Wombat

Well fought, NZ. Italy needs Pirlo, I guess.

The basic game-play choices must be just assault and stealth. Once building stealth game-play, giving more ammo and damage capability (increasing damage to opponents while decreasing damage to the protagonist) would be enough for assault option. So, I believe, what Sawyer tried to tell is that they didn't have enough resources to make core stealth game-play, probably, even that of a few years ago. Then, it was a matter of resources. Naturally, the next question is why Obsidian/Sega failed to see this coming...but I don't believe that you failed to see, though. In any case, if issues are recognized and you are working on more promising projects, I think it would suffice for us. It bugs me that AP wasn't able to release CRPGs from fantasy/Sci-Fi genres, though.

Actually, long time ago, I posted possible combination of their story-telling and stealth action game-play in atmospheric settings since they didn't develop a game with such game-play. So, I'm pretty disappointed by the reviews of AP...the designers seem to have thought that they could be successful in polishing the gameplay of something similar to Vampire the Masquerade:Bloodlines, which was exactly what I feared when I was writing them. I'll probably get AP in some time for role-playing factors but my money is almost nothing in financially supporting Obsidian.

Alpha Protocol made me wonder what is going on behind the door but, as far as FO:NV and DSIII go, I cannot find possible major problems (Of course, how the market will react is a totally different story, though). Indeed, information is scarce about the latter but, reading couple of previews and interviews, the system seems to have gotten lot of forethought. (Rather, I'm bit puzzled...how could the same company end up with major gameplay "issues" of AP, which don't seem to be unpredictable even few years ago?)

Some RPGs have magic systems which rooted to the world setting and, judging from what I read so far here, I guess there is a good chance to see such one in DSIII.

Why not? It's one of precious possible customers' opinion who might/might not support the game financially. Jokes aside, just in case some people missed it, DAC kindly listed E3 videos here.

Well-spirited match. They fought well. BTW, has Sawyer gone to sleep?

Reading his boards comments, personally, I find it's pretty convincing...

[Off topic]Germany... [/Off Topic] Germans translation made my stomach hurt but...this is totally incomprehensible... O.K. I'll give it a try at least Davis part. Davis doesn't seem to have explained further but, I presume that he was trying to tell it was where their non-linear story-telling and memorable NPCs find their places (This is obviously different from the analysis of the original writer but I don't believe he has even decent knowledge about Western RPGs, not to mention CRPGs...). Read this article, which I came across when reading this interview. Probably, Square Enix had already noticed their winning formula for "RPG" lost its charm and had been wondering what they were lacking. So, who is good at writing non-linear stories in the western RPG developers? Obsidian is one of their answers. Sounds like this partnership came from reconstruction of game industry and marketing mix. PS Hmmm...now thinking of that, I cannot remember what was the last JPRG I played...IMHO, they are CG movies with TB combat and character advancement systems rather than role-playing games. Chrono Trigger, which is one of Avellone's favorite, was more ambitious with time trip twists in story-line, though. A "strategy RPG," Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together had non-clear-cut good-evil paths in an original fantasy world with historic taste. They were quite old games now and I wonder where these innovations have gone.

Not saying that it is a doomed game, just that the tings that they seem to emphasize since the initial announcement has made my expectations plummet like a rock. Positive surprises still happen Have you done your homework? Visit their own home page and watch some interviews. To make your work easier, they have an unofficial FAQ thread even in their English board. So, do you feel there are too much of action going on? We know that already. That said, in fact, they increased the factors related with character customization, potion making, equipments, and modifications, which are not suitable for occasions such as E3. Even if you are not good at action games, probably, careful usage of these customization factors will be able to compensate for the lack of your skill in action game area if they are successful with what they are trying to do. As for the E3 presentation, the fight seems to be bit clunky and I hope they will be able to polish it. Achieving higher accessibility while keeping depth is the key, as I said before (This is also the reason why I asked about weapon customizations in FO:NV, too. The message is: "I know polishing action part is important but please don't forget about character customization game-play"*). I hope they will be successful in achieving enough share of market to keep their business without producing confusing number of editions. *As for the definition of RPG, personally, I'm inclined to agree with Sawyer but, in reality, his old players tend to regard character customization as an important part of RPG experience.

And do you think it's new advice to any RPG enthusiast to visit here? PS The last time I checked his twitter, the lead designer was talking to insect...

Yea...in terms of the game-play, it's restrictive since, generally speaking, to differentiate it from character customization, equipment customization is desirably redo-able. From the point of view of setting believability, too, it's odd to see that it's not re-doable even by skilled hands. Both weapons and weapon mods must be scarce, so, a fully functional scope must be precious, for example. In such a world, isn't it natural for the characters in the hostile world to develop skills to make full use of these resources? I don't mind "workbench" kind restriction but I cannot see the point of this restriction. I don't see the point of this restriction and I'd appreciate any explanation behind the design decision.

funcroc, how do you manage...er...any way, thanx. from http://xbox360.gamespy.com/xbox-360/fallou.../1097983p2.html (Bold is mine) Even with high repair (or any other appropriate) skill (either that of NPC or PC)?

