The mostly unedited chat log for the developer chat with Master Creating, which covers their action CRPG with the cyberpunk theme, Restricted Area.

As you can see, it was a lot of fun:


Thanks to all who showed up. Those who didn't, I hope your toes rot off.

While many people didn't show up for this, we went ahead and had it anyway, because we're troopers! Anyway, here's the unedited log, since it was more or less a free-for-all:

* JanB (~JJJJJ@c195036.adsl.hansenet.de) has joined #RPGCodex
[JanB] Hi guys!
[Motu] Well, there he is...
[Saint_Proverbius] HI JAN! You're late!
[JanB] Sorry, I know I´m late...
[monkey] and the room was full - but they all left!
[Saint_Proverbius] Yeah, there was 200 people here, but they got mad and left.
[Motu] thats not true
[Motu] i was there at point 20.00
[JanB] Nice trick
[Saint_Proverbius] It's more funny if you pretend it's true, Marty!
[JanB] *g*
[JanB] Okay, I feel very sorry - but please note it´s 2:30am here in Germany...
[Motu] i don't like joking when it comes to numbers ;-)
[Saint_Proverbius] Isn't that what statistics are, Martin? Jokes about numbers?
[JanB] So where are your tons of questions?
[Motu] i don't like statistics either...
[Saint_Proverbius] Well, that's the fun thing, no one showed up for this.
[Saint_Proverbius] Probably because they didn't know enough about the skills system for the game due to a lack of articles on RPG Codex!
[JanB]
[Saint_Proverbius] But I never sweat the small stuff, so I figured we could just have a nice, informal chat here about Restricted Area!
[JanB] I´m working on it - but it´s much harder than the peek of the week stuff and the dev diaries you noticed.
[JanB] The peek of the week is only 200-300 words and the dev diaries are originally in German and translated by fans
[JanB] The skills are a complex thing still rebalanced nearly every day, it´s not so easy to nail it down
[Saint_Proverbius] I could translate everything from German for you, but since I don't speak German, and you probably don't want me making it up as I go along, I won't do it.
[monkey] motu] 020417
[monkey] they left before 20:04 you see
[JanB] 42 - hahaha
[JanB] Hey Saint, don´t be so angry with me :`-( - I´ll give my best!
[Saint_Proverbius] I store all my anger for my reviews.
[Spazmo] Relax, Jan--we [3 you
[Saint_Proverbius] Seen the NWN review? David Gaider ran over my dog.
[JanB] Yes, I read it...
[JanB] Your reviews are really fun to read - as long as they aren´t about the game you made yourself
[Saint_Proverbius] Andy Muir of Silverback burned down my house, hince the Harbinger review.
[Spazmo] They sent you a copy, too, the poor unsuspecting bastards
[JanB] Well, DON`T say that name - I get nightmares of walking throu an endless spaceship from it...
[Saint_Proverbius] Yeah, that's why I don't accept copies anymore. I even asked them not to send me that copy of Harbinger after the preview version.
[Spazmo] Heh
[Saint_Proverbius] "If I review this, there will be PAIN!"
[Motu] you tell this everybody, right?
[JanB] And so it was...
[EEVIAC] That Harbinger review was my introduction to RPGCodex.
[JanB] Yes?
[EEVIAC] It set the standard.
[Saint_Proverbius] For PAIN?
[JanB] Hehe
[JanB] I liked the one about Divine Divinity
[EEVIAC] For professionalism...
[Saint_Proverbius] Tell me, Jan, how are you guys going to avoid the problems that Harbinger had with Restricted Area?
[JanB] Which exactly do you mean (there where so much...)?
[EEVIAC] Does the combat stand up without the rpg elements?
[JanB] @EEVIAC - I think the NWN review was the only honest on the net
[JanB] Sorry, I´m not sure if I understand that question - can you rewrite it in a different way?
[Saint_Proverbius] MageDragon of PlanetBaldursGate.com used to tell people the only honest review of NWN was on RPG Codex.
[JanB] (I guess he´s right)
[EEVIAC] If RA was just an action game like Soldat, would it be fun?
[Motu] yes it would. But it is not just an action game
[JanB] Yes, I think so. The action part is fun for it´s own sake.
[EEVIAC] Its just that a lot of action rpg's have boring action - which defeats the purpose really.
[Saint_Proverbius] I noticed in the trailer that you could straffe in combat. Is this a skill? Effected by attributes?
[JanB] It wouldn´t be good if the action part would just be fun because of the story etc.
* Spazmo (~spazmo@Toronto-HSE-ppp3716243.sympatico.ca) has quit IRC (Quit)
[JanB] Actually everybody can do it right from the beginning, but it may be a good idea to make it based on attibutes
[Saint_Proverbius] That's one of my big pet peeves about action CRPGs.. Most of the action is based on the player reflexes, not the character's reflexes.
