrim
 -  Borderzone (PC, Single- & Multi-Player RPG) by Arngrim
 -  Baldur's Gate 3 (PC, Single-Player RPG) by Lucky Strike
Latest Support Files (click here for more)
 -  Gothic Maps (Introduction)
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 -  Beyond Divinity Files (Patch Version 1.47)
 -  Ultima 9 Remake - Redemption Game Info (Introduction)
 -  Ultima 9 Remake - Redemption Game Info (Engine)
 -  Ultima 9 Remake - Redemption Game Info (Story)
 -  Ultima 9 Remake - Redemption Game Info (World)
 -  Ultima 9 Remake - Redemption Game Info (The Avatar)
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 -  Chromanin Question? (in Gothic - General)
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 -  Help getting into theives guild... (in Gothic 2 Spoilers)
 -  Is the Orc Smarter in Gothic 1? (in Gothic - General)
 -  Thorus - Was That Supposed to be Funny??? (in Gothic - General)
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 -  Play the developers of SpellForce 2 (in CRPGs General)
 -  Gauging interest in a sponsored SpellForce 2 online tourname (in CRPGs General)
The Latest RPG News

Friday - March 15, 2002


Jeremy Soule does music for NWN

(PC: Single- & Multi-Player RPG) | Posted by Rendelius @ 17:14 - Top
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Here's a press release from Bioware announcing that Jeremy Soule will do the music for Neverwinter Nights (good, VERY good thing):
    EDMONTON, Alberta, Canada – March 15th, 2002 – BioWare Corp. and Infogrames Entertainment are thrilled to announce they will be joining forces with award-winning composer Jeremy Soule, who will create the soundtrack for Neverwinter Nights, the electronic role-playing game based on the Dungeons & Dragons® properties from Wizards of the Coast, a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc. “We are delighted to be working so closely with a composer of Jeremy’s stature”, said Alan Miranda, BioWare’s Audio Producer for Neverwinter Nights. “In Neverwinter Nights, music is such a vital aspect of the game. It supports the epic nature of the adventure while simultaneously enveloping the gamer, submerging them into the sounds and atmosphere of our Dungeons & Dragons world.” Miranda adds.

    "It has been a great experience all around working with the brilliant developers at BioWare on this revolutionary RPG," said Soule. "Composing for the epic-adventure realm is something I've always enjoyed and Neverwinter Nights, with its advanced game playing features, has given me the opportunity to incorporate some exciting musical touches such as giving each environment a tuneful persona that the player can manipulate.”

    Jeremy Soule’s award-winning, orchestral soundtracks have elevated the standard of music in the seven billion dollar video game industry to a level previously limited to the motion picture genre. His dynamic compositions reveal a natural ability to create powerful and engaging music using both live instruments and proprietary synthesizers which he masterfully directs to emulate the sound of a 100-piece orchestra. Soule’s creativity and cutting-edge approach to composition is evident in his original scores for titles like “Total Annihilation,” “Icewind Dale” and “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” recently nominated for the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) “Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition” award. His work has been applauded time and time again by some of the world’ s most prominent music and entertainment industry professionals.

    Jeremy Soule and the BioWare sound development team will be available for a soon-to-be-announced online chat event, where fans can ask questions of Jeremy and the team about sound in Neverwinter Nights. Watch the BioWare website (http://www.bioware.com) for this and other chat announcements, plus other Neverwinter Nights news.


Everquest - Major Changes Ahead

(PC: MMORPG) | Posted by Rendelius @ 17:12 - Top
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Over at Gamespot, you'll find an article announcing major changes to Everquets. Most of them are geared towards newbies, but there are changes for experienced players, too. Have a look at this snippet:
    The changes to the game include no longer needing to sit down and stare at a spell book to regain mana, faster progression from the first level up to level 10, and greater experience gained for characters under level 30. In addition, when characters under level 10 die, they will now appear at their bind point with all their equipment intact, rather than needing to retrieve their corpse from where they were killed.
More about the changes can be found at the official EQ website.


