Nonek

"Pardon me stranger, but I don't really want anything to do with somebody so well armed! No offence." Adventurers, sellswords, and bravos might have a well deserved or totally unwarranted reputation among the common folk, making wariness and a closemouthed approach somewhat stereotypical. One can imagine that a small village, boasting a couple of guards and a reeve might look upon six heavily armed, armoured and spiritually potent mercenaries with more than a touch of scepticism. Even in the big cities one can imagine that even the local thugs and thumpers might steer clear of such difficult prey, mugging drunkards in back alleys with a shiv is a completely different thing to tackling a longsword weilding armoured juggernaut. It might be nice to see such reactions to the characters profession, after all even the soldier who stands the line would blanch at what the typical adventurer endures in the stygian gloom of hellish dungeons. One can imagine that even the grateful villager, who's life has been saved by the protagonist is more than keen to see him move on, after all danger and the unnatural seem drawn to such ill fated individuals.

Personally i'm not utterly against map markers, in point of fact i'd like the ability to add my own, and if we're visiting the place where we grew up I fully expect the map to reflect this, with markers indicating the important places we know, detailed journal entries and no fog of war. I'm only against what I would consider to be unwarranted simplifications, such as quest markers that stifle exploration and the following of instruction. I do think that making quest markers part of expert mode or a toggled preference is a good idea, but I also believe that the games pathfinding (for wont of a better word) shouldn't be designed around having them enabled.

It must be remembered that it feels considerably hotter because of the natural warmth of the English personality.

Enjoying yours (and all of the artists) concepts so far Ms Hristova. On the subject of Portraits, i'm wondering whether we might have a few more ugly and distinctive faces added to the mix. Overly strong features, subtle mis-alignment of symmetry, missing teeth, vicious scarring, etcetera. Obviously not a great number as most players will undoubtedly wish to play a handsome avatar, but a few extreme examples varying from Jack Elam to Quasimodo levels of distinctiveness.

What i'd personally like to see. "I've seen a bright light in the distance." A journal entry upon witnessing this phenomena, possibly informed by lore as per JFSOCC's excellent suggestion. Here we have a binary choice, explore or don't explore. Explore: Once again we have a choice, we can send in our rogue to scout, use arcane methods of siurveillance, pray for guidance, simply walk straight to the location etcetera. Whatever we find in this place is ours to do with as we wish, the benefit of direct action. Don't explore: We come to a local township where rumours of the phenomenon are rife, and the local Wizard, Clergy or Nobleman are offering a bounty for investigating it, and the possible adverse effects it may be having on the locale. If we show no interest, do not pursue the matter and simply ramble on, then this local authority will act themselves, gathering a party of men and bearding this thing in its lair. The next visit to the township will show the effects that their discovery has had, and the place of the light is sealed and guarded. If we have allready dealt with the matter by taking the previous explore option, and have some proof of such we might get a small purse for saving the township time and trouble. Might not wish to mention it however, and just let its disappearance remain a mystery. We can undertake the quest of the authority figure, gaining reputation, influence and a better reward in the process. This also gives us the option of finding out more about the phenomena, through interactions with the locals and the guesses/experiences of local poachers and gamekeepers etcetera, thus we are better prepared. However what we find in that place may be legally claimed by the landowner, and any secrets we uncover or loot we could not carry out are lost as the locals rush to loot the place.

As I recall it was a game of AD&D set on a dungeon floor plan that depicted a complex of royal tombs, very detailed and labyrinthine. Can't for the life of me remember any of the names involved except for the adventure being set in a region called "Koss." Played with a dwarven fighter, represented by one of the old lead Citadel miniatures figures. Nobbled by a Lich, don't think the GM had much idea what he was doing, setting something like that on a 1st/2nd level party. Still despite the rough introduction, I was enchanted by the possibilities inherent in the medium.

Bob?

I don't know the illiterate might well scorn paper and ink, insisting on mixing blood in a crude form of geas, or spitting on their palms before clasping hands as horse traders are still wont to do. A contract is after all important to the merchant, not to the Barbarian or whomever, for them it's casting doubt on their honour and stating they might lie. It might be nice to see this clash of cultures enacted by the illiterate protagonist, like the severed finger thing in Modoc, Fallout 2. A Cipher might be a good functionally illiterate character, dismissing paper and ink as crude things that can display only the basest subject matter, whereas he can fill your mind with anything you can imagine. Wizards and priests however will I agree no doubt be extremely book learned, unless the religion mandates the learning of dogma and prayers by rote, reserving the holy books for the more accomplished of the clergy, like how services used to be read out from behind rood screens in churches.