[JanB] They decide if enemy attacks hit you or not
[Saint_Proverbius] So there is To-Hit rolls?
[JanB] The strafting is just an option - it´s not essential. We showed it, bacause it´s new
[JanB] Yes
[EEVIAC] Criticals?
[Saint_Proverbius] Then what does straffing do if it's not for dodging?
[JanB] Yes, criticals as well
[JanB] It is - you can help your luck
[JanB] But it makes only sense for slow attacks
[JanB] You can´t avoid bullets
[Saint_Proverbius] Ahh.. So if you straffe, it affects the roll?
[Motu] no, you can prefent the roll
[JanB] No - you can evade slow range attacks like plasma bolts
[JanB] Although the RPG elements have BIG influence in combat, we try to make it fun by itself - like Doom
[Saint_Proverbius] Straffing making it harder to hit you might be a neat addition, then.
[Motu] also moving effects the roll. So strafting does as well...
[Saint_Proverbius] Okay, that's cool. That's what I was wondering.
[JanB] The "main" RPG takes place when you´re not on a mission and talk to NPCs etc.
[JanB] Yes, a lot of things effect the roll - distance, speed of enemy, your speed, weapon, sight and much more...
[Saint_Proverbius] Encumbrance?
[Motu] Encumbrance effect the chance to hit? How do you come to that?
[Saint_Proverbius] I.e. if you have a lot of stuff you're carrying, does that affect the roll?
[Motu] no
[JanB] No
[JanB] That would make people feel bad to collect things and we don´t want people to feel bad about that
[Saint_Proverbius] Not even for the kung fu dude?
[JanB] He doesn´t wear a shirt to increase his agility!
[Saint_Proverbius] Hah
* Killian (~Killzig@adsl-156-204-13.bct.bellsouth.net) has joined #RPGCodex
[JanB] *g
[Saint_Proverbius] Any neat weapons for the kung fu guy?
[JanB] Well, it´s not easy to find the right mix. We want as many realistic influences as possible, as long as it doesn´t decreases the fun
[JanB] Cyberclaws
[Motu] Swords
[Saint_Proverbius] What are cyberclaws?
[JanB] Katana (my favorite)
[JanB] Claws that are in the lower arms
[EEVIAC] Like Molly from Neuromancer?
[Motu] right
[JanB] Like Wolverine
[JanB] Yes
[Motu] right again
[Saint_Proverbius] How do you bend your wrist like that?
[JanB] It´s a very cyberpunk'ish weapon
[JanB] What do you mean?
[JanB] You go to the doc and say "Cyberclaws"
[JanB] BTW: We just decided to make Strafting a skill!
[JanB] I guess it will be Johnson-excusive, but maybe it´ll be a misc skill - we´ll have to check this out in detail
[Saint_Proverbius] Yeah, but you can't bend your wrist with those claws retracted.
[Saint_Proverbius] Because they have to go somewhere!
[JanB] And?
[EEVIAC] Why would you want to bend you wrist when you're elbow deep in someone's guts?
[Saint_Proverbius] So you can drive a stick shift.
[Saint_Proverbius] And there are those times when you get lonely and..
[EEVIAC] Turn on the safety.
[JanB] Oh Saint...
[Saint_Proverbius] Hah
[JanB] Never tried meditation?
[EEVIAC] Are there non-story goals, like taking over a corporation for yourself, or destroying an opposing faction outright?
[JanB] Yes
[Motu] but you don't take over any corporation...
[EEVIAC] So we can have an impact on the world?
[JanB] There are some side quests and also some events that only happen in one game and not in the next
[JanB] Well, that has to do with one of the endings and I would prefer not to tell it yet...
[JanB] Did I mention there are mutliple endings??
[Saint_Proverbius] There are endings based on what you do like Fallout?
[JanB] Yes!
[JanB] And that´s your fault, btw
[Saint_Proverbius] All CRPGs need those.
[EEVIAC] Evil endings?
[Motu] very evil...
[JanB] Evil for you or evil for the world? Or both?
[EEVIAC] Evil for the world, most definately.
[JanB] Hehe - maybe...
[EEVIAC] Is the game freeform enough that you can just ignore the story, like Genesis Shadowrun?
[JanB] In any case endings that are evil for you!
[JanB] Yes, you can ignore it
[Motu] but if you do
[JanB] But that would be a shame - all the work... :-/
[Motu] i hate you because i spend month on it...
[JanB] BTW: What questions do you have about the skills, Saint?
[Saint_Proverbius] Does int or other attributes affect how they advance?
[Saint_Proverbius] For example, if you have a high dexterity, do you advance with swords faster?
