Nonek

Is this another romance thread? Sorry.

Yeah I just thought it would be interesting to enable a more logical and legitimate rise to power, within the party framework, but I can see the downsides.

What if it were not taken as a given that our protagonist was master of all he surveys, what if he had to work to persuade the party to follow his course, and pursue his personal objectives. Currently doing a playthrough of Origins, and the character of Alistair has gotten me wondering what would happen if the man had possessed a functioning spinal column, if he had taken control of the party and decided its actions and strategy after the battle of Ostagar. Say for instance he had chosen which quests to pursue and we had merely a chance at persuading him otherwise within dialogue and asking additional questions, so that originally it seems we are more a junior partner in his struggle against the blight. If we kept persuading him to follow our path or challenging his decisions eventually we'd have to resolve our roles within the party, through persuasion, threats, violence or even blackmail we might try to seize control. Obviously other party members would have something to say on these matters, and an unpopular player character might be challenged by all and sundry if he tries to seize control without the proper legwork. Then again the opposite might be true, and a protagonist who has pleased all the companions and advised the party leader well might be approached to lead the party as everybody sees the benefit of his leadership. Would this be feasible I wonder, would it create too much of a dissonance when we are controllling the party but our character is not the primary decision maker. Would it take away too much of our sense of agency, when we are not driving the plot but rather steering from the sidelines. We could still be fairly free in the short term, free to wander where we choose within areas, begin converstaions with who we please and conduct business with merchants and craftsmen, but in the long term we'd be bound to follow the party leaders mandate and path. Or perhaps work against it, so as to harm his reputation? I'm not sure what to think of my own idea honestly as I can think of as many bad points as good, and it might be a nightmare to implement.

One thing a tragedy can do well is serve to illuminate the lighter moments of a narrative, if in the midst of a dark and grim tale such as Dead Money you have Frederick Sinclair the one good man in the whole story, who will not compromise his ethics for the sake of petty vengeance or wounded pride. That counterpoint is brought shockingly into focus when compared to the amoral obsessed behaviour of Dean Domino and Father Elijah. I prefer those little victories over the super happy fun time endings that frankly should never happen.

BUT THOU MUST!

For me every Obsidian game has been deeply satisfying, so I see no need to expect anything else from Eternity. The Sith Lords made the Star Wars universe bearable because it approached it with a mature and reasoned critical eye. Neverwinter 2 had a brilliant single player campaign as opposed to its predecessor, and some of the best expansions there have ever been. Alpha Protocol was an innovative and reactive marvel, that was unfairly castigated by a press all too happy to forgive big budget releases numerous problems. Fallout: New Vegas brought life and heritage to the Wasteland, making it so much more than an overpowered hiking simulator. Dungeon Siege 3 was a highly enjoyable game, with a reactive plot that made me actually take an interest in the gameworld, despite my utter disdain for it (and the automated combat) in the original. Some of their games have had bugs, big deal, i'd rather see ambition and innovation than an annual dull as dishwater franchise rollout.

Nah, leave that in MMO's. Perhaps you could have smiths design you armour however, for an arm and a leg, that matched your visual preferences. But no magically transforming plate mail option.

On one hand i'd like everything to have a weight even if it's remarkably negligible, on the other hand i'd prefer it if for once we were not rich as Croesus come mid game. A gold coin should be a rare item used by banking interests and merchant houses because of its high value, while for the most part our protagonist might consider himself well off if he's got a fat pouch of silver marks on his belt.

I'm sorry Ilhdr but i'm not sure I understand your question. To clarify i'm not in favour of stopping mid combat unstrapping my backpack, rummaging around for a flask of healing fluid, unstopping and drinking the flasks contents, before closing my pack and shouldering it again, then resuming combat. If you were a foeman, would you stop and allow this, obviously not you'd stab the character doing it. The least we can expect is an automatic critical hit, and the worst would be an automatic kill, rendering the potion pointless, so why settle for this old system just because it's present in older games? As I said in the opening paragraph, let's just make up another system to make the healing of combatants mid melee more sensible. We have magic, the power of souls, prayer and numerous other methods of implementing a more consistent method. Why not?