Good practical demonstration from the 28 minute mark: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqoh0okQ6Ho

They would, it wasn't uncommon for traveling mercenaries to be illiterate for example. A good point, and though I think most mercenary bands would have a fair number of literate individuals, it would be interesting to have an illiterate protagonist. Especially if he's equally intelligent and learned as the more traditionally taught members of the band, perhaps his memory is far superior because he's had to use mnemonics to absorb information rather than relying on the written word. This raises an interesting point, with the printing press not yet having been invented one assumes that books and writings are still massively expensive, and treated as treasures in their own right. Aristotle's comedies from the Name of the Rose automatically springs to mind, painstakingly hand written with elaborate illustrations in gold leaf, bound in finest calf skin with bronze fittings. A true relic. Edit: Is there a lingua franca in the Dyrwood region?

Looking at the Eternity map i'm inclined to think that civilisation is mainly gathered around the coast, that highways have been trailblazed through the Dyrwood and are maintained by eager settlers, but are also more vulnerable than anyone would wish to admit. Personally I don't equate the setting with medieval Britain or Europe which had seen millenia of sustained, coordinated settlement by the middle ages. I'm thinking more of North America, with the Vaillians (Mexicans) to the south, and the English (Aedyr) to the north, and the rebellious states of the Dyrwood fiercely pursuing independence. In this set-up of course we would have the Glenfathans playing as the the Native Americans (though they are migrants too,) and it's their attitude to the Free Palatinate of the Dyrwood that will decide how dangerous the land is in my eyes. Monsters are fine, as a nuissance they may well be mainly ignored or left to wandering bravos to dispose of, but if they are proving a hindrance to trade and colonisation one can imagine that the ruling powers will hunt them down and exterminate them as the dumb beasts they are. The Glenfathans one imagines are a whole other matter, they seem to be a warrior society with their fondness for Barbarians, and as intelligent adversaries might easily disrupt the vulnerable overland trade routes into the Dyrwood. Not to mention making the settlers lives dangerous in the extreme. Edit: Of course in the no mans land of a quiet war between the Dyrwood and Glenfathans, one can imagine monsters thriving on the lawlessness and ample prey of the conflict.

Like Minsc the rather obvious humour grows tiring with repetition, however one is always free to unequip and sell I suppose. I'd prefer another branching of Ravel's incarnations, like the Seer in Heart of Winter and the Catlady in Targos.

A good point, I could never understand why Beregost in BG failed to erect a stockade, when it was functionally beset by monster within sight of the housing. Personally I expect the world to mostly be safe so long as one keeps to the highways and byways, but the frontier wilderness persists further back in the Dyrwood. Wouldn't mind a well orchestrated siege like Targos in IWD2 again, thought that was very well done.

I like the idea, as we still see pictograms being used on modern motorways for services, petrol, what have you. A bed for an inn, a tankard or barrel for a tavern, an anvil or hammer for a smith etcetera. Obviously there would be a problem with streets named after individuals and places however. Would the illiterate be travelling however? One assumes that like in medieval Europe the average peasant was bound to the land, and would judge the local market town as an exotic destination. I suppose it depends on what level of literacy Josh decides upon.

Yes the idea was spurred by that very game, though I wouldn't go so far as to have to translate them from the Futhark. Indeed, one might argue that adventurers are, to quote a bad actor, boldly going where no man has gone before.

Just a thought on a more organic method of marking out quests, giving directions and adding to the atmosphere and depth of the gameworld. Between cities we have milestones, giving distances to local points of interest, cities, shrines, battlefields of yore etcetera. So that we know we are on the correct path and do not need quest markers or glowing exclamation marks, we can just follow the simple directions we have been given. And if a path or trail is not marked, is that not intriguing in and of itself. Signposts could also mark the way at crossroads, perhaps with shrines for the prayers of passing pilgrims, the grisly gibbet of condemned criminals, or a toll house for the upkeep of the highway. All serving to give directions, while enriching the world, rather than a glowing mark in some far off spot. Street names so that instead of going to the marked house, we look for a hovel clinging to the side of Woedica's temple on Aedyr avenue. Venturing forth to beard the bandits in their lair we are advised to take Goodroad Gate, and the well maintained and travelled highway stretching beyond it. Famous events, heroes and peculiarities could be reflected in the streets names, so that in travelling them we learn more of the local culture, history and peoples. In time hopefully we come to know these locales as well as we do the Strip, Sigil, Mulsantir or Athkatla, and can quickly follow directions without the need to ask or be directed. That being said, random encounters that are not with monsters or peddlers, but simply a farmer leaning on his gate or a goodwife putting out her washing, might be perfect opportunities to gain directions. Local points of interest, warnings, rumours and such might also be passed on, all while serving to reinforce the atmosphere of the locale. Thoughts?