[Motu] If you have high dex your chance to hit is higher (with the sword)
[Motu] also your damage increase with some sort of weapons
[Motu] skills and attributs offen work together
[Motu] for example PSI Regeneration increases your PSI regeneration Skill in percent
[Motu] the base of your regenertion speed is willpower
[Motu] so if you increase both the effect will increase exponential
[Motu] In other Skills it is likewise
[Saint_Proverbius] Can attributes be increased? If so, how?
[Motu] Strenght is the base for close combat damage
[Motu] every level you got 1 Point for attributs
[JanB] Yes, but slower than in other games
[Motu] so spend it wisely
[JanB] Attributes are - like in real life - hard to increase. Skills are easier (you get 10 skill dev points per level)
[EEVIAC] Will you have to save up points to increase skills at higher levels?
[Motu] no
[JanB] (But you can)
[Motu] the game use a skill pyramid
[Motu] you must know the both pillar skills to increase the skill they are carrying
[JanB] (But only at level 1)
[Saint_Proverbius] Diablo 2 had a problem with skills becoming useless once you got a better skill. For example, spending a bunch of points in the Barbarian's "Leap" skill were wasted once you hit "Leap Attack". How about Restricted Area?
[JanB] It´s different
[JanB] This was important to us, as we didn´t like it in D2
[Motu] there is no skill getting useless
[JanB] They are all very different (really) and independent
[JanB] No two similar attack skills with one beeing more powerful etc.
[Saint_Proverbius] So the basic psi-skill thing is still useful in the end?
[Motu] right
[Motu] PSI is not like mana in D2
[Motu] you don't have enough all the time
[Motu] a low damage Spell that can be cast continuable is worth a lot
[JanB] ...and only one character has PSI energy. Each one has a different special energy which are used for very different stuff
[Motu] while a powerfull PSI attack that can only be cast once for a long period got it's own disadvantage
[Saint_Proverbius] What rating is Restricted Area going for, since that's a big topic?
[JanB] It´s going for M
[Saint_Proverbius] M for what kind of content? Just violence?
[Motu] ...
[Motu] maybe...
[Motu] use of drugs
[JanB] Everybody how likes to get defeated by a clever AI and doesn´t care much about graphics should check out Imerion (www.imerion.net)
[Motu] use of alcohol
[JanB] Violence, Sex, drugs, speech
[JanB] All the funny stuff
[EEVIAC] Its not going to have a really out of place sex scene like Gothic 2 is it?
[JanB] No
[JanB] We are discreet
[Motu] but you can have sex
[JanB] Yes
[Motu] a lot of sex
[JanB] Stop that!
[EEVIAC] With machines?
[Spazmo] What were your major influences when creating the game's story and setting?
[Motu] if you can afford it...
[Motu] cyberpunk
[Spazmo] Well, yeah, but anything in particular?
[JanB] Shadowrun pen and paper I think
[Motu] shadowrun
[Spazmo] Ooh
[Exitium] We all love Shadowrun, don't we?
[Motu] was this a good or a bad Ooh?
[Exitium] It's a good ooh.
[Motu]
[Spazmo] No, I've heard nothing but good vis a vis Shadowrun
[Saint_Proverbius] He's still thinking about the "lots of sex" thing.
[JanB] Maybe also some movies as Matrix, Bladerunner and Terminator (when it goes to the look)
[Motu] we played a lot shadowrun when we were younger
[JanB] Yeah - it was great fun
[Saint_Proverbius] There any kind of skill for making things in the game?
[JanB] What things?
[Exitium] weapons, armors.
[Saint_Proverbius] Good things?
[JanB] (I hope it´s not again about sex)
[Exitium] A craft item skill, JanB.
[JanB] Ohh, you mean items..
[Saint_Proverbius] I won't buy a game where you can't make sex toys!
[Motu] Well, you cannot craft a cyberleg on the street
[Motu] you need a laboratory and so on
[DIPthong] well I really gotta grade papers for tomorrow...later
[Motu] do you build your own computers?
[JanB] But there are repair skills and you can say specialists how to improve your stuff
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[Saint_Proverbius] And are there labs where you can make things?
[Exitium] I build my own computers, Motu, from parts.
[Motu] There are labs
[JanB] I, too - but I didn´t build the CPU
[Motu] but you don't own them
[Exitium] And I suppose that's basically what Saint is asking - if you can build upgrade sfor yourself, from parts.
[JanB] You can build your body - from parts!
[Saint_Proverbius] Does that require a skill, though?
[JanB] No - but you can pay people to upgrade them
[JanB] No, it doesn´t require a skill
[JanB] We thought about that, but this skill would be too important
[Saint_Proverbius] Yeah, I'm talking about getting a bunch of servos and stuff, and making gadgets.. Robots, arms, whatever.
