As a Christmas present for the curious, an anonymous benefactor has released the previously unreleased PlayStation port of BioWare and Black Isle / Interplay’s 1998 RPG hit Baldur’s Gate.

The port, by Leeds studio Runecraft, is available as a torrent, and would have spanned three discs, like Final Fantasy VII. This version of the title was reportedly one from late in the game’s development, and is not only fully playable, but also apparently a solid, faithful port of the PC original. The source claims to have paid a four-digit sum for the title, so the release is fairly generous indeed.

[Hidden Palace via Reddit]

According to this listing at Amazon UK, the Black Isle / Interplay RPG Planescape: Torment is due out on DVD in just a couple of days. The 1999 classic is considered by some to be the best role-playing game ever, and is listed at £17.99, or about $30 USD.

Why a re-release wouldn’t also be made available on GOG or Steam eludes me; perhaps an announcement is forthcoming. Collectors will be pleased by this news, though, as the retail version of the game is moderately difficult to come across.

Amazon UK

[Thanks, Darryl]

…but not quite what I imagined! We had a Executive committee meeting last night which was centred around one rather important piece of business. Elaine, one of the Youth Workers, has been entirely funded by a group of churches from the Black Isle (where she works in Fortrose Academy). Arnett, our chairman, received a letter a couple of weeks ago explaining that this group had run out of money, were currently fundraising but as it stands will not be able to pay Elaine beyond the end of October. The churches are entirely supportive of Elaine’s work and regret the situation. Elaine believes – as do I and the executive committee – that God intends for her to continue her work. We see this as an opportunity – to encourage the churches of the Black Isle to see the importance of Elaine’s work, for that work to be better communicated to the churches involved and for the community to gather round her and support her, in prayer but also financially. A “steering group” made up of representatives from the churches meets at the end of this month, at which both Elaine and myself will be attending. Please pray that it is a fruitful meeting.

In the meantime, Elaine is making a start of fundraising through personal support. Something that I am doing as well. There is much to be said on gathering personal support. It allows you to built up a group of people to pray for you and to share in your journey of faith. Asking for money can often be awkward but this is not begging, nor really is it fundraising – rather it is friend-raising. For while money is a necessary provision, ultimately God’s work cannot be done without prayer. Part of the purpose to me starting this blog was to allow friends and supporters to share in my journey in a quick and convenient manner. I realise though, that some may wish to support my journey through giving financially. I have now created a page entitled “Support”, there you will find a form that can be downloaded and returned safely via email to subscribe to a monthly prayer letter and if God is calling you to do so provide financial support.

Today, please pray: 1) For Elaine and the continuing work that she does on the Black Isle, 2) That the community and churches may gather round her and support her, 3) God provides as we so trust He graciously does.

And it’s finally happened. Kotaku is reporting that Bethesda is suing Interplay for their failure to develop the Fallout MMO. Is there anybody out there who didn’t see this coming? I’m excepting as always, the troglodytes and mouth-breathers over at No Mutants Allowed and the rest of the so-called “Fallout community” (warning, following that link and reading anything on that site WILL make you stupid). By that, I don’t mean those hundreds of thousands of people who have rightly enjoyed Fallout 3 (many of whom have as it as their sole Fallout experience) or those like me who genuinely love the first two games in the series. I mean those who, their loud protestations to the contrary, have never forgiven the universe for not stopping the clock in 1998 and Interplay for daring to go out of business.

Yes, I said go out of business. I bear no malice at all towared the tiny shell that currently bears the name Interplay and if the seven employees over there manage to magically produce a Fallout MMO, I’ll be thrilled. Good luck, God bless. Let’s be honest, though. It’s not going to happen. Whatever Interplay used to be, it’s been a mere ghost of that for many years — exactly what it was when it sold the rights to Fallout to Bethesda in a wild gamble at creating a Fallout MMO. You don’t need a crystal ball to figure that out, either. The company itself admits as much in their public 10K report. Check out this list of “Risk Factors:”

WE CURRENTLY HAVE SOME OBLIGATIONS THAT WE ARE UNABLE TO MEET WITHOUT GENERATING ADDITIONAL INCOME OR RAISING ADDITIONAL CAPITAL.

As of December 31, 2008, our cash balance was approximately $0 and our working capital deficit totaled approximately $2.4 million.

We are currently operating without a credit agreement or credit facility. There can be no assurance that we will be able to enter into a new credit agreement or that if we do enter into a new credit agreement, it will be on terms favorable to us.

We are presently without a CFO, and Mr. Caen has assumed the position of interim-CFO and continues as CFO to date until a replacement can be found.

These are not the business conditions that make me want to go out and purchase Interplay stock. I’d get a better ROI selling my old comic books on Ebay.

I’m not entirely certain why Bethesda agreed to this deal in the first place. I can however, envisage a scenario where they get a substantial discount off the price of the original IP purchase in return for essentially waiting for Interplay to fail in which case they would then be able to sweep in and be able to do the Fallout MMO themselves. And if Interplay had succeeded — great! It’s a win/win for Bethesda either way. As for Interplay, well, they were selling the last valuable asset they had in a gamble to keep themselves alive and capitilize on the potential success of a Fallout MMO. If they’ve failed to realize that, well there’s certainly no shame there. Businesses fail all the time. I’m sure the principles and employees currently at Interplay will be fine.

What gets me are the idiot Fallout fanboys and their venom toward Bethesda for doing exactly what anyone in their position would — protecting their intellectual property rights and insisting that Interplay live up to the terms of its agreements. I don’t have any knowledge whether Bethesda is correct in its allegations, of course, but there’s certainly nothing immoral in a perfectly sensible business decision. There’s this perverse romantic streak in the hard-core Fallout community that somehow believes that they not only have a right to “their” Fallout 3 — done of course in a “proper Fallout style” — but that going business concerns should somehow modify intelligent business practices to tailor to them because the original Fallout games were so good and they love them so much.

And please don’t pull out the old “We’re the audience, they should listen to us.” Here’s a news flash — when it comes to Fallout, you are not the audience. The “audience” for Fallout are those millions of people happily shelling out the shekels for Mothership: Zeta and racking up Xbox 360 Acheivements. Full disclosure: I was the product manager for Fallout: Tactics, a decent though not stellar stratgy game based in the Fallout universe. I loved working at Interplay and am proud to have been connected, however tangentially, to the Fallout games and the great people who worked on them. Having said that, the Fallout games as represented by Fallout 1 and 2 are history. Everyone involved with them has moved on — in many cases quite successfully — and the Fallout universe is in the hands of people who obviously love the franchise and are not beholden to you in any way.

Here’s a little secret: The original Fallout games were not terribly successful. Not that they were failures, of course, but even by the standards of the late ’90s they garnered much more in critical acclaim, fan love and industry respect than they ever did in cold, hard cash. While I won’t reveal proprietary numbers, Bethesda does more with the franchise in five minutes than Interplay did with it in its whole history. Knowing that, it makes Bethesda rescuing the franchise from oblivion (no pun intended) even more worthy of respect. They had access to the same numbers when they were considering purchasing the rights to the game. They did it out of love for the universe and the belief that they could bring both the same critical acclaim and the success that had eluded it under Interplay’s care. They were right.