HoMM4 - Town Artwork

(PC: Single- & Multi-Player RPG) | Posted by Rendelius @ 17:08 - Top
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ToTheGame has published some town artwork from Heroes of Might & Magic 4.


MMIX: Lots of Hands-On Info @ TELP

(PC: Single-Player RPG) | Posted by Moriendor @ 15:48 - Top
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Just visited the MMIX boards of TELP (The Erathian Liberation Party), and I thought I'd let you know that Dag Petersen from ToTheGame has been very actively posting there during the last couple of days. He's the one who visited 3DO earlier this month to get some hands-on impressions of Might & Magic IX.

Read his excellent preview and then head on over to TELP to look for his posts in which he answers more in-depth questions on MMIX. The TELP board is not overpopulated. You should easily find his entries.


First English Gothic Mod!

(PC: Single-Player RPG) | Posted by Gorath @ 15:25 - Top
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Our forum member Alistair released his Gothic Mod "VisiGothic"!
It´s the first English language Gothic Mod ever and compatible with both the German and English versions of the game. VisiGothic features its own (short) story and some major visual enhancements:

  • increased viewing distance
  • better camera control
  • a few disabled visual interface responses, e.g. item names

You can download Alistair´s mod from this page on World of Gothic.de. All necessary files are included, no ModKit is needed.
For more infos and Alistairs own announcement check out this discussion in our forums.


Pic of the day (13)

(PC: Single-Player RPG) | Posted by Gorath @ 14:41 - Top
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"Sleeping Diego"

Sponsored by Jaz. :-)


Divine Divinity Movie (different kind of)

(PC: Single-Player RPG) | Posted by Rendelius @ 14:21 - Top
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Today, the Divine Divinity site has been updated with a special kind of movie. But we let wonderful Lynn tell herself what is in there :-):
    It’s been some time since we last did a special feature, but with the release of Divine Divinity and the Divine Divinity public demo nearing, we’ve decided to pick up the habit again. This week’s special feature focuses on the ones who have been making our lives a living nightmare over the last months by relentlessly pointing out that which is not yet to their satisfaction. We picked up our handycam, and made a short movie of a walk through the testers room where Divine Divinity is currently being tested to death.
The movie is app. 29MB and can be downloaded following our link. The site also contains some shots from the movie...


Gamers Hell looks at Dungeon Siege

(PC: Single- & Multi-Player RPG) | Posted by Rendelius @ 14:18 - Top
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Gamers Hell has written a preview of Dungeon Siege. Here's a bit about the controls:
    You can expect the controls of Dungeon Siege to be somewhat different from other role-playing games. Even though there are heaps of pre-set hotkeys that you can customize on your own you will end up doing the most of the controlling via the mouse. In the game window you can select one or more team member, select between weapons like melee, ranged, combat spells and nature spells. Each type of weapon has a hotkey set to it (which you can change if you want.), so that if you want your male hero to use a melee weapon, a female hero to use a bow and a second female to use a combat spell you can set that to the key '1', and if you're feel crazy you can set the male to use a nature spell and the two female heroes to use melee weapons by pressing '2'. It's all up to you! One of the things that separate Dungeon Siege a lot from other games of the genre is that it doesn't use the classic "earn a bundle of experience and choose the skill you want". Rather, if you use a bow a whole lot your ranged attack skill will increase, along with mainly dexterity, but also strength and intelligence. The same goes for melee attacks, where strength is the important factor, and intelligence with combat and nature spells. The only problem I found was that if you want the melee skill level of a hero to increase after it having used ranged attacks a while I noticed that he was struggling a whole lot, so a hint in the start of the game is to balance the use of weapons to some extent, and later specialize them in either melee, ranged or spells.


