Ztirual

Hahaha! I don't know if its the coffee, but that sure as hell looks funny...

Yes, disappearing corpses can have that effect, unfortunately... And I can't really say how the process goes with implementing a feature of remaining corpses, let alone the decaying corpse idea, as I have no educated clue as to how much work that actually is. Though, both ideas are nevertheless great but small things that add tons of immersion. I played X-Com Enemy Unknown a couple of months ago and installed a mod that made corpses stay, and that little thing simply boosted the atmospheric sense and gameplay experience. I mean, waltzing around in a gritty atmosphere, shooting from behind cover, crouched among hordes of dead E.Ts only to see more piles stack... That really adds something grotesque to the whole thing, and no battle is not grotesque. Isn't that part of why we play games focused on combat any way, the thrill of the experience of abhorrence and violence? Which is not saying that is the only cause, but a good part of it. So, why not flesh the experience out - within reasonable bounds, of course? Hahaha, Amentep! Yes, finally an explanation! Now I probably won't be able to shake off that image whenever I play games with disappearing corpses... Damn those sneaky worms, stealing my kill! That's a good thought, Arch; how do animate dead spells work, if there are no dead? And that's if there is such a spell.

That really does seem to be the only use of AI scripts, that has an actual use any way; it is after all a tactical game. I tried using the more 'advanced' third party AI scripts for BG, but it felt a bit messy as you lose control over tactical decisions - Characters going and doing things contrary to what you meant for them to do simply added difficulty rather than ease. The hotkey scripts was a fine addition though, made it easy to switch weapons and quickly toggle the 'auto-attack,' so I mostly used those since I didn't want the computer to do the job for me. So that could be something, hotkey scripts, but then again, I don't know if hotkeys are already assigned in PoE in that way?

Exactly! That would be an amazingly great feature, but although I agree that it is not of high priority, non-narrative corpses are still part of the player narrative - the story we build up and live out in our minds, the story which reflects onto the screen and back as we get sucked into the world and the gameplay. So, in that aspect, the feature of consistent, or discontinuous, corpses - not necessarily in the mechanic here described - is thus also a large part of the whole experience, they add an important sense and atmosphere of exploration, quests, and combat. I do think quality should come before quantity, definitely, but the ugly beast rearing its head in that, is that it could also become detrimental to the overall quality if the quantities - lesser as well as major - that are part of forming the whole experiencing of the narrative, the quests and the combat and so on, are paid insignificance. Especially so, as it is usually the little and seemingly insignificant things which we feel and remember, consciously or unconsciously, the most. I mean, what would bubbly water be without bubbles? Obviously, still water, but not as much fun to play with. Any way, perhaps I'm just babbling about something that won't matter in the end.

Indeed, that does sound quite reasonable. Yes, 'until area change and excluded from savegames' is a good option, if changeable or permanent durations is out of the question. But still, I'm somehow drawn to the idea of permanent corpses... Could give some intense reminiscences - to ponder about or write in the journal - if you come across a pile of dead remains in some ancient ruins, left there in the wake of the party's blades.

Alright, I hope that is the case too. But why are they not made to remain permanently, changeable, or until area change? I'm not saying that I am proficient about the hardware of today, me not having updated that kind of knowledge, but it doesn't seem like a thing that should be too demanding or stressful for either old or new systems. Though, making it so might be a very different thing... I don't know.

Not sure if this is the correct thread to bring this up, but in accordance with the gameplay footage we've been seeing, I am wondering about the fast 'decompositioning' of the non-narrative corpses - the bodies of fiends that the PC and the party kills, like the encountered Glanfathans or that Skuldr; not the bodies who is part of a narration or to set a certain atmosphere, like the dead bodies of the caravanners in the camp or the dead adventurer in the ruins. I did ask this in another thread, and I still don't know if it has been asked or answered before or recently, but is that seemingly rapid disappearance of corpses something that is supposed to be, or is it merely temporary? Will there be a choice for the user to set up the duration of that function - to increase or decrease the duration that corpses stay, perhaps even make them permanent? Because having the corpses simply vanish, at least as fast as they are now, may draw away from immersion. It would certainly be an amazing feature - though not necessary - to have been in an area, and then when, or if, you go back there, you'll find the rotting skeletons and remains of your former frenzies and battles.

