Nakia

ZenMax the owners of Skyrim targeted Console Players which is why it sold so many copies. Outside of being released full of bugs, with no story, no decent antagonists, no in depth characters it was a fun game and I enjoyed just wandering aimlessly around. Now that they are no longer patching the game modders are able to make mods for it. The navimesh is still difficult to work with but there has been a lot of tweaking and twitching. PoE targets the computer owners and people who like story and interesting characters. It should appeal to a more mature audience. If we give the game positive reviews on Steam and else where I think that will help sales some. PoE does not need to break any sales records to be a financial success for Obsidian. Publishing date will be important though so the less competition the better.

Regarding Skyrim, I and many of my friends have played IE games and are knowledgeable regarding the different types of games including isometric games. Isometric refers to the camera view and not everyone cares for it. I myself played IE games for years and went to the TES games out of boredom while waiting for several games to release. I loved Morrowind. Oblivion with some good mods was enjoyable and Skyrim gave me my monies worth in play. Gamers cover a broad spectrum. There are millions of game players and PoE will get its share.

I like the voice overs we have so far but do agree that the use of Standard American accent is bland. We have so many varied accents here including just about everyone to be found throughout the world. So I am hoping that Obsidian

I don't expect PoE to end up the perfect RPG because I do not think that is possible. Game players are individuals with individual likes and dislikes but I do expect it to have the immersive story and depth of character that those IE games had. Even the IWD games had that for me. I built my party to what I considered interesting and dialogue actually responded at least occasionally to my party makeup. The stories were meaningful and important. This is a walk down memory lane for me.

According to recent stats the average age of gamers is 31, less than 20% of gamers teenagers. Gamers are getting older. Retirees are entering the gaming field. I have seen stats that say that 48% of gamers are women. More and more people are using mobile devices which will affect how games are made. How these changes in Gamers will affect the market I do not know but I am sure it will for the better or worse.

Oh Pshaw I wanted to be superwomen.

When the subject of the stronghold came up in the Kickstarter I thought of it as the player's home, a place to stash goods, relax, with a few minor quests but not as a major element in the game which would affect the ending of the story. You might gain reputation according to how you treated your vassels if you had any or gain goods or gold if you protected traders passing through. Yes, something like the one in BG2;

I like the idea of skills gradually increasing as you use them. To me that is natural and logical.

It was the combination of the two clicks I did not think of. I tried left click which picked up fine. I tried Right click which brought up description fine. Never thought to left click and then while holding the item to right click to split.

Baldurs Gate was my second CRPG and I played through without assistance other than the game guide book which I actually read. I did have a problem with IWD II and found an IE fan forum to get help. However it is my opinion that game players including me have been "spoiled" by newer games. It is true that until the game is actually released and we have a chance to play it we won't know what the problems may or may not be. Added: As for 4X players if they like strategy they probably will do well with this game. Maybe.

Lephys, We are talking about two different things. Here is what the OP stated. I think that the OP has brought forward some important things,; Are the game play mechanics hard to learn? For those who are unfamiliar with the IE games I think it will be very hard to learn how to play unless there is a very comprehensive tutorial and even so this will not be a game to rush into. Is the game easy to play? Even the devs said that the easy setting is hard. I am having a hard time with combat playing on easy. This can be discouraging to new players. Strategy is important in this type of game right from the moment you create your main character. Can Obsidian address these points without watering down the game? I think so. I also think because of the complexity of the game there will be a prolonged learning curve and that potential buyers should be aware of that. I think that discussing the OP's points would be a lot more productive than trying to second guess Obsidian's thinking about money/profits. Off topic: As for being a woman I didn't get to choose and in fact I enjoy being one.

I don't think you're realizing that the two aren't mutually exclusive, though. What you're making a good point about is when you pit one against the other for priority status. Their desire for profit is secondary, in this case. Doesn't mean that if they somehow make a profit, they'll un-desire it, and send it back or something. "Whoa, whoa! Guys, we fulfilled all the backer rewards and broke even. SET THE PRICE TO FREE NOW FOR ALL POST-FULFILLMENT SALES!" , Lephys, The two are not exclusive but based on blogs/updates/interviews from the Kickstarter period I don't think Obsidian was thinking PROFIT but thinking about a game they themselves really wanted to make. It is quite possible that the sucess of the Kicksarter got thinking "Hey, we might be able to make some money from this". Nothing wrong with that. As I stated I hope they do make money. My quarrel is not with Obsidian by any means and they can give the game away, sellit for %6 USD or whatever they want. My quarrel is people who think they have the right to tell Obsidian to change the game to fit them. I It is highly unlikely that anyone will succeed in doing that but it really annoys me. Note: Just for the record I am a woman which means nothing or should be mean nothing in these discussions.

Level 12? I'm glad I am getting the expansion. Still since I like to wander around, poke in everywhere, talk to people I should get quite a few hours of play. Plus I like experimenting with various races and classes. If I get bored I'll make a dysfunctional bunny rabbit rogue who goes around setting traps and disarming when not unlocking locks.