I have been looking forward to returning to the Black Isle so much. I’ve been looking at ideas for days out, places to revisit, suggestions from contacts about what we missed last time. And now it’s done, and I’m totally exhausted, to the extent that there’s been a beautiful summer’s day going on outside and I haven’t been in it at all. Still, with 1800 photos to go through, I reckon my Flickr account has enough to cope with.

The whole week is already fading into memory, while at the same time I can’t believe we’ve actually been. The children have already started planning for next year, and I’m weighing up all the things we did and all the things we didn’t.

The car (more like a van with seats and windows) that the parents have hired turns out to have two bald tyres, which have to be replaced. So instead of leaving at 10ish, it was closer to one o’clock before we got on the road. We had been considering travelling up the Great Glen, but the internet warns of umpteen roadworks. We take the A9, with little time for stopping. Frustrating.

First real stop is Drumochter Pass, where we all pile out and admire the stunning scenery, and grab some photos. Hey we’re on holiday! When we get to the hill outside Inverness and we can see the Kessock Bridge and the firth sparkling away ahead of us, I find myself with lump in throat and tear in eye: not helpful when I’m driving, but it is great to be back.

When we get to the house, the cars are emptied and soon as possible everyone heads for the beach. The kids are ecstatic, and we’re making plans for a campfire the following night.

Histoire de coller à l’actualité encore toute brulante et frétillante de l’E3 et en attendant les prochaines conférences événementielles à venir (TGS, Leipzig), la rédaction d’OwShitz se propose de faire le point sur les jeux qui risquent de nous en mettre plein la gueule ces prochains mois. Le tout dans un climat de subjectivité totalement assumé. Et sans images, parce qu’on est des gens austères.

Alba

- Bioshock 2 :

Parce que Bioshock est certainement le jeu le mieux écrit  de ces dernières années, servi par un univers post-utopiste oppressant et un gameplay au poil. Et ce deuxième volet marquera l’apparition du mode multijoueurs qui s’annonce très sympa (inspiré de Modern Warfare pour le levelling), et que putain, le solo nous mettra dans la peau d’un fucking Big Daddy. Classe ultime.

- Diablo III :

Need hack’n’slash sérieux, et le label Blizzard c’est souvent bandant il faut bien le dire.

- Modern Warfare 2 :

Probablement peu de nouveautés à prévoir pour cette suite mais quelque part on s’en tape fort puisque les ingrédients du précédents opus seront présents : un scénario ultra scripté mais intense, et un putain de multi. Je signe.

- Dante’s Inferno :

Le nouveau jeu de EA Redwood Shores Studio, les papas de Dead Space; ce FPS/Survival horror sorti de nulle part l’an dernier pour tabasser tous les codes et rouages échaudés du genre. Espérons que les p’tits gars sauront réussir le même coup de maître, parce que bon, si ça peut m’éviter d’acheter une ps3 pour God of War.

- Heavy Rain :

J’ai pas encore de PS3 mais je kiffe David Cage et j’attends beaucoup ce Heavy Rain ultra ambiancé et qui, j’espère, sera aussi innovant et captivant que l’avait été le scandaleusement sous-côté Farenheit à l’époque.

NeoOoeN

- Dragon Age : Origins :

Fan de Baldur’s Gate oblige, ce gros RPG va être incontournable. Du sexe, de la violence et des poils, ça va changer des rpgs asiaticogayzou.

- Metroid : Other M :

Car la bande annonce à l’E3 m’a donné sacrément envie mine de rien.

- Golden Sun DS :

6 ans d’attentes… 6 fuckin’ années. Les deux premiers opus étaient juste excellents, Golden Sun a su vite construire son univers avec ses propres mécanismes de jeu et son très bon scénario. Bref, ma DS a hâte, oh oui.

- Star Wars : The Old Republic :

Le seul MMORPG qui peut, et va, faire du mal aux gros du moment ( l’indétrônable WoW, WAR, LOTRO… ). Plus les informations arrivent à son sujet, plus mes mains deviennent moites. Et puis bon sang, quel trailer à l’E3 !

- The Legend Of Zelda Wii 2 :

Car un Zelda est un Zelda, point.

Calintz

- Final Fantasy XIII :

Bon hein… j’ai grandi avec les FF, alors même si on crache sur eux pour aucune raison apparente, je vais pas me gêner pour attendre la sortie avec impatience. Malgré ce qu’on dit de lui, je le trouve beau, avec une héroïne graphiquement sympatoche et des combats qui ont l’air dynamiques.

- Dragon Age Origins :

Si on a la liberté promise et l’interaction tant montrée et appuyée, et que si en plus on a un multi, aucune raison pour que ce titre ne soit pas un puissant carton.

- Blade & Soul :

Ouais, je suis qu’un vieux asiatico-fanboy, whatever. C’est joli, ça bouge, c’est un MMORPG et il me faut un mmorpg.

- Prototype :

Je l’attends pas comme le messie, mais il peut potentiellement faire un bon remplaçant à GTA IV dans ma ludothèque.

- Le prochain jeu de Peter Molyneux sur Projet Natal :

aha, lol.

Trigz

- The Last Guardian :

Ico, Shadow Of Colossus, donc The Last Guardian, c’est tout.

- Splinter Cell : Conviction :

Un des plus beaux rendus graphiques. Et parce que jouer à cache-cache avec des patibulaires armés, c’est rigolo.

- Assassin’s Creed II :

La suite d’un jeu vidéo original qui promet pas mal d’innovations. Et il faut dire que planer en toge avec une invention de Leonard de Vinci au-dessus de Venise pour reluquer les décolletés plongeants des jeunes demoiselles masquées, c’est rigolo.

- Le prochain The Legend Of Zelda sur Wii :

Un Link plus mature que dans tous les Zelda précédents, ça donne envie. Et sauver Zelda pour la énième fois, c’est… nan elle est lourde à se faire kidnapper cette nunuche.

- Replay :

Parce que jouer avec le temps c’est rigolo.

Wonderboy

- Golden Sun DS :
Ayant adoré les deux premiers opus, je ne peux qu’espérer être charmé par ce jeu totalement inattendu.

- Star Wars : The Old Republic :

Un trailer absolument magnifique, du Kotor version online (une histoire propre à chaque classe), ce jeu s’annonce être une merveille dans le monde du MMORPG.

- Zelda : Spirit Tracks :

Fan des Zelda depuis longtemps, je ne veux surtout pas en manquer ne serait-ce qu’un seul.

- Prototype :

Des pouvoirs intéressants à utiliser, un trailer sympa, une histoire basique mais qui paraît alléchante.

- Blood Bowl :

Un jeu du genre Mario Football mais en version Warhammer et plus bourrin, un jeu qui promet d’être fun !

mrherc

- Deus Ex 3 :

Le premier est juste le meilleur jeu de tous les temps, le deuxième est infame. J’espère que celui là sera à la hauteur.

- Diablo 3 :

Les premières images sont sacrément aguichantes, j’ai hâte de taper du monstre à la chaîne.