If I had lots of cash, I'd pour it extensively into this project, but I can only give the little I have and hope that my support is to any aid! So thank you yourself for developing such a masterpiece of a game!

Hey man, that's quite true! The fact that it has become an industry in the first place is quite sad - an industry being a mere machine that is supposed to work in maximal efficiency to churn out products - or quantities - as fast as possible, for the highest possible income at the lowest possible expense. Which means that most games - and everything else - isn't really made to tell, to show or share a story with you, but rather to merely get you addicted enough to the pleasure of consuming, so that you'll buy the next quantity and keep consuming products for a high price and a low income. Which is sad, because it is not people's own interests - both gamers or developers - that is the quality which drives the creative indulgence or creations, but what formula the industry tells you is your and other people's interest. So, its a self-sustaining machine, higly profitable, tremendously greedy, and serves only those who have the heart and the capacity to drive it. And now I'm thinking that it may just as well be a good thing to leave Star Wars be - recognizing where it has ended up...

I'm thinking KOTOR #X (or simply Star Wars) in the PoE engine... That would be some twist!

What makes it even more jarring, in my opinion, is that the corpses of the caravan crew, the deer (?) by the wolves and the lootable dead adventurer inside the little dungeon are all displayed for the purpose of narration. Also, the lack of XP from combat meaning that combat, apart from the occasional loot, is more about the actual carnage itself. Yes, I can understand that they have narrative corpses permanent, and in perfomance aspects, I reckon, that to have non-narrative corpses disappear is advantageous to hardware - whether old or new. Though, to have them too be permanent, as otherwise changeable settings, or have the duration last until PC exits/changes the over-arching map area, is beneficial to the roleplaying aspect, the feel and the immersion and so on. For example: PC slays an abominable monstrosity, spilling guts and intestines all over the place, and as you are frenzied beyond your keyboard and mouse, then, suddenly, the nasty remains vanishes, its gone, whisked away by the next gust of wind - so, what is left to show that a great battle recently occurred? Where is the gory face of that recent battle? But then again, I can't argue that much about this, since I don't know the supposition and the purpose behind having non-narrative corpses vanish like they do, or as fast as they do. Is that how it is supposed to be, or is it merely a temporary function for beta? As for the lack of XP for combat, it can really go both ways, as it comes down to how one player perceives or enjoys to play his games - a game doesn't play by itself, and so it might become a crutch, or it might not be anything of concern or notice at all. But does it really change the fact that combat, either way, is always a carnage? The only difference being that one receives the XP later, rather than sooner, while the purpose of combat remains the same - either you leave a carnage, or you become the carnage.

I don't know if this has been asked, but the bodies of fiends that you kill, are they supposed to disappear as quickly as they do in the gameplay video? Or will the duration be increased - or perhaps even permanent, or user controlled - in the final release of the game? I mean, it would give a certain sense of cold-blooded seriousness to the frenzy of battle if the freshly decomposing bodies of enemies would remain, lying scattered about gutted, still, and gory. Having them simply vanish that fast makes me wonder what ghastly maggots must inhabit Eora.

Wow... Just, wow! It looks amazing! Feels inappropriate to try and give it some sort of word, as if a word could describe the sheer amazingness of, if you ask me, this art that I'm looking at!

Oh man, great work! Looks stunning! Now the question is, for me, to indulge in beta, or not to indulge in beta? Going to be a damned itch if not, although the scratching will be even sweeter then when PoE is released... Haven't felt an itch like this since.....

Sweet stuff! I'm certainly looking forward to when PoE is released! Guess that means heeding the load-screen advice from BG II - "While your characters do not need to eat or drink, please remember that YOU DO. We do not want to lose any dedicated players!" Ahhh... Good times!