[Motu] the tech got skills a little that way
[Motu] she can alter weapons and cyberware
[Exitium] Yeah, an additional ability/skill which allows you to produce 'extra things', i.e. beyond the basic of self-upgrades.
[Exitium] Does that require a skill of any sort?
[Motu] but the upgrades arn't permanent.
[JanB] No, you can only make them better for a limited time (if you are the tech/computer expert)
[EEVIAC] If I play the game as Samurai, and meet up with the Decker, will I be able to use her skills?
[Exitium] So they're essentially buffing spells in a cyberpunk game, JanB?
[JanB] It´s not like in Ultima online - kill a deer, make shoes of it.
[JanB] Yes, basically
[Motu] oh, you have to
[Motu] only Jessica can enter the cyberspace
[EEVIAC] What if Jessica is in my party?
[JanB] If everybody could, we wouldn´t need different characters...
[Motu] these others don't have the proper skill and would be killed
[JanB] Then she can
[JanB] But you still can´t
[EEVIAC] So, no party member controll?
[Saint_Proverbius] No deer shoes. Gotcha.
[Motu] Can you controll your friend?
[Motu] You play a character
[JanB] No - they have their own will
[Motu] you are Jessica if you play her
[Exitium] I'd like to be Jessica and play myself.
[Saint_Proverbius] Good deal. I get annoyed by NPCs that aren't NPCs.
[Exitium] hint hint.
[Motu] then do it
[JanB] But there´s one exception: Jessica can control her robot drone
[JanB] (if you don´t set it on auto)
[Exitium] Too many games suffer from the "NPC's who just exist to fllow the PC around" syndrome.
[Saint_Proverbius] I think Exitium had his mind in the gutter, Martin.
[Exitium] It's nice to see you guys being proactive about NPCs.
[JanB]
[Motu] BTW: I like the weapon and Cyberware making thing
[Motu] i am thinking if we cannot add something like it
[Motu] skill + material -] new equipment
[Exitium] You certainly can. It'd be worth the effort, too.
[Saint_Proverbius] Add that, and full turn based combat a la Silent Storm.
[Motu] i don't promise it, but we try it
[EEVIAC] Could that extend to adding extra arms?
[Motu] can't you leave the turn based thing for a minute, saint?
[Exitium] Pricne of Qin has a craft items feat, and I must say - it gives the game a lot of depth.
[JanB] Imerion has one, too
[EEVIAC] Saint could use his claws and drive a stick shift at the same time.
[Saint_Proverbius] Prince of Qin's item crafting is tops.
[Exitium] Make sure you have one like it, guys.
[Motu] haven't played yet
[JanB] Okay, we´ll check that out.
[Saint_Proverbius] Yeah, but if you shift in to third, you end up clawing the poor radio to death, EEVIAC.
[Motu] maybe i should do
[Exitium] There's reasons why Diablo II has a horadric cube, too.
[JanB] Yes, to store more stuf...
[JanB] f
[Saint_Proverbius] And Harbinger didn't have that, BTW.
[JanB] HARBINGER is no game!
[Exitium] Originally, yeah - but try playing it with the 1.10 beta patch - you can make stuff with it, a lot of stuff.
[Motu] that'S a bit to hard, jan
[EEVIAC] Not so - one hand on the wheel, one on the stick, two doing nothing at all.
[Exitium] Ooh I wouldn't be saying that, Jan.
[JanB] That hasn´t to do with no cube - it has to do with style!
[Exitium] someone (i.e. pooperscooper) might say that about your game if it doesn't turn out right.
[JanB] Okay, sorry - I take this back
[JanB] It´s not fun - better?
[JanB] What I wanted to say is that it doesn´t lack any cube... the problem are deeper
[Saint_Proverbius] But it's fun to smach down a robot with a custom electric +20 cyberhammer that you just made.
[Exitium] Your NAMEABLE custom electric +20 cyberhammer.
[JanB] The combat is stepping forward - seeing enemy - running away and shooting one time every minute until he´s dead - going forward all the way again
[Motu] NAMEABLE?
[Exitium] Personalizing your weapon and using it to slaughter people is something I dream about.
[Motu] so you name all your weapons?
[Saint_Proverbius] Oh yeah! Especially if you can name your custom weapon.
[JanB] YES, that´s cool )
[Exitium] Something I both dream about and use in all the games I play which support that.
[Motu] and you name your cyberware?
[Motu] This is my leg - fiona?
[Exitium] I name my weapons in games which support it.
[Saint_Proverbius] Yeah, if I had a bionic leg, I'd name is "Kicky".
[JanB] I called my arm SMASHER
[Saint_Proverbius] No, wait.. "Mister Kicky".
[JanB] lol
[Exitium] Can you guess which part of the anatomy is named Mr Pink?
