relatively small update
"I don't know why, but this guy looks like he'd be comfortable in Medieval times, with chainmail on and swinging a sword around..."
- some guy in my Hist 4680 class
it's 12:50 am, so of course I'm up, working on homework, with Dawn of the Dead playing on the TV in the background. it was Crissy's idea really, which shows just how great she is: up at midnight with me, asking specifically for a zombie movie.
being the first one to order Oblivion, I got it the earliest day it came out (Monday; I heard Best Buy won't even get it until next week). and, as expected, it has taken over most of my free time. there's not enough good things I can say about it; I loved Morrowind, and Oblivion blows Morrowind out of the water. there are a lot of easter eggs in the game that are thinly veiled (I found a Van Halen song, I think it was, and an H.P. Lovecraft storyline within the first 2 hours). it really is amazing though, and I can't stress how lifelike the NPCs are. it goes well beyond the radiant AI system; the dialogue options are not stock for every character or race, as each person has certain information, and even then they won't tell you unless they trust you - which is where the new speechcraft minigame comes in. Certain dialogue options aren't even available until a character trusts you, which can range anywhere from 75% to 100% disposition, depending on the individual. the immersion in this game is really something.
not that the radiant AI is something to ignore; when I retook the town of Kvatch from the Daedra Invasion, I led a team of about 6 NPCs in the siege. they coordinated with my attacks (soldiers in the front with me with archers standing back and picking the enemy off), shouted commands, and celebrated whenever we cleared out a region. it was really something.
for anyone interested, I am still playing Varian Avellan, but now he's a Nord Ranger (Custom Class), with the major skills: acrobatics, athletics, blades, block, light armor, marksman, and stealth.
I also saw V for Vendetta, which felt incredibly contemporary for a story written in the early 1980s. it's the best movie I've seen since King Kong, and the first movie I recall saying was 5 out of 5 since Return of the King. stories like this are timeless, because of our innate human tendency to seperate power between the faceless many and the exalted few. and yet, they must be told. that, and Hugo Weaving is brilliant in this movie. one of those rare moments were the casting was absolutely perfect. so go. see it. now. and then see it again, outside its context, in the greater box per se.
- some guy in my Hist 4680 class
it's 12:50 am, so of course I'm up, working on homework, with Dawn of the Dead playing on the TV in the background. it was Crissy's idea really, which shows just how great she is: up at midnight with me, asking specifically for a zombie movie.
being the first one to order Oblivion, I got it the earliest day it came out (Monday; I heard Best Buy won't even get it until next week). and, as expected, it has taken over most of my free time. there's not enough good things I can say about it; I loved Morrowind, and Oblivion blows Morrowind out of the water. there are a lot of easter eggs in the game that are thinly veiled (I found a Van Halen song, I think it was, and an H.P. Lovecraft storyline within the first 2 hours). it really is amazing though, and I can't stress how lifelike the NPCs are. it goes well beyond the radiant AI system; the dialogue options are not stock for every character or race, as each person has certain information, and even then they won't tell you unless they trust you - which is where the new speechcraft minigame comes in. Certain dialogue options aren't even available until a character trusts you, which can range anywhere from 75% to 100% disposition, depending on the individual. the immersion in this game is really something.
not that the radiant AI is something to ignore; when I retook the town of Kvatch from the Daedra Invasion, I led a team of about 6 NPCs in the siege. they coordinated with my attacks (soldiers in the front with me with archers standing back and picking the enemy off), shouted commands, and celebrated whenever we cleared out a region. it was really something.
for anyone interested, I am still playing Varian Avellan, but now he's a Nord Ranger (Custom Class), with the major skills: acrobatics, athletics, blades, block, light armor, marksman, and stealth.
I also saw V for Vendetta, which felt incredibly contemporary for a story written in the early 1980s. it's the best movie I've seen since King Kong, and the first movie I recall saying was 5 out of 5 since Return of the King. stories like this are timeless, because of our innate human tendency to seperate power between the faceless many and the exalted few. and yet, they must be told. that, and Hugo Weaving is brilliant in this movie. one of those rare moments were the casting was absolutely perfect. so go. see it. now. and then see it again, outside its context, in the greater box per se.