nikolokolus

We. Don't. Know. And it sounds like they don't know yet either.

I think the real issue with leveling feeling trite and kind of stupid boils down to a couple of things. 1) Is the progression curve linear, exponential or hyperbolic (a curve that gradually flattens)? and 2) how quickly do you gain levels? One of the things I thought 1st ed AD&D did really well was flattening out the hit point gains after about level 10 or so, adding just a couple of points per level at a fixed rate with no modifiers. Thus a 10th level fighter compared to a 20th might only differ by 30 hit points, The skill of the higher level fellow would be greater but he wouldn't be at double the hit points and double the damage output. The other thing that sometimes sucks about modern games is that the rewards are too quick, I know part of that is to cater to an increasingly distracted and impatient category of gamers, but it can really cheapen a sense of accomplishment. If Obsidian uses a hyperbolic or logarithmic progression curve for hit points, raw power etc. and makes successive levels a little bit longer/harder to achieve it could go a long way to changing the way we perceive "levels" and the power scale.

It worked wonders for Neverwinter Nights. I'm not trying to be snarky. That seems to be a commonly held opinion. I don't think that's snarky at all. NWN 1's story was so ... ummm ... cartoonish and bland that I only managed to slog through a single play-through before switching gears and doing nothing but playing on a small role-play, hardcore persistent world for the next 4 years. That was a multiplayer game with single player tacked on.

Believe it or not, some people don't like installing mods or altering the out-of-the-box game ... I'm not in that camp, but there are plenty of people who are.

I like a little bit of variety in currency and frankly, if you have a copper based economy with conversion rates for silver, gold and platinum, it makes it a little easier to justify carrying around wealth and giving coins some weight. If 1000 coppers equal a platinum piece and most exchanges and purchases are handled at the copper level you won't end up with a million coins of whatever in your backpack at the end of the game.

I've never really liked reactions to player class because honestly how are they to know if somebody is a thief just by looking at them? I much prefer reactions to garments, badges of office, heraldic symbols, and worn items if at all possible.

If they make something approximating ToEE's art style (and that used 3D character models) that would be pretty fantastic; that game still looks great. And while graphics might not be that important to you (and me) there are people who need some eye candy to play and enjoy a game. Absolutely gameplay and story should be the two main pillars of the game but it also needs a distinctive look and feel. It doesn't have to make your video card bleed, but there's no reason it can't look pleasing to the eye.

The only trouble is, we don't know if that dollar amount ($200K over the previous stretch goal) is a realistic figure for the game to either come with a toolkit, or easily expose assets for modding. I think having a mod-able game is a great idea in theory, but not knowing the technical hurdles they have to overcome to make one or to open up the hood - so to speak - means we shouldn't be setting targets for them.

The best fantasy worlds usually at least have some kind of real world touchstones to anchor them, otherwise it makes it hard to suspend disbelief or relate to them. I'm completely ambivalent about pets being in the game, but I do think if handled properly they can add to the level of verisimilitude.

They aren't mutually exclusive, but they are from an art and style perspective. If the developers want a more hand-painted look and feel for the game, then 3D environments baked into 2D and hand textured in places will give a much different tone than a isometric 3D game with physics and destructible environments. I think both have their place in games, but neither is flatly superior to the other for all applications.Moving away from the strictly Infinity games as a point of comparison and comparing Temple of Elemental Evil, I think it was about the best looking 2D environment with 3D models, axonometric game I think I've every played and I don't think it would have "felt" the same if it had been done in full 3D, with a zoom-able camera, and full support for physics.

So you're saying you have no soul? My condolences.

Maybe if Obsidian is so flush with cash from the kickstarter that they don't know what else to add to the game they could do it, but this is just so much fluff in my opinion -- not a bad idea per se, but really, really far down the priority list for features.

With the game being developed in Unity, it might be tough to expose assets. It seems like there's a bit hurdle from some of the comments I've been reading, but I admit that I don't know much about Unity.

Since we're getting a player house I vote for a guard dog or beast pet to watch over things while you're gone ... by beast pet, I mean of course a tamed manticore.

Mods are great for many games and in some cases they are almost essential -- the Circle of Eight modpack for Temple of Elemental Evil comes to mind. But we also need to bear in mind that this kickstarter just might not give them enough resources to make a viable toolkit. So if they can do it and it doesn't rob resources from the single player out-of-the-box experience I'd love to see a toolkit released either with the game or post release. But I'm not going to lose sleep over it being left out.

If it's a dog I vote for the mutt from 'A Boy and His Dog' telepathic pimp dogs are cool.

I'm guessing Obsidian will still retain editorial control over those player made NPCs ... and they damned well should.

Can I have a pet black panther that I summon from a figurine of wondrous power? I don't think that's been done yet.

Birthdays rule.

I trust Obsidian and their collective game design experience.

Who doesn't love a good gelatinous cube? But i could do without the other overused critters.

It's an interesting idea but one that probably won't fly. CRPGs are by nature player character centric since you drive the action

Personally I'd favor some really capricious and/or indifferent dieties. Make getting their attention a little harrowing and dangerous.

I might be wrong, but after hearing a few comments from the devs I think the "house" is meant to be a small stronghold of some sort? ... or at least it will be something strongly integrated into the gameworld. After all this was the only feature present in the 2 million dollar stretch goal, meaning about $200K dedicated to it. That seems like a decent amount of cash to do something beyond a simple Skyrim style abode.

No Asiatic weapons, unless this world also has an analogous region.