Say what you want about it being summer or whatever, but before you could never go a whole hour without a single post in GD. There were always enough people from USA, Europe and down under to keep posting 24/7. A lot of the older peeps have recently stopped posting. What's going on? IS IW finally reaching the end of its life or is its heart still beating vibrantly in the gaming and CE forums?

There are still some of us oldtimers around, I've been rather busy of late, trying to resolve so personal issues, but there has been some activity around here. It is kinda slow though.

I noticed it's kinda slow too, but I still post somewhat, although less lately. Maybe it's cuz there are less topics to reply to, however.

Funny enough there is indeed less posting in GD lately, but there seem to be more people around now than there ever were before. A lot of times there's around 160 people present, members and guests alike, so it's not like IW is coming to an end or anything, quite the opposite i'd say.

I guess this generation is more of the quiet kind. [img]graemlins/hehe.gif[/img] Bah... i hate them quiet types, those are usually the ones with the most skeletons in the closet. :D

johnny - 13542 posts
Larry_OHF - 11882 posts


<font color=skyblue>This is what its all about, right johnny?
You don't have enough topics to respond to in order to keep your posting count above mine.
Am I getting too close?
Feeling the pressure?

Bwa ha ha...</font>

[ 08-27-2005, 04:28 PM: Message edited by: Larry_OHF ]

Your PM box is full, Vaskez.

I've got nothing to say these days.

I dunno, the stuff that's typically being discussed here, I can't relate to it as much as I could compared to the stuff we talked about "back in the day" I guess...whatever that was.

I am an oldie (well, kind of anyway), but I just don't have the time to post that often anymore. When I do, I go on a spamming spree. No worries ;)

Don't make me open up a can o'spam dude. It's still there, deep down inside of me, waiting to be unleashed. :D

Don't make me open up a can o'spam dude. It's still there, deep down inside of me, waiting to be unleashed. :D </font>[/QUOTE]So you say. [img]tongue.gif[/img]

I noticed that too... it went from 8:45 to 10:30 or something with no posts in GD. Used to be what, 30 minutes of no posts and we were worrying? [img]tongue.gif[/img]

[ 08-27-2005, 05:49 PM: Message edited by: Sir Goulum ]

This happens when school is back in session every year. It'll pick back up.


Also, remember, the CRPG scene is bare as hell also.. As soon as Oblivion and Neverwinter Nights 2 are out, it'll be crazy busy yet again.

IW is not 'dying' by any means. In fact, the 'expect the unexpected' thingy should really add some more life to the forums! [img]smile.gif[/img]

[ 08-27-2005, 07:44 PM: Message edited by: Ziroc ]

Any timeline one when we actually get find out what the unexpected thing we were supposed to be expecting is? [img]tongue.gif[/img]

I though IW Radio was what we were not to expect. Or is there something else?

How would a radio add more life to the forums? Everyone would be too enthralled in the listening. [img]tongue.gif[/img]

I havent been hear in along time but im here now >_> sad to hear that its not as active as it once was.

I suppose interests have moved to other fields. Mine certainly have, KMC and Space battles have sucked WAY more time in the 5 months I've been on them then IW.

As Z said, IW is primarily a gaming site - it's where we get the bulk of our hits and where we get the bulk of initial sign-ups. Forums go through a attrition and rejuvenation process over their life cycles - our rejuvenation process is tied in to game releases to an extent. Though because we've managed to establish a culture over the past few years our attrition rate is not as high as other forums - you only have to look at how many active members we have here who started in 2001 to see that people do stick around, though they may not post as much.

When BG2 was released this site had the biggest spike of new members in its history, followed by when NWN was released. Each release of a new game which Z features on the main site is accompanied by an uplift in memberships. When NWN 2 is released we'll see another spike.

My excuse for not having posted lately is that I've just moved to Boston where I had no internet access for almost a month. Scary thought, eh. :eek:

Truly scary, Memnoch. I mean, how else are you going to become the fourth member of the 10,000 post club unless you get cracking? :D

I think there is an ebb and flow, and with every organization, whether it be a company, a school, or an online forum, groups of people arrive together, stick around together, and then depart onto something else, replaced by a new crowd. Gaming sure has been thin lately (DL, anyone? ;) ), so while the natural ebb has continued, the natural flow has been slower in picking up.

So it goes. Poo-too-weet!

Mem's got it exactly! [img]smile.gif[/img] Glad you're settling down well, Man!


IW Radio isn't the unexpected thing.. lol, thats old news. since I've been feeling crappy, fighting off some flu or some such nasty thing, I haven't been working on it, but I'll tell you that the date is in Sept, and it will change EVERYTHING on IW. It is the biggest change in IW history actually.

