Nonek

Always in favour of more diverse and interesting enviroments. What would the water affect, sneaking, movement rates, fire, lightning and ice spells?

I'm sorry I just naturally assumed the game was for children with the childlike avatars and simplified dialogue, no insult intended. However i'd still say that the text description is far richer and more descriptive than a grimacing expression, which really adds nothing whatsoever. If Spirit Engine 2 can have text like I describe, then it would be far more text heavy and once again not need the two or three expressions particularly. I'd rather have a fine portrait or some such, than a few pointless expressions.

To me it just looked lifeless and very static, compare it to the Deionarra sensory stone scene or Christina's finger talk from Dead Money. Both the limited descriptions and few facial expressions of this Spirit Engine 2 pale in comparison, obviously that games for children while Eternity is aimed at a far more mature demographic, but i'd still say that Obsidians text trumps these few animations. For comparison: The Cipher slumps to the ground, his body wracked by spasms of pain, his hands shaking as they rise to clasp his temples. For a brief moment of eternity he struggles, silent and senseless, wrapped in his own world of agony. Finally his blood red eyes rise from the floor to lock upon yours with the force of a hammer blow. "Get out," he groans. Versus: Grimace facial expression: Get out!

Sorry to say this but there's no nuance to those Spirit Engine 2 facial expressions, and they do not encompass what the player may be doing with his body or his tone of voice. All these things are easily expressed in text, and a whole legion of other options are available too. I would say why use something that limits one options, when text can easily and cheaply do far more?

Wonder if a Cipher could in desperation latch his soul onto a steel blade at the moment of his death, then wait and watch over the years, determined to find himself a new puppet of flesh.

God help any animator trying to map out Nameless' expressions during the Deionarra's sensory stone scene, they simply couldn't do the rich text any justice. I wouldn't mind little combat taunts on my avatar during combat, such as Torments idle and mid combat animations. Axe Idle: Nameless slides his thumb along the edge of the blade. Axe Combat: He waves his opponents to come and try him. Club Idle: Hefted before his face and inspected. Club Combat: Waved before him in a figure of eight pattern. Can't remember the rest, but they were nice little additions.

Might be a very nice method of making certain characters more valuable as well, if they can translate or even (at higher influence levels) teach you a language.

I didn't even think about any of the more involved matters, Bioware have never been about producing a logical and internally consistent background, they're just about brainless fun and power fantasies, which they do well. I found both ME 1&2 immensely enjoyable when approached as such, though Shepards death and no way to continue my game was a bit rum, still I made the choice to treat the suicide mission as urgent so that's on me.

Anyone who's played all the Ultimas usually knows the Futhark half by heart, it added a nice little bit of depth there. That said I prefered the different levels of accuracy in translation that Torment offered, so that you could actually spy on your own companions while they translated for you, it was very "practical." One thing there is room for learning though is local slang and phrases, they always add so much depth to a culture at very little cost.

Erm quick question, with the early firearms being implemented to reflect their specific pros and cons, we are not going to see these weapons never missing are we? Even the trusty old Brown Bess was an unreliable weapon when it came to accuracy.

I understand the concept Osvir, I just don't particularly like it, it seems for want of a better word too gamey. I might be wrong however, but there will have to be different methods for missile and surprise attacks surely, an utterly ignorant target will not be defending himself with stamina.

In all honesty, not being able to miss at all seems silly. I can see it working in a game sense, but the concept just doesn't appeal at all.

Thinking on it, I wonder if you could advance the basic concept of souls within people so that the druids sees far more durable spirits, those of the land, the oceans, and the vaults of heaven etcetera. Whereas the Cipher would manipulate the souls and minds of others, the Druid would see them as merely a background noise of abundant life. Focusing more on the old hill that has withstood the weathering of time since being born in magma and quake, the river that has succored and shaped the surroundings lands since the great ice retreated, the endless oceans where life was born and at the heart of the world the great beating fiery heart that stills beats. The world would seem to be a very different place to such an individual, a place of colossal titans and opposing forces. Where the mighty cities and civilisations of man are but a plague of locusts, briefly spreading over the skin of mother earth but soon to be scratched loose. Indeed he would not even resent the great stone cities, for they are made from the bones of the earth and their inhabitants feed the mother in death despite all their struggles against the cycle of life. Perhaps there are even elder gods still in the earth, great spirits of powerful places who were born at the dawn of time, and need not the pitiful prayers of fearful mortals. Their power would wax and wane as their elements did, so that during an ice age the white king would rule uncontested, only to retreat to his polar fastness when the long summer comes. Wouldn't it be interesting if all of the Druids powers came from beseeching such beings, waking these old elementals so that they might aid him.

