Gileadan
N5
![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png) ![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png) ![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png) ![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png)
Agent 46
Clearance Level Ultra
Games: Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda
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Agent 46
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Gileadan
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August 2016
gileadan
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda
ALoneGretchin
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Post by Gileadan on Nov 16, 2019 7:10:30 GMT
Given how much roadmap has been scrapped in the past, wouldn't they need a bigger team for this? Certainly No Man's Sky wasn't overhauled by a skeleton crew. I wonder how they're going to do this. New hires? Outsource? Bring in people from their other teams and make another project suffer again?
I still think Anthem has... some... potential, but not enough to mess up something else for it.
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Gileadan
N5
![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png) ![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png) ![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png) ![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png)
Agent 46
Clearance Level Ultra
Games: Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda
Origin: ALoneGretchin
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Agent 46
177
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Gileadan
Clearance Level Ultra
2,716
August 2016
gileadan
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda
ALoneGretchin
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Post by Gileadan on Nov 13, 2019 8:09:38 GMT
Bugger all those ideologues, extremists and extremist ideologues on both sides with a hot poker. This isn't math, where two negatives become a positive. Two wrongs are still two wrongs.
As Champion of Kirkwall I consider the safety and well-being of the common folk as Hawke's biggest responsibility.
If I can only eliminate either Templars or Mages to achieve that goal (as opposed to taking out the extremists on both sides), given all that happens in the course of DA2, which side should I pick?
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Gileadan
N5
![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png) ![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png) ![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png) ![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png)
Agent 46
Clearance Level Ultra
Games: Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda
Origin: ALoneGretchin
Posts: 2,716 Likes: 6,775
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Agent 46
177
0
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6,775
Gileadan
Clearance Level Ultra
2,716
August 2016
gileadan
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda
ALoneGretchin
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Post by Gileadan on Nov 13, 2019 7:21:08 GMT
Frostbite is a great engine that can produce stunning visuals with a smooth frame rate. It may not be the easiest engine to use, but you can't argue with the results.
I don't need top of the line graphics with all the bells and whistles in my games either, but I do like some basic quality standards like character models with healthy looking body proportions, i.e. not something like Scott Ryder. His body has oddly short lower legs - his knees are almost at the same height than those of his markedly shorter sister, and their main height difference is instead caused by his overly big torso. It just looks weird and I can't unsee it, and the more "realistic" a game's overall graphic style becomes, the more such flaws stand out. That's something I'd really like them to work on.
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Gileadan
N5
![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png) ![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png) ![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png) ![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png)
Agent 46
Clearance Level Ultra
Games: Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda
Origin: ALoneGretchin
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Agent 46
177
0
Jun 18, 2024 19:44:31 GMT
6,775
Gileadan
Clearance Level Ultra
2,716
August 2016
gileadan
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda
ALoneGretchin
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Post by Gileadan on Nov 7, 2019 16:23:36 GMT
So, do some Anthem skins count as "nothing" for purposes of this thread? Well, adding a few skins to a game that is widely regarded as a failure and that likely most of us don't play is not exactly nothing, no. I guess it's like seeing a guy drown in rough seas and giving him an encouraging wave and a shout of "good luck". It's not nothing, but also definitely not what he was hoping for.
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Gileadan
N5
![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png) ![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png) ![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png) ![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png)
Agent 46
Clearance Level Ultra
Games: Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda
Origin: ALoneGretchin
Posts: 2,716 Likes: 6,775
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Agent 46
177
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6,775
Gileadan
Clearance Level Ultra
2,716
August 2016
gileadan
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda
ALoneGretchin
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Diablo
Nov 6, 2019 9:25:17 GMT
Post by Gileadan on Nov 6, 2019 9:25:17 GMT
What do you think of Diablo 4 so far? Excited? Disappointed? Annoyed? Hopeful? Indifferent? To me, the draw of the Diablo games was the feeling of being alone against the frigging forces of hell. Not sure if Diablo IV will manage to uphold that atmosphere with it's MMO-lite approach. It's just not the same if you're just one of many chosen adventurers in the camp and have to queue up at the merchant next to Xx_supersaiyangoku_xX and DildoFaggins69. But I suppose that shared world thing was necessary so you'll have an audience for all the cool cosmetics you can buy with MTX.
