Escapist Podcast: 009: Skyrim, CivWorld and Tali

[Formica Archonis]

Still going in Echo Bazaar, Susan? How's the new late-game content? I've heard tell that some of it is damn pricey (both in Echoes and Fate), is it worth it? (I choked when I heard that one of the Rubbery Man storylets takes some obscene amount of Fate, 90 or something.)

I had characters with each one or two high-level stats and now I'm in a hard grind to get them all up near the caps so I can unlock the later content, but it's starting to burn me out and I'd like to have some idea if I'll like what I see.

(My goodness, there's no good multi-stat storylets for Watchful characters. Seriously, if you cap in any of the other three it's easy - if tedious - to get the others up as long as you have a good supply of second chances and a few choice storylets. But Watchful? Some mid-level Shadowy and Dangerous ones but those are locked by the time you cap their primary stats.)

 

[Spud of Doom]

I was thinking of checking out Civ on facebook but I think this has convinced me to do it.

 

[Magnatek]

Hehe...as soon as I heard Home Improvement, I imagined someone saying "Hidy-ho, Shepard."

As for the stuff on Garcia, I kind of like that he's that obvious of a character. Sometimes, there is a desire to play a game with a character who directly knows what he's after. That's part of the reason I liked No More Heroes, as each has a protagonist who's obvious in his desires (Garcia looking to get his girl, Travis looking to get laid/revenge).

 

[-Dragmire-]

Tali solution: give the player control of the opacity of the glass portion of her mask. not much extra time in production.

 

[Kapol]

I personally LOVED Civ Rev. Though oddly enough the DS version was much better then the console version. Maybe it's because you didn't have the annoying Voices or the five second wait as one of your advisers popped onto the screen. The only thing it didn't have that I really miss when I play is is the civopedia. It makes it much harder to plan things out without knowing what everything does.


For the Skyrim changes, I think what they announced just annoyed me. I'm not a huge Elder Scrolls fan. I didn't like Morrowind and Oblivion is the only game of the series I really got into. But the fact that they're removing what seems like fairly self-explanatory abilities like hand-to-hand just kind of irks me. The only ones I'd say were a bit vague were the magic-based skills. Other then that, I think you at least have an idea of what each one does.

And that brings into the issue that I highly doubt that getting rid of some skills will actually fix the issue they say it will. I still think that you'll need to play a few hours into the game to get a feel for all of your abilities and how much you'll actually use them. The only way they could really get rid of that is by making it just completely dumbed down by changing into just the basic 'Fighting, Magic, Stealth' options. And even then you'll likely realize you don't care for skills you thought you'd love. That's just one of the main problems with RPGs I think. Until you get a taste of the abilities then you can't know which you enjoy the most. While The clothing thing isn't as big an issue to me, although I do understand why people get upset about it. I do agree the gain is worth it for the clothing.


I actually had the same idea as Susan for how to handle the Tali situation. I think making it optional would be the best way to handle it. Of course, then most will likely run into a picture of her somewhere on the internet by mistake as you just know it'll blow up over sites like these. One really interesting thing they could do is make it so you can see Tali's face in one certain situation, and that's if she dies.

It may sound a bit harsh, but I also think it could be a very intimate moment for the player if it's handled right, especially if she was romanced in the second game by the player. I just imagine her getting killed at the end somehow, and Sheapard goes over and (based on if the player chooses to or other choices in the game) removes her faceplate, perhaps giving her a goodbye kiss or something similar as if to say goodbye. Of course, there could, and really should be other ways for her face to be seen, but I think if they handled it like that then it could be one of the most powerful moments in the game.

Seeing other quarians is another good way to handle it. I guess I really don't care much either way. I do understand the mystery, but I like Tali for herself. She was an interesting character that was one of my favorites. I guess I actually think of her as herself in the suit. Seeing her actual body would be... different at least. I can see both sides of the situation. I guess I like the seeing other quarians idea the best.

Didn't Bioware say recently they don't actually know what she looks like yet? I thought they had at least.

Anyways, I wrote this out as I listened to the podcast, which is why the post is so long. Thanks for more great content.

/rant

 

[Zhukov]

Tali solution: give the player control of the opacity of the glass portion of her mask. not much extra time in production.

If I turn it all the way up, will she start bumping into things?

That would be great.

 

[awdrifter]

On the top of DLC, I would probably never buy any DLC. I usually wait for the game prices to drop anyways, and they usually release a complete ultimate blah blah pack with all the DLC on it for $30. So yea, DLCs are a dick move for greedy publishers for the most part, especially day 0 DLCs.

 

[X10J]

Hawke vs Shepherd? Make love, not war.

 

[ryo02]

3rd podcast I cant hear much more than 2 or 3 mins of and my 3rd time asking what Im doing wrong ...

 

[Slycne]

...Huh. Fluffy green pants is exactly what I said about the armor debate yesterday. Here-

Nope. Now I don't have to look ridiculous with my fluffy green pants of stealth and my bulky steel armor and a red hood.

