duckroll

This was a fantastic update to read. I'm really happy to see Tim Cain having a great time designing and programming stuff he's really passionate about. It's great for him and it's great for us as fans. The Stronghold sounds like it's coming together really well, and it's one of the aspects of the game I'm really excited about. I hope that the random events and options in the Stronghold are not all entirely based on combat and commerce though. Those are obviously the most obvious things to put in first, but I'll personally appreciate some events and upgrades which have to do with aesthetics, worldbuilding, and just general flavor. Like things tied to the customs of the local populace, or cosmetic upgrades which allow me to customize the decor, etc. Thanks again for the update and keep up with the great work. :D

I'm fine with these changes, and I'm really happy that while sometimes the solutions aren't perfect, talking about mechanics with the fanbase actually gets results in the end. I'm sure there were fans of the concept of a good durability system, but at the same time it was always clear that the way it was going to work in the game would be somewhat frustrating simply because there's an entire party to upkeep. Keeping the crafting system and enhancing benefits using other skills (like skills relevant to crafting specific item types) is probably the best way to go.

Having a balanced economy in a single player RPG is never easy, and towards the latter part of the game usually almost impossible. I do not think the concern should be "does the player have unlimited funds, how do we stop them?", but based on the rest of the post you're clearly not thinking of that, which is good. Instead the concern should certainly be "are there things in the game players will want to spend money on?" because if there is nothing interesting to spend gold on, gold becomes useless. Personally I like buying unique weapons, so I'm definitely not complaining about that. I love visiting new cities, seeking out merchants, and checking out what they have. I don't like merchant lists to be predictable because that's not fun. If all I do at merchants is check for the newest versions of each weapon type my party uses, buy those and equip them, and sell the old stuff, that's boring. I prefer it when merchants around the world generally sell the same base items, so anyone who missed them previously can still get them at the next location, but at the same time different locations offer unique and sometimes exotic stuff which might or might not be better depending on the player's party makeup and play style, but are always interesting. I wouldn't mind spending premium coin on something which might turn out to be useless for me, as long as it is interesting enough that I get to experiment with something different. Simply having the possibility of trying something that seems cool is good enough for me, but of course it shouldn't be a gimmick item - if it's not useful for me, I should at least recognize after trying it out that it has uses for some other type of party build. Another thing I enjoy spending money on is stronghold/base upgrades. Loved that in Neverwinter Nights 2. I like roleplaying options when it comes to strongholds. It should not just be general upgrades which cost more and more, all doing the same sort of thing (larger hall, more cannons, extra NPC options, etc). I like flavor. I love cosmetic options too. So having different upgrade paths for a stronghold would be appealing, and having completely optional extensions which change the feel of the base without necessarily changing or improving a specific function can be appealing too. For example spending 2000 gold on a Ballroom could lead to optional events where a certain people want to rent it for weddings and other events, and you could choose to charge them different amounts for it. Sometimes by giving it away free you might get better rewards. It would have no other functional purpose, but it creates lite simulation elements which can be good ways to add more flavor to the world. Another suggestion I would have in terms of making wealth meaningful, is to occasionally make it an option for solving situations in quests. This is something I feel most RPGs don't really do much of. Paying your way out of a problem should be an option whenever it is realistic to do so. Bribing people would be the most obvious scenario, but there are also other possibilities. Say a bridge is damaged and the party is unable to proceed to the next destination. Some people offer to help rebuild it if the party can rescue one of their kidnapped child from bandits. An alternative option could be for the player to pay a high sum of money to reopen the builder's guild by financing the reconstruction of the bridge and various repair and upkeep on the entire town. The choice here also wouldn't be seen as entirely good or bad, simply a matter of which is more practical or efficient. If stuff like this is designed throughout the game, it could also encourage parties built on economic ideals - merchant princes. Would be really cool imo.

I really enjoy reading the updates on gameplay mechanics. It's great to know that the developers are focused on both the world/lore and the actual mechanics as well. I've liked everything I read so far about the various classes, and it does sound like the game is going to be really fun to play both on the meta level (character creation, making skill choices, etc) and the practical level (battles, exploration, etc). But the crafting update did raise some warning flags. I fully understand the intent behind the durability system - a) it's a sort of money sink so players are taxed for the equipment which get used the most, b) it serves as a good way to make the crafting skill beneficial in a passive way throughout the game. But let's not kid ourselves - durability sucks. I don't mean to say it's poorly designed most of the time, but rather it's just not a fun system. It's a system fans expect in dungeon crawlers because the attrition is part of the gameplay. It's not fun, it's a waste of time and money to repair stuff after dying 10 times in Diablo or after clearing half an Act. Even with "repair all" as an option at vendors, it doesn't make it any fun, but it just lowers the annoyance. But if attrition is part of the game design - as it is in dungeon crawlers, that's less of an issue. But in a party based single player CRPG, I think it could get psychologically draining if the player gets into a "must fix all, goddamnit!" mindset at every rest stop. Say there's a party of five, and two are front line fighters who use shields. That's 12 pieces of equipment which need to be individually checked/repaired. Unless the player is really into roleplaying a blacksmith warrior, that's probably a little annoying, rather than something interesting or fun. So then I guess my question is this - how much of a disadvantage are equipment which are damaged? Is it a heavy penalty or a minor one? If it is a heavy penalty, that kinda sucks for players who don't really like dealing with this sort of ****, since you have to deal with it for every character in the party. If it's a minor penalty, then how can it be presented to players in a way whereby it's more of a bonus advantage for characters with crafting, rather than something they have to actively think about all the time?