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Gileadan
N5
![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png) ![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png) ![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png) ![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png)
Agent 46
Clearance Level Ultra
Games: Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda
Origin: ALoneGretchin
Posts: 2,716 Likes: 6,775
inherit
Agent 46
177
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Jun 18, 2024 19:44:31 GMT
6,775
Gileadan
Clearance Level Ultra
2,716
August 2016
gileadan
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda
ALoneGretchin
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Post by Gileadan on Nov 5, 2019 14:00:06 GMT
They'd be lucky. Nobody wants their burrito made for 6 hours and sold at full price without 80% of the ingredients. And their list of condiments change every week and cost extra. And when you buy a burrito, it might taste like a burrito, or it might not. Surprise mechanics! But you didn't buy a burrito... you bought a tortilla with the potential to be a good burrito, if only you had the patience and trust to wait until they got all the missing ingredients together. They had prepared such a nice list. ...too bad you couldn't pay with a handful of pennies that had the potential to be the full price one day.
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Gileadan
N5
![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png) ![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png) ![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png) ![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png)
Agent 46
Clearance Level Ultra
Games: Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda
Origin: ALoneGretchin
Posts: 2,716 Likes: 6,775
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Agent 46
177
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Gileadan
Clearance Level Ultra
2,716
August 2016
gileadan
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda
ALoneGretchin
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Post by Gileadan on Nov 4, 2019 15:15:04 GMT
So the A-Team at Edmonton bungles pretty much every aspect of the base game and its release, tells their customers that no problemo, there is a big juicy road map showing off all the awesome stuff they're going to getThe Road Map literally showed nothing, but a few images. People just went crazy on speculating how awesome it all will be and attacked anyone that pointed out "Umm, guys, the Road map is...naked". So the Austin team really wasn't put in a situation to work towards a goal. There was no goal at all, just a vague "something to be released". Given how incredibly crappy it is to work with and build upon someone else's code, especially if it was slapped together in a panicked hurry like Anthem's was, even just the promises that were explicitly mentioned were pretty daring, like leaderboards, evolving world, the cataclysms and what not. When, at the same time, they didn't even have (and still don't have, methinks) a stat page. Remember, the A-Team's code has been so poor in the past that they couldn't fix the banter bug in DAI, which is essentially a timer playing audio files. While yes, all the "Cortex locked" entries, had they ever been revealed, would have probably turned out to be "some new wrap in the shop" or "another gun that looks just like the other two dozens you already have". The zealots trying to shout down everyone who was pointing out how weak that road map was are a different matter altogether.
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Gileadan
N5
![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png) ![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png) ![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png) ![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png)
Agent 46
Clearance Level Ultra
Games: Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda
Origin: ALoneGretchin
Posts: 2,716 Likes: 6,775
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Agent 46
177
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6,775
Gileadan
Clearance Level Ultra
2,716
August 2016
gileadan
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda
ALoneGretchin
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Post by Gileadan on Nov 4, 2019 14:36:04 GMT
Well, I can sympathize completely. After 14 years he gets saddled with the company's biggest dumpster fire.
He was at BioWare Austin, right?
So the A-Team at Edmonton bungles pretty much every aspect of the base game and its release, tells their customers that no problemo, there is a big juicy road map showing off all the awesome stuff they're going to get, and then hand it over to him and his team, who then have to root through A-Team's spaghetti code to try and implement all those promises that were probably made without any input from them.
Getting out was likely the only way to cling to any remaining sanity.
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Gileadan
N5
![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png) ![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png) ![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png) ![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png)
Agent 46
Clearance Level Ultra
Games: Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda
Origin: ALoneGretchin
Posts: 2,716 Likes: 6,775
inherit
Agent 46
177
0
Jun 18, 2024 19:44:31 GMT
6,775
Gileadan
Clearance Level Ultra
2,716
August 2016
gileadan
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda
ALoneGretchin
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Post by Gileadan on Nov 4, 2019 7:26:56 GMT
Indifferent.
The aim to release DA4 in 2022 is about what I guessed (possibly plus some delay which sometimes just can't be avoided), so I'm not surprised at all, and frankly, I feel that the quality of BioWare's games has declined over their last few releases. I'm also no longer as interested in the Dragon Age setting as I used to be. Not having to rush a game is always a good thing, but then again, Anthem had 6+ years of time for all the good that did. Heck, without it we might be speculating about the release of DA5 right now.