EQ: Shadows of Luclin Review at GameOver

(PC: MMORPG) | Posted by Rendelius @ 14:15 - Top
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A new review of Everquest: Shadows of Luclin can be found at GameOver today. A high rating (93%) and a very positive conclusion tell us that they liked what they saw:
    It’s common to find games coming out constantly that have little to no replay value. Single player games are definitely out of style in the sense that you won’t be playing them much after you beat the game. Why should you spend $50 bucks on a game that goes up on your shelf never to be played again after you beat it? Multiplayer games are in, because even after you beat the game in single person mode you can always play it with friends on the Internet so these give you more long term playability and more enjoyment for the money. Typical multiplayer games still get old after a while and it seems like every FPS and RTS game coming out is exactly the same lately just with different graphics. These typical multiplayer games are great for a short period of time but are becoming a dime a dozen with only one or two really good ones coming out each year. EQ with Shadows of Luclin moves the existing Everquest world forward technologically with the new graphical enhancements, but more importantly it expands the online world adding new zones, treasure items, creatures, and horses. The new features and additions give this game more replayability than the combination of all the single player games collecting dust on my shelf. If you want more bang-for-the-buck and a game that you won’t get bored of after a month, Everquest: Shadows of Luclin delivers.


DAoC Interview at CV&G

(PC: MMORPG) | Posted by Rendelius @ 14:10 - Top
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Computer & Video Games brings us an interview with Matt Firor, producer on Mythic's MMORPG. After talking about PvP combat in the game, he mentions that there are plans for an upcoming expansion:
    You've tried to encourage player versus player combat by providing a "no penalty" clause if characters die in these situations. Do you think this has been successful and made it a fun, rather than a painful or stressful experience?

    Firor: So far it has been very successful. Our Realm versus Realm system is by far the most popular player versus player combat system ever developed for an online RPG. It makes sense, it lets players have fun without worrying about being totally wiped out - by having few penalties - and it keeps high-level players interested in the game.

    What are some of things that you're thinking about implementing or adding in the near future?

    Firor: We have plans for an expansion - more details will be forthcoming on that soon, but obviously it will involve a revamped graphical engine, as well as new areas to explore - plus a lot more.


AO: Funcom vs. BlackSnow - The Dirty Files

(PC: MMORPG) | Posted by Rendelius @ 12:34 - Top
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UnknownPlayer has dug up some dirt from a battle between Funcom (Anarchy Online) and Black Snow Interactive, the guys that sued Mythic for being banned due to selling in-game items. It's a story of mud, threats, laywers and - ugh, just an example how low you can go. Check this piece:
    But the killer are the ICQ Logs given to us by BlackSnow's Lee Caldwell...within this set of logs is some stunning information, but seemingly more harmful to BlackSnow than to FunCom. In it, not only does Lee admit that BlackSnow has hacked, macroed and duped their way to their $60,000 a month income, but he offers Adam Young $7000 to "leave us alone and protect us, and we will always tell you the exploits as they come out and that is undoubtedly a win win for funcom and us."

    A win? Bribing somebody internal to the game, responsible for maintaining the intergrity of the experience? Adam turns this down, saying "It is a mater of integrity. Moving what I feel to be non dangerous characters is one thing. What you [sic] suggesting is a conflict of interest as I am being paid by Funcom to track down exploits and protect the integrity of their data."
Get the full load of dirt here...


Thank you

Posted by Rendelius @ 11:32 - Top
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Just wanted to say Thank You to Phil for his donation to our site :-)


Warcraft 3 Preview at tbreak

(PC: Single-Player RPG) | Posted by Rendelius @ 11:29 - Top
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tbreak has posted the first part of a Warcraft 3 diary, the story of a Warcraft 3 junkie:
    Over the past couple of weeks I was introduced to a new kind of high. A drug so strong that I’d gladly assassinate someone or sell a few organs to get my daily fix. So here I sit… weary faced, fingers numb, eyes dilated, unshaven with my mind in an almost catatonic state knowing there’s no turning back now! I’d been given a taste of heaven, mind you only a taste! But that was enough- enough to imagine what the real deal would be and now I yearn for the countless hours of ecstasy that only this drug can provide me with. You must be wondering, How? Why? Where? What? So many questions- so very few answers. Allow me to tell you about my sordid tale. I start with the acceptance of my fate…

