Krypter's page

I haven't seen the new one, but I have the old one and it's great. The descriptions of life in the Imperium and long-lost technology were a lot of fun. If it's as good as the classic Rogue Trader, I'll pick up the new one too.

It also links to some great indie old school roleplaying games like Eschalon books 1 & 2, Age of Decadence and others.

I concur, good sir, but there is hope on the horizon in the form of Dragon Age. That's a single-player-only classic RPG that is being called the successor to Baldur's Gate. We'll see. The Witcher and Fallout 3 were pretty good too. Classic RPGs on the PC aren't dead yet.

I'm still waiting for a big SF novel that really gets to grips with China's role in the future though

That's...interesting, but definitely in the alt-history genre. I was thinking modern day and near-future.

I haven't read a good near-future technothriller since Red Storm Rising, but I'd like to get back into the genre if there is something really good there. Any recommendations for new, modern-day or near-future military thrillers with cool weaponry and smart geopolitics?

I would love a Grand Paizo Company to redo the Talislanta RPG. That was 17 kinds of awesome on one stick, and it needs more exposure.

Also, I'd love a D&D game that doesn't require miniatures to play properly.

1. Planescape
2. Talislanta
3. Rifts
4. Dune
5. Shadowrun

Twin Peaks, The Prisoner, Firefly.

Oh God, Firefly! Why did you have to die so young!?

Didn't WotC say that they'll start by marketing the game at older players,

As a movie it could work well if it's rewritten to be an action flick, but as a book it sucked. Absolutely zero narrative tension because it's presented as a boring historical documentary. What, are we going to be watching 2 hours of old retirees talking about how the [fictional] war was won?

I just had the misfortune of reading the first 2 Witch World books, one of the worst pieces of fantasy (or science fantasy) I have ever encountered. The writing is so poor that I found myself correcting the author's grammar and sometimes even spelling while reading the series. The plot is juvenile, the story goes nowhere and the characters are cardboard cutouts.

If you like science fantasy, go for Viriconium or The Book of the New Sun instead. Much better.

Aaaawww, yeah: gratuitous ass shots of Megan Fox. It's so adorable when she tries to act. No wonder these movies are huge hits. Nobody watched the G1 series just to get a glimpse of Spike's girlfriend.

Well, it'll be fun, even with Turturro in the movie.

"I am not a number - I am a human being!" Can't wait to start watching again.

A tip of the hat and a roll of the dice to you, Dave. Thanks for all the great gaming!

Fair enough, I didn't realize the Aurora engine was that old. In that case you're right, it becomes the limiting factor, not the hardware.

So what did you think of the game?

The engine can only be as good as how many polygons and textures the GPU can pump out, and the 360 GPU is very old by modern video card standards. I guess it depends on how many limits the Aurora engine placed on hardware and whether it still limits newer GPUs.

Is The Last Wish comparable to Forgotten Realms novels or something better like George Martin or Fritz Leiber?

better graphics *which is pissing off PC gamers* Even the developers insist it is not a port.

I was joking, dammit. Where did I put my smiley faces? Oh, here: ;)

Speaking of mods, I heartily recommend "Fellout." It's a very simple graphic tweaking mod that does three things:

I thought Exalted was already hentai! At least judging by some of the covers...

I prefer to roleplay without miniatures or battlemats. How difficult is it to houserule away miniature positioning without breaking the balance of the classes, combat or other rule subsystems?

I've just started playing this game and I'm enjoying the fantasy world quite a lot. It seems coarse, unpleasant and very medieval, but still spiced up with some exotic monsters and arcane magics. I'm just not impressed with the countless cutscenes filled with mediocre acting (though this the Enhanced Edition and is considered better in that regard). Love the high isometric mode, though, it's just like a 1990s CRPG should be.

Has anyone here completed the game? Worth playing to the end? How does it stack up against Baldur's Gate, Oblivion, Neverwinter Nights, etc.?

Is this in any way to X-Blades, which also has scantily-clad babes with samurai swords?

Picked up Witch World and Web of the Witch World on a whim. Good Lord, it's garbage. Unless you like watching Conan the Barbarian fight Nazis.