[JanB] Maybe you wanna name your brain "Mr Bread"
[Motu] OK, so everybody want's to name his Equipment????
[Exitium] Yes.
[Exitium] At least make it possible.
[Saint_Proverbius] Motu, you're only freaking out because you're thinking about how you're going to have to rewrite the ADTs for the weapons. :D
[Exitium] there should be a default name for the equipment, obviousl. ut you should be able to rename that.
[Motu] no
[Motu] i am freaking out
[Motu] because
[Motu] i don't like people naming there Arms and legs
[Exitium] Let that be their choice, Motu.
[Motu] But a Button 'Name you leg here' ?
[JanB] Exitium is right - at least for weapons
[Motu] it makes people think they should name there legs
[Exitium] That's the beauty of RPGs - the freedom to play however you like even if it means getting your Paladin killed right after he threatens a red dragon.
[JanB] I call my favorite body part "Mr. Long"
[Exitium] Is that your neck?
[Saint_Proverbius] His wife, on the other hand, calls it "Stumpy."
[JanB] No, my left feet
[Motu] the right one is call 'Mr short'
[JanB] It´s 1/2 size longer than the right
[JanB] Exactly
[Motu] well, don't take him serious.
[Saint_Proverbius] Hey, there's another good name for a leg.. "Mister Stampy."
[Motu] it's 4.20 here in germany
[JanB] I think we should add info about foot size to cyberlegs and make it very a little...
[Exitium] Congratulations for it being 4.20 in germany!
[Motu] the time where the spirit of bad jokes beginns to take over...
[Motu] i mean the time
[Exitium] Bad jokes are the zeitgeist of this channel.
[Saint_Proverbius] Hey, there's criticals, right?
[Motu] zeitgeist, mh?
[Saint_Proverbius] Those should mention the name of the weapons for custom weapons.
[Motu] Well, ok names for custom equipment
[JanB] Custom weapons - if available - will be nameable.
[Exitium] "Mr Stampy took GruntWarrior's head off with a loud *pop*"
[Motu] but no names for medikit buyed at the shop
[Saint_Proverbius] Like.. Proverbius just delivered a skull cracking blow from a round house with Mister Kicky for 328 damage!
[Exitium] Hahah.
[JanB] Mr. Helpmeifimingreatdanger
[Exitium] I'd call my stimpak Mr. Heal
[Saint_Proverbius] What about naming your custom claw hand.. Hanover Fist.
[Motu] ok, after we got all possible name, why not integreat them in the game? Whould be a time saver for the player
[Saint_Proverbius] Like a random name default system?
[JanB] Why not change the topic, now that you got us this heavy load?
[JanB] (y heart, Mr. Pump, isn´t good enough anymore... I need a new one.)
[Saint_Proverbius] I have an idea that would also make Motu cringe.
[Exitium] Try not to die before you finish the game.
[Exitium] Or you'll give Pooper the opportunity to make bad jokes.
[Exitium] Thongs, Saint?
[JanB] I´ll try hard but it´s not easy
[Motu] i am dead allready
[Dhruin] Apologies if this has been covered. The interface in most Action RPGs devolves to left-click for attack and right-click for 'special attack'. Will RA be any different?
[Saint_Proverbius] The ability to gain skills that aren't part of your class at an increased cost.. Like 2 skill points to buy a skill that's part of Jessica's skill if you're the Yukaza.
[Motu] so don't hasitate me with dying
[Motu] yes
[Motu] in RA you can select by yourself
[Motu] we got 3 standart commands for the mouse buttons
[Motu] attack
[Motu] move
[Motu] attack and move
[JanB] (and use skill X)
[Motu] you can use both for both mouse keys
[Motu] skills arn't standart...
[JanB] sorry, just tried to add something that sounds clever
[Dhruin] That's one of the problems with real-time games. It's too hard to use a good variety of skills.
[Saint_Proverbius] Dhruin is right.
[Motu] you got shortcuts
[JanB] Actually they can be accessed easily with 2 mouseclicks OR with a custom shortcut
[JanB] There´s a small, transparent extra menu for skills which is easy to handle
[JanB] @Saint - we thought about this, but it would cost the characters their originallity
[Dhruin] You've got 6 damage areas, right? Can you do aimed shots?
[Motu] no, not realy
[Motu] also one character has the ability to do headshots
[Saint_Proverbius] Not really, Jan. Geneforge does something similar and it doesn't really affect the individuality of the characters at all.
[Motu] The Damage Areas are mostly for your own character.
[Motu] While getting hit at an Arm damage is reduced by armor in that arm etc.
[JanB] ... and the arm is damaged
[Exitium] How are you guys handling the combat?
[Exitium] Dungeon Siege/BG/Lionheart style or 'interactive' like the assassin in Diablo 2?
[Motu] D2 like
[Exitium] With multihit combos?