    Hi, my name is Derrick Pereira, and I’m a Warcraftaholic..
Source: Voodooextreme


Horizons Developer Diary

(PC: MMORPG) | Posted by Rendelius @ 11:27 - Top
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GamersPulse has the first installment of their Horizons Developer Diary on their pages now. Shawn Carnes, Horizons Game Designer, describes his standard day at the company:
    Here’s a standard day at Artifact Entertainment for me:

    Meeting with Steve Snow (Producer) - Steve needs me to help him with some interviews. It’s been a while since I dealt with the public on matters like these, though all the things I learned at Wizards of the Coast (WotC) are coming back to me with each interview I do.

    “Meeting” with Paul Peterson (Game Designer) - I share an office with him, so it’s not too difficult to have a “meeting” with Paul. ;) Discussed the relationship between Trade-based skills and the Adventure-based skills. Based on our design, the relationship between these two distinct areas of the game will be completely intertwined. The play experience for Adventurers and Tradespeople will be distinct, but one will not be able to properly function without the other. We came up with some good ideas on how to balance independence and interdependence between the two. We also touched base on what the Trade Skills for the dragons will be. Dragons are going to be a unique gaming experience in Horizons, so the trade skills will need to properly reflect this.
Hell, I know that - more meetings than work *g*


New Might & Magic 9 screenshots at Bonusweb

(PC: Single-Player RPG) | Posted by Rendelius @ 11:24 - Top
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A load of new screenshots from Might & Magic 9 can be found at Bonusweb today


Lost Continents Site Update

(PC: MMORPG) | Posted by Rendelius @ 11:20 - Top
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The Lost Continents site has been updated with a new chapter to their ongoing serial "The Mask of the Mummy Quenn...


Morrowind Hands On Preview and Screenshots

(PC: Single-Player RPG) | Posted by Rendelius @ 11:17 - Top
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A short hands-on preview has been posted at XGR. They are more than enthusiastic about their initial impressions, and I am more than enthusiastic about the 15 screenshots they've posted :-). Here's a bit about music:
    Audio - the sound in the game is great. Really good positional sound even a difference between 1st and 3rd person sound. In terms of the music - dead on. I am just recently playing games with the music (when playing for the first time) and really enjoying some of the stuff out there (Dungeon Siege's soundtrack by Jeremy Soule comes to mind)


NWN Chat Log Online

(PC: Single- & Multi-Player RPG) | Posted by Rendelius @ 11:13 - Top
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NWN Stratics has put the log from yesterday's NWN chat online. You can expect to find quite some useful info in there, just look at the list of Bioware's attendees:
    Derrick Collins, QA. (DerrickC[BioWare]
    Brad Grier, Communication Manager (BradG[BioWare])
    Don Moar, Lead Programmer - Tools (donm[BioWare])
    Brenon Holmes, AI Programmer (Brenon[Bioware])
    Aidan Scanlon, Implentation Designer, (Aidan[BioWare])
    Jay Watamaniuk, Community Manager (JayW[BioWare])
    Robin Mayne, Web Developer (RobinM[BioWare])
    Bob McCabe, Designer/Writer (BobM[BioWare])
    Dups Wijayawardhana, Web Developer (DupsW[BioWare])
    Jonathan Epp - QA (JonathanE[BioWare])
    Nathan Frederick, Lead Quality Assurance (Nathanf)
    Stanley Woo, QA Ninja (NinjaStan)
    Mark Brockington, Lead Research Scientist (MarkB[BioWare])
    Chris Priestly. QA (EvilChris[BioWare])
    Teresa Stevenson - PR (TeresaS[BioWare])
    Sophia Smith, AI Programming (Sophia[BioWare])
    Noel Borstad, Programmer (Noel[BioWare])
    Derek French, Assistant Producer (DerekF[BioWare])
    Tom Ohle, Communications (TomO[BioWare])
    Owen Borstad - Tools Programmer (OwenB[Bioware])
    Pat Chan, Tools Programmer (PatC[Bioware])
    Trent Oster, Producer on NWN (TrentO)


Freedom Force Movie

(PC: Single-Player RPG) | Posted by Garrett @ 10:57 - Top
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Belgian site De Spelletjesgarnaal has posted a Freedom Force Gameplay movie. You can either watch the movie streaming or download a zip from the above link.