Thinking about it, i'm drawn to the idea of a Cipher as a general of armies. With a whispered word in their minds he can command his own officers, or steal the battle plans of enemy generals out of their heads, perhaps even fill the attacking regiments with visions of fear and flight. One can imagine him, stood on a cliff top high above the battleground, playing chess with his armies and perhaps even growing fat feeding on the screaming souls that die in the muck and blood below.

The Friend at the Fireplace, the Old Hound, the Greyfather: Chanters tell an ancient tale, of when man still dwelt in the great eternal wald, and at night would sit shivering in superstitious dread around their campfires. One night an old lord of wolves came to the fires of man, and lay down in the warmth and comfort. He would he said stand guard against the shadows and drive away any wrongdoers, and in return the people would feed him and take him in as family. So it came to pass, and the Greyfathers pups would come to be the first hounds born in mans lands. So mankind was blessed with a great friend and able hunting partner, and together the two species grew strong and populous. What is not often told is that the Old Hound did not die or fall in service, he slipped away into the wald when his children were full grown and lived alone once more as a lord of wolves should. But often across the lands tales will be told of him, of lost children found sleeping warm and safe in the thick fur of a giant grey wolf, of a housewife menaced by brigands who finds his massive form and slavering jaws at her side, of the unlucky hunter who is gifted a freshly killed stag by a grinning old wolf. Whether he is spirit or god no one knows, but the Friend at the Fireplace has been seen across the world. It is known that he protects the home and hearth, that small children are safe in his care, and that the hunter may call upon him for luck. More than this however the Greyfather is known as the staunchest of guardians, his loyalty to the family of man unquestioned, and when an individual is valourously loyal he is said to have the heart of the Old Hound. Those who beat hounds, mistreat their families or kill indiscriminately during the hunt are said to be shunned by this ancient being, and are cursed by ill luck and the hatred of all beasts.

I'm still a little enamoured of it, as can be surmised from the wall of text. That said I do appreciate that the gameplay and combat are almost entirely divorced from the plot, with little to no statistical affect on the game through character building. Like most games, i'd prefer if it was turn based and more in depth, but i'm slowly growing used to the fact that those games just aren't going to be made.

I'm a proponent of text describing expression, it's a brutally simplistic (and yet intricate) tool when put in the right hands, and one would imagine cheaper and more editable. The conversations in Torment were a joy to read because of the quirks and mannerisms of the characters presented therein, if we're limited to a quite small set of grimaces, grins and gurns then I would feel it was a little lacking in comparison.

Just finished the Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, third playthrough of the game and i'm more impressed than ever with its subtle narrative. There is just so much hinted at and left up to the players investigation and intellect, rather than the usual blatant trumpeting of plot points and events. The enhanced edition also seems to have added a lot more facial expression to the characters, whether that be a raised brow, a smile or what have you. The new quest in chapter three of Roche's path is well integrated and clears up a certain unexplained absence (though not entirely,) and the combat has been improved considerably. The UI still suffers from being made for both mouse and gamepad, and optimised for neither, in point of fact I much prefered the more internally consistent and limited inventory of the first game. The quick time events are still present, and I still absolutely see no point in most of them. The boxing is easy to the point of not unduly bothering me, however the other uses of quick time events are just superfluous. The dice poker which was an enjoyable and profitable passtime in the first game has become just another quest to complete, with minimal renumeration and an almost unreadble viewing angle. The game is very cinematic heavy, as was the first game, but they are of such high quality presentation and importance to the plot that I was left curiously enough satisfied with them. They are presented in a very "less is more" fashion, that really lets the player take what he wishes from the scenes presented. I had only one major gripe with them, in the fact that the game clumsily decides I have lost in a certain combat with my antagonist early on. That seemed very poorly handled, and given the brilliance of the antagonist could have been resolved in a far more inventive fashion. All told i'd say this is one of the most in depth and satisfying action rpgs (or maybe action adventures, i'm no good with genres) that i've ever played. Though short and setting a blistering pace, repeated playthroughs are not just possible but almost necessary, and I was still surprised by some conclusions that came to me in my third experience. Well that went on a bit longer than i'd planned, i'm usually the soul of brevity.