So, at some point BioWare will finally release another Dragon Age game, one which was rebooted to include more live service according to EA's wishes.
Pros: Could be good! Cons: Might not be.
We'll see. Until then, there will be many other games to play.
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Gileadan
N5
![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png) ![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png) ![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png) ![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png)
Agent 46
Clearance Level Ultra
Games: Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda
Origin: ALoneGretchin
Posts: 2,716 Likes: 6,775
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Agent 46
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Gileadan
Clearance Level Ultra
2,716
August 2016
gileadan
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda
ALoneGretchin
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Post by Gileadan on Oct 25, 2019 20:39:04 GMT
The difference is that Anthem's E3 2017 trailer explicitly tried to state the opposite - that it was recorded from the actual game running in real time - when there was no game yet. Sure there was. It was an unfinished mess nowhere close to being ready for release, but there was a game. They had flying, they had guns and gear even if how they would be implemented changed dramatically. Even the Praxely conversation isn’t much different from the sort of Fort Tarsis cutscene conversations that came with the game at release. The only thing that was clearly cut with no replacement or reworking was the Shaper Storm as a dynamic event. People read way too many promises that were never made into that demo. From Jason Schreier's article, spoilered for size: (tldr: essentially there was no game beyond what the demo showed, practically no mission was implemented yet, even the devs themselves didn't know yet what kind of game Anthem would be) This demo became the foundation for the seven-minute gameplay trailer that BioWare showed the public a few weeks later. In June of 2017, just a few days after that last-minute name change from Beyond to Anthem, BioWare boss Aaryn Flynn took the stage of EA’s E3 press conference and announced the game. The next day, at Microsoft’s press conference, they showed a demo that helped everyone, including BioWare’s own developers, finally see how Anthem would play.
What the public didn’t know was that even then, Anthem was still in pre-production. Progress had been so slow that the demo was mostly guesswork, team members say, which is why the Anthem that actually launched looks so drastically different than the demo the team showed at E3 2017. In the real game, you have to go through a mission selection menu and a loading screen before you can leave your base in Fort Tarsis; in the demo, it all happens seamlessly. The demo is full of dynamic environments, giant creatures, and mechanics that bear little resemblance to the final product, like getting to see new loot when you pick it up rather than having to wait until the end of a mission.
“After E3, that’s when it really felt like, ‘Okay, this is the game we’re making,’” said one Anthem developer. “But it still felt like it took a while to get the entire team up to speed. It was also kind of tricky because there were still a lot of question marks. The demo was not actually built properly—a lot of it was fake, like most E3 demos. There was a lot of stuff that was like, ‘Oh are we actually doing this? Do we have the tech for that, do we have the tools for that? To what end can you fly? How big should the world be?’”
“The abilities and all that were still getting decided,” said another developer. “Nothing was set in stone at that point at all.” Said a third: “Going out of pre-production is never really a crisp thing. You have to just look at the attitude of the team and what they’re doing. The fact of the matter is, fundamental things were not figured out yet.”
At E3 2017, BioWare announced that Anthem would launch in fall 2018. Behind the scenes, however, they had barely even implemented a single mission. And the drama was just getting worse.
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Gileadan
N5
![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png) ![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png) ![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png) ![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png)
Agent 46
Clearance Level Ultra
Games: Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda
Origin: ALoneGretchin
Posts: 2,716 Likes: 6,775
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Agent 46
177
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Jun 18, 2024 19:44:31 GMT
6,775
Gileadan
Clearance Level Ultra
2,716
August 2016
gileadan
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda
ALoneGretchin
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Post by Gileadan on Oct 25, 2019 9:00:30 GMT
Is it just me or is this someething that games don't get slack for that movies and other forms of media tend to? How many movie trailers have been shown with scenes that don't show up in the movie period or greatly modified solely for the purposes of the trailer and to sell the product or hide important plot spoilers? And Yet I don't hear much, if any, general public outcry against them. The difference is that Anthem's E3 2017 trailer explicitly tried to state the opposite - that it was recorded from the actual game running in real time - when there was no game yet. They weren't even sure what Anthem was going to be at that point. They had just renamed it from its originally planned title "Beyond" (which EA couldn't secure a copyright to, so it had to be renamed) and hastily re-finagled the storyline to include the "Anthem of Creation" so the title would actually make at least a bit of sense. They essentially said "look, this is what the game we are making looks and plays like right now" when the game didn't exist yet. Not looked differently, not played differently... didn't exist. The Praxley character disappearing is no biggie, that was probably just a case of Battlefield 1 calling and wanting its Australian protagonist back. There are numerous comparisons between the E3 trailer and the actual game out there. We still have the "What we know about Anthem" thread on our forum here, which is an interesting read after the game's release. I think no one expects E3 trailers to be accurate representations of the final game release, but Anthem kinda stands out, shoulder to shoulder with the trailers of Aliens: Colonial Marines and the first Watch_Dogs when it comes to just how big the differences can be.
