Anthem

I think he did the main plot setup for 1 and 2 (particularly the dark energy issue, which the writers abandoned in 3).

So... probably a good thing.
 
Drew did the novels. I don't think he did the game stories.
nvm

NY Times bestselling author of the Chaos Born trilogy, Darth Bane and Mass Effect novels. Works at BioWare. Lead writer on KOTOR and Mass Effect.
 
Holy moly that is insane. Frostbite at the next level! I might need a 2nd Vega for that one lol

Next level of graphics that Crysis brought us all those years ago?
a 2nd Vega? Wow, why would you need that? If I understood correctly some Vega models are going to have a 512GB/s bandwidth, which seems more than enough for this game. Gotta check the video a second time, I saw it in streaming quality and didn't notice the fine detail.
While Bioware is a dead company to me. This might be the first game since DA:O and ME1 that I think is actually good from that company. Basically because it's not them F-ing up and ruining what could have been excellent and long lasting RPG franchises.

Still won't get me to install Origin though.

Regards,
SB
Dragon Age Origins is still alive and I am glad it does. It always felt like a more complete package for me than Mass Effect, although Mass Effect had way better graphics. I have Origin, because...well, it's the only way I can play DAO, although the game is on sale on GoG but I am tired of having bought some games twice, especially games that I purchased on console and on the PC -waiting for an upgrade of my computer, which happened recently-.
 
BioWare Doubles Down On Anthem As Pressure Mounts: https://kotaku.com/bioware-doubles-down-on-anthem-as-pressure-mounts-1822380989

Anthem has been in development since 2012

Interesting.

I heard several rumors that the Anthem project was not going well, in part because of the long-running issues that BioWare has faced with its engine, Frostbite, and in part because making a game of this nature can be an excruciating process
I quote myself:
Which one has already seen with the Frostbite engine that should suddenly be EAs miracle weapon and thus killed some Studios.


And then there’s the toxicity problem, as video game pundits seize any opportunity to stoke anger at big publishers. Two people who have worked on Anthem both expressed anxiety to me about the ways some big YouTubers have spread misinformation and inflammatory rhetoric about EA, saying that it has a demoralizing effect on those people on the ground level. To people who work for EA, the publisher isn’t just a cold corporate master—it is a complicated machine that, yes, is concerned first and foremost with generating revenue for investors, but also supports thousands of people in many tangible and intangible ways. People close to BioWare, along with many other developers I’ve talked to in recent months, worry that commentary from some of YouTube’s loudest voices has eliminated nuance and made companies like EA seem like Disney villains.
Thinking of Jim Sterling and YongYeah.

Anthem, which was announced at E3 2017, is now scheduled for release in early 2019, according to three people familiar with the project. The “fall 2018” window mentioned during that E3 announcement was “never realistic,” one source said. Exact dates remain in flux—and Anthem’s developers must also plan for a beta release, an EA Access launch, and an ongoing schedule of patches and updates—but it appears unlikely to developers that publisher EA will allow BioWare to delay the game any further than March 2019, when the company’s 2019 fiscal year comes to an end. (EA, like most publicly traded companies, uses the fiscal calendar as a basis for all of its decisions, as those dates determine how investors will behave.)
I have no problem if I can play it a bit earlier but many players leave such an "unfinished" game faster and it will be hard to get them back.


The Division raised the bar in the genre with every patch. Let's see if Bioware can keep up.
 
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Thinking of Jim Sterling and YongYeah.
Yes because slamming EA for its business practices is a new thing :rolleyes: They've been the target of game journalism for multiple decades and mostly deserve their reputation. It's just that the reach available to journalists and youtubers is far greater now and much faster.
 
It's not just EA. According to them Ubisoft, Activision and Take 2 are the evil as well. I think that's a bit too one-dimensional.

Fans wanted a Mirrors Edge 2 and they got one. Players wanted a different BATTLEFRONT and BATTLEFRONT II is now completly differtent. I have fun with BATTLEFRONT II and the lootboxes do not bother me at all. Once I won more than 40 rounds in a row in Hero vs. Rogue without even buying them. DICE should rather eliminate that ugly Moire effect. They made an option for the most of the disgusting PP effects after the BETA feedback. I also dont understand why ME: Andromeda is hated so much. That was artificially exaggerated to me.

EA is also pushing customer support as top priority and their current CEO is meant to be really on "the ball with it".
 
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They should try not working on lootbox sales vehicles ... it's easier to laugh off accusations of being evil when you really know it's not true.

The only thing which isn't really fair is how long youtube personalities have defended a couple of companies for having "only" cosmetics in lootboxes, in some cases still. When it was just the same scummy targeting of addictive personalities, just less intensively because they could rely on the massive size of their player communities.
 
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They should try not working on lootbox sales vehicles ... it's easier to laugh off accusations of being evil when you really know it's not true.

The only thing which isn't really fair is how long youtube personalities have defended a couple of companies for having "only" cosmetics in lootboxes, in some cases still. When it was just the same scummy targeting of addictive personalities, just less intensively because they could rely on the massive size of their player communities.