Disciples 2 Scenarios for Download

(PC: Single- & Multi-Player RPG) | Posted by Garrett @ 10:55 - Top
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Strategy First is offering several Scenarios for download to play in their Disciples 2 - Dark Prophecy.


End of Twilight Review (German)

(PC: Single-Player RPG) | Posted by Garrett @ 10:52 - Top
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A Garmen Review of End of Twilight can be found over at GameCaptain. End of Twilight is a tactical Action-RPG, which looks a bit childish - the final score of the review is 66%.


Icewind Dale II Forum Update

(PC: Single- & Multi-Player RPG) | Posted by Myrthos @ 07:55 - Top
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After the announcement that the kits will be dropped in favor for 3E multiclassing and feats a lot of news was available on the boards. I'll update the Icewind Dale II pages with the official info as it is been given later on. But here is the rest of the recent info from the Icewind Dale II forums.

    Josh Sawyer

    Monk multiclassing
    Monk/sorcerers are a cool class combination, but they are by no means "OMG SO TUFF PACK YER BAGS, FIGHTERS! LOL!" I put a multiclass Dark Moon monk/sorcerer in one of my games as an enemy NPC. She lasted a while due to her ability to leap all over the battlefield and punch people with enhanced strength, but it didn't really matter when the PC single-classed monk went up to her and smashed her face in.


    Number of feats for a fighter
    Hell, even if you just used five Martial Weapon feats, you have an additional six feats right there. For each of the five weapons, you can take Weapon Focus and for one of the five weapons, you can take Specialization.
    If there were six Simple Weapon feats, you could take focus in all of those as well.
    That's hardly an "awesome" use of fighter feats, but I think there are more than enough to fill a fighter's basket, even at high levels.


    Level Drain
    No; we aren't implementing full level drain, only the acquisition of negative levels, which operate as listed.


    The Weapon Specialization thread
    Has been closed as it is being replace by feats.

    Kevin Osburn

    Do the new changes affect the release date
    No, it shouldn't affect the release date


    Does it support Windows XP
    Yes, several testers are using XP. I am also using XP and I haven't had any problems at all.


    Game length
    Well the reason I said that is there are a couple of types of gamers out there. You have the power-gamers, and the casual gamers. Depending on how the power-gamer plays he will probably finish the game much faster than the casual gamer. Another thing depends on what the player decides to do in the game. For example, do they try to complete every single quest in the game and explore every area, or do they simply do what they need to do to finish the game quickly.
    The last time I talked to QA about this, they didn't expect anyone to beat the game in 25 hours, and currently it looks like it will take a minimum of 40-45 hours. But it could also take some people up to 60-70 hours.

    The length of a game is the trickiest part of development due to what I talked about in the first paragraph. We as developers try to give our best estimation.
    At this point I really don't think anyone can beat it in that amount of time the first time through. In the interview I was just being optimistic. I just talked to the QA guys today, and they feel overall that there should be more overall gameplay in IWD2 than the original IWD.

    Damien Folletto (Puuk)

    How do you get a bladesinger now kits are gone?
    Bladesingers are a Prestige Class in 3E, not a kit.

    About IWD2 looking a lot like Diable 2
    Do you really think weapon switching, random drop items and jungle locations are exclusive to D2? Do you really think that none of these concepts existed before Diablo or Diablo 2? Have you ever played a PnP game set in the Forgotten Realms?

    Adding these features to the game was not an attempt at making a D2 game - the game-play styles couldn't be more different, actually. The features you're writing about are features that are in every PnP game run by a competent DM. Weapon Switching, for instance, is a kin to quick draw - basically drawing a weapon of choice as a free action. Random Drops is pretty standard in the DM rulebook - there are even tables for matching player party levels to encounter levels to random items/treasure that can be dropped - nothing new about this. And finally, the jungles are not exclusive to the D2 world. Chult is a part of the Forgotten Realms setting, and FR has been around a lot longer than the Diablo games.