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Gileadan
N5
![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png) ![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png) ![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png) ![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png)
Agent 46
Clearance Level Ultra
Games: Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda
Origin: ALoneGretchin
Posts: 2,716 Likes: 6,775
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Agent 46
177
0
Jun 18, 2024 19:44:31 GMT
6,775
Gileadan
Clearance Level Ultra
2,716
August 2016
gileadan
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda
ALoneGretchin
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Post by Gileadan on Oct 25, 2019 6:33:18 GMT
While the E3 2017 Anthem trailer explicitly stated that it was captured from the game in real time, Anthem was actually still in pre-production at that time, so there was no game it could have been captured from.
The trailer was actually based on the demo they made for Patrick Söderlund and was quite different from the actual game that was published later. In the trailer, Fort Tarsis is much more lively, there are no loading screens (something the actual game is riddled with) and the entire world is larger (the final product looks greatly scaled down from the demo).
That trailer wasn't just the usual E3 BS with nicer vegetation and lighting which gets removed in the final product because consoles can't run it, it was technically based on a completely different game demo that just happened to look mostly the same.
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Gileadan
N5
![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png) ![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png) ![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png) ![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png)
Agent 46
Clearance Level Ultra
Games: Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda
Origin: ALoneGretchin
Posts: 2,716 Likes: 6,775
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Agent 46
177
0
Jun 18, 2024 19:44:31 GMT
6,775
Gileadan
Clearance Level Ultra
2,716
August 2016
gileadan
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda
ALoneGretchin
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Post by Gileadan on Oct 25, 2019 6:12:59 GMT
I don't like when some Chinese spyware tries to read my files on the disk. And it does not work when it is denied the access. Indeed, I simply cannot do that for legal reasons. But if you have a separate gaming PC with nothing of value on it, there should be no problems. For extra assurance, you have to make sure that nothing of value is directly connected to that PC over your network as well. Thanks, I haven't installed the Epic store yet (only got games on GOG recently, except Killing Floor 2 on Steam) so I'll look into it From what I've read, the only complaint I've seen was people being butthurt cause they had to "manage" yet another launcher 40% of Epic Games is owned by Chinese conglomerate Tencent, the world's biggest gaming company, who also own 100% of Riot Games (League of Legends), 80% of Grinding Gear Games (Path of Exile) and 84% of Supercell (Clash of Clans). My first personal encounter with Tencent was the hour-long removal of a very persistent Chinese "tool bar" from my nephew's PC who just happened to play League of Legends a lot at the time. I'm a bit hesitant to install anything that they may have a hand in. Also, it's nice that Epic Games takes a much smaller share of the revenue than Steam, but who profits? It's not the customer, because their store prices are the same. Does it mean that dev teams are funded more generously and need less crunch? That would be nice... but I suspect in the end it's just the publisher laughing all the way to the bank. Yet they're trying to sell us the idea that a new store is good for us gamers, but no one ever illuminated me what kind of advantage I get out of exclusive deals that force me to use their half baked client. I don't get lower prices, and I don't get a choice of platform. So for now I'm avoiding it.