On further reflection i'm not so much against the idea of the protagonist dying and the game continuing, but the prospect of utilising the npcs to fill his role. To me the npcs that Obsidian produces are the best in the business, both interesting and nuanced, and I don't want to sully or disrupt them and their arc by taking control of them. So this would necessitate that we either start a new character, who once again has a logical and integral part in the narrative, or that we return as some kind of animus (be that an undead, a golem or a possessing spirit.) Now this seems do-able and maybe beneficial to the games focus on the importance of souls, but not something that can happen numerous times or is a risk in every battle, lest it becomes ridiculous. So maybe an event transpiring at some point in the game, or even your death in the prologue and throughout the rest of the playthrough you are basically a revenant? Basically playing as Torian Kel or Vhailor. Or maybe you uncover the tale of an ancient hero in your travels, a series of clues leading to his lost tomb, that lets you shape his character and background through rough translations (so that the player is in control of his creation.) Upon the players fall to some antagonist force, this hero is reborn through some weird metaphysical convergence of his remains and the protagonists fading soul, so that you still have the adventuring impetus stirring in your twinned souls but also the ashes of a previous life to explore and examine. Seems a bit convoluted however.

Speaking personally, the only problem I have with Steam and all the other drm's, is that they're an added layer of complication that I neither need nor want. I do not pirate software, so why am I being targeted by these rather draconian methods. That said with Steam safely sandboxed and offline for months at a time, i'm not too put out by it. I still however do not see the reason for such constant vigilance of ones customers, i'm certainly not that interested in the people employed at Valve, it's a little offputting. Mind you, my own family aren't usually that interested in me so it's also somewhat flattering.

Skyfall, the latest Bond flick, strangely enough I was just totally unimpressed from the beginning to the end. Haven't the faintest idea why, it seemed a million miles away from what Casino Royale was trying to do however (which I quite liked.)

I'm always in favour of a pro-active protagonist and a more reactive world. In both New Vegas, Alpha Protocol and to a lesser extent Dungeon Siege 3 it is the protagonist who decides (whether knowingly or not) whom his primary antagonists and allies are, therefore I see no problems with taking a more active hand in Eternity. I've completed two playthroughs of Alpha Protocol and the differences could not be more startling. As a recruit I played as a stupidly naive puppet, dancing to my masters tunes and maintaining a righteous sense of outrage throughout. In the veteran playthrough I slowly but surely built my power base around the world, and come the denouement usurped the antagonists throne. If Eternity is anywhere as ambitious as that, i'll be more than happy.

@Osvir. Personally I never thought of the silver shard as marking out the player character of NWN2 for some higher destiny, and certainly no deity or otherworldly power was forcing his hand, and thus making him their chosen one. To me the shard bearer was simply unlucky, first for being caught up in Ammon Jerro's conflict as a babe in arms, and secondly for surviving the shard embedding in his flesh. Through random chance the shard bearer is thus woven into the story, and must play an active role if he wishes to survive the ensuing events. That to me was a fantastic means of involving the player character in the conflict, without him being chosen by the supernatural meddling of the great and everlasting know it all Yoghurt (or whomever.) He was the right man in the wrong place at the wrong time, at least that's my take on it. Like most Obsidian protagonists when viewed from a distance, he's a terribly unlucky chap. As for examining whom the player character is, and what his place is in the world, this is something I would genuinely like to see. The commentary by Kreia on the Exiles backstory was immensely intriguing to me, mostly because of his own reluctance to speak of it. There is undeniably a certain richness to be garnered from a character with a rich backstory, but I think there would have to be some means of controlling that backstory, so that it still feels like our character and still acts according to our head cannon, not just another npc. I don't know whether this is possible, playable origins, background feats, choice of backstories in the character creation screen?

I've got to admit that i'm sometimes left a little perplexed at the lengths publishers will go to with their drm, it seems almost counter intuitive to the basic sales mantra of getting your product to the customer. Like LadyCrimson and Anubite i'm always left pleasantly surprised when using GOG, it really is a service built to facilitate and please the customer. Still with the massive sales of Diablo 3, one can certainly argue that many don't mind the use of draconian drm, nor having to schedule their leisure time around the servers wobblers.

I'd rather my protagonist be an integral part of the games narrative structure (though not a pawn of prophecy or chosen one) through whatever means, be that a silver shard embedded in his heart or what have you, and also that my companions all be disposable at almost any time. So personally i'd have to vote in the negative to this idea.