    Don't get me wrong, I like D2, but about the only things these two games have in common are that they are both fantasy based and both involve a lot of monster bashing. Some rules will be similar, there's no getting around it, but they are not exclusive to, nor invented by D2.

    Tex Yang (BloodLust)

    Testing
    We're not going to just stop testing and balancing the game because 3E multiclassing is in. As I've mentioned before, balance and fun are some of our higher priorities in IWD2, and that is still the case now.
    As a matter of fact, being here at 11:30pm (since 11:00am today) and still having one more area to go before I even contemplate sleep should reinforce that point for some of you out there that might be a little worried about it right now.


    Monks and using weapons
    Monks can equip (some) weapons if their fists are not doing a sufficient enough job against some enemies.


Summoner 2 Preview at AE

(PS2: Single-Player RPG) | Posted by Rendelius @ 06:35 - Top
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The Armchair Empire has posted a short preview of Summoner 2 for the PS2. A lot of screenshots to look at, too :-). As usual, we serve you a tasty snippet from the article:
    Once again the main character’s ultimate goal is to eventually ascend to godhood, but this time out the heroine, Pava, knows full well it’s her destiny straight from the onset of the game.  She’s the Queen of Halassar, a land on the complete opposite side of the world where the original game took place.  They worshipped the goddess Laharah, who they believed brought good to the world, though over time their religion was perverted into a far darker form and the world’s original necromancers, the Nhuvasarim, came to be, eventually becoming part of the evil of the original Summoner.  Eventually a king came along and banished the Nhuvasarim, restoring the land and its religion to its formerly pure form.  In their mythology it was said that one day Laharah would return to the world, and as it turns out she will return in the form of Pava, so now players must lead her and her party through the Kingdom of Halassar so that she can fulfill her destiny.


Morrowind (XBox) Preview at Team XBox

(Xbox: Single-Player RPG) | Posted by Rendelius @ 03:17 - Top
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A Morrowind preview 8XBox version) appeared on the Team XBox site today. Here's a bit from that article for you:
    The Elder’s Scrolls III: Morrowind is a first of its kind and the first true RPG released for the Xbox that is certain to set a standard that future RPGs will measure up to. With stunningly detailed graphics and interesting characters set in one of the largest virtual worlds created for a video game, Morrowind is ready for gamers everywhere. The question is: Are you ready for Morrowind? Seemingly insignificant actions may later prove to be the turning point for your downfall or the impetus behind your glory (Used my thesaurus that I got from Bart for Christmas for that one). I could go on and on about the depth and interactivity of this amazing game, but that would still only begin to touch the level of detail this game embodies. Morrowind is a game that you have to play to understand and no two gamers will share the same experience.


HoMM 4 Interview at HomeLan

(PC: Single- & Multi-Player RPG) | Posted by Rendelius @ 03:13 - Top
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An Heroes of Might & Magic 4 interview with David Mullich, game director, has been published at HomeLan fed today. Here's a bit for you:
    HomeLAN - How is the combat system being handed for HOMM IV?

    David Mullich - The most obvious improvement to our combat system is that combat is shown from an isometric perspective, in which combatants have eight facings. The battlefields look far more glorious than in pervious Heroes games, and the battlefield grid is so fine that movement is less chess-like and more realistic.

    As for combat rules, the most impactful change is that heroes now join their troops in battle. Unlike in previous games where heroes were off on the sidelines and contributed only their leadership or magical skills to the combatants, you may develop your individual heroes into specializing in hand-to-hand or ranged magical combat. You may also choose to develop their leadership or magical skills, but they now run the risk of being a casualty of combat. Fortunately, you can purchase weapons and armor to improve the battle skills of your generals and sorcerers.

