nikolokolus

A thread like this degenerating into hyperbole and near personal attack? Nope, didn't see that coming.

If Obsidian goes into painstaking detail, reducing souls to a concrete game mechanic, that would be a wasted opportunity IMO

The stronghold should sit in a strategically important area, the Endless Paths location sounds like the textbook definition of "bum fudge" Egypt -- if you know what I mean?

I really like that idea. It seems after reading some of the interviews and updates during the kickstarter that they envision the gods as sort of being in the mold of the Greeks or the Scandanavians; entities, with their own agendas, jealousies, foibles, rivalries etc. I also would really like the world to reflect this sort of pantheism, where people make prayers and offerings to multiple gods depending on their needs and whims. The idea of "Team <fill-in-the-blank-god-from-Faerun>" just never really resonated with me.

Greetings! The search feature on these forums is first rate.

Poor Adam

Ah Herve ...

There is no alignment system in this game, so "strictly good / evil" are probably right out the window.

I'd actually like to see a game where contact with the underworld and supernatural are kept rare and don't dominate the narrative.

With notion that souls can splinter or a body can have multiple souls I almost envision a sort of metaphysical DNA that can mutate and recombine. Bit whatever they do I hope the mechanics of souls in this game world are never fully explained... just like the real world. Characters in the game should able to argue over and wrestle with issues of the spiritual realm. Explicit explanations of the planes and spirituality in most CRPGs usually kills the sense of wonder and mystery that the topic should possess.

resurrection/raise dead as a dark necromantic ritual would certainly be a new take on an old standby in D&D games ... hmmm ... I kind of dig it. The negatives would need to be pretty strong: reaction modifiers with "normal" folks should be strongly negative with respect to the unnatural aura that your character emanates, perhaps the body doesn't heal as well or properly anymore? It would be interesting.

God, I think I need to reinstall Fallout 1 and 2 after I finish my Torment and BG 1+2+TB playthroughs ... Oh, yeah. I'm all for specialized kill animations for certain methods of dying (fireballs, acid, cleaving, bludgeoning, piercing, freezing ... ) they probably shouldn't go completely crazy, but a little variety would be cool.

Let me get this straight, we're arguing about what it means to have a soul in a fictitious universe that is in the nascent stages of development? Christ I need more booze for this.

I'm going to skip past the intellectual exercise part of the OP and get down to the question asked in the subtext: "What do you think of publishers?" I don't hate publishers per se, I just hate what they've done to my hobby. In their race to the lowest common denominator, they've hybridized games into a massive, indistinguishable kludge of mostly hot garbage. Copying and pasting Call of Duty and WoW ad infinitum, ad nauseaum, all meant to placate a sea of half-witted console kiddies. Games with real creativity, depth and challenge aren't completely dead, but they seem fewer and farther between than I remember in the 10, 15, 20 years past. So do I begrudge them for being risk averse, profit driven corporate monsters? No, not really. Companies are in the business of making money, but like in most things, when the number of competitors in an industry dwindles because of conglomeration, homogenization and stagnation usually follow, and when that industry is supposedly founded on creative endeavors like making games there's hardly a worse fate I can imagine for us the consumers.

You don't need infinite free time to write a novel set in fictional universe of your own choosing, just dogged determination and creativity. If you're really serious about being a paid, professional writer, then I'd strongly encourage some writer's workshops and just writing as much as you possibly can, hone your craft, have something to say, find your own voice ...

I just want to save the county. Is that really too much to ask?

I vote for the "vampyre" spelling, just to make sure the Twilight kiddies don't get the wrong idea ...

Once per month is fine ... but I really don't need a sheduled update.

They're both really important, but I give the edge to compelling gameplay.

Sounds like an interesting creature and it would be nice to see the concept of a "vampire" being given a different treatment ... of course, you just know somebody is going to want to romance one of the buggers because of the name - the Twilight folks will be most displeased!

Well hopefully by the time Avellone and co. are ready for their thesis defense, they'll have all of their premises properly worked out.

Oh good, it's not just me.

I like how the third triple-post was quite late compared to the other two. I was in a deadspot and the damn thing kept timing out, hitting refresh was not wise.

Damn phone

I just want interesting companions that feel fleshed out. If that includes the weird then awesome.