The day has come - Bethesda wants to revive another classic

[Sodomy]

DURR, I did that, but when skeletons suddenly show up BEHIND you or you don't want to waste your most powerful spell on a scrub goblin, I'd like to do more than just huck rocks at 'em.

Goddammit, WHY do I want to play those games again?! They're never as good as I remember! FUUUUUUUCK.

...also I doubt it's Thief. To be honest, my money's either on Ultima or another old-school RPG that we'll all go "Ohhhhhhhh THAT one!" and everyone else will go "huh wut?"

This may be news to you, but EotB has ranged weapons other than rocks. You can get a +3 dagger in the first level if you know what you're doing, it doesn't take long to get a sling (just don't be a moron and grab that cursed one on the purple floors), +1 and +2 darts are common in the midgame, it's not hard to get a bow, etc.

Not that it really matters, given that it's easy to just turn your fucking party around when there's enemies behind you.

Also, if Bethesda is touching a CRPG franchise that's not theirs, it's almost certainly Ultima. Ubisoft owns M&M last I checked, they're not doing D&D or VTM, and anything else is too obscure. I still think that Star Trek or a non-RPG franchise is a more likely option.

 

[jagged-jimmy]

Easy guys...they cant possibly handle 3 major, open-world IPs. They probably make some horse driving game... And i really think, that Arcanum or Planescape are too complex to PR-fool the next-gen roxxors.

 

[BehindTimes]

Easy guys...they cant possibly handle 3 major, open-world IPs. They probably make some horse driving game... And i really think, that Arcanum or Planescape are too complex to PR-fool the next-gen roxxors.

Nonsense, Bethesda easily has PST2 covered in their minds.

Nameless hero... Well, you'll also have 2000 nameless NPC's too!
A world of the dead... The world will be completely dead!
An enchanting story... Patrick Stewart reading isn't enchanting?
An open ended game... The world is huge! You can go anywhere to do nothing!
A game which won't get less than 80%... We'll tell people what to think and they'll like it! If not, we can pay the reviewer off.

You all have nothing to worry about. I mean, didn't they just do a lovely job with Oblivion With Gu..., I mean, Fallout 3?

 

[Qwinn]

The rights to Planescape Torment specifically (such as rights to redistribute the game) may belong to BoA, but I think the real issue in producing any -new- game would be who controls the rights to the Planescape -setting-... and that would be Wizards of the Coast. And they shut down that setting years ago and aren't likely to ever authorize another game in it. So PS:T and free NWN2 mods like Purgatorio are all you'll ever likely see in that setting ever again. Shame, really. It's a thousand times more interesting than Forgotten Realms IMO.

Qwinn

 

[MisterStone]

http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/8308/bethesdanewprojectpz5.jpg

Ban DefJam 4 lyfe plz

 

[jagged-jimmy]

Easy guys...they cant possibly handle 3 major, open-world IPs. They probably make some horse driving game... And i really think, that Arcanum or Planescape are too complex to PR-fool the next-gen roxxors.

Nonsense, Bethesda easily has PST2 covered in their minds.

Nameless hero... Well, you'll also have 2000 nameless NPC's too!
A world of the dead... The world will be completely dead!
An enchanting story... Patrick Stewart reading isn't enchanting?
An open ended game... The world is huge! You can go anywhere to do nothing!
A game which won't get less than 80%... We'll tell people what to think and they'll like it! If not, we can pay the reviewer off.

You all have nothing to worry about. I mean, didn't they just do a lovely job with Oblivion With Gu..., I mean, Fallout 3?

You got me wrong, i didnt mean Planescape was too complex. The PR-plan would be too complex. I mean in Fallout u has pwnzor weapons and its got raiders and some bunkers and stuff...you can easily make a campaign on that. But torment on the other hand is known for it RP and reading is required...
Okay, you can throw in some fag magic missles and horses - but whats the difference to Oblivion then? Even the faggest next-gen boy would ask that. They probably still buy it, but it wouldnt make sense for Bethesda, cuz they can just sell Oblivion: next Generic.

 

[BehindTimes]

Okay, you can throw in some fag magic missles and horses - but whats the difference to Oblivion then? Even the faggest next-gen boy would ask that. They probably still buy it, but it wouldnt make sense for Bethesda, cuz they can just sell Oblivion: next Generic.

The difference is a larger audience. The Bethesda fan boy will buy the game regardless. The person who hates Bethesda (that would be me), will avoid it regardless.

But the person who's never been on the Codex might be "I remember the first Planescape. I actually kinda liked it. I'll give this a shot" or "I heard good things about the first Planescape, I'll give this a shot".

And the game will be popular. It will sell 10x more games than the original PST. And it will be hailed by GameSpy and IGN as the best RPG EVAR!, and be voted as one of the top 5 best games ever (as the top 20 games ever this year will be completely forgotten and taken off the list). And you'll have a brand new wave of people who know all about PST, who have been fans for as long as they can remember. And all future versions of the series will follow the Besthesda approach, while those who actually remember the first game will cry at another lost gem.

 

[jagged-jimmy]

Well, thats how it technically works, but 2 "fantasy" games...i dont know. Making Fallout was a smart move business-wise, but another fantasy IP would be too crazy.

 

[MetalCraze]

Fallout 3 is a fantasy IP.

It's all there - even knights in shining armour fighting the stereotypical orcs invasion.

 

[Wyrmlord]

If Bethesda rapes one of the following:

-Arcanum
-Planescape
-Ultima
-VtM

... I'll keel myself.

The VTM setting is discontinued.

It's a new VTR now.

 

[racofer]

The VTM setting is discontinued.

