StaceyPowers

Thanks for the advice! Is there a way to tell when the game last auto-saved, btw? And there is no way to create manual saves?

I know it’s super early to be asking this, but there are a lot of folks here who are as hooked on Bethesda games as I am. What are you hoping for from Elder Scrolls VI in terms of location, improvements over past titles, etc? I think what I’d like to see most is a bit more depth to various characters and quests, even if that means fewer choices. Like I very much prefer the companion system in Fallout NV. There are fewer possible companions there, but they are much more well-developed and all (I think) have quests associated with them. It very much amounts to a sense of “less is more” for me—the whole game feels more fleshed out. Beyond that, I’d like to see more reflections of player choices in the world. Like I want other characters/factions to react to armor choice, past actions, etc. Here too I really like NV’s reputation system, and feel like something like that could reach a new level in Elder Scrolls VI.

I think it was https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hack_(video_game), but I'm digging into the mists of childhood.

What's the most challenging boss fight you remember from any video game?

I'm just beginning Bioshock Infinite for the first time. Anyone have any handy tips and advice (spoiler-free please) for a newbie?

I work :) What about you?

Hypothetically, yes. I feel like we (as a species) exist in a state of pretty extreme isolation. Seeing a greater diversity of intelligent life (defining "life" broadly) spring into existence is something I would favour. It should broaden the horizons of thought and possibility. Do I think human beings could handle the advent of a new intelligence? Probably not. Our species has a tendency to try and crush diversity and promote sameness while stratifying power. I would expect it to abuse a new intelligence (in a Battlestar Galactica type scenario). So while I like the concept of highly intelligent AI, I think the outcome would be messy.

That's true. Didn't say I'd answer everything though. Google? I wouldn't call myself a "fan," no. I neither love nor loathe them. You?

It's a matter of national security :)

Yeah, Epic Games.

Yeah, it's interesting realizing that the same developer is now doing Fortnite.

Game developers are often notorious for seeming to ignore fan feedback, but there are definitely some companies which seem to go the extra mile. For the life of me I can’t remember the name, but I recall a story about a developer for an FPS game which received feedback from one player complaining about a particular map feature screwing up strategic play (a tree, I believe), and they removed it on his request. I found that pretty impressive. What game developers do you think do the best job listening to their fans and building a relationship?

Has anyone joined in the Alpha for this game (PC only, unfortunately), and if so, how is it?

What in your opinion is the best open world video game that’s ever been made? Why?

I definitely will! I feel bad that I forgot about it (it missed the theater in the small town where I live). Thanks for the reminder!

I'm sad to say I still haven't seen Alien: Covenant. I'm in agreement with you about Prometheus. My only complaint with it was that the tone felt a bit too "clean" versus the grittier older films (referring to cinematography and soundtracking), but I thought the story and characters were great.

For single-player text games, Zork: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zork. For MUDs, honestly I'm not sure what to suggest. The most interesting one I played was Aetolia, but it was well over a decade ago; I have no clue what it's like there now. Yes! I'm really behind on current stuff though. I still play lots of Q3A and UT 2004, lol. I just picked up Bioshock Infinite and will be playing that soon. I've lived in lots of places 😉

Oh yeah. If it followed real-life rules, it'd be awful. If it followed in-game rules though, it'd be a pretty laid-back apocalypse. IRL, you can't heal a broken limb with severe radiation poisoning. But in Fallout, you can =D

Does anyone else wish that open world games had more intangible rewards? For example, it’s nice that I get a bonus for giving a poor person a coin in Skyrim, but it bothers me that I can give them endless coins and they still are stuck in the same predicament. I wish there was an intangible reward for the charity, like seeing them in new clothes, or eating food, or getting off the streets. Another example would be the Volare! quest I just finished in Fallout NV last night. I was super excited to see the plane fly—but I knew it’d probably be a letdown. It sure was. I’m told they will move the plane to the base … and that’s that. I got XP and some gear out of it, but I really just wanted to see the plane in the air.

I may have already asked this at some point (hopefully not). If you had to live in a video game universe, which would you choose, and why? I think I’d pick Fallout. Despite the fact that the world effectively ended and everything is a mess, Fallout is a kind of playground of the apocalypse. You get severe radiation poisoning and broken limbs fix themselves (in real life, you'd just get horrifically sick and die). All the scary stuff in real life is more like a running joke in Fallout; nothing genuinely bad ever happens to you. Plus, they’ve got cool retro architecture and design everywhere.

I have only played Skyrim so far, but I grabbed a used copy of Oblivion the other day and am looking forward to that. Anyway, for those of you who have played a number of Elder Scrolls games, which is your favorite, and why?

Oh, me too! And the horkers.

If you could be friends with any video game character in real life, who would it be and why? Note: not necessarily your favorite video game character, but rather someone you think would actually make a good friend. For me, I think I would pick Mjoll from Skyrim. She is genuinely honorably and loyal. I know many gamers find Aerin irritating, but I love that she makes her friendship with him a permanent priority. After that, I’d pick Leliana from DA. I like that she enjoys cunning, but she has a conscience and can be trusted. She’s also open-minded and not afraid to be seen as strange.

I’ve read repeatedly that you can hit a clicker on the back of the head with a brick in The Last of Us, and this will stun it. But every time I have tried, I’ve just gotten killed. Anyone know if this works or what I’m doing wrong?

Fallout New Vegas sometimes “stutters.” I’ve found that even when the game is running smoothly, every few moments when I walk, it will sometimes freeze for half a second. This is not a major problem, but sometimes when I enter a certain area, the “stuttering” will result in extreme choppiness, and often the screen will stick repeatedly for minutes at a time, if it doesn’t just freeze upright. It makes it literally unplayable in spots. Does anyone know what causes this or how to fix it? I’m on PS3.