Undecaf

Since everyone’s making their games as first- or thirdperson action titles, how would it fair for Obsidian to make a game whose graphics were of today, but gameplay of the likes of Daggerfall (or even Morrowind), B.A.T.2 The Koshan Conspiracy or Dreamweb? Kinda like emulating a PnP experience with a good storytelling element.

Here’s a suggestion: Try to find ways to implement combat and non-combat activities in a way that attempts at merging modern and oldschool mechanics and systems. Think a bit outside of the box with that. There’s plenty of modern straightforward action games, first and third person, that already fill that ”void”. Something a bit different mechanically and systemically might not be such a bad idea even if it might sound a bit unorthodox on the outset. Also, the character systems themselves (skills/stats), there’s plenty of room to strive outside the normal fight/sneak/speak setup. Try to explore those avenues and spice up the experience woth things outside that trio. And hete I mean things actually outside them, not just ”here’s a alchemy skill; it’ll let you create potions and beveragies buffing you up to be a better fighter/sneaker/speaker”, or ”here’s crafting skill; it’ll let you create items that’ll help you become a better fighter/sneaker/speaker”. E.g. how about learning languages so you can interact with certain people at all, or cartography to keep up to speed in the wilderness and dungeons, for two examples. Also(2), varied utilities for skills. Perhaps your doctor skill allows you to learn the human anatomy that can help both in healing and in combat (knowing where the vitals are); perhaps there’s a biology skill that helps learning from the flora and fauna of the land. And so on, and so on. Stuff like that. Bits of added intrigue among the usual killing and persuading.

That Eora is located in the Serpens constellation.

Indeed. Combat rolling is a cancer of the combat design these days.

I'd hope they step away from the PoE system and instead, whilst going fo open classes still. Where you have an advantage if you build your character according to your class choice; where you can build a potent fighter even if you are druid, but put those limitations on how far skills (actual skills, none of that PoE "specialization" stuff) can advance. And move on from there.

I'm not objecting to crafting and all that, but what I would want first an fromest, before even thinking of those, is rich character systems that create the feeling that that what ever you're doing, matters some how. One of the good things about TES games of yore, was precisely that. Even moving aroung affected character progression somehow, and the systems therein seeped into other systems, e.g. fatigue affecting chances of success in locpicking, spellcasting and hitting your targets, succesfully creating your potions, etc. That's the sort of feeling I miss in todays games. The feel of playing a PnP session where the GM means business when it comes to systems and character progression.

It really has a bad rep for a reason. What I'm after is much more systemic, and less player driven even though player input is (obviously) required. The point would be to create a situation where the dialog feel like it is occupying the player more whilst retaining the stat driven nature. What that would be in practice in up for debate and requires more thought, but the core idea would be to (with help from other features) make non combat gameplay more interesting and involving so as to step away from the basic cycle in which these games normally operate... which is walk-talk-kill, rinse and repeat. E.g. what would it require to make the walking part interesting aside from combat encounters, what would elevate the talking sequences from simply picking lines, and, well, the killing part could use some systemic flavor too because we've already seen the basics of it in dozens upon dozens of games. Push the envelope on mechanical and systems design. People are not shy anymore of more systems driven gameplay. Creating a "superb" story whilst keeping all else simple and fluid doesn't do anything good anymore, only lukewarmth. But yeah, this is starting to veer off from "speech skills discussion" so that's where the point is.

I would prefer if Obsidian used their current system for skillchecks (that all stats can produce them, and they only drive the discussion towards a certain direction and don't work as "win-buttons"), but I would also like if there were actual "speech" skills like persuasion, intimidation, deception, mercantile, seduction, etc, that were actually put in more "hands-on" use. So that for example, you would actually have to do something to haggle - even if it was something as simple as in Morrowind on choosing how much discount you wanted. Gamify those options that cater to the "opponents" senses and good will, so that the situations in dialog was more... interesting than simply picking tagged lines.

Depends. They might (should?) give the characters looks a gameplay function. Size and ”beauty” and shape (athletic, chubby...) can be used to create large anounts of in-game reactivity and functionality. Synergize that with an actually broad and comprehensive skill system and you might have something that actually pushes the genre forward in some respects.

If only... I'd love myself a good blobber here.

I don't understand. Are playing games not because of the experience they offer, but because of their sequels? What if there are none to be had? Also, I do not think this game is a "sequel" to Deadfire.

Only if they managed to pull off broader systems for characterprogression and interactivity. Better narrative design is almost a given.

Same. Get creative with one thing and design around what that one thing offers.

I don't really care about how they handle the animations. If there are robust systems underneath that gradually improve the gameplay through the progression elements (skills and attributes) so that the player actually feels the progression from **** to good, I'm more than fine.

Ok, sure. Let's just hope the design here becomes a bit more than what is the standard simplicity for first person games in general.

I wouldn't say so by default. It's the gameplay design that decides that.

I don't know anything about that TT game of his other than it being in the works. There any merit in it, or is it all still shrouded?

Now just hoping they are able (and willing) to design broader and more multifaceted gameplay & charactersystems than most of it, either directly or indirectly, dealing with combat.

The game looks artistically very busy and vibrant, overcharged even, but I can't help that it also looks very lifeless and static, even staged. All that colourful and confined emptiness to run through with an occasional predictable fight sequence or dialog. No interactivity or things happening at a distance, nothing. All just set there at steady intervals waiting for the player to come about to trigger it. Perhaps it's just Monarch (or what ever the planet in the video is called) or WIP thing, but it looks... barren, boring and claustrophobic. Combat looks shootery and generic. I don't know how much that sway or reloadspeed in the skill description affects the actual gameplay, though. Hopefully enough for the player to actually feel it, so that it actually makes a difference in gameplay and isn't there just for the show. Dare to make it have an impact. Dialogs seem fine enough, and what the mission design promotes, it sounds good. But... gameplay... that's a bit of a sore spot as presented.

That's 12 extra months worth of patches and personal assesment over whether this game is worth the full price. I can do that.

Combat looks mechanically just as boring as they say they don't wish it to be. A normal shooter based on HP attrition with a slow-mo gimmick to pick your head/weakspot shots (when using a controller... I suspect with a mouse and kb the whole feature is just as useful as VATS was in Fallout 4, which is to say very little at best). Don't know about how combat skills work, though. I'd bet on % or flat inceremts on damage, but... we'll see.

Same here. I'd want them to hone the perspective they have work the best it can for an RPG. And with that in mind, in this interview they said: So, with their chosen perspective it would seem like FPS is the way to go. But rather than doing something that, to almost everyone, seems like a really tired FPS, they should more boldly lean towards the RPG side of it and try out other forms of design. I keep harping about this, but I just can't get over it.

Like this: https://youtu.be/xzYmQyHl2bc /Bestideaever

Could be an interesting contrast if, instead going for ”violence is ****ing funny” or ”here’s some entertaining gore” the game, by the side of its humor, explored subtly the actual consequences of violence, that the gore as its result isn’t giddy to look at and there’s always more than one victim with every mutilated corpse you leave behind (possibly yourself among them eventually).

Did Obsidian comment anything? No. And I don’t believe they will in a while either. TOW is published by Private Division who also published Kerbal Space Program, which is on GOG, so.... perhaps there’s some hope.