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Gileadan
N5
![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png) ![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png) ![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png) ![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png)
Agent 46
Clearance Level Ultra
Games: Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda
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Posts: 2,716 Likes: 6,775
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Agent 46
177
0
Jun 18, 2024 19:44:31 GMT
6,775
Gileadan
Clearance Level Ultra
2,716
August 2016
gileadan
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda
ALoneGretchin
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Post by Gileadan on Oct 24, 2019 14:15:26 GMT
Keyboards are all about the sound! There's nothing like the furious staccato of a mechanical keyboard when you're playing a really demanding game... or when things go horribly wrong and you're just venting frustration. ![:D](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/RebJidSPcxyF0U0Rr0uW.png)
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Gileadan
N5
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Agent 46
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gileadan
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ALoneGretchin
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Post by Gileadan on Oct 24, 2019 13:35:37 GMT
Very little about the Crucible itself makes any sense. It apparently can't tell the difference between actual reapers and reaper-code geth and EDI if you pick Destroy - but it then somehow can if you pick Control, at least I never heard about Control enslaving the geth and EDI along with the robo-cthulhus. Which makes Destroy completely superfluous, since you could just control the reapers, fly them into the sun and be done with it, with the geth and EDI unaffected. Because the Geth and EDI are now primarily build using the same code as the Reapers. EDI was literally build by reverse engineering tech from Sovereign and the Geth are upgraded with the processing codes of the Reapers raising them up. That said the entire basis of Control is not that Shepard has absolute control over it only that it now acts in a similar sort to the Rachni Queens. Each individual Rachni is an intelligent being capable of independent thought and action but if the Queen says to jump they all ask how high.
Destroy is not superfluous because control is not about destroying the Reapers anymore then being pro choice is all about killing babies and allowing people to avoid consequences of their actions to sleep around without thinking. Control is a narrative choice that leans heavily towards the idea that the Reapers shouldn't be destroyed because of the potential they offer and that a new mind could use them in ways that actually benefit everyone. Or to put it a bit more simply if someone misuses a tool you don't blame the tool you blame the user. Which also happens to be more or less the center of the gun control debate in the USA.
My points are technical ones, purely concerned with the functionality of the Crucible, not the intention or philosophy behind the choices. On that level, you are right, and Control and Destroy are important different choices. ![:)](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/KGsHESiZGZU0pPuHuhQr.png) What I meant is this: Both Control and Destroy target the reaper forces, except that the target acquisition for the Destroy beam also targets the geth and EDI while the Control beam doesn't. There is no reason for Destroy's less accurate target acquisition to exist (it could simply use Control's more accurate one and kill reapers only) other than forcing drama by making the geth and EDI intentional collateral damage should the player choose destroy. Therefore, choosing Control and them make the reapers cause harm to themselves would be the potentially cleaner way to kill them off since EDI and the geth wouldn't be targeted.
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Gileadan
N5
![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png) ![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png) ![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png) ![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png)
Agent 46
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ALoneGretchin
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Post by Gileadan on Oct 24, 2019 8:37:50 GMT
Oh, I’m fine if people think everything the Catalyst said is a lie. I just find it funny how a lot of arguments with that also argue that it is being honest about the thing it would lie about the most. It's less about the certainty that it's lying and more a question of why we should believe it in the first place. The thing is a mass murderer on a scale that's impossible to fathom, has been running its murder cycles on the galaxy for longer than there has been life on Earth. A creature that is butchering people by the thousands AS IT PARLAYS WITH YOU. IT has demonstrated mind control abilities even on beings with powerful mental discipline. And now it appears as a figure designed to invoke sympathy, speaking in your own voice. Saying all you have to do is commit suicide to "fix" everything. Why on Earth should you trust it? Why would you even talk to it? Every moment you waste chatting with it means goodness knows how many of your own people die fighting its ilk. The only reasonable action for Shepard is to run to the controls of the Crucible and activate it as quickly as possible. Which also makes the Anderson death scene a bunch of nonsense, of course. Yup, let's sit there and have a dramatic moment together while our ships are exploding out there... Also, why would we need the enemy to explain to us how a secret weapon works that our scientists built to destroy that very enemy? If the reapers are aware of the threat the Crucible poses to them, why not just blow the thing up? Very little about the Crucible itself makes any sense. It apparently can't tell the difference between actual reapers and reaper-code geth and EDI if you pick Destroy - but it then somehow can if you pick Control, at least I never heard about Control enslaving the geth and EDI along with the robo-cthulhus. Which makes Destroy completely superfluous, since you could just control the reapers, fly them into the sun and be done with it, with the geth and EDI unaffected. The races of the Milky Way built the Crucible, but didn't think of leaving activation instructions. And they understood so little of what they made that no one ever said "Incidentally, if you touch those controls you're going to get disintegrated. And if that thing over there breaks, the Citadel goes kaboom." In the end, the Crucible is just the writer's vehicle to present the player with three different choices, each of them with a big disadvantage because drama, and the catalyst's dialogue provides the asspulls that try to explain why things happen as they do depending on the player's choice. It really shouldn't be overanalyzed.