Ryan Dancey's brilliant OGL vision is still alive, kicking and screaming. Long may it be so.

AbSOluteLY BADass...and so dumb. But hey! We're back to skelebots again, and that's fine by me since I never liked the early-CGI mercury-puddle Terminators anyway.

"It's just YOU and ME now, Skynet!" /throwdown

Tequila Sunrise:

All the "grow your penis" emails I get have a hint of desperation about them. Does that mean they're going out of business?

...God, I hope not, those guys are miracle-workers.

Doomed! I smell DOOMED!

Why is this show good again?

It sure will be fun to talk to Mohammed - or his two halves at least - in the 8th Circle of Hell!

"Doctor? Your not old enough to be a Doctor"

Age is definitely trending down since Eccleston. I would still like to see a middle-aged, portly Doctor just once. Might be difficult for him to run away from the Daleks though...

5. The Martian Chronicles

William Hurt seems to be in a continuous altered state.

I don't know if Arkham House really needs the money that badly. They've got quite the franchise already, and unlike Ellison Lovecraft isn't seeing a penny of it unless they've "brought up things that ought to stay dead".

I'm not sure what counts as sci-fantasy these days, but here's my list:

1. The Prisoner
2. Twin Peaks
3. Firefly
4. Battlestar Galactica
5. Samurai Jack

Throw in some Transformers, Robotech, Nowhere Man and Doctor Who as well.

Looks really cool, and somewhat Planescape-y. Could we get a list of the planes which are covered?

... the standard 08/15 battle you can find in 90% of rpgs.

Talislanta is the best fantasy rpg I've ever played. It has a very rich, complex and exotic fantasy world, fairly simple rules, and nifty illustrations that really bring it to life. www.talislanta.com

"In the Grim Past of 4E40K There Is Only 'Lightning Bolt, Lightning Bolt, Lightning Bolt!'"

I miss the feelings of victimization which gave me such a self-righteous high that I could stomp on baby seals without a qualm.

I do still blame 4E for the death of Dungeon and Dragon (mention not their evil online clones in my presence!) and my coincidental but simultaneous exit from playing D&D (I got married). Ah, good times...

Maybe some commemorative "I managed to outrage X people during the War of Editions!" buttons would be in order?

Where's my Master of Flowers monk?

Devastator looks good. The Fallen looks like a bionicle.

You can tell it's a MIchael Bay movie because everything explodes, even the ground.

Changeling: never met anyone who could run it or play in it properly.

Iron Kingdoms: looks so cool but never had the time to buy the books and learn about it.

Unknown Armies: too psychopath-creepy for most of the people I know.

RIFTS: Nobody around me liked the system (neither did I) or the kitchen-sink world with its great mixture of tech + magic + psionics + aliens.

You have no idea how lucky you are. I live in Taiwan. I holiday in Thailand. Neither country HAS a game store. I probably know everybody in Taichung that plays an RPG* in English (seven people) or MtG (About forty). This is a city with 2.6 million people.

Heh. Snarkiness aside, Bear, you've got some good points. If I was playing in a 4E campaign I would buy a print magazine. I wouldn't subscribe to any of WotC's delayed, annoying, badly-delivered online content. Give me a printed magazine or give me death! :)

A print magazine for $2? Is this possible, or is it a loss-leader?

Yes, the robot CGI costs a lot, but that's what the movie is supposed to be about. Cut the length of the movie then, or make the transformers less complicated. I looked at the CGI stills of the robots and they were insanely complicated for no obvious reason; you can't see the complexity when they're in motion on the screen. You could easily make them boxier and more streamlined like in the G1 cartoon.

The budget of the movie went from $150m to $200m, so the situation won't be much different in the next one. Bay should also reduce the number of robots in each movie to reduce costs and develop the characters more clearly. I want a movie about Transformers, not stupid humans. :)

Monster - extremely provocative and intelligent murder thriller dealing with serial killers, neo-Nazis, Czech secret police, and brainwashing.

No Cobra Commander? Or did I miss him?

At least The Baroness is true to, err, form, if you know what I mean.