Shaz

While I think the new logo is very well done and incredibly evocative of the old D&D nameplates... I like the ouroboros better. I have an ouroboros bias, though. Love them and love celtic knotwork. Hrm. Maybe there can be both? A nameplate and a symbolic logo (even if it's not an ouroboros)?

Eh, if it fits. While I did love DA:O, it's not in my Top Ten, by far. I have a wide variety of games that I enjoy, though, so there's lots of kinds that I can say I loved. Pretty much the only thing they almost all share is the fact that they're rather old (DA:O is one exception, there are a few others). From PS:T to Thief to Arcanum to Startopia to Fallout to Dungeon Keeper to VtM:Bloodlines and I could go on and on... I'm just a gaming Old Fogey for the most part, I guess. I do enjoy some of the newer stuff, but for the most part it's... really light fare. Snacks. Light and fluffy desserts. An apéritif that makes me crave a good hearty meal, and a good hearty meal is what I'm hoping PE will be.

Hrm. What am I? I loved the BioWare games up through DA:O. Kinda liked ME2, did not enjoy DA2 or ME3 (hello understatement), but I still hold onto a bit of hope for DA3. I'm currently re-playing PS:T. Happiness! Planning on some NWN2 next. Turn based combat is great, but so is pause-n-play, which it seems we'll get. Combat is also far from the most important game aspect to me, but you seem focused on it. I detest the extreme simplification and consolization that has been happening in the games I enjoy. Kickstarter allowing me to support what I want, instead of what game publishers think I want, has made me so very happy. Obsidian bringing back the game style I most enjoy has made me positively giddy. I don't want them to divert from the IE formula unless absolutely necessary. I expect they may have to somewhat, I just hope it's minimal and unobtrusive. I love romances. Much more than that, though, I enjoy ALL forms of character interactions and getting-to-really-know-my-party members. I would love a 'best friendship' relationship just as much - if not more - than an actual romance. I understand what you're trying to say, but I really think it's far more than simply two factions. My PE pledge consists of over 1/3rd of my entire monetary expenditure this year for game purchases... and I buy games regularly, and have far outspent my husband this year on games. I've backed 8 projects on Kickstarter, and my PE pledge is more than all the others combined, and I'm considering increasing it. So... I dunno where I fit on your scale. It's not in either of your two factions, though I would consider myself more Traditionalist (in the actual sense of the word) because New is definitely NOT Better.

Hold your horses white knight, and leave the petty insults to BSN. First off Don Quixote, I meant threathened not the actual action. Maybe the...no, actually I'm not going to say anything else since this makes people go ****ing crazy Thanks for coming back and clarifying. While I still dislike even the idea of being threatened with it (you likely would to, had you suffered from it), it does lower my hackles having you explain yourself more. I also wasn't meaning to be insulting, just that - if you meant the phrase the way I took it to mean - I was honestly worried about your interests. I know the response you quoted got your hackles raised as much as your first one got mine, but I want to re-iterate my appreciation for your clarification here. I mean it: thanks.

It's called a 'trigger', common in psychological traumas. Different things will be triggers to different people. And I never said anything about simply mentioning it, I have no idea where you got that idea from. But having an NPC in the game that might make moves towards threatening or attempting it, now that's something else entirely, and is the entire reason I posted my 'This? No. HELL NO.' response. I think you're the one over-reacting. All I said was to dabble carefully in gender issues... meaning particularly the volatile ones, which I assume Obsidian was going to do anyway. I never said to avoid them completely, nor did I make any demands even remotely like you're insinuating whatsoever. I just would like to not be potentially assaulted by a rapist again, even if it's pixelated one, as the person I quoted was alluding to, which is why I said 'HELL NO'. Is that seriously asking too much? It's a terribly easy to find, fairly well-known statistic. If you're actually interested, you can try a NYTimes column reporting on a study by the National Institute of Justice & the Department of Defense, or look into more in-depth information on RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network).

It could be interesting and add depth if done well. It could also ostracize and cause anger and irritation, possibly even IF done well. Facing sexism and having gender roles ostensibly shoved in your face day after day can make this a really touchy subject for some. My vote, for what it's worth: Dabble in it carefully, but gender recognition can easily be done without true prejudice, and as such definitely adds depth. This is a fantasy world, though. I would like to escape from the real unpleasant aspects of the real world I can, when playing in a fantasy one. And to be very specific: No. HELL NO, especially if by 'certain actions' you mean the vicious and violent crime that is forced upon approximately 1 in 6 women? Are you honestly so crass as to want them to be reminded of this when they're playing a game, something that should be safe? I'd rather not be reminded. And if you'd 'like to see' this, even within a game... then I worry about your future.

Since 'Help design an epic high level weapon, armor, or artifact' is one of the $1000 Kickstarter pledge tiers, this poll is completely legitimate and pretty damn awesome to see. @Chaos Theory: Thank you very much for being so interested in our input. I look forward to discovering your item.

I selected 'Accessories' for the first question, but that was only because I HAD to pick one. I quite honestly have zero preference. That might be easily understood by my multi-choice answers for the last question: I am always very interested in the lore behind items (especially of epic variety); I only use it if it fits my (or a companions) skill set; if I can't use it but the item has a great story (bonus points if it's nice looking), I keep it and display it if at all possible. If I am unable to display it, I store it since it is actual 'treasure' (and as I typically play rogues, I'm very interested in honest-to-goodness treasure).