[Motu] multihit combos?
[Motu] it's not tekken.
[Exitium] The assassin was the only class I played for a long time because of all the combination attacks you could pull off with her - she was interactive, unlike the sorceress.
[Exitium] I know it's not tekken, but it's the thing that made the assassin fun to play, and what makes TEKKEN fun to play!
[Motu] ahh, that you mean
[Exitium] I mean, if you're going with a real time action rpg, you might as well implement the 'action'.
[Exitium] There's no fun playing a so-called action-rpg like lionheart and having to watch some horribly slow battle proceed after you click a monster.
[Exitium] slow and uninteractive, that is to say.
[Motu] there is something planed, but i'm not shure if it will take place like D2
[JanB] @Saint You can play the game forever (unlimited missions), so there´s no "need" to play a different character if one can theoretically learn everything.
[Motu] we don't clone feature
[JanB] Lionheart combat isn´t good. D2 still rules
[JanB] ...in terms of RT combat
[Motu] i liked the one of Tales of Phantasia...
[Motu] but i guess it's outdated :-/
[Saint_Proverbius] Nox had good combat.
[Exitium] Nox had GREAT combat.
[Exitium] And three completely different classes.
[Dhruin] Nox was great.
[JanB] Nox was okay
[Motu] this was very action oriantated
[Exitium] Thefighter had all of these active battle skills, the summoner built drones to deliver bombs and summoned creatures made entirely outof particle effects to do his bidding and built traps, and the mage blasted things.
[Motu] how can you like it, Saint?
[Exitium] See that's the kind of variety I'd like to see in your game.
[Exitium] It's no fun when the only thing separating two different classes is the color of a laser beam.
[Saint_Proverbius] I liked it because it was interesting. Like Exitium said, Nox had a lot to do, and you had to be smart on how it was done.
[Exitium] "Bob uses plasma weapons, his bullets are green! Tom uses laser weapons, he fires red beams!"
[Saint_Proverbius] I really liked crafting bombs in Nox.
[Exitium] I liked setting traps and luring monsters into them.
[Motu] Exitium, i know what you mean
[Motu] but RA is not that like
[Exitium] I did the same with the assassin in Diablo 2 and it's really nice how you could play as either a trap assassin or a martial artist if you decided to develop your character that way.
[Exitium] Having multiple ways on how you can go about creating your character and not simply following a linear progression on your class's development is very, very nice.
[Motu] As there is no level limit in RA you don't have to skill that way, but you can if you want
[Saint_Proverbius] Say, RA will have multiplayer.. And multiplayer invites lots of fun cheating. So, what's RA do to prevent that?
[Exitium] Lionheart tried to do it but they screwed up, big time.
[Exitium] Yeah, is there any central server?
[Motu] Guess not
[Motu] We haven't the budget of Blizzard
[Motu] but we do our best to protect you from cheating
[JanB] And it isn´t save anyway *sigh*
[Saint_Proverbius] What?
[Exitium] Then why devote time to multiplayer?
[Exitium] At all.
[Saint_Proverbius] No save?
[JanB] I meant the close Battlenet
[Motu] is the battle.net save?
[Exitium] Safe, you mean?
[JanB] RA is as save as it can be.
[JanB] safe, sorry
[Exitium] Battle.net's not safe, you're right. There's plenty of cheaters.
[Motu] the game can (for example) detect impossible item of the people you are playing with
[JanB] We try to do your best, but RA is meant for coop with a friend or so - not this 8-people-that-are-in-different-dungeons MP
[Motu] also it is not perfectly safe
[Motu] a character that can exist will not be marked even if he is cheated
[JanB] marked
[JanB] But impossible killer characters won´t be possible
[JanB] That´s already a step
[Motu] impossible things are never possible
[Motu] (read Kant)
[JanB] Of course there´s other stuff to make it safe, but most we can´t tell or it wouldn´t make it safe
[Motu] ohh, yes
[JanB] SOunds more like Konfuzius...
[Saint_Proverbius] Kant was just lazy.
[Motu] or sokrates, who ever knows?
[Motu] lazy?
[JanB] "Impossible things are never possible, possible things are always possible" - that´s Konfizus-style!
[Motu] Did you read his 'Kritik an der reinen Vernunft'?
[JanB] Why not get back to the game?
[JanB] Kant is a different topic that may lead into the wrong direction....
[Exitium] A lot of people disproved Kant.
[Exitium] Nietzsche did.
[JanB] Yes, and I did
[JanB] But I don´t share my wisdom
[Motu] disproved Kant? How can he disprove a person?
[Saint_Proverbius] Kant would have dismissed distortion effects as requiring pixel shader hardware.
[Motu] thats true, indeed.
[Motu] shame on me
[JanB] Any more quesitons about RA?