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Gileadan
N5
![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png) ![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png) ![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png) ![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png)
Agent 46
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ALoneGretchin
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Post by Gileadan on Oct 17, 2019 15:33:14 GMT
I don't see it as the "cooperation ending", it's sentencing three awful people to spending the rest of their lives in each other's company.
In the spirit of the language discussion above: L'enfer, c'est les autres.
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Gileadan
N5
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Agent 46
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ALoneGretchin
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Post by Gileadan on Oct 16, 2019 16:18:32 GMT
15 years later I'm quite fine with them taking some extra time. ![:)](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/KGsHESiZGZU0pPuHuhQr.png)
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Gileadan
N5
![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png) ![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png) ![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png) ![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png)
Agent 46
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Post by Gileadan on Oct 16, 2019 9:32:07 GMT
Assuming this will be the case... If it's not, I want them to come out and state clearly what excatly this game is going to be as early as possible. If it's always online with the story being delivered piecemeal because GaaS is so damn great, harhar, then it's off my list instantly. If they go the same route as with MEA keeping a tight lid on it because it's another mess they'd rather not reveal to keep preorders, I will know too that Bioware is a lost cause. The torch has passed already anyway imo. I only keep somewhat updated on DA4 out of curiosity how bad they'll fuck that one up too.
The problem with winning back goodwill is that they actually need to have something to show in the first place. And as you say, this is EA. They call the shots. So good luck hoping for EA to give players anything for free. They'd rather ruin the reputation of a studio and kill it, then help them regain some ground. They do not need Bioware, but Bioware needs EA. Lose/lose situation imo.
This. A dev studio that knows they have a good product in the making can show it off with some confidence which in turn gives me a good feeling about their game. If the game is a mess, there are just two lose-lose options: show it anyway like MEA and make people worry about the quality of the final product, or try to be vague and distract people with completely irrelevant crap to hide the fact that there isn't much to show (remember Anthem's pre-release grabbit nonsense?). On the bright side, we've probably learned all the warning signs to look out for by now.
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Gileadan
N5
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Agent 46
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Post by Gileadan on Oct 15, 2019 9:36:21 GMT
Witcher 3 basically invented live service: Free updates released over time including quality of life improvements, new quests, pieces of gear, challenges...with two major expansions releases. Granted they didn't do them episodically like Odyssey did...but close enough. There is not a single CDPR game that includes live service. All can be run offline, completely ignoring the GOG client. That's as opposite to live service as you can get these days. Odyssey's live services are not its DLC expansions, it's their server created timed bounties and the weekly changing store.
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Gileadan
N5
![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png) ![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png) ![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png) ![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png)
Agent 46
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Post by Gileadan on Oct 15, 2019 8:22:21 GMT
Those were day 1 items though, right? No, they were released bit by bit over the weeks following the release. Each DLC item originally required its own download and installation, and only a bigger later patch fully integrated that DLC collection into the main game. If this stuff was day 1 content disguised as additional releases as opposed to taken out of the game, they put in a lot of effort to create that illusion.
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Gileadan
N5
![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png) ![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png) ![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png) ![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png)
Agent 46
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Post by Gileadan on Oct 14, 2019 14:39:56 GMT
Regardless, I still prefer the idea of having to manage ammo as a resource during combat as opposed to always having infinite firepower with every single gun and gun type. I'd take it a step further than ME:A though and have a carrying capacity of spare ammo that you start each mission with and not have any refill containers lying about the world. If a player needs to restock on ammo, they should have to call in a supply drop. If the mission is such that they can't call in such a supply drop, they would perhaps ask squad mates to resupply them... but that should be in a more limited amount. When all else fails, they should have to rely on powers. If they do a remake of ME1, I hope they eliminate the infinite "no ammo" needed aspect of the lore altogether.