- Marvel Ultimate Alliance Fusion :

J’avais adoré le premier ainsi que les vieux Xmen Legends. S’ils reprennent la même formule avec pas trop de changement et de nouveaux graphismes j’achète sans hésiter.

- Fallout New Vegas :

Après le bien mais pas terrible Fallout 3, la licence retombe dans les mains des gars de Black Isle, les créateurs originaux. Youpi ?

- Brutal Legend :

Tim Schafer est de retour, avec ce jeu coolzor qui bénéficie d’un casting 4 étoiles et d’une ambiance marrantometol.

Can’t believe how quickly this year is going. The weeks just seem to be flying past and there are just not enough hours in the day to pack in allI want/need to do.Have had a quick peek at some of my favourite blogsites and it looks as if I am not the only one busy just now. Lots of people doing craft fairs, workshops and exhibitions just now.

I have been working on 3 pieces to exhibit over at The Stables Gallery in Cromarty. They are having their next exhibition at the beginning of June as part of the Highland Open Studios event. Two of the pieces are at the framers just now and the other piece is ready to go. They are all wet felted and stitched into with some silk and other fibres added.

Late Summer

I have found a box to hold all my threads and hopefully keep them in some sort of order. I like going into shops and seeing rows of machine embroidery threads arranged in lovely colours. They look like little jewels and I am nearly always tempted to bring some home. I suppose you can buy some sort of purpose made storage for them which would be great, but I have not come across any. This should help meantime.

Thread storage

Not much else happening on the textiley side of things. Too busy with the garden as the weather has been gorgeous here this week. Weeds growing at an alarming rate, but have enjoyed seeing all the tulips flowering that we bought from Bloms last Autumn. I planted quite a lot so that we could have cut flowers for the house as well. I especially like these big pink blousy ones which are a bit like roses. The garden is beginning to look quite cottagey in feel with Granny’s bonnets, alliums and tulips at the moment. Looking forward to delphiniums, poppies and lupins next which give a bit of height and structure to the garden.

Pink tulips

The Summerhouse is the other big attraction at the moment. I love the smell of warm wood in there and its a little haven of peace and quiet after a long busy day.

Summerhouse

Have also been enjoying going out with the camera lately taking a few shots to work from and just enjoying the lovely scenery around here.

Black Isle fields

Hopefully I will have more textile inspired things to blog about next time since the nice weather has gone for the moment and indoor things seem more appealing now.

Zdecydowaliśmy dziś – przeprowadzamy się Dom kusił od dwóch tygodni, ale że położony jest co najmniej “daleko” wciąż się wahaliśmy ze względu na brak transportu publicznego w okolicy. Aspekt finansowy przeważył, gdy właścicielka drastycznie obniżyła cenę wynajmu ewidentnie chcąc nas skusić. A że jest osobą nam znaną od lat kilku, okolica jest przecudna a sam domek dwa razy większy od tego, który zajmujemy w tej chwili, to przestaliśmy się wahać. Najwyżej mocniej się zaprzyjaźnię z moim rowerem Domek położony jest na zboczu góry, pomiędzy Dingwall a Evanton, Ben Wyvis za plecami i widok na Black Isle, że dech zapiera. Oto najbliższe sąsiedztwo:

Baldur’s Gate 2: Shadows of Amn es un título de rol lanzado en el año 2000 y desarrollado por Black Isle Studios. Es la secuela de Baldur’s Gate y llegó a tener mucho más éxito que su predecesor.

En Baldur’s Gate 2: Shadows of Amn se continúa el hilo argumental de la saga, encarnando al mismo personaje que llevabamos en la primera entrega. Aquí la historia guarda muchas menos sorpresas desde que el juego empieza hasta que acaba. El prólogo sucede en una mazmorra en la que nuestro personaje, junto con algunos compañeros de aventuras de Baldur’s Gate, se encuentra prisionero en un calabozo a manos de alguien cuya identidad nos es desconocida. Una vez completemos el prólogo saldremos de nuestro cautiverio y seremos libres para elegir nuestras propias búsquedas.

Ése es el inicio de Baldur’s Gate 2: Shadows of Amn, que aunque su tópico inicio no esté a la altura del de su predecesor, sí lo están sus gráficos. Los entornos tienen una ambientación más caracterizada y exótica aunque a veces llega a ser cargante. El detalle está bastante más cuidado tanto en los modelos como en los entornos. Hay muchos más skins de criaturas y personajes y éstos rompen con unos modelos de caractericazión clásicos para dar lugar a algo más característico de las tierras donde nos encontramos.

El aspecto sonoro sigue en progreso la misma línea de Baldur’s Gate. Hay más melodías tanto de combate como de calma para el abanico de lugares que podemos pisar, aunque en mi oponión, dado que entramos en combate en muchísimas más ocasiones que en el título anterior, las melodías dedicadas a esto me parecen escasas, llegando a hacerte repetitiva la música cada vez que se da la situación. Con respecto al doblaje en español, hay que decir que habiéndolo jugado con las voces tanto en español como en inglés, el doblaje en la lengua de Cervantes no es todo lo bueno que se espera. Muchos personajes tienen una voz que no corresponde con la del audio original y no es raro que llegues a aborrecer a ciertos miembros del grupo por esta razón. Entre eso y la discordancia que hay muchas veces entre lo que oyes y lo que lees en el texto de diálogo hace que el doblaje no nos parezca la mejor opción. Por otro lado, la voz de Keldorn en español es insuperable.

En cambio, pese los defectos antes mencionados este juego se ha hecho fuerte por llevar las reglas de AD&D hasta el límite. Esta vez no empezamos desde nivel uno, lo hacemos por donde lo dejamos en Baldur’s Gate (nivel siete normalmente) y conforme avanzamos en el juego podremos llegar a nivel dieciocho según ciertas clases. Esto hace que tengamos a nuestro alcance un mayor aprovechamiento de los conjuros y bonificadores que las reglas reservan a niveles altos. Pero esto tiene su doble filo. Así, como vuestro grupo de personajes está en un nivel elevado, vuestros enemigos no pueden ser menos para que el juego no se vuelva monótono y esto hace caer el argumento de las misiones en gestas tan épicas como repetitivas. Olvídate de acabar con bandidos, asociaciones oscuras o aspirantes al trono; ahora luchas contra deidades caídas, dragones ancianos, demonios e incluso ciudades drow. Todas tus búsquedas son tan trascendentes y maniqueístas que realmente da la sensación de que a los guionistas se les ha acabado la imaginación.

Baldur’s Gate 2: Shadows of Amn cuenta con una expansión que continúa el hilo principal, llamada Baldur’s Gate 2: Throne of Bhaal en el que el problema (que para muchos no lo es) antes mencionado se acentúa hasta límites que jamás podrías sospechar. Ahora puedes invocar ángeles, hechizos que hacen un daño (o sanación) absurdo o mejorar aún más las armas que antes ya eran una barbaridad. Es el apoteosis, el súmmum, el “big end”. Todo tiene proporciones bíblicas, hasta los enemigos más irrelevantes; por ejemplo, nunca pensarías que unos simples guardias pudiesen complicarte un combate.