I wouldn't mind seeing the protagonist turned down multiple times, be a slap in the face for those who argue that they should never experience any kind of rejection in any form. From my experience of dating back in the day that was a far more likely outcome than the object of my advances suddenly being overcome with passion and jumping me, don't know if times have changed, is it wrong to turn someone down now, no matter your feelings or sexual orientation?

Town criers, tavern rumours and other such mediums would be a great idea, however I don't believe it needs to pertain only to the protagonists actions. To build a more believable setting we could have news arriving from the far corners of the lands, as well as local points of interest being raised. For example: Eggs a dozen for a ha'penny, fresh milk and live chickens all at farmer Doone's market stall. Lord Rutherford has ruined another young lady, her father has vowed to horsewhip the scoundrel. Viscount Donagh the esteemed merchant and adventurer has sent out the call for sellswords and mercenaries of proven worth and sober diposition to join his latest venture, rivers of gold and exotic native women await those daring enough to answer his challenge. The wheat crop of Bywater town has failed, cries of witchcraft have been raised and some have even called for the intervention of the holy church. Smith Murdo's lad has run from his apprenticeship, anybody returning him can earn a silver penny for their troubles. He is described as a rat faced ungrateful little bastard with a womans hair and an aversion to honest work.

Enjoying the game, not fond of the stylised graphic style but it in no way diminishes the gameplay, the build possibilities and the variety of the gameworld.

Thank you, these modes are just what I was hoping for, hopefully this will affect not only combat but various recuperation aspects.

Well the answer is obvious, avoid getting injured so frequently. If we triumph without hardly a scratch upon us due to superior tactics and strategy, then there's no need to spend time dealing with potentially life threatening injuries, (or time sinks as you would have it) though magic and abilities may still need to be recuperated. Also what mandates that we have to have lots of battles, as i've said before i'd prefer more gruelling and intensive occasional melees than this modern obsession with endless waves of meat waiting to be butchered. Also with the multiple skills and routes one may be able to take through the gameworld, we may not have to indulge in slaughter whatsoever. I do apologise if I appear somewhat impassioned on this matter, but a strategical approach, gruelling combat and no easy answers are something that i've missed in the software of recent years. Handholding and accessibility being prioritised over verisimillitude and accomplishment have in my opinion belittled both the player, the genre and any sense of challenge.

I'll stick some more coins in the pot when Paypal is implemented.

Not fond of romances, they usually come across as mawkish, overly sentimental and generally as cheesy as hell. Don't think you need a love interest to complete a character, especially if he's got a few years on his back, all this teenage angst and romanticism dries up as one gets older.

Our Souls. Tagline: We are all our souls, the lucky few know this. Eternity: Raymond Luxury Yacht Throatwobbler Mangrove. Warning: You may have to read the manual, the journal and pay attention to the plot. Please do not purchase if you have the attention span and problem solving ability of a hyperactive gibbon.

Didn't really get on with Dragon Age's tactics system for various reasons, but one thing that really rubs my rhubarb about fairly much every game is when you're put in control of soldiers or a militia. No sooner have you turned your back than the morons have charged forth from a defensible location into the fire pits you've had dug, archers leading the charge, and are happily roasting en masse. Honestly they shackle you, you're more effective when not babysitting the creche. The logical thing would seem to be having general orders, such as stand your ground, advance, fire, rally etcetera. Beats relying on the all too easily flummoxed AI. I don't even want to think about escort missions.

The whip intrigues me on Edair, huntsman, slaver, Indiana Jones fan? That and the name reminding me of the legendary firefighter Red.