What? And games in general don't target addictive personalities? :p Or other abusable quirks of human personality.

Playing video games itself is a compulsive disorder for many people (https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/addiction/features/video-game-addiction-no-fun#1 ). Should game companies stop making games because they are just using the "same scummy targeting of addictive personalities" as you put it?

Or is it OK to abuse people with addictive personalities as long as the magnitude of the abuse is lower in monetary terms even if it isn't in terms of money spent versus disposable income?

BTW - I'm fine with it in either case. Game companies should keep making games that are fun (addictive) to play. I can choose to play the Witcher 3 or not. I can choose to Madden Football or not. I can choose to play Final Fantasy XIV or not. Same goes for loot boxes. I only have a problem with loot boxes if they give competitive advantages in competitive games. I never buy them, but then I never buy cosmetics in the first place. But I'm certainly not going to be the Church Pastor and lecture someone on the sins of their ways if they want to partake of those things.

But hell, if we're going to go down that road, we might as well make Alcohol, Marijuana, Sex, etc. illegal. :p

Regards,
SB
 
What? And games in general don't target addictive personalities? :p

Don't be obtuse, I was talking about gambling addiction ... I know it, you know it, the devs know it ... and the devs know how fucking scummy it is to target it.
Playing video games itself is a compulsive disorder for many people (https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/addiction/features/video-game-addiction-no-fun#1 ).

As is watching TV, but those are of a different quality as gambling addiction.
Or is it OK to abuse people with addictive personalities as long as the magnitude of the abuse is lower in monetary terms even if it isn't in terms of money spent versus disposable income?

It's not abuse, it's entertainment. There is no absolute line to be drawn where the relation becomes abusive ... but I still know it when I see it. As do the devs.
But hell, if we're going to go down that road, we might as well make Alcohol, Marijuana, Sex, etc. illegal. :p

What does illegal have to do with it? If you're a drug pusher and you see it destroying lives, while you are knowingly tweaking the knobs of marketing to get more people addicted ... then you are being evil. There is value in freedom, even if that freedom lets people be evil, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't recognize evil just because it's legal.
 
I just don't get why we can't just buy the content. Whats so bad about putting skins up for $1 where you see the skin your buying and then buying it. Yes the random loot boxes will make people spend more for what they want. However if an item or skin is that good then you just charge more for the item. I rather that then blind boxes
 
To hide the real cost and because the randomness gets people hooked. If Blizzard started to just charge 1500$ for a complete set in Hearthstone it would be a hell of a sticker shock, a lot of richer/smarter players pay that with both eyes open ... but a lot more naive players have to be tricked into spending so much across many individual purchases.

The completely ridiculous profits especially Hearthstone makes, but also TF2/Counterstrike/WoT/Overwatch are distorting the industry ... just like MMOs did in the past. Just like MMOs these types of games are close to a winner take all market though, not much room at the top. License to print money if you can get there, but your odds are poor.
 
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I just don't get why we can't just buy the content. Whats so bad about putting skins up for $1 where you see the skin your buying and then buying it. Yes the random loot boxes will make people spend more for what they want. However if an item or skin is that good then you just charge more for the item. I rather that then blind boxes

Follow something like DOTA 2 and PUBG's model. Loot boxes which are random, but a storefront where players can sell in game items to each other.

At that point, the community determines what something should cost up to a point. Of course, rare items will generally cost more, but if the item you want is common, you can easily get it for cheap. Probably cheaper than buying a single lootbox. And if it's rare, then you have a choice of taking a chance on a loot box or buying it guaranteed at player determined prices.

Regards,
SB
 
tons of new screenshots.
http://neptunegames.it/en/anthem-e3-2018-new-gameplay-screenshots/
Looks like a more refined Adromeda I guess, not the once seemingly impossible to achieve "next gen" visuals ushered in the E3 2017 trailer.
Anthem-E3-2018-9.jpg
 
It was also revealed there will be no loot boxes, but plenty of customizations and if there are purchases you will know exactly what you're getting.
 
There was disappointingly little gameplay. I would have expected a lot more after a year of silence.

 
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tons of new screenshots.
http://neptunegames.it/en/anthem-e3-2018-new-gameplay-screenshots/
Looks like a more refined Adromeda I guess, not the once seemingly impossible to achieve "next gen" visuals ushered in the E3 2017 trailer.
Anthem-E3-2018-9.jpg
without 4K and HDR, you have no method of comparison of the differences in the final product. It's a world of difference and it's pretty unfair to compare 4K HDR games vs 1080p SDR titles and make that claim. Besides seems a little early to make that claim, pretty sure you're going to see more Anthem later today.
 
The way they explained the story and how the game mix SP x MP COOP. Yikes . So it's basically Destiny?

Hopefully it's more streamlined like Destiny 1 instead of destiny 2 where the game often push down long, drawn-out,, talking scenes to your throat.

Even better if it's actually something much different and better, but they just can't properly explain it in the live stream
 
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