[Saint_Proverbius] Are armor and things visual?
[JanB] 5 minutes left, then we must start to work on the game again (we always start at 5 am)
[JanB] On the character? Yes
[Saint_Proverbius] Go by my clock. We have 6 more hours of chat until 5am.
[JanB] But there are no external armors, so you can´t see them.
[Motu] Well, there are no big philosophers in RA, if anyone ask
[JanB] But you can see the weapons and things
[Saint_Proverbius] There's no armor?
[JanB] In modern combat, there´s no armor - it reduces agility and doesn´t help
[JanB] against modern weapons
[Saint_Proverbius] There is modern armor. The military uses it.
[JanB] (I guess that´s why they call them "armor piercing")
[Saint_Proverbius] And police use it.
[JanB] I´ve seen military wearing green clothes
[Saint_Proverbius] And this is sci-fi, so power armor!
[Exitium] The GI's use it.
[JanB] Police does sometimes - as gangsters don´t have modern weapons
[JanB] Now
[JanB] But in 2083...
[Exitium] Yes they do.
[JanB] armor piercing is used by everybody
[Dhruin] You've previously mentioned November for a possible shipping date. How's that looking? Any demo in advance?
[Exitium] Uzis are modern weapons, as poor as they are in terms of penetration.
[JanB] @Dhruin There will be a demo, but the release date isn´t fixed yet
[JanB] It may be after X-max
[Exitium] I can't imagine a car full of gangstas on a run firing at cops with mausers and flintlock pistols.
[Exitium] X-mas to the max.
[JanB] Exactly
[JanB] In 2083 it´s called X-max by you american guys. You change all the words from time to time
[Motu] (futurama)
[Exitium] So you're all going to party hardy and make us wait for the demo until you guys stop getting drunk on good german lager, eh?
[Motu] wrong
[JanB] Yes - eh, no
[Motu] we work till 5
[Saint_Proverbius] http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Dec1999/n12131999_9912133.html
[Motu] code, chating with people etc.
[JanB] The problem is that most publishers suck...
[Motu] all suck
[Exitium] Wait till one of them reads this.
[JanB] ...but I guess we shouldn´t go into detail about that :-/
[Motu] but some suck far morew
[Motu] mean more
[Exitium] "We will never hire Master Creation again!"
[JanB] hehe - yes
[JanB] They will
[Saint_Proverbius] Please do go in to detail.. With names.. And phone numbers.
[Exitium] But please, go on - say more.
[JanB] If they can earn money, they will
[JanB] I guess a lot of devs already complained about it (the TOEE guys just did)
[Exitium] They did?
[Saint_Proverbius] Did they?
[Saint_Proverbius] Where?
[JanB] At RPGcodex I think... wait a sec...
[JanB] Troika chat log peek
[Saint_Proverbius] Oh yeah
[JanB] Atari has not told us whether or not they want to pay for a patch, so we will have to see what we can do on our own time
[JanB] Just a bad example, there are better ones on the board I think but I can´t find them right
[Saint_Proverbius] Interplay is notorious for screwing developers.
[Saint_Proverbius] Which is great, because Vivendi is screwing them now.
[JanB] They choose the cheapest box, the smallest manual, change the dates...
[JanB] It´s all about money, neither games nor customers mean anything to (most!) of them
[Motu] And they reduce your budget if it take longer
[JanB] That´s sad
[Motu] And they reduce your budget if it didn't take as long as you thought
[Saint_Proverbius] You guys talked to Dreamcatcher?
[Motu] And in the End they don't want that you can create your own weapons because it is to complex for 'people'
[Exitium] Atari doesn't even have jewel cases.
[Exitium] So your games look like warez copies.
[JanB] Luckily we pay the development all by ourselves and can make all game decisions without them
[Saint_Proverbius] How do you pay for it?
[JanB] A private investor
[Saint_Proverbius] MASTER CREATING IS OWNED BY THE MAFIA!
[Motu] damm, he got us
[JanB] No, it´s not EA!
[Motu] how do we get him killed?
[Motu] wait, have to make a call
[Saint_Proverbius] Pizza? At this hour?
[Motu] ;-)
[JanB] Just someone how thinks he gets more back than he invests - in times of low bank interests
[Motu] what an idiot
[Motu] (never said that)
[JanB] We eat Sushi now - we eat too much Pizza in the past...
[Exitium] He must be one of the guys who still thinks that dotcom is a big industry.
[Exitium] Dim Sum ] Sushi
[Saint_Proverbius] Okay, cultural insensitivity question.. We have pizza delivery here.. Do they have that in Germany? Or is it just bratwurst?
[Motu] only bratwurst...
[Saint_Proverbius] I can live with that.