Thanks, can't wait to read more about the game setting. I really hope that there isn't any pressure to cave in on creative decisions because of people threatening to pull out of the Kickstarter. Part of the reason most people are so excited for this is because it is meant to give top-tier creators the chance to finally make the RPG you want, for us. It would become completely meaningless if it becomes a vote by committee design. I think feedback is very important to get a feel of how people are responding to overall issues, but they should not result in direct pandering.

Thank you very much for the corrections.

Released and Shipped games: Delaware - Knights of the Old Republic 2 Pennsylvania - Neverwinter Nights 2 Georgia - Alpha Protocol Massachusetts - Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer Maryland - Neverwinter Nights 2: Storm of Zehir South Carolina - Fallout New Vegas New Hampshire - Dungeon Siege 3 New York - South Park RPG Cancelled Titles: New Jersey - Known as Seven Dwarves while in development, it was something Brian Mitsoda helped develop before it was cancelled. Connecticut - Aliens Crucible, the first Onyx Engine title in development at Obsidian, it was a RPG set in the Alien universe directed by JE Sawyer. Virginia - Nothing much is known about this title other than it was a small internal project which was meant to be released in 2011. Could have been the XBLA game which was put on hold. North Carolina - Latest major project directed by JE Sawyer, rumored to be a next-generation RPG funded by Microsoft. Recently cancelled. Vermont - Scifi RPG with a handful of designers/artists working under the direction of Jason Fader. Could have simply been a failed pitch. Developed in Unreal Engine 3. Unaccounted for: Rhode Island - ?????????

Sup guys. Don't say I didn't do my best to keep you guys informed! Lol.

No, why should this be a big possibility? It's not about it being a possibility. It's just something I heard some time back, when I was asking around about what Obsidian was working on. I didn't think much about it back then, but I'm just throwing this out there now with the new information we have. Could be bull****, but it's what I heard.

I don't know if this is true, but I heard it some time ago: Obsidian is working on a South Park RPG.

Congrats to him. Thanks for the updates. Hope everyone affected by this lands on their feet in a better position.

Been waiting for an update on the story behind this for a long time now. Come on, someone throw us a bone!

This reply is really late, but I didn't think to reply directly to your blog post previously. I read your design breakdown on the DLC shortly after I beat the scenario, and I found it a great read. Personally, I enjoyed the DLC scenario a lot, and I'm looking forward to the upcoming DLC releases as well (finally announced!). There were a few points in particular which I would like to talk about regarding Dead Money though. First of all, my main disappointment was the way the endgame event was scripted. I played Dead Money with my end game save, and I went straight into it. I had already had extensive conversations with Veronica previously on the subject of Father Elijah. I did not expect that the DLC would require me to talk to her again after installing it, for the proper flag values to be registered. As such, I was unable to talk to Father Elijah at the end with Veronica. It's a minor issue in terms of overall gameplay experience, but I feel it is a significant flaw in terms of impacting the roleplaying experience. Secondly, I would like to say that I really appreciated the internal economy system the scenario. It wasn't just about making basic common Fallout items feel valuable and useful again. What really struck me as solid game design was that the vending machines effectively created a value system for otherwise useless junk, and in a way which made complete sense within the logic of the setting. Adding this additional layer in the setting made me pay a lot more attention to digging around in places which I had grown accustomed to ignoring in the normal game, like dressers. It also made me see the object models for cigarette packs and cartons in a whole new way. They weren't **** that I would ignore any longer, but something I would actively seek and get excited over. Great job. Lastly, I really liked how the companion interactions were designed. Not only were they all unique and memorable, but the way their perks were designed to specifically help with different parts of the scenario, and how there were unlockable "secrets" designed into their dialog trees. I feel that the best designed games are the ones which give back to the player as much as the player decides to put in. It is satisfying that there are gameplay rewards and story/background content which can only be discovered by putting the extra effort in. Another touch I really liked was that the companions who were not in your party at the time would actually have conversations with each other around the fountain. This is something I would have loved to see in the Lucky 38 Suite in the main game. It would have been really rewarding if gathering a full team at the suite would result in them interacting with each other. I'm looking forward to the upcoming DLC releases, and I hope you will do design breakdowns for Old World Blues and Lonesome Road as well. Keep up the great work, and all the best!