Karranthain

Weaving live musician's performances into the soundtrack (celli, violins, 12 string guitars etc.) works best for me. Some period instruments would be great too. While orchestral music has its place, I usually prefer a more intimate sound.

Even just one live part can make a huge difference, i.e. Diablo 2's Tristram... you don't even notice that everything but the guitar isn't live. On a totally unrelated note, I really need to learn to play guitar just so I can play Rogue and Tristram. I'd love this solution. Orchestral music is great, but sometimes it's better to go for a more intimate sound. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAVZoGlKsBY As Zeckul has said, the 12 string guitar is weaved in really elegantly. So from me, a definite yes for the live musicians (small ensembles, solo parts etc.).

Absolutely not. I'd play a MMO if I wanted to deal with aggro mechanics.

Another difference is that in Arcanum you couldn't just buy grenades or these gadgets - you could find some, but that was a rare occurence; you generally had to make them yourself. New Vegas also had a problem with the general overabundance of resources, thus rendering crafting non-mandatory.

This is as close to a confirmation we're going to get (at least for now).

Maybe it's one of the required texts? Or a penance?

I played in hardcore mode too and I don't remember using crafting at all; but that's perhaps more due to the general problem of the overabundance of resources in the game (which was somewhat solved in Dead Money).

I actually don't remember crafting in FO:NV at all, but it's been a long time. I do remember that it definitely wasn't mandatory or even that useful.

Yes, but advancing crafting skills usually amounts to learning new designs - so not much different from schematics. Having separate advancement pools doesn't really change much either (in the crafting system, that is). Yes, but a schematic is just a name - it could be a recipe or anything else; but that's just semantics. Again, I'm not suggesting that PE should use schematics, just similar principles (outlined in the post). I could definitely see our heroes coming upon an ancient tome, containing various alchemical formulas, for an instance.

We're approaching the Crafting & Enchanting stretch goal, so I thought it'd be a good time to discuss mechanics. Arcanum, in my humble opinion, had one of the best crafting systems out of cRPGs I have played. For those who haven't played this title, here's a quick recapitulation : The general concept was simple - characters acquired various item schematics by spending of character points in the appropriate discipline. However, some had to be found - either in shops or in various locations in the game (some would be notoriously hard to locate). It was then simply a matter of finding ingredients to create the desired item : But here's where it got interesting : 1) Lots of variation There were eight disciplines (Herbology, Chemistry, Electric, Explosives, Gun Smithy, Mechanical, Therapeutics and Smithy) in the game, with each discipline having seven degrees within it. And that's not counting found schematics. 2) Not limited to equipment upgrades While some of the disciplines offered just that (i.e. better armour), it was not a general rule. That brings us to the next point. 3) Consumables and utility equipment That, I feel, was the strongest part of this system. Most of the schematics were of various consumables or other assorted amenities. For an instance, the player could craft : a) various grenades (stun, flash, fire, acid, smoke etc.), b) substances that could benefit the player (buffs : combat and non-combat) or harm their foes (poisons), c) traps, d) various useful gadgets (better lockpicks, lanterns, projectile reflecting shields, trap detectors etc.), e) resources (bullets, batteries etc.) f) even pets (automatons). In short - all sorts of useful (or somewhat less so) items, with wildly different combat and non-combat applications. 4) Mixed crafting Some found schematics required having an expertise in two disciplines - e.g. machined plate required advanced knowledge in the fields of Smithy and Mechanical. I think these concepts would be a good source of inspiration for PE.

Yeah, berserkers are a staple in most cRPGs and flagellants are similar in principle - but very different in flavour. But to be fair, they probably wouldn't work as a playable class. But I do think they'd make for very interesting companions - I bet writers would have a lot fun with the dialogue options for these insane characters. And I'd assume that players would enjoy having a Hulk-type character in their team.

Activision owns the rights to Arcanum. That is never going to happen, just FYI. Don't tread on my dream

On that note, I'm still hoping to see the Arcanum 2 Kickstarter

Since monks have been anounced :

I think we'll see first screenshots, or at least some mockups near the end of the Kickstarter campaign.

I'm in favour of a I, too, prefer this solution. Total War : Medieval II wasn't released with a toolset, and this is what the community was able to come up with : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lky9diYN6Qo Most mod tools were actually provided by the modders themselves; the developers just made the game's content easily accessible.

PE setting is fantasy, but one that (allegedly) will be much more down to earth - hence the Darklands connection. In other words - It'll be Darklands sans the historical background and with more pronounced fantasy elements; at least that's my understanding. And if that's the case - I'm all for it

There isn't much you could do from a prone position anyway, maybe fire a musket - so that's why I wouldn't miss it personally. But I agree in principle - the "flavour" mechanics such as grappling really make the combat that much more interesting - particularly because fighters have been traditionally boring in the IE games (with the possible exception if IWD2).

Darklands had fantasy elements, but it was much more grounded in reality than PE will be (at least that's the impression I got).

Please make it so.

Personally, I would be fine with just recording musicians' performance - e.g. a classical guitarist's or cellist's solos weaved into Justin's work. I'd imagine that'd be much cheaper.

I'd absolutely love it if you'd find a way to incorporate some guitar work into the soundtrack - 12 string please http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ET7OEgRgwPU http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPwBGOaw3pY&feature=relmfu

Good point about grappling, but I don't find prone attacks essential, personally. And I absolutely agree on the topic of weapon differentiation (check the first post in this topic, it has some ideas covering this concept).

I'm looking forward to knowing more details about the spell system. Also, I'm really hoping for reach weapons - even if they'd only allow wielders to attack from a larger distance, with no additional mechanics.

I must say I wasn't a big fan of this as well : I'd prefer it if only some classes (priest, monk, wizard, cipher) would be able to tap into their soul's power. Would make it more unique.