Mi conclusión es que Baldur’s Gate 2: Shadows of Amn es un buen juego, pero marca una tónica general muy distinta a la de su predecesor. La parte narrativa del juego está mucho más descuidada, el argumento y los personajes que interfieren en él son bastante más simples, no hay ningún giro en la historia que te haga ver tanto al protagonista como al antagonista de una forma distinta conforme avanzas. Baldur’s Gate 2: Shadows of Amn apuesta por la acción como elemento más importante del juego, limitándote incluso de forma drástica la libre exploración de la geografía donde nos encontramos.

Desde mi punto de vista, Baldur’s Gate no fue superado por esta secuela.

Un saludo.

The ‘Fallout’: Bethesda Vs. Black Isle

Sex, Brats, And Addiction

by darkmurder

© 2008 Noel Schneider

Fallout 3 is out and we’ve played and conquered it, but when put under the microscope, how did developer Bethesda fair against the originals by Black Isle?

Fallout 1- The beginning of the end for human kind - Black Isles

Black Isle’s Fallout games were extremely unique and unlike anything the gaming world had ever seen. Only bankruptcy stopped Black Isle from creating more Fallout games, but luckily Bethesda stepped in and purchased the intellectual property (IP) to save the Fallout series.

So now that Fallout 3 has been released, how has it fared in keeping to the canon of the Fallout series that was so brilliantly implemented by Black Isle?

Here are some of the similarities, differences and additions put in by Bethesda. But before you do, take a long look at the history of Fallout and see what you’ve missed out on. Then look at what you have now, and you will see that they are poles apart in detail, visuals, gameplay mechanics AI and much much more.

Gamers of today have a whole different playing arena to fool around in, so be really thankful you live in such a fast growing industry that is willing to push the envelope for the end user.

Interplay, Kotaku’s look at Fallout

Fallout 3 - A cut above the rest and worth the time invested - Bethesda triumphs

Similarities:

• Atmosphere of the Post-Apocalyptic World:

Bethesda seems to have nailed the atmosphere successfully from the Black Isle originals. Sure, how hard can it be to copy a world wasted by weapons of mass destruction, but they might have tried to go in a new direction with Fallout 3.

By creating a juxtaposition between the seemingly hopeless world and the characters who seem optimistic despite that world, the game reproduces the vibe that Black Isle had first put in place. Life goes on, despite the bleak surroundings. Swearing, corrupt activities and slavery are just some of the actions that are left in the game that add to the devastated world’s ambiance.

• Brahmin is back:

Our favourite animal from the original is back, although not as predominantly as before.

• Drugs and their original names:

Our great Australian friends at the OFLC thought it would be a good idea to ban the game due to its use of real life drugs such as morphine. This was a blessing in disguise as Bethesda just changed the drug names for all regions back to those of the originals, which in turn allowed for a more authentic Fallout experience.

The drug use still attracted the ire of some, though, with Fallout 3 making the recent list of most “offensive games”, which you can find in this article.

• Humour:

Bethesda has managed to maintain the sadistic vibe and humour that was so often seen in the originals. Even when characters explode into thousands of splattered waste bits using VATS or when the cruel (even sometimes sick) actions are thrust upon your character, Bethesda use humour as a way to mask the horrible actions that are being depicted in the game.

• Action Points – VATS:

Bethesda keep the turn-based combat which was so vital to the isometric Fallout games before, although this time the combat is far easier than in the previous titles.

• Risky Exploration:

The traveling system is no longer risk free like in Bethesda’s previous title Oblivion, with certain areas being no-go zones until you are far stronger. This is extremely similar to what Black Isle had in place and ensures that when exploring you don’t venture into parts of town that are far too dangerous such as Washington D.C until you are strong enough.

• Dogmeat:

Our beloved canine friend makes a return.  Although lacking in sophisticated AI when compared to a game such as Fable 2,  he is still adorable and it is a nice feature to have him back in the game.

• Buddies:

The opportunity to buddy up with someone is once again available and it’s always great to have a friend in need who’ll follow you around.

What you do get this time around is a great cinematic experience

both in gameplay and visuals.

Fallout 2 - Black Isles extends the game further, but nothing like Fallout 3

Differences:

• Can’t kill kids:

Ok, I know that Emil Pagliarulo said that it doesn’t benefit the game, but the fact of the matter is that the game is meant to be about a total breakdown in morals and laws. Perhaps if they let you have the option to kill them but not totally mangle them that could have been an option?

It is hard to classify it as being cruel when some of the kids in the game are total brats. Though I personally have nothing against kids,we’re going for authenticity here right? (Ed’s note: remind me not to let you near my children…lol)

• Traits and missing perks:

Okay, where the hell are my traits and some of my perks? Instead of leaving the option to have traits Bethesda just merged some with the perks, thus taking a lot of the choice out of them. I want my Karma Sutra Master please!

• Lack of sex:

In Fallout 1+2 at least you could choose to sleep with prostitutes.  This is an adult game, so maybe a GTA-like screen could have been implemented for the women that are in the game (slaves included). Maybe if they’d put some of the perks in such as with the Karma Sutra Master, although it’s wrong (much like everything in the Fallout post-apocalyptic world), it would give you a title to go by, along with a few women for the night.  Wink wink nudge nudge. (Ed’s note: I’m going to tell your girlfriend…)

• A town forged by a G.E.C.K:

I would have liked to see just a slight bit more diversity to the environments.  Where is a town of the likes of Vault City that had been transformed by the Garden of Eden Creation Kit? Now available form Bethesda/Bethsoft for download.

• Drug addicts:

Sure, Bethesda put in a faint glimpse of the ravages that drug effects cause on people (such as Jet) but nothing along the lines of towns such as Redding in Fallout 2. There are no ‘greeters’ in towns looking for money to get their next fix also which would have realistically shown the damage addiction has on lives.

Additions:

• First Person:

Bethesda added this mode to appeal to Western fans of their classic RPG’s such as Morrowind and Oblivion. This added a whole new perspective to the series and early on Fallout fans were extremely nervous of the outcome. Fortunately this mode works quite well and while the combat is still rather clunky, the majority of the time it works well enough to get the job done. Especially blowing up super mutants!

Brotherhood Of Steel. Thank god they didnt go down that path with the new game.

So, the decision…

Overall Bethesda have kept quite a lot of the features from the Black Isle originals while adding their own twist to the game. Fallout 3 maintains the most important characteristics of the original games, while missing some key elements.

On the whole however, Bethesda have done Black Isle proud and created a game that entirely resembles the horrible world that is Fallout. For those that are disappointed by Bethesda’s installment in the series, fear not as Black Isle is on the comeback, with a mysterious Fallout MMOG being produced.

© 2008 Noel Schneider

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Fallout 3 Review: The most loved post-apocalyptic war game out.

10 years in the wasteland since the last great Fallout,

now Fallout 3 finally returns.

by darkmurder

©2008 Noel Schneider

Click any image for full rez view

War, war never changes… had Bethesda not picked up the Fallout IP, chances are the much loved post apocalyptic war games would never have changed and remained unfinished at its most brilliant, that being Fallout 2.