Aha...then, you indeed had some ideas on resources as expected. I cannot agree with this more. Even with PnP rules, good designers know how to let their rules dictate their worlds/atmosphere. The video game designers have many more tools but the unification does seem to be difficult seeing some conflicting presentation of Alpha Protocol, ranging from voice over, graphics and game plays. Don't worry... I guess I'm accustomed to keep rooms for possible interpretations about what you designers mention but, yes, you are right at that making it clear. Yea...without considering possible usages of it, if you ask me...

It would be pretty nice, yes, but again, not if this takes out focus from other more important areas of the game. There's still time to release the toolset after release, though. But I understand..., remembering what Sawyer wrote about it as well, Onyx engine really seems to be well opted for tactical game-play if not stealth action one, according to the links posted by funcroc (Thanx, funcroc). I'm glad that Aliens didn't end up with just a waste of their time.

Juggling WC and E3... Another post by Davis at Codex Something "funny and crazy" as well

some classics such as pacifist path and idiot dialogue came back. Also, there are some features planned for Van Buren such as sneak skills to hide weapons (IIRC, I think they got this idea from a movie).Well, talking of that, probably the most important feature was the reputation system, although we saw parts of which in some of their past works. What in hell is a 'sex casino?' Maybe, a pregnancy Russian roulette like this? (Sorry, it was bit distasteful but, seriously, at times, I feel this world crazier than any fiction...) For some, this may sound ironical but Bethesda successfully made quite a huge fan base who want encore and it would help the sales for Obsidian. I rather fear bug-bug-buggy scenario but, if Obsidian gnome ghoul units are struggling with severe bug-fixes, the release date sounds really bold. From the IGN E3 article Then, this was what Sawyer was mumbling about rag dolls... It is totally unrealistic but I think the human fireworks would make a good laugh especially since they were intractable different from one-shot Fatman. Same story here.

Then, was he Visceris/Doomsayer/Hades-One? Then, he may have irritated/annoyed some people but, as far as I can remember, he didn't hurt someone seriously. Indeed, he occasionally got on the nerves of even designers (J.E.Sawyer was an easy pray when he was younger), though. Thinking of that, not so many people took him seriously... However, on this occasion, I must make an exception. RIP. @the OP, thank you for informing this to us. Juggling my hobbies, I'm kinda on and off when it comes to browsing but World Cup and E3 made me spot this news. I didn't exchange many words with him but he wasn't rude to me and I believe he wholeheartedly loved this one of his hobbies, which we happened to share.

This sounds like the design direction Bioware took for Dragon Age. To be honest, I thought you may have come up with more interesting ideas but we know it works, at least.

It sounds something similar to Chaosium's Basic Roleplaying system, which is, probably, the oldest learn-by-doing system. If the player is successful in a skill check during a session, at the end of the session, the player gets a chance to add points to the skill in question. Alternatively, if the character has enough time till his/her next adventure and money, he/she can spend his/her time on training a certain skills. In this system, there is little point in using skills repeatedly but the problem is, I wonder how it can be well translated into CRPG, though. For, such skill systems tend to be "realistic" and slow in terms of the character advancement (In fact, most of the skill developments are decided by the backgrounds of the characters during character creation) that there are no way to catch up the seed of 90's CRPGs, not to mention modern games.

Kind of agreed. Especially in heavy fantasy settings, where characters have strength to kill beasts much bigger than themselves, I hadn't found the point in tracking numbers of encumbrance rules. In many cases, they are not aiming at trying to express factors which are important in game-play. So, it was a fresh change of air when I came across with the encumbrance rule of Rune Quest 3rd ed. It has a clear aim to express the penalty of wearing heavy equipment. It is designed to express such a situation where a lightly equipped fighter is evading heavy brows from his/her heavily equipped opponent, patiently awaiting for the moment when the opponent gets worn out. As a game-play, it adds a tactical dimension while expressing the tense, letting the players feel as if they were hearing heart-beats of their characters. Likewise, FONV's encumbrance seems to be designed to add a tactical/strategic dimension while expressing the sense of survival to the players. Personally, I like systems which are clearly aimed to express something/add some factors rather than blindly following some previously established stereotypes. You're talking as if no one did this before.Yes, I guess Dragon Age combined mana with stamina.

Then, have you thought about this kind of system, I mean, a system which differentiates "ammo" for spell/special ability slots? This may make a good shooter/ARPG hybrid since, in ARPG, there are enemies which are weak to certain attacks traditionally categorized into elemental/pure energy attacks. Although there are enemy types which are weak to certain attacks, the player may only find "ammo" for different attacks if they don't think twice before using their limited resource. There can be ammo differentiation for area vs individual attacks (in FONV, there seems to be such differentiation), too. However, in a fantasy setting, things can be more flexible. Spellcaster/ability user may be able to choose between area and individual attacks when using the spell/ability in question like switching shooting mode for automatic rifles in shooters.

Making accessibility high is a key factor for some CRPG developers. As long as they don't remove the depth, I'm not against widening the entrance for role-playing games. In fact, I feel developers of other other genres are learning faster about the character advancement system than some CRPG developers learning about modern gameplays. As long as I read some comments by system designers such as J.E. Sawyer and Nathaniel Chapman (Especially about his blog post about difficulty setting), I believe they are on rational course. Alpha Protocol, which seems to have gone against what they are saying on these boards in this respect, puzzled me, though. Is that such a difficult task?

In any case, I guess we'd better wait for actual game-play footages. To be honest, I'm bit tired of fantasy world settings but, probably, I'd better sit back and see what Chapman and Zeits can do with their new game.