I would prefer very much the same, both from a gameplay and lore perspective. It might require some rebalancing, but it would make for more interesting gameplay. I'd also like to see guns that shoot something other than standard solid projectiles - laser rifles with rechargeable energy packs, magnetic accelerators that require both energy and ammunition to fire, gyrojet rifles that fire micro-missiles etc. And the more exotic the ammunition, the harder it should be to refill in the field. Heck, maybe even let the player choose the supplies stored in their vehicle, making them choose between medigel, ammunition types and extra spare parts to fix their ride. One can hope...
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Gileadan
N5
![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png) ![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png) ![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png) ![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png)
Agent 46
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Gileadan
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gileadan
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Post by Gileadan on Oct 14, 2019 12:13:41 GMT
The thermal clip "lore" and how it is implemented in ME2 and beyond is a logical train wreck bordering on insult. The codex describes the clips as "universal", i.e. one clip type fits all weapons, yet picking up clips increases the spare ammunition for each gun you carry individually instead of being added to one general thermal clip reserve that you can use for any weapon in your inventory. Furthermore, clips supposedly contain the heat generated by your shots and have to be ejected when reaching a certain heat level, yet the guns that tend to generate the most heat (the higher the rate of fire and projectile velocity, the faster it overheats) get more shots out of a clip than those that don't. Logically a pistol should get way more shots out of a single clip than an assault rifle, but it is the other way around, likely to provide the player with familiar "magazine" sizes for a given gun type.
I like the basic thermal clip idea and it could have been used to design some interesting weapons (like a revolver gun that does not eject clips at all but rotates them around to cool off instead), but the gameplay does not support it at all - it's standard ammunition by another name. Mass Effect guns are horribly overengineered devices that use the technology of the future to barely achieve the same results as present day weaponry.
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Gileadan
N5
![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png) ![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png) ![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png) ![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png)
Agent 46
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Gileadan
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August 2016
gileadan
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda
ALoneGretchin
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Post by Gileadan on Oct 11, 2019 13:30:34 GMT
I really applaud them for trying something different, especially as a new studio, and the pitch video is pretty charming.
On the other hand I'm probably miles away from their intended target audience, so I'll just wish them luck for now and see how it goes. I hope their project gets funded, it would be a shame if it failed.
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Gileadan
N5
![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png) ![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png) ![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png) ![*](//storage.proboards.com/6576594/images/Cxe61tFipqUzASLV595U.png)
Agent 46
Clearance Level Ultra
Games: Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda
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Posts: 2,716 Likes: 6,775
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Agent 46
177
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Jun 18, 2024 19:44:31 GMT
6,775
Gileadan
Clearance Level Ultra
2,716
August 2016
gileadan
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda
ALoneGretchin
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Post by Gileadan on Oct 11, 2019 7:40:10 GMT
Western companies have smooched China's derrière for years, I'm honestly not sure why Blizzard is getting singled out for it now. It's not a new thing at all. Complying with China's wishes is necessary to sell your product there and get into that sweet big market. And China is known to carry a grudge if you've displeased them once. For example, in the book World War Z, the zombie apocalypse starts in China. The Brad Pitt movie changed this to Korea to avoid Chinese censorship, but guess what? It was no good because China was still grumpy about "Seven Years in Tibet". Many western companies want Chinese money, China knows this and makes a price for it, and many are willing to pay it. Did any other gaming company go so far as to post on their weibo site that they would "protect our national honor/glory" or "protect the glory of the country" depending how you translate it? I can't recall a company so aggressively shutting down critical speech and opinions, and then say to Chinese consumers "we will protect your honor" while handing out disproportionally harsh sentences. I guess what I'm saying is that it's never been so visible before. People involved in gaming knows it's been happening for a while, but you couldn't point to really obvious, concrete examples. A few bits here which painted China positively, removing things China didn't want. But this, combined with the NBA mess, shows distinctly how China is influencing and pressuring American companies in ways the casual person can easily see. I don't remember anyone doing it as openly and clumsily as Blizzard - they must be really scared, and probably rightfully so, given how much of their player base is Chinese - but overall it's not a new thing at all. I also think it's less serious than the constant technology transfer through mandatory "joint ventures" between Chinese and western companies that are required to access the Chinese market, and that has been going on for years too. Those companies made their beds, now they gotta sleep in them.
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