Fallout 3 takes place 30 years after Fallout 2 and has changed substantially in both the way that the game is played and also in the setting. The nuclear war that tarnished the world began when the earth finally ran out of vital resources, with America, China and Russia all becoming involved in trying to secure the depleting resources of the world which lay in Alaska.

The mystery over who fired the first nuclear missiles is not known, but the world was left in disarray and nuclear ruin, making habitable conditions an extremely rare occurrence. Fortunately many people survived by living in man made constructions called Vaults, these Vaults are sealed off from the outside world.

That included you, with Fallout 3 taking place in Washington DC, It opens with a scene that depicts your birth and also your short but entertaining stint in the Vault. Upon hearing the tragic news of your father’s mysterious disappearance, you immediately attempt to escape the Vault to search for him. In the process of escaping, you can see just how flawed the idea of the Vault is, as you unravel the many dark secrets that lie surrounding the Vault concept.

The Gamebryo engine which was previously used in Bethesda’s other major titles “The Elder Scrolls III & IV”,  is now used in Fallout 3. Like Oblivion, the initial impression once you leave the vault is one of awe. The sheer open-world beauty is immediately present.

As your eyes adjust to the barren landscape, an immense open-world of ruin that has been lying in wake for over 200 years, stretches before you.  The draw distances are far superior to Oblivion’s, with far reaching views and textures containing far more detail.

Facial textures are a large improvement over Oblivion’s, who’s stagnant and wrinkled faces were quite repetitive and didn’t give characters any diversity (much like the voices).

The enemy models have had a lot of thought put into them, with an abundance of different characters from small to large and various types of mutations. The environments, unlike Oblivion, all seem to have a distinct personality to it, indicating a lot of care has gone in to making the surroundings appear unique.

Ultimately,  the graphics have never been the true strong point to Bethesda’s games, with the game play taking the top priority in terms of an engrossing and rich gaming experience. The original Fallout games by Black Isle were role playing games that took on an isometric bird’s eye view of your character and featured turn based combat.

The combat would revolve around your “Action Points” (AP) and depending on how many points you had, you would be able to attack a few times every round until you were forced to wait and replenish your points. This was the number one worry for fans of the original Fallout’s, how could this feature be implemented into a Western RPG that has both third and first person views?

The answer was VATS (Vault-Tec  Assisted Targeting System), a system which would be able to use the Action Points feature from the originals with a  simple click of a button, whilst keeping the gory humour that the originals where famous for. Using perks and traits, you are able to shape your character into a certain career path or just become a cold hearted murderer, the choice is yours.

Where Fallout 3 exceeds is in the way that it is able to carry on the Fallout canon whilst keeping the original addictiveness and immersion from the Elder Scrolls series. Characters now have distinct personalities unlike in Oblivion where everyone had the same voice and same opinion, now the speech options and the way you can alter missions by using your speech have far reaching implications.

Whilst the seemingly endless possibilities aren’t as big as in Oblivion, there is still a large range of different quests and exploring to be done. Where Fallout 3 succeeds is that characters do not level up with you, making exploration far more risky and precarious.

The music takes on a creepy sense of nostalgia, featuring music from the 1940’s and 1950’s on the radio stations, the game takes you back to the Cold War era whilst adding in its own sinister background music by Inon Zur. The characters are now far more varied vocally, with each different character now displaying unique dialogue, which increases the immersion.

The game also takes the previous sound effects from the original Fallout and includes them into the newest iteration, it is a welcome gesture for the fans. Liam Neeson plays the role of your father and does an extremely good job of playing the caring role, whilst Ron Perlman returns as the narrator.

Fallout 3 was a game that had mass anticipation surrounding it, yet a lot of fear about whether the Fallout series would be tarnished. Fans badmouthed Bethesda prior to release, now they will need to eat their words as this is truly a brilliant RPG that exceeds all expectations.

However, be warned, this is a hardcore RPG and newcomers to the genre may find that it is very easy to become lost in. Much like Oblivion, this game requires time and devotion, when these two formulas are thrown together the result is a brilliantly engrossing, sadistic post apocalyptic war game.

©2008 Noel Schneider

“9.4/10

Fallout 3 Media Blowout:

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Tenía un poco abandonada esta sección del blog, pero tenéis que entenderlo, Baldur’s Gate fue para mí el juego que me enseñó cómo debía ser el rol en este formato y es tal el aprecio que siento por él que al hacer esta entrada tenía miedo de ser demasiado subjetivo o de no hacerle un análisis como es debido.

Baldur’s Gate es un juego de rol con reglas muy bien adaptadas de D&D, desarrollado por Black Isle Studios y lanzado al mercado en 1998.

Cuando empezamos a jugar nos encontramos con una pantalla de creación de personajes bastante completa para la fecha en la que estamos. Después de elegir sexo, raza, clase, alineamiento, atributos y nombre, empezamos la aventura. El juego transcurre la Costa de la Espada, una localización del mundo de Faerûn de Reinos Olvidados; y nuestro protagonista comienza la aventura en Candelero, una fortaleza biblioteca de la que nunca ha salido. Conforme tomamos conciencia del mundo en el que estamos y los problemas que lo aflige, nos damos cuenta de que alguien va detrás de nuestro protagonista y esto nos obligará a buscar respuestas y protección, junto a nuestro padre adoptivo Gorion, fuera de las murallas que siempre han sido nuestro hogar.

Esto es lo que descubrirás tras los primeros cinco minutos de juego. Normalmente haría un resumen a grosso modo del argumento, pero por más que me crujo la cabeza pensándolo no se me ocurre una forma de hacerlo sin desvelar un sólo spoiler, y creedme que se trata de una historia tan bien construida que sería un desperdicio leerlo en un blog de mala muerte para aquellos que todavía no la conocen.

En cuanto al apartado gráfico no hay mucho que decir. Ni ahora ni cuando salió era un juego que se vendiese por los ojos. Tampoco es que éste sea un género dónde buscar gráficos punteros porque realmente no los necesita, aunque más skins no habrían venido nada mal.

La banda sonora no podía ser más acertada. Obedece correctamente a cada instante de introspección del personaje, contiendas, momentos de calma o eventos relevantes respondiendo a la estética épica medieval.

Su jugabilidad, como es de esperar en el género, es su mejor baza. Aquellos a los que les gusten las reglas de D&D verán aquí la adaptación más fiel que puede hacerse del lápiz y el papel. Una gran pega que le encuentra mucha gente es la escasez de objetos mágicos en el juego. Es cierto que esto puede ser una pega, pero debieron darse cuenta de esto en Black Isle Studios cuando su expansión Baldur’s Gate: Tales of the Sword Coast añade zonas nuevas que solventan este problema satisfactoriamente.

