nikolokolus

I liked ToEE's separate tutorial, it made it possible to get the nuts and bolts of the gameplay down without artificially injecting it into the story.

It sure seems like some of you guys are pretty free with other people's money ...

I guess it all comes down to the game engine's ability to do collision detection and programming formation specific combat bonuses and penalties. If we can actually block opponents with the heavies and keep mobs off of our soft, squidgy spell-casters then that would be fantastic. I dunno, might be tough to implement effectively.

Here's a thought. Make your own ****ty poll

I want epic weapons in barrels, in the alleys behind taverns. Who's with me?!

I like a clean UI ... that doesn't mean wiry or solid, it just means that an interface shouldn't detract from the imagery in the game-world, in fact a UI can be a part of that imagery. Secondly, I like the idea of a customizable interface where elements can be grabbed and moved around or toggled on and off independently or even having multiple elements like a map, character and inventory screen on at the same time. A mini-map however in a high oblique, isometric (axonometric actually) projected game shouldn't be necessary.

Asking for Asiatic influenced classes presumes that there are psuedo-oriental cultures present within the game world, so it's a bit like putting the cart before the horse. So, I'm not dead-set against it, but there has to be a story driven reason for their presence.

A magic item should feel special. They should be scarce and they should almost never be available for purchase in a shop (minus consumables, like potions or perhaps wands and the like?). One of the most immersion breaking things I ever saw was in NWN when you opened up a shop and saw a sequence of dagger +1, dagger +2, dagger +3, ad nauseum, ad infinitum. Weapons, robes, armor, staves, pendants, headwear, etc. should be somewhat unique and/or named (within reason). That doesn't mean that there shouldn't be items made and buy-able using special materials like non-magical mithril or adamantine, etc.

In theory I think it's a great idea and since it's just a portion of profits and Obsidian ostensibly should be able to pick whom they might want to back with "kick it forward" funds,I think it's an idea that has some value. Should it be mandatory for Obsidian? Definitely not, we have no idea what their financial situation might be like and given some of the difficulties they've had with games like Alpha Protocol and not earning a bonus on Fallout New Vegas, maybe they need the money for solvency? This is something that every company should weigh without feeling bound by an obligation they might not be able to reasonably support.

I'm ambivalent about mounts in most games, most of the time they feel like a novelty and unless they are a central gameplay mechanic, they often feel tacked on. I just don't think they're going to matter all that much in a game like this.

I liken it to the difference between skills and perks in Fallout, that worked out OK didn't it? As to the argument for and against experience points for finishing quests/tasks and not for whacking mobs ... the best PnP games I ever played rewarded players at the end of the game session with no regard for the creatures killed, it was all about obstacles overcome. perhaps there will be a way to track these kinds of obstacles overcome in the game without them being strictly tied to a formal "quest?"

Only bumping because this topic is being actively discussed in a parallel thread and perhaps some folks missed it.

Most people in the world are probably poor, so most of the stuff they do possess should be shoddy or of inferior quality. Absolutely let it be lootable, but it should be balanced within the game's built-in economy.

Very nicely illustrated Alkalurops

I like a tight economy, where hard choices have to be made. As for how to acquire booty, you should be able to loot it, find it in dungeons, steal it, earn small returns on investments with merchants/crafters, and gamble. The only thing I don't think would be great is being able to make a profit off of crafting, that skill should actually be a money sink, considering that the rewards are usually meant to give you a better weapon, suit of armor or somesuch.

No I mean UN-like it ... I want the "like" to have never existed in the first place.

I wish there was an "unlike this" button.

I guess anything is possible, but my guess is that it would probably be seen as a lame attempt to appease two vocal groups of proponents for one style of play. In the end it would probably be more trouble than it's worth to try and design.

*sigh* Why is this turning into a TES vs IE thing? Yes, Skyrim sucks as an RPG, but how is that even relevant to the argument? As others have rightly pointed out, TES games aren't the only games that use a more natural method of skill progression instead of XP. TES is just one example of the right sort of idea being poorly implemented. I didn't realize I was making an argument?

Skyrim (and other Bethesda titles) does a very good job at what its for. It's not a particularly good RPG - terrible actually - but for a fantasy, 1st person/OTS magic/sword/bow simulator/dungeon crawler it's quite good and I admit I dumped well over a hundred hours playing it. Personally, I prefer the Infinity style games, particularly Fallout and Arcanum for a free form exploration game, but that doesn't mean that the aforementioned Skyrim is crap, it's just a shame Skyrim is what passes for an RPG these days.

Those two men are great artists, but IMO Obsidian should invest on their own talent. We only got nice things such as Fallout and PST because Tim Cain and Chris Avellone were left alone and given the chance to create something. Give Obsidian artists a chance to shine... but if they fail... off with their heads Just kidding guys, no pressure huh Man, aint that the truth!! As the saying goes, nothing good ever came out of a committee. In the same vein I really hope the devs just make the game they want to make (at the core) and don't feel like they have to bow to the pressure of trying to please everybody with this project. Secondly, it sure would be nice to see a little more trust on behalf of the people following the game. Too often I'm reading things that make me cringe at the massive sense of entitlement some people seem to have.

Assuming it wouldn't be too hard to code into the game, I think it's fine to have both, but personally being able to create multiple characters isn't my cup of tea.

Assuming they didn't go overboard with this sort of thing, I'd be happy to see some elements carried across sequels. Theoretically it shouldn't be too hard to have the save game set a flag on an environment variable and then that variable manifests itself someway in dialogue or perhaps in the presence or absence of some entity or group in the next iteration of the story. But really it should be little touches and not major story elements ... it could get really "branchy" and hard to manage

It's an interesting concept but probably not a high priority. Interesting fact: in years gone by people frequently tried to "train" the left-handedness out of people, believing the trait to be unlucky or a mark of evil (i.e. the sinister hand) Here's an interesting snippet from Wikipedia on the advantages in left-handedness in combat: Maybe they could come up with a story based reason to have left-handed fighters? Perhaps all of the members of the assassins guild are either ambidextrous or left-handed?

We don't even know the game system yet, the whole concept of "levels" is completely arbitrary and nebulous at this point.