Question 1: No multiplayer. I'd rather this game be singleplayer only, for the selfish reason that I'm only interested in it singleplayer, and I'm really tired of what appears to be a current trend towards adding multiplayer onto games. Question 2: Yes to mods, because they can really add longevity to a game. I was very glad to hear in the AMA that they intend to make it moddable if at all possible. Question 3: I don't care, but that's because I only speak English. I'm definitely not against localization, and making PE available to a wider audience, but I can't help but want as much resources as possible spent on making PE an absolutely awesome singleplayer experience. Selfish of me, I know, I already acknowledged that!

Achievements? Sometimes. Maybe. Depending on how they're done. And never, ever, ever, if they flash billboard style in neon lights across your screen whenever you achieve one. Ugh. I have absolutely zero interest in ranking up a useless gamerscore or getting in achievemongering competitions with other people, but occasionally I'm interested in seeing what I personally have done. I don't need achievements for that, but some kind of personal tracker is nice. Do NOT give me a score for an achievement, if you add achievements. Titles are fine, in-depth stat screens are great, but please nothing like 'You exploded fifty rabid weasels into chunky bits! Achievement gained: POP GOES THE WEASEL!' flashing on my screen in bright gold. And if achievements are added, give us a way to toggle off the notification so we don't see them unless we look for them in our journal. Please.

Same for me. Is this supposed to be the 'Once Finished, I'm Done' option? I didn't select it because once I finish, I'm far from done... I have new characters to make, after all. EDIT TO ADD: I don't usually care for New Game+, because I've already beaten the game with that character. They've done it already, so it's time for a new character to do it. I've never encountered a realistic enough reason for that exact same character to go back through the exact same story line (even if I were to choose different options, it would still be the same general story line); I always wind up quitting and playing a new character instead. I know some people like New Game+, but my brain is just not wired for it.

It's not the worst boobplate I've seen (not by far), and I do like the general design otherwise. She's actually wearing full armor, and looks like a real warrior! That alone makes me almost completely forgive the 'metal bra' look. The redesign shown above, though, is (I feel) much better and more accurate- if accuracy is what you're going for. If 'fantastical' or 'decorative' is more what you're going for, then metallic accentuations of the female form are just fine. With regards to 'would she fit under that?' in the redesign: Unless she was very large-chested, yes, easily. If she was very large-chested, the top might need to have a bit more space, and thus a bit more taper to the waist, but 'boob shapes' would never be necessary. It's not just the padding that's going on under these armors, it's the bra (or wrap). Seriously- do those of you that think boobplates are necessary have any idea how sports bras work? The honest-to-goodness, REAL sports bras, that do their best to utterly flatten your chest and keep the breasts as immobile as possible? Even if sports bras aren't 'historical', women have wrapped their breasts to flatten them (for one reason or another) since... um, probably 'ever'. Breasts are very malleable (unless you've had certain types of augmentation done). They do not need to be carefully cupped or held within conical protrusions. They can be flattened and spread out quite a lot with absolutely zero discomfort. Cover with padding and your typical (historical) plate armored top would have no problem fitting over most female forms as easily as most male forms. I've seen it. I've experienced it. As for this game, I'm not one to demand utter realism in a fantasy game. I'm used to my character's gender being a very visible part of her armor, but as long as she still looks strong and kickass even with a metal bra on, I'll be quite happy.

I've already upped my pledge once ($8 for the OO!), and I might very well up it again. I'm not sure if any of the poll reasons would cause me to instantly whip out my wallet, though. Romance? Well, I do rather enjoy that, but it's far from something I'd pay more to have. I'll simply enjoy getting to know more about my companions, if it's there. As for multiplayer, no, I'm not interested in that at all. Mods, however, are something I am very much interested in, as I think they really extend the life of a game immensely. (As I type this, I'm downloading some Thief 2 Fan Missions! I loves me some mods.) I won't tie my pledge increase up into a demand for an SDK, though. It would be nice to have, sure, but my possible pledge increase is contingent on my 'fluff funds' after necessary expenditures this month and not on anything Obsidian does.

Pledge increased! My profile name both here and on Kickstarter is 'Shaz' (will update my KS name with the OO tag shortly), and I would like 'Comtessa of the Obsidian Order'.

I was planning on purchasing this game prior to trying the demo, but I'm not any longer... not when I wasn't even interested in fully completing the demo. From what I did play: The UI was terrible. Oversized, clunky, sluggish. Fonts were too big. I had to check and make sure it was displaying in proper resolution, when it felt like 800x600. Inventory screens were annoying. Movement controls were annoying. I really did not like the control scheme, at all. Maybe it will allow re-mapping after release, but as it is now, it was nothing but irritating. Turning your character, especially while in combat, was nowhere near as fluid as it felt it should have been. Oh...Anjali's voice was positively terrible. Inflectionless, monotone, and it sounded like it was recorded in someone's bathroom. Perhaps that's as intended, since she is inhuman, but it was highly unpleasant to listen to. Note: I'm a PC-only gamer, so take the above in that vein. This post wasn't meant to add to any PC vs. Console debate, however. It's just my expressing disappointment at a game from a studio I've enjoyed. Thank you for the demo, anyway!