El sistema de combate es a tiempo real pudiendo ser pausado en cualquier momento para dar nuevas órdenes o sencillamente, pensar detenidamente la situación, cosa recomendable ya que en Baldur’s Gate se sucederán los encuentros en los que tú y tu equipo vayáis lo suficientemente apurados como para tener que echar mano de diferentes tácticas para poder seguir adelante. Tanto la dificultad como la variedad de personajes y sus habilidades harán que sea muy difícil encontrar dos combates iguales impidiendo así que el jugador se aburra zurrando. Un aspecto negativo que tiene la dificultad de este juego, que muchos jugadores casuals le han encontrado, es que en los primeros niveles es muy fácil morir por el golpe crítico de uno de los enemigos más débiles del juego. Sé que esto puede llegar a ser frustrante para jugadores que no tienen paciencia, pero es completamente correcto en su contexto.

En cambio, despúes de haberlo jugado más de una y de dos veces un fallo sí le encuentro a este juego. Eres capaz como jugador de intervenir en un gran número de desenlaces irrelevantes, como de misiones secundarias, pero no en casos trascendentes de la trama que se mantiene rígida. También hay que tener en cuenta que el juego ya ha cumplido sus muy bien llevados diez años y que el final es harto difícil imaginárselo de otra manera.

En resumen, espero no haberme dejado llevar por mi experiencia personal con este juego y hacerle justicia como se merece. En la siguiente Partida Retrospectiva analizaré la secuela Baldur’s Gate 2: Shadows of Amn, una continuación que, conocedora del éxito de su precuela, vendrá para ofrecernos todo más fuerte, más grande y más numeroso; pero quizás no en la forma en la que todos esperamos.

Ojalá os haya animado a probarlo.

Un saludo.

Hace unos días estaba navegando por Google y encontré algo muy distinto de lo que estaba buscando. Realmente ya ni recuerdo por qué estaba en ese buscador, pero el caso es que hallé algo que para mí era imposible ignorar. Ví este artículo hablando de proyectos inconclusos de Black Isle Studios y en él aparecían las palabras Planescape: Vengeance.

Descubrí que se trataba de un proyecto de mod llevado a cabo por fans demasiado ambicioso, y más sin contar con profesionales entre sus filas, que hacía tiempo que se encontraba parado. Empecé a ir recopilando información sobre Planescape: Vengeance. Su web ya no existe y todas las noticias relacionadas con las que me he topado eran de 2003-2004. El único vestigio que tengo del trabajo de estos fans tras mi infructuosa búsqueda es la imagen que tenéis ahí arriba que bien puede ser el menú preliminar o el montaje más cutre hecho nunca con el fotoshop.

A día de hoy sigo teniendo curiosidad por saber cómo habrían continuado un final en teoría cerrado que no admite continuaciones. Si alguno de vosotros se pregunta qué pasó con este proyecto, sabed que el trabajo, que ya se encontraba en suspensión por falta de entusiasmo y cualidades, desapareció para siempre al estropearse el ordenador de uno de los directores.

En fin, viendo qué tipo de gente había detras de esto, tal vez haya sido mejor así.

Un saludo.

Nesen Bethesda izlaida turpinājumu seriālam, tā noskaņās, neapzinoties, pievērsos arī veco Fallout daļu spēlēšanai. Šoreiz tieši otrajai. Ir neskaitāmi cilvēki, izteikti Fallout fani, kas tikai un vienīgi ar labiem vārdiem runā par pirmajām divām daļām, bet ne pārāk iejūtīgi par trešo turpinājumu. Tad nu mēģināju saprast kādēļ.

Jāsāk ar to, ka 1998. gadā, kad spēle iznāca, nepavisam nebiju Fallout fans, bet šķiet par tādu kļuvu tieši trešās daļas dēļ.

Fallout 2 sākas kādā pilsētā, kur galvenais varonis tiek īpaši izraudzīts, lai dotos uzdevumā sameklēt G.E.C.K `u un atdzīvinātu vidi ap pilsētu. Nezinātājiem – GECK (Garden Eden Creation Kit) ir īpašs koferītis, kas atradās katrā no Bumbu patvertnēm, lai pēc iznākšanas varētu atjaunot dzīvo dabu, kas būtu nopostīta atomkara gadijumā. Tad nu mums ir jādodas uzdevumā atrast vienu un atnest atpakaļ. Pašsaprotami, kas tas nebūt nav tik vienkārši. Jāpārmeklē daudzas pilsētas informācijai, tad bumbu patvertnes (Vaults) paša GECK`a meklējumos.

Spēles grafiskais iepakojums no 1998. gada skatpunkta ir lielisks. Lai gan tajā laikā palēnām sāka attīstīties 3dimensiju spēles, 2dimensiju spēlēm bija daudz labāks noformējums dēļ tehnoloģiskajām iespējām un datoru jaudas. Pat pašlaik, pēc 10 gadiem, spēle izskatās vairāk nekā pieklājīgi un tā nebūt nav lieta, kas no tās atbaidītu.

Par izsmalcināto skaņu celiņu mums būtu jāpasakās Markam Morganam, kas rakstijis mūziku arī tādām spēlēm kā Planetscape Torment,Descent 2, kā arī pēdējā laikā filmām un seriāliem, kā Shark, One Tree hill u.c. Pateicoties skaņu celiņam, izveidotajai ilūzijai par pasauli un daudzšķautnainajiem uzdevumiem spēles atmosfēra ir radīta fantastiska. Ir nepieciešamas tikai dažas minūtes, lai pilnībā iejustos pasaulē.

Taču, kā parasti ir arī mīnusi, jo pat Fallout nav ideāls. Lielākais mīnuss, kas atbaidītu mūsdienu vidusmēra spēlētāju varētu būt interfeiss. 1998. gadā protams bija pavisam citi standarti un lai gan pie spēlēm tā pat strādāja desmitiem cilvēku, tās ne tuvu nebija tādā līmenī kā pašlaik un ne tikai no tehnoloģiskā viedokļa, bet arī psiholoģiskā un ergonomikas.

Kvestu pārlūkošana ir dramatiski briesmīga, kas var nobiedēt mūsdienu izlutināto cilvēku. PipBoy`ā mēs neredzam nekāda veida pierakstus par sarunām vai uzdevumu detaļas. Ir tikai pats uzdevums pāris vārdos – piemēram – atrast GECK vai Sameklēt kaut kādu nebūt detaļu kādai iekārtai. Vismaz uzdevumi ir sašķiroti pa pilsētām, taču tas arī ir vienīgais veids, kā spēle nāk pretī spēlētājam. Visi pieraksti ir jāveic pašam uz papīra lapām, lai nesanāktu skraidīšana uz priekšu un atpakaļ dēļ sliktas atmiņas, un tad pat NPC ne vienmēr atkārto visu uzdevumu pilnībā un spēlētājs paliek uz ielas, kasot pakausi. Nav runa, par precīzas vietas atzīmēšanu kartē vai bultiņām, kas rāda virzienu, taču ja saglabātos vismaz pilna detalizācijas par uzdevumu, tas vismaz būtu kaut kas.

Vēl no ergonomiskas, murgs ir ne tikai uzdevumu pārskatīšana, bet arī viss pārējais interfeiss. Svētdienas spēlētājam bez spēļu pieredzes vajadzēs kārtīgi pasvīst, lai apskatītu kaut informāciju par objektu, kas atrodas inventārā. Labās pogas turēšana, tad vilkšana velns viņ zin kur? Kas ko tādu vispār var iedomāties? Tas laikam ir iemesls kāpēc spēlēm līdz sāka dot pamācību grāmatiņas.