    We also made numerous adjustments to other combat rules so that
    shooters, fliers, and melee troops have more of a "rock, paper, scissors" feel, so that each type of creature has a greater range of strengths and weaknesses so that the player's own tactical skills plays a greater role in the outcome of a battle.


Deus Ex Chat today

(PC: Single- & Multi-Player RPG) | Posted by Rendelius @ 03:10 - Top
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Through The Looking Glass offers a Deus Ex Chat today:
    On Friday March 15th at 5PM CST in the Official TTLG IRC Channel: #thief on IRC.Starchat.Net you will have the chance to put questions to several of the Ion Storm team behind Deus Ex The Conspiracy and the upcoming Deus Ex 2./UL>


Warlords Battlecry 2 Review at EP

(PC: Single- & Multi-Player RPG) | Posted by Rendelius @ 03:07 - Top
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Electric Playground has reviewed Warlords Battlecry 2. Once again, this is a pretty favorable one, rating the game 9/10. This is te conclusion that can be found after the (rather short) review:
    rom shimmering shields to engaging side quests offered during each mission, the game is full of the little details that define greatness. If Warlords Battlecry II isn't one of the early leaders for real-time strategy game of the year I'll eat my magical staff.


Black Moon Chronicles First Impressions at PCGC

(PC: MMORPG) | Posted by Rendelius @ 00:19 - Top
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PC Game Central has posted their first impressions from a gaming session with a beta build of Black Moon Chronicles - Winds of War, together with some screenshots. Here's how this article starts:
    The one feature I instantly noticed that separates Black Moon Chronicles from its competitors is its graphics. Unlike most games which are going out for engines which are very graphic heavy and require high end systems and high speed connections, Black Moon Chronicles' graphics are "cartoon-like" and do not ware down your system. Now, don't get it wrong, this doesn't mean that the graphics are bad at all. Instead they are unique and very refreshing to see. Everything in the game, from the buildings and roads to characters and weapons were hand drawn, which amazed me. The game is so big and there are so many places to visit, that Humberto said that it took 6 artists around 1 year to hand draw everything that you see in Black Moon Chronicles.

    Starting out the game as a Ghoul with weapons, gold, and experience, I began my tour of the town. I was first shown around part of the game world and noticed how detailed everything looked, especially for it all being hand drawn. There were various market places, churches, stores, and other places, including a fighting arena where you will be able to place bets against other players for the chance of a big payoff. You will be able to enter almost every building in the game, and purchase items from weapons to ale, lodge in the inn, and participate in events such as fights, bets, and more. Every building, both inside and out, has its own unique look to it and eyecandy for you to check out. Whether it be NPC's inside the inn or people competing against each other, the game from what I have seen, seems rather busy as if it was a real functioning town.


New Shadowbane shots

(PC: MMORPG) | Posted by Rendelius @ 00:16 - Top
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6 new Shaodwbane screenshots have been published at the official site.


Citizen Zero Screenshots

(PC: MMORPG) | Posted by Rendelius @ 00:15 - Top
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Microforte's official Citizen Zero site holds some new and impressive screenshots from their upcoming title...


Atriarch Site Update

(PC: MMORPG) | Posted by Rendelius @ 00:11 - Top
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There is a new Atriarch Developer comment at the official site, talking about the progress they have made with this upcoming MMORPG. Here's a bit from it:
    For the last couple of months, the World Fusion Engine (code name: Volcano) has been "off its wheels" as we have conducted a major rewrite of the 3-D graphics and persistence subsystems. This was necessary to eliminate a nasty client-side lag problem and enable significant performance optimizations that will shortly be achieved. As you know, most 3-D games, both massively multiplayer and single-player, manifest various kinds of lag. Although many players assume that most lag is due to a slowdown in the actual rendering of the graphics, lag is usually caused by persistence: the loading of 3-D geometry and texture data. Level and zone-based engines typically resolve the persistence lag by loading as much data up front before each level or zone is activated, causing the players to stare at a frozen display while this occurs (the all too familiar LOADING... PLEASE WAIT...)
 
 
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