Get well soon Z! :D

Yeah... some come and go... so get busy... like me. Pfah. Too busy I am beginning to space out.

It's been a relief - I just need to get my Mass drivers license and I'm set. Can't believe I need a bloody sponsor to sit in the back seat while I do my road test. :mad: At least I can drive on my OZ license for a year.

When I'm really settled and there's a break, I'll pop on down to Florida and pay you a visit, mate. [img]smile.gif[/img]

Microsoft didn't come back, did they?

I rarely used to post in the General Conversation, then stopped posting for ages. Now I am getting a tad more sociable.

But like many have stated, lack of games=lack of overall posting. I'm really looking forward to the Oblivion release (if there was no Oblivion, I'd recommend shutting down the ES forum).

I was originally frightened/intimidated of posting in the General Conversation forum when I first joined, and I guess that is why I'm still hesitant to post on it nowadays.

Personally, I'm going to have some major changes in my lifestyle due to new ideas/happenings. From the start of the new schoolyear, I'll probably be kept very busy studying and going to clubs so I think you'll be seeing a lot less of me. Not that I've been very active in the summer either. [img]tongue.gif[/img]

However, I'll be back as soon as Oblivion comes out. Additionally, I'll definitely check out 'the greatest change in the history of IW' - maybe it's interesting enough to disrupt my studying. [img]tongue.gif[/img]

Microsoft didn't come back, did they? </font>[/QUOTE]Now that would be something!

Has it changed? ... Really Don't know :(

I was also not around for sometime ... The reason was ... "I WAS SLEEPIN' "

LOL decent, what you on about? You've been here for 5 minutes, you wouldn't know what it was like back in '01 and '02.

Anyway, I was exactly referring to the possibility that maybe it WASN'T just the out of school season or whatever, cos the slow-down's been well, doing its thing for the last few months now.

But guess you guys are right about the gaming part. I've been out of the CRPG scene for years now, so didn't even know they were making a NWN2, but yeah that should speed things up a bit, hopefully some of those peeps'll post in GD too.

Oh and my PM box is now no longer full <- first clean-up in about a year and a half, heh

[ 08-28-2005, 11:11 AM: Message edited by: Vaskez ]

I've just not been playing RPGs, and doing other things, and I tend to come in to read ratehr than to post. Still until recently I have been more active than i ever was when I began, mostly stuch to the BG2 forum when i needed help with the game.

Microsoft didn't come back, did they? </font>[/QUOTE]Now that would be something! </font>[/QUOTE]Heh, maybe we'll be Escape Gaming after all! [img]tongue.gif[/img]

I for one will be back on the gaming forums when NWN2 comes out. That'll be next year, though. I am not even gaming, waiting for my new computer.

I hope that game's good. There doesn't seem to be much else coming out soon, except for Dragon Age.

Aside from NWN II and Dragon Age? Fallout III, Morrowind IV: Oblivion, Fable (for PC), Gothic II Exp., Hellgate, Gothic III, Divine Divinity III, Sacred II. The developing companies of these games all have widely renown previous titles (in the case of Fable, Fable for Xbox).

Also, in addition to the upcoming WoW and Guild Wars (in the case of the latter, it's not yet confirmed but likely inevitable), many original MMORPGs by new companies are being made, if you're into that. Most of them will be crap regardless but who knows - maybe there'll be a new Guild Wars? [img]tongue.gif[/img]


The way I see it, the RPG gaming genre is only about to bloom. [img]graemlins/showoff.gif[/img] Though seeing as the genre is evidently taking a turn to the MMO side, I dearly hope single player RPGs will sustain a decent fanbase.

What about BG3? What is going on with that game?

Aside from NWN II and Dragon Age? Fallout III, Morrowind IV: Oblivion, Fable (for PC), Gothic II Exp., Hellgate, Gothic III, Divine Divinity III, Sacred II. The developing companies of these games all have widely renown previous titles (in the case of Fable, Fable for Xbox).

