Release date

[Tackon D'wall]

Originally posted by fable

If I were upset, I'd have thrown a Kaypro 2 at you. Those things make fine anchors, you know.

What exactly is a Kaypro 2 anyways? Sounds like a professional Marykay cosmetic pusher... if that is true then I would believe most of those would make good projectile weapons cause those so light and skinny.

Seriously though, sorry about my post, I feel DUMB about not noticing the lil emotes.

PS - I hope you don't have a Marykay wife

PSS - Even more than that I REALLY hope u're not a Marykay pusher

[fable]

Originally posted by Tackon D'wall


What exactly is a Kaypro 2 anyways? Sounds like a professional Marykay cosmetic pusher... if that is true then I would believe most of those would make good projectile weapons cause those so light and skinny.

Seriously though, sorry about my post, I feel DUMB about not noticing the lil emotes.

PS - I hope you don't have a Marykay wife

No! Nor shall any Mary Kay user ever step foot inside my house, and leave with said foot intact.

As to the Kaypro 2: it was a relatively early (read: early 80's) PC that actually included both a floppy drive and a hard drive in the same unit. Green-on-grey screens, 64K RAM. Top-of-the-line, at one time.

My wife had one, and refused to give it up as late as reccently years ago. Two moves back, it got left behind. This was not deliberate, but I have no regrets. It served no purpose at all.

Now, I only have to get her to agree to chuck its software.

[Rob-hin]

What does it mean if a game "goes gold"?

[fable]

Originally posted by Rob-hin
What does it mean if a game "goes gold"?

It means that the code has been finalized, and is now "set" in place. The next steps are CD duplication, placement in boxes with manuals, shipping, etc.

[VoodooDali]

I just pre-ordered it from EBgames. Dying to try out a new game on my new PC.

[Keshik]

What's the difference between the standard version and the collector's edition? (PC)

[fable]

No idea. Did you check Bethesda Softworks' website? Or EB?

[Keshik]

Thanks for pointing me to the EB website.

The Collector’s Edition of The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind has the following special features:

The Box
The box itself will be bigger than the regular edition. Not necessarily because it had to be in order to include the extras, but there is something about a larger box size that is, for lack of a better word, cool. It stands out on the shelf better…sets itself apart from every other game (not unlike the game itself). Also, the box itself will not be the regular box with “Collector’s Edition” on it. Instead, the front and back will be in black instead of brown. It’s the kind of box you should expect for Morrowind.

Morrowind Soundtrack CD
With the Collector’s Edition, you’ll have the Morrowind soundtrack on its very own CD, and you can take it with you in your car or to work and daydream about playing the game. Not that people without the Collector’s Edition won’t dream about playing Morrowind too, they just won’t have the cool soundtrack to go with it. This stunning score was composed by Jeremy Soule; his most recent work on games like Icewind Dale has only solidified his standing as one of the most outstanding musicians in the gaming industry.

Ordinator Figurine
The Ordinator is a highly prominent figure in Morrowind and makes a more than appropriate subject for a figurine. First, he's a dark elf, and since Morrowind is the land of the Dark Elves, well, he's a good choice. Second, he's not just any dark elf, but one of the Holy Guards of the Dark Elven Temple. Rawcliffe -- who has done some excellent work on figures for Star Wars Classic, Episode I, and a variety of figures for other games -- will be producing the figurine. The woman who sculpted the Ordinator, Sandra Garrity, did a fantastic job of putting a tremendous amount of detail into the piece. You can see every link in his chain mail, the detail in his breastplate, the symbols in his shield…everything. The figure will be cast in pewter and stand about 2 ½ inches from the base to the top of the mace.

The Art of Morrowind Book
Anyone who has seen Morrowind in action knows that it’s not only a diverse game, but also a very beautiful one. Experience the artwork behind the game with this full-color, 48-page book called The Art of Morrowind. This book is filled with a variety of concept sketches, drawings, renderings, and more. The book is divided into sections, so you get to see early ideas for architectural styles, races, armor, and even some images from the very first “proof of concept” video that was done several years ago. No self-respecting fan of Morrowind or The Elder Scrolls series will be able to sleep at night or look themselves in the mirror if they don’t have this book.

Map
Both the regular and Collector’s Edition of Morrowind will include a full-color, poster-sized map of Morrowind. Bethesda’s Art Director, Mike Wagner, has done an excellent job of working with the team to put together a map that is equal parts functional and attractive.

[fable]

The box itself will be bigger than the regular edition. Not necessarily because it had to be in order to include the extras, but there is something about a larger box size that is, for lack of a better word, cool.

So, fluff. Figures. Far from being "cool" (and their has never been a PR person who ever was cool enough to make the word cool sound natural), big boxes have been the norm for PC games for years. Reviewers have complained about them for a long time. Who likes getting a big fat box that they take home, open up...and find contains a CD and a tiny manual? Those big boxes are deceptive.