Tā pat objekti ar kuriem spēlētajs varētu darboties, nekādīgi nav izcelti. Vienīgais kas atliek ir pieliekties tuvāk ekrānam (pateicoties zemajai izšķirtspējai, ne pārāk tuvu) un vienveidīgajā, pelēcīgajā vidē saskatīt objektus, kas nereti nepieciešami uzdevumu izpildei.

Tālāk, kā jau kārtīgā RPG, nevis Action-RPG, kas mūsdienās ir populārāki, kaujas pilnībā notiek gājienos. Spēlētājam nav jābūt meistaram arī straujā peles kustināšanā. Mierīgi var vienu roku var norādīt uzdevumus un dzerot tēju vērot brutālās animācijas, kā pilnīgā maltajā gaļā tiek pārvērsti personāži. Laikam jāpiemin arī, ka spēlē nav nekādi mūsdienu reitingi vai ierobežojumi. Viss ir 100% realistiski un patiesi, cik vien patiesi var būt iedomātā situācija. Cilvēki patiešām ir savtīgi, rupji, nepieklājīgi, uz ielām var atrast prostitūtas, ir pat iespēja filmēties porno filmās, un, ja ar ložmetēju tuvā attālumā šauj pa cilvēku, tad attiecīgi viņš arī tiek samalts gabalos. Un nogalināt var visus bez izņēmuma. Tas, kā tu pēc tam pabeigsi uzdevumu, tā ir tava problēma.

Šķiet pirms desmit gadiem kašķīgās māmiņas ASV vēl nepievērsa uzmanību vardarbībai spēlēs, tapēc Fallout2 ir šķietami lielāka rīcības brīvība, vienīgi ko dod tā brīvība, ja nav īsti daudz ko darīt? 1998. gads nebija Sandbox laikmets, tāpēc vienīgais ko vari darīt, ir staigāt, pildīt uzdevumus. Un visa burvība slēpjas garajos tekstos, kas jālasa, mūzikā un dizaineru darbā. Bez kārtīgas spēlētāja iztēles, iejusties var būt pagrūti. Tie laiki, kad spēlēs bija arī jāpiedomā un jāpiepūlas, ir pagājuši, taču vienmēr ir iespēja tur atgriezties ar tādām spēlēm kā Fallout2.

Fallout2 ideja un atmosfēra ir fantastiska, taču līdz ko runa sāk iet par spēlēšanu, viss mainās. Kvesti ir garlaicīgi un pliekani, nesaprotamas norādes, lieka klīšana apkārt, tirgotājiem nav naudas, par ko nopārdot savāktos labumus, un interfeiss ir lietojams tikai ar kārtīgu smadzeņu sasprindzināšanu. Tas ir gandrīz vai kā spēlēt lomu spēli mežā ar bariņu jokaino cilvēku, kad viss ir jādomā un jāiztēlojas pašam. Taču, laikam jau tieši to nozīmē burti RPG – Role Playing Game.

Spēlēt gribētājiem, lūk neoficiāls patch, kas izlabo kaudzi kļūdu, kā arī ļauj spēli palaist uz Windows Vista, kas normālos apstākļos 640x.. izšķirtspēju neļauj atvērt pa visu ekrānu, taču palaist logā Fallout 2 nav iespējams.

Vienā teikumā: Klasisks meistardarbs no spēļu slavas zāles īpaši rūdītiem geimeriem, kam mūsdienu spēles liekas par vieglu un pliekanu.

O terceiro título da franquia desse famoso rpg com ação em primeira pessoa estava sendo muito esperado, e chegou ontem, 28/10/2008, nas lojas, tanto pra PC como pra Xbox 360, que foi a versão que terminei.

O início

Em 2077, Washington D.C. encontra-se devastada por uma guerra nuclear. As pessoas vivem trancadas em bunkers subterrâneos chamados de vaults. É muito bacana como fizeram a parte inicial do jogo, que é uma espécie de tutorial onde você começa num desses vaults como um bebê de 1 ano de idade dando seus primeiros passos até chegar a fase adulta, escolhendo no processo seus atributos, perícias e a classe.

A ação realmente começa quando você decide sair do vault, indo atrás de seu pai que por algum motivo saiu para a superfície, conhecida como Wasteland.

—

As cidades e campos destruídos impressionam no nível de detalhamento. Tanto fora quanto dentro de construções e cidades foi feito um ótimo trabalho, dando atenção aos mínimos detalhes.

Os perigos do mundo também são constantes. Além de animais e insetos gigantes, é necessário enfrentar super mutantes, mortos-vivos e arruaceiros a todo momento.

O sistema de batalhas é bem inusitado. Existe uma forma de você escolher em quais partes dos corpos dos inimigos você quer acertar. As animações de tiro, cabeças e membros voando com muito sangue pelo ar é bem bonito de se ver, e tudo em slow motion.

As armas e roupas usadas vão se degradando e perdendo a efetividade. De tempos em tempos é necessário reparar seus itens, ou eles podem até parar de funcionar. Falando em itens, como todo bom rpg existem vários tipos diferentes de pílulas (aka poções) para subir atributos e habilidades temporariamente, todas altamente viciantes, ou seja, se tomar demais você se torna dependente, e pode ter até crises de abstinência. É possível também montar suas próprias armas e armaduras, obviamente com os itens certos coletados durante o jogo.

Bom, foram 30 horas bem jogadas, e eu adorei cada minuto. Existe muita coisa pra fazer dentro do jogo, o mapa é enorme e esconde side-quests muito legais. Durante a história principal você sempre tem múltiplas escolhas do que pode ser feito, tanto pro bem quanto pro mal. Existem vários finais também, dependendo das suas escolhas. Isso garante o replay do jogo.

Apesar do jogo ter sido desenvolvido pela Bethesda Softworks (mesma de The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion) e não mais pela Black Isle Studios, idealizadora de Fallout e Fallout 2, o jogo não perdeu sua essência. Muito pelo contrário, acredito que a Bethesda conseguiu manter o clima pós-apocalíptico da franquia, não deixando nada a desejar sua predecessora.

O título esta ganhando notas muito boas dos grandes sites, e está com sua avaliação em 92% no gamerankings.com.

[imagens da GameSpot]

Hoy quiero hacer memoria a una fecha, 8 de diciembre de 2003. Aquel día cerró por problemas económicos Interplay, estudio que albergaba la división Black Isle Studios, creada especialmente para desarrollar juegos de rol en 1996. Lo que el mundo de los videojuegos ha perdido desde entonces no lo recuperará jamás.

Black Isle creó títulos que cualquier amante de los buenos juegos de rol puede presumir de haberlos catado. La saga Baldur’s Gate, dos juegos y dos expansiones que usan las reglas de juego de D&D y AD&D en el mundo de Reinos Olvidados, donde también transcurre la saga Icewind Dale, que cuenta con dos títulos y tres expansiones en las que se usan las reglas AD&D y D&D3.5.

