mars84

Hi, This says that physical copies would start shipping out when I patch 1.04 is published. I see that patch 1.04 has been published so has shipping started for the $65 tier yet? In my Orders tab it still says "Shipping Soon". Thanks

Thanks for the update. I was wondering how the disengagement attacks would work with mind-control/crowd control abilities? Could I mind control an enemy and constantly have the disengage my melee fighter to score free attacks? If my melee fighter was surrounded by smaller enemies, could I cast a fear spell on them to score free disengagement attacks on them as they run away? Would this be equal to the number engaged or can this be upped? It would be cool to have a combo where you could send weaker enemies running and then clean them up with disengagement attacks. Finally, how would the animation system work for all of this? If a fighter was mid-swing and and an opponent disengages, would they escape freely if they could do so before the attack animation ends? I would hope because it would be jarring for the disengagement system to trigger a disengagement attack if they cannot physically complete the swing in time.

I am only up to page 4 of reading what everyone else has posted so I do apologize if I'm repeating something here: I think to a large extent that your choice of armor system will depend on the other design choices that you make for the game. Here is an example from one idea that you posted during the Kickstarter: You said that you would have a stamina/health system where one is temporary and the other is more permanent and fatal. What this suggests is that taking a direct him from a weapon is going to be a very bad thing, since I don't see being stabbed through with a sword as only hurting your stamina. To this end, I think the first system that should be considered is not the armor system that handles the consequences of being hit, but rather the dodge/parry/block system that determines whether you are hit in the first place: Taking the example of being stabbed with a sword, the options would therefore be to: A. Parry it with a weapon B. Block it with a shield C. Dodge the attack completely D. Take the hit I don't see any character wearing non-metallic armor being able to survive if they take option D up there. If you have a more realistic system where damage cannot be magically healed, lightly armored characters are going to have to focus on not getting hit and the fact that they are wearing light armor should help them to do so, otherwise you will end up with everyone having to wear heavy armor of some sort. I think this discussion should therefore also focus on shields, dodging and parrying and not just the properties of the armor that a person is wearing. I have many more ideas on this topic and many that do focus on the body armor itself, but I'd also like to keep it short and hear everyone else's thoughts on how the combat system can deal with the type of problem I outlined above without the ability to magically heal damage.

Hi, I'd just like to say that if you are going to include something like mining, please make it more exciting that swinging a pick. Something like goblin or dwarven explosives would be cooler where you can rig explosive to a section of rock and then blow it up in order to obtain ore. This obviously also opens up the possibility of opening up new routes and sections in underground dungeons, you could even use it to damage enemies like Batman AA's explosive gel. Oh and of course the noise from the explosion will attract patrols, but maybe that is a good thing if you have some traps waiting for them. Just my 2 cents.

Hi, Planescape: Torment is probably my favourite game of all time so I'd obviously love something set in that universe, I understand though that such a game would go with licensing fees and to a degree may restrict creativity. Aspects of the PS: T formula that I would love to see in an RPG though are the integration of the role playing and the story. I loved the fact that I had certain dialogue options because a certain statistic was at the right level and that I could develop the Nameless One in such a way that it would enable him to further develop his relationship with his companion characters, which would in turn improve them. This forms a lovely feedback loop that I'd love to see more often in RPGs. Regardless of what game systems you have, they should not feel separate from the story. I don't want combat sections with its own systems and then dialogue sections with their own fixed systems so that the game ends up feeling like a collection of different games that are strung together to appeal to different audiences. An example of combat-story integration would be a sci-fi game where one of your squad members has an emotional break-down in the midst of a heavy firefight so that you have to get them to snap out of it in order to regain control of the fight. With regard to combat, I would like to see a reduced focus in combat since in many ways a combat focus degrades storytelling. Solving character conflict by having one character beat the other to death is a writing cop-out that has unfortunately become the mainstay of story-telling in games. If you do include combat, there should be proper story motivation and a fight should be charged with the same fear, rage, and desperation of a real fight. With the absence of emotion, combat (even if tactically interesting) becomes repetitive from a story-telling perspective. In the same way, characters should properly react to the shock of combat. One could never take a character seriously that slaughters hundreds of enemies and then has a quiet chat with a merchant over the price of potions. Until games solve these types of pacing problems, they will never reach the level of story-telling in other media. The final point that I'd like to note, is that one should never discount the wonder of discovery when encouraging player attachment to a game. Magical items should feel magical and special. Modern gaming has engendered such a sense of entitlement in players that every gets everything for doing what is expected and in the end nothing feels special. You should reward a player that pokes at the walls of the game world, either by exploring or interacting with the systems in creative ways. I remember many items in PS:T that were integrated with the story or could be manipulated in some way to improve them in a way that is not tied to some abstract upgrade or crafting mechanic. A cursed ring that attaches to the Nameless One's finger comes to mind as being a particularly fun sequence in this vein. And that's a few small things that I can think of now. All of these are just small things, but from the other posts that I've seen and the creative strengths of your team, an isometric RPG with a strong storyline would be the right way to go for a smaller, fan-focused project.