To be honest i've never had a problem with fetch and side quests so long as they're logical and interesting, if they serve to make a point, illustrate a certain behaviour, give us an advantage in a coming main quest, introduce an important character or simply enrich the world around us, then i've no argument with them. Ideally they will be placed so that there's not too much backtracking involved, for instance in side areas of a main quests locale, so that traipsing back and forth is not excessive. However if fetch and side quests are within a city, then exploration is a valuable thing in and of itself, to my thinking. We all know Athkatla and Sigil like the back of our hands, I never minded travelling through as they were so alive and rich with atmosphere. Your reactivity in the world is what I personally hope for in Eternity, on both the large and small scale. Obsidian has proven themselves well able to pioneer such a feature as well, so i'm hopeful.

Dreams: Dreams or vision quests of some sort play an important part in the narrative, always seems to produce a superior game, perhaps just for Ciphers. That there are lots of cultural and racial mores in the games locales, that serve to define the civilisations of the Dyrwood. The resting mechanic is taken full advantage of, so that all its many role playing opportunities are utilised. Play as a Satyr-ish Godlike, with hairy goat legs and such. Durability is brought back with a better implementation. That the npc's are highly distinctive, unique and integrally bound to the plot. Dreads: My fighters are just boring meatshields, whose role is to simply manage the battlefield and take damage, rather than being dangerous, deadly opponents. We are too tightly bound into illogical combat roles, like in the horrible 4th edition of D&D or WOW. Inventory is potent, not my character.

Why would anyone prank call a woman who'd just been rushed into hospital for pregnancy complications in the first place? Whether a celebrity or not, that seems to be an extremely tasteless and quite frankly stupid thing to do. Hopefully if the young lady recieves a payout of some sort, then the dead nurses family can then sue her for their emotional and financial distress.

The thing is, conversation and argument is not a challenge. Not in the same way a combat encounter is, anyway. There are roleplaying systems that try to turn it into one through more complicated social interaction mechanics, but in my experience they don't really work out all that well. The problem is "how do we make conversation just as engaging as combat" is a wrong question. Believe it or not, this mindset is very much the mainstream one: Experimental games that defy it like Proteus or Dear Esther get shouted down by CoD-ites and Grognards alike, and it's part of the problem. Insisting that the feeling of overcoming a challenge and winning is the only thing that makes a game worth playing is like insisting power metal is the only type of music worth listening to: Power metal is great, but by refusing to even consider anything else you're shutting yourself off from an entire galaxy of possibilities. I totally disagree, conversation can be a challenge. Asking the right questions at the right time, doing ones research on the subject, uncovering secrets that pertain to the situation, performing deeds that sway the other party, etcetera. All of these can easily be implemented, rather just arbitrarily dismiss whole portions of the game because a single individual chooses not to like them. The dialogue battles of Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Alpha Protocol and many old school rpg's spring to mind, where numerous variables are taken onto account not just a story being told rather than shown. As for my mindset being the mainstream one, I once again respectfully disagree. Dear Esther isn't a game, it has no interactive opportunities, it simply offers an experience and it will not change despite anything you do. Feature stripping and content deprivation is not innovative, it's been occuring for the past twenty years, and these virtual picture books are the very nadir of that steady decline in quality and interactivity. They are not innovative, because they have no features. There are no possibilities explored in them, just the same story told to every player. To embrace them is to harm the medium, and excuse the developers from creating anything with complexity, choice, consequence or creativity. Sorry to sound so passionate on the subject, but I do not want any aspect of these graphical picture books to taint this kickstarter. The whole industry is moving towards these streamlined "emotional" games, obviously because there's miuch less work involved in making them, but Project Eternity was pitched as an escape from this modern fascination with accessibility and simplification. The milky way is still out there, not watching Dear Esther play itself will not make it disappear.

No.

A long, long time ago, I can still remember how that mechanic used to make me smile. And I knew that if I had the chance, my armour and sword I would enhance, and maybe i'd be more effective for a while. But Update #58 made me shiver, with the butthurt it delivered. Bearded on their doorstep, Obsidian feared a misstep. I can't remember if I cried, when I read about craftings wounded pride. Something touched me deep inside, the day that durability died. So bye-bye rusty chainmail clad guy. Oil and polish your plate armour, there's no need it can't die. And leather can survive a blast furnace and not fry. Because durabilities got to die. Yeah durabilities got to die.

True, does sound a bit preachy on second glance. Please feel free to dismiss or dissect as one wishes.

In general i'm against an equivalency of inventory. obviously I do not want my items to be sub par, but so long as they are thematically correct for my character and beneficial to my playstyle then i'm not particularly upset if I have not chosen an optimal configuration. My character should be the potent force, not his inventory. It's always seemed a little too gamey to have a wide range of every available configuration catered for, regardless of local culture, history or any other factor.

I will probably make a couple of demonstration characters, just to serve as an introduction to character creation, the mechanics and the advancement route that appeals to me then restart on hard, with trial of iron and expert mode enabled, as well as toggling a few other features to my personal preferences.