It's a new VTR now.

 

[Tigranes]

Can't be Arcanum or Planescape, so lay down the pitchforks already.

I doubt it's D&D actually, Bethesda never seemed very interested. Possibly to avoid having to fight with Bio/Obs. Who knows.

I'm thinking that if it's not Ultima, it'll be something from very far out left field. Possibly take a non-RPG setting rights and create an RPG out of it. (RED ALERT: THE ROLE PLAYING GAME )

 

[Sodomy]

An interesting possibility that I just realized- Wizardry. AFAIK, it's not owned by anyone who's going to want to hold onto it, it doesn't have WotC-style issues, and it's at least known to a few people.

 

[DefJam101]

The name 'Wizardry' is not capable of selling copies in today's world. It lacks an ultra-pseudo-masculine punch and, in fact, carries an aura of 'D&D faggotry' that frat boy gamers are likely to avoid. To try and market the name as a blockbuster title would be suicide. I don't think we have anything to fear, really.

 

[MisterStone]

Also, lol at whoever was worried about Might and Magic. M&M has always been hackneyed junk, why would anyone bother to acquire the license to this series?

 

[MetalCraze]

Wizardry is safe. It is already raped with console Wizardry 9.

 

[Qwinn]

Something else I'd like to see?

A -worthy- sequel to Master of Magic, or a sequel to Master of Orion 2 that pretends that the horror that was Master of Orion 3 never existed.

I seriously enjoyed both those games. I know, more strategy than RPG, but they were awesome.

Qwinn

 

[Spectacle]

Hmm, maybe it's Mount & Blade 2? Bethesda, flush with cash from two undeserved megahits and completely lacking in any creative ideas of their own, decides to invest in a fairly successful indie RPG developer to polish up their product and bring it to the mass market.

 

[MetalCraze]

Too bad it won't be The Witcher 2.
It would be fun to see TW's fanboys bashing TW2 for the exactly same things they loved in TW1.

 

[Twinfalls]

I wouldn't mind seeing a new Ultima made by Bethesda. :shrug: It'd be better than it remaining in the grave, and it'd also be better than Ultima IX. I somehow doubt anything like this will happen, but I guess Ultima would also allow them to re-use a load of assets from Oblivion.

 

[ArcturusXIV]

You don't have to worry about them making Thief or Deus Ex...Eidos Montreal is already working on sequels to those games (or at least all hints seem to suggest that). Google it. That may not be much of an improvement, though, seeing the direction they are hinting at taking both series'.

My bet is either Wizardry or Ultima Underworld. Personally, I would love to see a dungeon crawl--any dungeon crawl--come out someday. Hopefully they won't leave the puzzle-solving element out to appeal to console gamers.

If Bethesda gets the rights to Lands of Lore, I will be a happy man. That is an IP that actually suits their ethic. Not too heavy on dialogue, more focus on exploration.

Personally, I don't see what all the Bethsoft hate is about, though. I can kind of understand it in a pseudo-sense, since they are marketed as an RPG developer, and they clearly are not, but as an exploration/adventure game company, they do a decent enough job, minus the puzzles.

 

[Wyrmlord]

Also, lol at whoever was worried about Might and Magic. M&M has always been hackneyed junk, why would anyone bother to acquire the license to this series?

In what way?

 

[Tintin]

Ultima/Wizardry is closer to Bethesda's usual antics than Fallout was....

 

[hiver]

The rights to Planescape Torment specifically (such as rights to redistribute the game) may belong to BoA, but I think the real issue in producing any -new- game would be who controls the rights to the Planescape -setting-... and that would be Wizards of the Coast. And they shut down that setting years ago and aren't likely to ever authorize another game in it. So PS:T and free NWN2 mods like Purgatorio are all you'll ever likely see in that setting ever again. Shame, really. It's a thousand times more interesting than Forgotten Realms IMO.

I dont think we need WoTC agreement at all. Planescape game can be made using some other system then DnD and as far as i know it needs to be different to original in about 30% of the content not to be liable to copyright suits ... or something like that.

Of course it would be horrible if bethesda took it but i dont think they will anyway.

 

[Annie Mitsoda]

This may be news to you, but EotB has ranged weapons other than rocks. You can get a +3 dagger in the first level if you know what you're doing, it doesn't take long to get a sling (just don't be a moron and grab that cursed one on the purple floors), +1 and +2 darts are common in the midgame, it's not hard to get a bow, etc.

Not that it really matters, given that it's easy to just turn your fucking party around when there's enemies behind you.

Fnuh. YES, have turned the party around. It's the surrounded bit that's obnoxious. BUT. It's been like... four years since I even touched the game (and then only briefly). The most time I spent playing it was EoB2 back in my early teens, when I had to save my game before every staircase because I was going to have to bullshit past the piracy detector (the "find X word on Y page with this symbol"). And yeah, I picked up the occasional dagger, but that I can recall, didn't get a bow - OH, right - that's why I started putting in rangers in later games. Hmmmmmm.

Also, if Bethesda is touching a CRPG franchise that's not theirs, it's almost certainly Ultima. Ubisoft owns M&M last I checked, they're not doing D&D or VTM, and anything else is too obscure. I still think that Star Trek or a non-RPG franchise is a more likely option.

Good point. Bethesda does own Star Trek, but then again, them doing a new game in that franchise isn't too big a surprise - also, they seem to be shopping it out to smaller studios (like Mad Doc). My only hesitation with saying that I really think it's Ultima is that EA owns that license, and with the current situation financially, they may be more keen on shopping that out to one of THEIR studios rather than someone else's.