Well most "ism's" are based on differences being unacceptable to the societal norm, with the introduction of such a strong focus on the players soul perhaps we could have soulism, for want of a better word. Imagine a race of Eternity who have learned to master their souls, just as an olympian learns to master their body, with this awakening and joining with the immortal half of themsleves they would obviously judge themsleves to be superior. What would they think of the normal human, that he was nothing more than a barely sentient beast perhaps, or perhaps that they are pitiable and need to be protected and taught, enslaved? Perhaps the oldest of these awakened beings would abandon flesh all together, seeing it as a distasteful and clumsy thing compared to the purity of their essence, and the swarms of humanity that breed and multiply as nothing more than parasites to be scoured away.

I like a nice spattering of humour on occasion, however the Joss Whedon style of humour which is I believe called "snarky" has never particularly struck me as very amusing, just somewhat infantile and lacking in wit. More of a fan of acerbic and nuanced comedy personally.

Forgot I made this. But anyway, yes the being chewed up by a high dragon and spat on the floor only to miraculously pop back up after combat, with a negligeble wound as a penalty did bother me in a lot of games. It's not really about realism it's internal consistency, that and strategical planning where we can derive a more satisfying experience because we have been challenged and not found wanting. If combat is just trivialised immediately afterwards, then what challenge is there, you're left with grinding through a repetitive series of combats where you have full access to all your skills and magics rather than emerging limping and wounded, on the knife edge of defeat but victorious because of your own superior tactics and strategy. Ultimately I find the action rpgs that do hand hold the player in this fashion trivial and boring, I like to be challenged, not confronted by endless waves of easily dispatched opponents.

I want to play as an exceptional individual, right man in the right place at the right time. One thing I don't want however is to have no connection whatsoever to the ongoing plot, because at some point in the story i'll stop and ask myself why would I be doing all this if i'm not personally involved. Point of fact I think Obsidian does this quite well, it introduces logical segways into the plot. Whether it be the shard buried in the weilders heart by accident, being a useful pawn in a gamble to grasp power over the Mojave, framed and betrayed by a secret goverment agency or Jayne Kassynders determination to wipe out every last member of the organisation which killed her father and you are a part. A chosen one, a pawn of prophecy is something I despise however, the tame lapdog of a particular belief who must fulfill his destiny. Who must embrace his fate, because of otherworldly eminences, that's just deeply disturbing and wrong on a personal and philosophical level to me. I may as well not be doing anything if the dictates of fate demand that such and such a scenario must come to pass, and how can you perform good if there's no temptation or choice to challenge you. The true heroes conquer adversity and overcome the impossible, they don't just perform their assigned role then line up to be martyred for the cause. So chosen one no, competent and deeply enmeshed in the conflict yes. Hell even better if the conflict was created and is perpetuated by the protagonist so that he is also the antagonist like in Torment, that's just mind trippingly brilliant, because the whole game says to you that your previous choices had some pretty damn big consequences.

Sad to hear, i'm not a zealous fan of Biowares modern games, but they do provide adequate entertainment and distraction for the price. It must be sad for the gentlemen to see their company being so publicly castigated, by what were a generation of seemingly devoted fans however. Still a retirement into the brewing industry's as close to doing what you love as I could possibly imagine.

Imagine a race of slaves that would object to being freed however or simply cannot, they did not have their freedom taken from them but gave it away as payment for a debt, somewhat similar to the haruchai from Stephen Donaldsons Land books. It would be their personal and harsh code of ethics that forces them to serve, not their supposed masters at all. Indeed the "slave owners" could be horrified at the lengths to which these honour bound fanatics would go to pay their supposed debt. Who then do you side with, whom can we look down upon from our supposedly enlightened twenty first century viewpoints. Do we free them, break their curse and damn the whole race to shame and dishonour, for their own good. Who are we to judge the issue, and what right do we have to interfere in the dischargement of their debt, and are we doing so simply to feel good and heroic. That's the kind of moral minefield i'd like to see laid across the protagonists path, and with Obsidian i'm hopeful that we'll see such struggles in the grey areas between reality and idealism.