I do like the new, slimmer, smaller game boxes that have started showing up on shelves. They're not a result of altruistic game producers, but simply because shelf space has become so prohibitively expensive at the monopolistic game distributing shops we frequent, that producers have to cut down the width of boxes to get the same amount of product in a smaller space.

[Keshik]

I also like the smaller boxes...but there is nothing cooler than dropping out a 200 page manual (I loved the BG2 manual ). I'm tempted to go with the collector's edition though...

[fable]

Yes, latge manuals really can make a difference, I agree, and BG2's was one of the best. I also remember the older Ultima series boxes, with moderate-sized manuals, cloth maps, and metal ankhs.

I've been playing Morrowind for about 8 hours straight, today. It definitely was addictive, especially after I made a level or two and my mage could hold his own in battle. The game just starts opening up, branching out all over the place. I discovered the mage's teleportation system housed in many mage guilds, which is very affordable (for mages). Did a task for a guild leader that took me to a guild in another city. Left to see what the rest of the metropolis looked like--

--and ran into the most realistic realtime sandstorm I've ever seen in a game, complete with perfect sound effects. My character even found it difficult to walk upwind, and all too easy to go the other way.

I must have done a good half dozen quests for three different guild leaders, all very quixotic. One has an idee fixe about Dwarven gods and magic; her third task (which I haven't accepted) actually was to steal a book from another guild leader. A second guild leader wanted me to lead a young lady over an isle at night, safely to a ship that awaited her--she was afraid of being accosted by a noble of House Telvenni, a bunch of high end mages who pretty much do whatever they want. Several times she made it clear that my guild rank was beneath hers.

A third guild leader told me to collect the 2,000 gold pieces owed in back dues by a member in a distant city, and that we'd split the results. Unless, of course, that the guild member refused to pay up, in which case I was supposed to kill her.

At the same time, I ran into a host of other forces who were eager to recruit me, plus an oldline bunch of thieves who hated foreigners, and included me with 'em. I found an unattended alchemy set, all four pieces of excellent quality, and swiped it. My character has been turning out simple fatigue restoration potions for money, off herb samples he's found or stolen.

And I went through two small dungeons, Killing Many Things. It was fun, except when I had to carry a claymore back for sale that weighed *thirty pounds.*

I wish I had a site so I could link in some of the screens I took. The place looks astonishing. This is going to be one of the most talked about CRPGs for a long time to come.

[Keshik]

So you get to try out the cool stuff because you're with GameBanshee? One other question, do you get to keep the copy of Morrowind you're playing?

[Keshik]

BTW, 6000 posts...that's a lot Fable.

[fable]

I know 6000 is a lot! I just realized I'd hit that number, myself. I posted a confession up in the SYM category.

I got the preview copy not because of GB, but because I'm scheduled to right a review for an online magazine. And no, I can't say which. If I did, you could tell then what my real name is. My cover would be blown, and I'd have to kill you.

[Keshik]

Is it a big name or lil known online magazine? BTW, you used "right" instead of "write" ...what would your editor say?

Also, a rather interesting discussion going on in SYM

[fable]

My editor(s) would say, "Even supernatural entities such as we are need sleep now and then."

[Trix]

Hey, thanks for the inside info fable!
Actually having things to think about and decisions to make!
That's gonna come as a welcome relief after 60-odd hours of Dungeon Siege ...

[fable]

Bethesda's saying that it will be in the stores by Friday, so perhaps a shade later than May 1st, as promised--but not by much. I understand the strategy guide is already out. I only hope it's all-inclusive, since it is being written by people intimate with the product.

In general, I wave my privates in the faces of the aunties of strategy guides. They are for the most part true garbage, written by authors who are usually still using very early builds of most games, without accurate information, and planned for release on the same day as the product, itself. I made the mistake, for example, of buying Prima's strategy guide to HOMM IV--the least time I will do that. Half the guide was literally a larger scaled representation of information already in the manual. There were no opinions offered, and it was clear the "author" had never actually played the game. Fortunately, the PR person at Bethesda Softworks was invovled in Morrowind's strategy guide, so I suspect it will be a good one.

[fable]

I've seen the strategy guide--it was out at Electronic Boutique. Not bad: very in depth walkthrough of the various dungeons, some charts on the underlying statistics of various character classes. Nothing of opinion on the various spells, comparisons of prices at shops, or that sort of thing.

[Keshik]

I find that that the strategy guides you buy aren't to useful...it really is a glorified manual, with some walkthroughs (depending on game ). Ones I prefer are the internet ones such as the forums or just Joe Blow's walkthrough. They're usually better and more useful (and a heck of a lot cheaper )...anyways, there's my little speech, and now it's off to bed.

BTW Fable, normal or collector's edition??