Also, in addition to the upcoming WoW and Guild Wars (in the case of the latter, it's not yet confirmed but likely inevitable), many original MMORPGs by new companies are being made, if you're into that. Most of them will be crap regardless but who knows - maybe there'll be a new Guild Wars? [img]tongue.gif[/img]
</font>[/QUOTE]Oh. I guess I'm just out of it then. [img]tongue.gif[/img]

I haven't heard anything about BGIII in a while. But then again, I never heard anything about any of those above games either. [img]tongue.gif[/img]

Well I don't have the time I used to have to contribute. But I have to say that I am looking at the forum a lot more than I am posting, because there isn't a lot of topics that interests me here anymore. We did used to have a lot of very interesting discussions on issues in the past, maybe 2 years ago. There always used to be a nice mix of serious and fun topics to post on. I've never been a gratuitous poster, so now when there's mostly only the fun/spammy type of threads I can't be bothered to contribute to those since there's no balance of serious threads. I have to say that I think the CE forum is at least a partial factor in that - when everything was allowed in GD there seemed to be more scope for topics, now the 'war forum' is primarily political and 'leftie-righty' sniping, and the more philosophical or social discussions don't seem to have a place.

Great post Aelia, really hit the nail on the head for me.

Spammy and fun style threads were great fun when they were a change from the norm.

[ 08-28-2005, 05:15 PM: Message edited by: Sigmar ]

Aside from NWN II and Dragon Age? Fallout III, Morrowind IV: Oblivion, Fable (for PC), Gothic II Exp., Hellgate, Gothic III, Divine Divinity III, Sacred II. The developing companies of these games all have widely renown previous titles (in the case of Fable, Fable for Xbox).

Also, in addition to the upcoming WoW and Guild Wars (in the case of the latter, it's not yet confirmed but likely inevitable), many original MMORPGs by new companies are being made, if you're into that. Most of them will be crap regardless but who knows - maybe there'll be a new Guild Wars? [img]tongue.gif[/img]


The way I see it, the RPG gaming genre is only about to bloom. [img]graemlins/showoff.gif[/img] Though seeing as the genre is evidently taking a turn to the MMO side, I dearly hope single player RPGs will sustain a decent fanbase. </font>[/QUOTE]1. It is ES IV: Oblivion (Morrowind was ES :III) [img]tongue.gif[/img]

Secondly, I would hardly say the RPG gaming genre is about to bloom. At least for me. You don't get quality games anymore like you had back during the start of CRPG's. D.W. Bradley's genious with the Might and Magic series and Wizardry series a fading memory. His last game was a sham. I am just an old gamer I guess but for me, nothing will ever beat Wizardry 7: Crusaders of the Dark Savant.

And I am very dissapointed with the RPG industry in general. I haven't seen anything revolutionary in quite awhile, and not so many genious minds around. Oblivion will be amazing, but Bethesda always sticks with the basic package.

Yeah, I'm disapointed too... it's all about action rpgs these days...

It's quite uncertain whether BG III will see the light of day or not. There never was any proof if anyone's actually developing it and, as much as I've read, if it will be developed, Bioware might not be the one to do it. Furthermore, as is apparent from the ending of BG II: Throne of Bhaal, it would be difficult to make a sequel to the BG series that actually relates to the Bhaalspawn storyline. They *could* make a prequel, but that is unlikely.

It's true that lots of the PC RPGs created these days have a leaning towards the action aspect since that is the safest way to earn profit. Of all the games we've listed here, I'm only hoping on Oblivion, Fallout III and NWN II to bring a truly satisfying RPG experience.

Oblivion I've read so much about that I'm certain it'll be a nearly perfect game. Bethesda's (the developing company) Morrowind was breath-takingly huge, beautiful and detail-rich game, the only great flaw being that the character interaction was extremely shallow. However, Bethesda built a new AI system for Oblivion that will definitely rock. Additionally, they've been working on the game since 2002, and as is evident from the screenshots and interviews, the enviroment, atmosphere and therefore the feel of the game will be something unlike we've ever seen in computer games. [img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img] It doesn't take a genious to see that I'm extremely excited about the game. :D

Fallout III will also be developed by Bethesda. I've read as much as there is to read about it from nma-fallout.com and it's much-promising. Bethesda's promised to make the gameplay as true to that of Fallout 1 and 2 as possible. The company's stated that they'll pay much attention to the comments of the series' fanbase, which has a nearly nefariously fanatical reputation.

I have little doubt that NWNII will be a fancy game. I honestly didn't like the first one due to the clunky engine and computer-ish interface screens which took away from the game's atmosphere, not to mention the mediocre official campaign. The reason I'm excited about the second episode is that it shall be developed by Obsidian Entertainment, which now contains some key figures from Black Isle. Chris Avellone, the main writer of Planescape: Torment (which I regard as the greatest RPG of all time) is writing for NWN II. [img]graemlins/showoff.gif[/img]

Blah-blah-blah, pläku-pläku-pläku. [img]tongue.gif[/img]

Well, I hope Oblivion is better than Morrowind. I hated that game.