Fueron responsables de crear la saga Fallout (pero la de verdad, no ese churro de Bethesda), un juego con acción por turnos ambientado en un futuro post apocalíptico nuclear con estética ciberpunk que nos ofrece un mundo de infintas decisiones cada una con sus consecuencias.

Y para el final lo mejor, Planescape: Torment. Un juego que vió la luz en 1999 que desgraciadamente no tuvo una buena comercialización en España. Aún así, para mí es considerado el juego más original, (aunque la idea parte del mundo de Planescape) maduro e inmersivo que se ha creado nunca.

Black Isle también hizo sus pinitos en el mundo de las consolas, pero yo sólo hablo de cosas serias.

En entradas posteriores, analizaré cada título dentro de sus saga. Ahora, descansa en paz Black Isle.

O CVG publicou uma notícia sobre uma suposta continuação de Baldur’s Gate, mas que não estaria sendo desenvolvido pela BioWare, e sim por outro estúdio, e com distribuição da Atari. Desde o último lançamento da franquia, houve muita especulação sobre o assunto, sendo que a Black Isle Studios, hoje fechada, estaria desenvolvendo uma continuação.

Alguns membros deste estúdios abriram a Obsidian, que fez Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords e Neverwinter Nights 2, franquias também originais da BioWare. Para ainda fortalecer o rumor, a Atari atualmente possui  direitos sobre Baldur’s Gate, lançando recentemente uma coleção dos dois primeiros jogos em PC-DVD.

Em nota, a Atari publicou o famoso “sem comentários.”

Back from a week in the Black Isle. Beautiful cottage (desperately in need of some TLC), loads to see and do. Still got this week off and anxious not to waste it, but today we’re all exhausted, so we’re staying close to home and I’m going to catch up on some writing about last week. 

We went to the Black Isle for various reasons – it looked gorgeous, and I’d discovered ancestors there through old censuseseseses but mostly, I’ve always wanted to go visit, ever since I heard the name. It just sounds wonderful.

Being me, I had done a load of reading in advance and had a load of possible places to visit, most of which we actually did go see! Disappointed that we didn’t get to see the new Culloden visitor centre, or the Clava Cairns or more Pictish stones, but like HB says, we can always go back.

Heute möchte ich mal anhand meines Lieblingsspieles (Fallout 2) demonstrieren was man an Komplexen Softwareprojekten alles falsch machen kann (bzw. was man dort alles falsch gemacht hat).

Jetzt werden sich einige wundern warum ausgerechnet anhand dessen und vor allem warum dies mein Lieblingsspiel ist, wenn doch so viel falsch gemacht wurde. Der Grund ist dass ich mich auf reine Entwicklungsprobleme dieses Spieles beschränken will, ohne auf subjektive Probleme die ich mit der Software evtl. habe, die der Entwickler aber direkt so gewollt hat, einzugehen. Außerdem eignet sich Fallout 2 hervorragend dazu, da ich kaum ein Spiel kenne dessen original Auslieferungszustand derartig schlecht war.

Fallout 2 ist Bananensoftware (reift beim Kunden)! Dies ist keine Theorie sondern eine Tatsache. Es ist nahezu unmöglich das Spiel ohne Bugfixes überhaupt durch zuspielen, dies kann bei einer ernsthaften Qualitätskontrolle unmöglich entgangen sein. Der Patch auf Version 1.02 (final) erschien übrigens auch zeitnah genug dass man ihn auf den meisten CDs gleich mitlieferte.. allerdings nicht in die Installationsroutine integriert (nicht mal am Ende davon aufgerufen) sondern einfach nur in irgendeinem Unterverzeichnis der CD liegend und leicht übersehbar.
Selbst wenn man das Spiel erstmal installiert, spielt bis man auf Probleme trifft (hier ist nicht die Frage “ob” sondern “wann”) und dann den Patch installiert hat man ein ernstes Problem: die alten Spielstände werden ungültig und man kann noch einmal vom Anfang anfangen.

Sollte man heute seine alte CD hervor kramen, Fallout installieren wollen und dann feststellen dass man dummerweise eine Version ohne mitgelieferten Patch hat, hat man ein weiteres Problem: Fallout 2 wird bereits seit vielen Jahren von niemandem mehr offiziell unterstützt. Mittlerweile ist dies derartig zum Problem geworden, dass nicht nur der Hersteller die ursprünglichen Patches nicht mehr auf seinem Server anbietet sondern auch die meisten Drittquellen dies aufgegeben haben (die meisten haben eh nur auf den Hersteller verwiesen wie es üblich ist.) Man besitzt also jetzt eine CD mit Software die man eigentlich nicht nutzen kann.

Ein weiteres nettes Detail ist der “Kopierschutz”. Wir alle wissen dass derartige Dinge meist mehr Probleme verursachen als sie lösen, so auch in diesem Fall. Die Probleme müssen scheinbar so groß gewesen sein dass die Überprüfung ob eine CD eingelegt ist auch bereits in Version 1.02 wieder entfernt war. Jemanden aufgehalten hätte diese Funktion ohnehin nicht, es wurde nur unfähig überprüft ob eine entsprechende CD vorhanden war, kopieren konnte man die CD recht problemlos auch so dass sie erkannt wurde. (Zumindest nachdem die CD-Brenner großflächig aufgekommen waren, zur Veröffentlichung von Fallout 2 waren diese noch nicht wirklich alltäglich.)

Inhaltliche Lokalisierung: In diesem Punkt bin ich mir nicht ganz 100%ig sicher ob es sich um ein Problem mit Teil 1 oder 2 handelte, woran ich mich aber noch erinnre sind die Auswirkungen. Da in Deutschland der Jugendschutz so stark war, dass an eine Veröffentlichung von Fallout im Originalzustand offenbar nicht zu denken gewesen wäre, wurden in dem Spiel alle Kinder weggelassen. (Jugendschutz -> die Jugend muss vor Computerspielern geschützt werden.. auch wenn es virtuelle Jugend ist!) Dies führte zu interessanten Stilblüten wie dass ein Quest bei dem man ein Kind aus einem Brunnen retten musste unmöglich mit einem positiven Ende bestehen konnte, in der deutschen Version fand man immer nur Überreste, nie ein lebendes Kind. Auch wurden in einer anderen Stadt die Kinder weggelassen, nicht jedoch die Textzeilen die  sie von sich gaben. Es sieht etwas verwirrend aus wenn mitten in der Luft steht “Willst du mit mir spielen?” ohne dass jemand in der Nähe ist. Spieler die verwirrt an Geister glaubten und ewig nach einer Aufgabenstellung suchten, musste man enttäuschen, dies war einfach ein Bug, kein neues Quest.

Versteht mich nicht Falsch! Fallout war inhaltlich ein wirklich großartiges Spiel, Bewegungsfreiheit und Humor dieses Spieles sind noch heute imho unübertroffen aber ich frage mich ob bewusst versucht wurde bei der Veröffentlichung möglichst viel falsch zu machen oder ob diese Fehler wirklich alle zufällig massiert auftraten.