[Motu] but it comes per internet
[Motu] we call it blitzkrieg
[JanB] We have Pizza delivery here as well - even "american style" pizza!
[Saint_Proverbius] France calls that "Surrender".
[JanB] But we have Sushi delivery as well!
[Motu] And Burger delivery
[Saint_Proverbius] The only time we have sushi delivered to our doors is when the river floods.
[JanB] And after we eat up all chinese and pizza in the city, we now have to eat this japanese fish food
[Motu] technicaly you can order anything here
[JanB] (2 blonds, and I can´t say the word BLOND often enough...)
[Motu] last orders, mh?
[Saint_Proverbius] Yeah, we have hookers here, too. They deliver.
[Exitium] Why's that Jan?
[Motu] it from the movie
[Exitium] Are you addicted to hookers?
[Motu] american pycho
[Motu] (is it called that way in USA?)
[Exitium] That movie sucked.
[Exitium] He stabbed Drew Barrymore in the head.
[Saint_Proverbius] How much interaction can we expect with NPCs in RA? Much dialogue? Come on, say there's 1,000,000+ lines of juicy dialogue!
[Motu] 50-60 pages
[JanB] If you hear it again and again - yeah!
[Exitium] 60 pages?
[Motu] let me take a look
[Exitium] Please.
[JanB] @exitium (girls with that special hair color)
[Saint_Proverbius] Exitium lives in Malaysia. He's never seen a blonde.
[Exitium] Sure I have, I worked in a hotel, remember?
[JanB] Uhhh
[Motu] 56 pages in total (size 10 as a website)
[JanB] BTW: The movie is cool. And I can only hope for you my visiting cards are more white than yours...
[Saint_Proverbius] Okay, add about 200 more before release.
[Motu] i didn't like the movie as well
[JanB] BTW: Fallout hasn´t that much dialoge...
[Motu] but Jan forces me to watch it all over and over again AHHH
[Saint_Proverbius] Fallout was six years ago.
[JanB] And which game had more? Fallout 2?
[Saint_Proverbius] Planescape: Torment.
[JanB] The dialoges are short, but there are many - believe me, it´s more than enough
[Exitium] Torment had 3 million words.
[Exitium] Or was that 3 million lines?
[Saint_Proverbius] Yeah, but they were all "The".
[Motu] and you heard them all?
[Exitium] ToEE only has 300k and it shows.
[Saint_Proverbius] The the the the the the the the the!
[Exitium] Nope. You had to replay it more than twice.
[JanB] @Exitium Malaysia - cool - so your country owns Lotus Cars, Inc.
[Exitium] I only played it over twice.
[Exitium] Yup, we own Lotus.
[Motu] that would be 833 hours to read!
[JanB] Spend me onw
[JanB] I want the M250 to be build!
[Motu] I don't think this is true
[Exitium] you haven't met Chris Avellone. he can write a lot.
[JanB] @Motu Count the words of our dialoges - sounds more impressive!
[JanB] But our dialoges are fully spoken!
[Saint_Proverbius] That's because MCA is a woman.
[JanB] And also you may not care about it - we do
[Exitium] Or an estrogenated man. Same difference.
[Exitium] I do like fully spoken dialogue. It adds immersion. HOWEVER, there should be a lot of it and having spoken dialogue shouldn't be reason to cut dialogue.
[Exitium] We speak at least 10,000 words each day.
[JanB] No, it wasn´t
[JHunz] Motu, that would only take 833 hours to read if you could only read one word per second
[JanB] But it was a reason to make not much more than needed
[Motu] how much can you?
[JanB] I can about 2 or 3
[Exitium] I can read 160 words per second.
[Exitium] Speed reader in da hizzouse.
[Motu] impressiv
[JanB] That´s quite impressive
[Exitium] It's not hard.
[Exitium] Just get that EyeQ program.
[Exitium] I used it for a week.
[Saint_Proverbius] I can't.. I read really slowly, and then fall asleep.
[JanB] That´s why you can HEAR our dialoges
[Exitium] It helps with your spatial perception, too.
[JHunz] I read the Iliad in five hours last week...
[JanB] and then you fall asleep
[Motu] ok let it be 400 hours to read
[Exitium] I read an 800 page book in 8.
[Motu] it's a game, not a Roman Collection
[Exitium] Is that more than the Iliad?
[Saint_Proverbius] JHunz: Yeah, you can read it faster when you don't understand Greek.
[JHunz] Exitium: well, I had to go for comprehension. It was for a class
[JanB] But the characters speak - and they say only 2-3 words per sec
[JHunz] Saint: translated
[JHunz] my fiancee can read Greek now though
[JHunz] does that count?
[Saint_Proverbius] Only if she can make gyros.

Thanks for the time, Jan Bueck and Martin Jaessing of Master Creating for taking the time to chat with us about Restricted Area!