And if it really bothers you that much, wait a week after release and there'll be a mod to fix it.

Am I being watched? I think I'm gonna close my blinds now...

Haha. I thought that sounded vaguely familiar when I said it. I must have read that earlier in the day and it bubbled up unconsciously. It's a great example of exactly why this problem bugs me.

Slayer of dragons, master of magic, conqueror of nations and oh yeah dresses like a color blind hobo...

 

[-Dragmire-]

Tali solution: give the player control of the opacity of the glass portion of her mask. not much extra time in production.

If I turn it all the way up, will she start bumping into things?

That would be great.

It gets pretty bright out there and she can't put on shades.

Sometimes, you just want to tint your windows.

 

[RA92]

Tali's face needs to be revealed?

Just as how Vader needed a back-story?

 

[nayrbarr]

Just had a great idea about Tali. There could be a moment like the end of Star Wars where Luke removes Vader's mask. Removing the mask would give her a chance to say goodbye and let you see her face, but keeping it on would increase the chances of her survival at the risk of never knowing what she looks like.

 

[rod_hynes]

Regarding return to Ostigar....The Darkspawn DID have the armor. You had to defeat them to pick it up piece by piece. You also had to kill the undead orgre to get the sword and dagger back right?

 

[xanderhunter]

In regards to Skyrim dumbing down there skill system, they already did that from Morrowind to Oblivion, they changed from short and long swords to just blades, same with blunt weapons. I think taking it a step further is completely unneeded. Also removing customization of gear is a crying shame. I personally love dressing up in fuzzy green pants with a Daedric breastplate. Removing that so we can have more NPC's on screen seems pointless, were not playing Samurai Warriors where the whole point is to have 1000 enemies on screen to wade through.

 

[TheCakeisALie87]

I'm confused why people are so against restarting in the first turn of Civ. In Civ 5 they even removed the popular regenerate map feature from Civ IV that would a allow essentially a respawned map. I'm a fairly average Civ player and really don't know how to compensate well enough from being spawned in the middle of the desert. Therefore I don't want to spend an hour or so falling behind and then being defeated by a character who started in the garden of eden (computer or human). Actually that's one of my biggest complaints about the Civ games, I have never figured out how to transition from being able to win on the normal difficulty to any of the higher ones.

 

[Zydrate]

Susan was wrong. It's not the atmosphere, it's that their immune systems are... pretty much non existent. Entirely different.

Aaaand what do you think happens when a shit immune system meets a foreign atmosphere?

The immune system thing just went completely mentioned. That's important information D:

 

[Susan Arendt]

Still going in Echo Bazaar, Susan? How's the new late-game content? I've heard tell that some of it is damn pricey (both in Echoes and Fate), is it worth it? (I choked when I heard that one of the Rubbery Man storylets takes some obscene amount of Fate, 90 or something.)

I had characters with each one or two high-level stats and now I'm in a hard grind to get them all up near the caps so I can unlock the later content, but it's starting to burn me out and I'd like to have some idea if I'll like what I see.

(My goodness, there's no good multi-stat storylets for Watchful characters. Seriously, if you cap in any of the other three it's easy - if tedious - to get the others up as long as you have a good supply of second chances and a few choice storylets. But Watchful? Some mid-level Shadowy and Dangerous ones but those are locked by the time you cap their primary stats.)

I enjoy it, but I don't typically follow the storylets that require Fate to play. It does mean I wind up doing a lot of waiting around, but given that I play at work, I don't mind so much. I play the cards mostly at this point, because the Labyrinth of Tigers seems to be a temporary dead end.

 

[Formica Archonis]

I enjoy it, but I don't typically follow the storylets that require Fate to play.

Well, I'm glad it's just not me. I did buy some, I admit, but I'm using it in very tiny amounts when I have an inkling of what it's going to get me. (Used some to get the venom-rubies I needed for my bejeweled walking stick, for instance.) If I can buy it with Echoes I'm certainly not gonna use Fate to do it.

It does mean I wind up doing a lot of waiting around, but given that I play at work, I don't mind so much. I play the cards mostly at this point, because the Labyrinth of Tigers seems to be a temporary dead end.

Finished the Hound of Heaven thing already? Wow. I feel like such a newbie!

 

[RobfromtheGulag]

I have to take issue with what Susan said on this multiple playthroughs thought.

She's right -- if you buy a game and then play it once and just sit twiddling your thumbs with your wallet out waiting for the next offering or DLC, the company will make more money for [less] effort.

But that's a dick move. It's like the water cooler talk about how the original Ford F150 was too good a truck or whatnot and the manufacturer stopped making it because no one ever paid repair costs or bought new cars. If you can make a quality product, do it. I can't speak for everyone, but I'll be purchasing Bethesda games for awhile based on the loyalty stock they've built up with me for their games. I'd much rather than then grudgingly buy the next iteration in a series because it's latest meal dumped in the food trough.