Backer beta was released in beta state, which means state where developers call their product beta. Different developers have different criteria when they call their product to be in beta state. What people that aren't developers of said product should take from terms like release candidate, beta, alpha and pre-alpha is that they don't think that product is yet fully finished and if you want know more specific what they think that they still need to do, you should read their definitions, as they are only definitions that actually can give you some hints in what developers think their product will still need before they claim that it is finished. People should read this or reread it. Many games never have a "public" beta but use professional beta testers. Publishers and developers keep things private on purpose and just give out hints and teasers. Occasionally the public is invited to apply to test a game and those accepted usually have to pledge silence. .

Lots of interesting comments, some I agree with some I disagree with. I have "liked" a couple of comments that express what I think. I do think we are missing the point and going off track from the OP that started this discussion. I have seen similar and far worse comments on another forum. It really annoys me that people who have never played an IE game seem to think the game should be changed to fit their idea of what a game should be or at least sold to them at a very cheap price. Here is the initial video for the opening of the Kickstarter. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/obsidian/project-eternity Obsidian wanted to make this game but they need money to make. So they went to Kickstarter. Naturally the people who would want to fund this game would be fans of the Infinity Engine games or of games Obsidian had developed. They raised their initial goal within 31 hours. I saw journalist reports that this was considered amazing. This game exists because of those of us who longed for this type of game, who believed that Obsidian could deliver. I personally will feel betrayed if I start playing the game and find it is dumped down for consoles or mobile devices, changed to appeal to people who want an "easy/accessible? game, a game that has no depth to it, a game that does not challenge me. There are options to configure this game to your own style of play. If people are going by what those playing the Backer Beta say they should remember a couple of things. 1) Those players have a lot of experience among them and at least most of them have played IE games as well as others. 2( The purpose of a Beta is to test the game, the mechanics, to look for bugs, to try and beat the game and that is what is being done. I want Obsidian to have good sales but not at the cost of betraying me, one of those who believed in them and helped to make this game possible. Arguing about business does not change the fact that this game exists and will soon be released because 77K people belived in Obsidian and wanted this game. I don't give a hoot in Hel's Realm if the masses buy the game or not. That does not mean I don't care about Obsidian making a "profit" I hope they do as long as they stay faithful to their backers and I think they will.

I hope PoE sells well as that will give give Obsidian capital to continue making this type of game. There will be no need for them to have to cater to the demands of a publisher. I recall that when the Kickstarter was running but had proven to be successful that a publisher, unnamed, approached them and offered to underwrite the and Obsidian turned them down. Originally Obsidian had a Kickstarter goal of 1 mil dollars. Word spread like wild fire and with 31 hours they had their 1 mil. There is a market for the type of game Obsidian is developing. What bewilders me is with the game nearing the finish people coming on and saying or implying that Obsididan should now cater to what they want and rewrite the game. How would the Backers feel if Obsidian suddenly changed this to game dumped down and no long a spiritual child of the Infinity Engine games? I for one would be very upset in fact I would be furious. We backed them because they said they wanted to develop a certain type of game that we dreamed of, talked about, speculated about. Why is it so hard for people to understand that if they dumped down this game they would lose a staunch fan base and for what? The game already gives choices, you can choose your own style of gameplay, your own difficult level from easy to Iron Man. You can choose how much hand holding you want. There choices very man different gameplayers. I am sure there will be a tutorial section to help newbies learn how to play the game. There will be guides on how to play. More experienced players will be happy to help those having problems. Speaking strictly for myself I say it is my turn now, my turn to have a game that want, not one dumped down for consoles, mobile device or players who need their hand held and led through the game or want a game so easy that by the time you reach level 12 it is boring or that needs mods to bring life to it. Let put another way, I helped to fund this game and I want what I have already paid for both directly and through a couple of groups.

Why shouldn't disarming traps or unlocking locks give experience? I haven't read nipsen's post just don't have the patience to read long posts by a non-player. I agree that the devs have more important things to worry about and there is no way in Hel's realm they can please everyone and that includes me. Everyone has his or her own play style. The world would be a very boring place if we all agreed but we can disagree politely.

No matter what inventory system they use someone will be unhappy. After playing TES games for roughly seven years all I want is some decent loot from the start. The junk can be ignored. A place to stash things I want to keep and ideally for me a way to display some of the items. However in my opinion inventory is not what makes for a good game other things are more important and I want to play this game before Christmas 2015

From what other developers have said I understand that Unity has veritably.

My reaction is that if accessible = easy I hope this game is not accessible. I didn't make a Kickstarter pledge to Obsidian on the first day of their Kickstarter to get an easy game. Yes I believe the people who showed faith in Obsidian and backed the game have the right to expect the game to be the spiritual child of the IE games. Depth, strategy, challenges and a thinking person's game

My second CRPG was Baldurs Gate. I was somewhat familiar with PnP D&D but computer games where new to me. Did I find BG easy? No, I found it challenging, fun, immersive and became addicted. There are a variety of settings for PoE but I expect the game to need strategy, thinking from the player.

Thinking back over the various CRPGs I have played over the years I would vote for WYSIWYG loot system.

Razsius, can you as Shevek suggested? My first choice of things to be fixed would be visuals simply because as I am playing the lack of visuals would be the first I would notice. Mechanics might be harder for the casual player to figure out. But I think the casual player would notice the lack of visuals even if only because they can't figure out what is going on and get confused. Mechanics are important but are behind the scene. Could we step away from beta players for a moment and think about what a casual player might want to do. My fighter is being demolished by a bunch of beetles wouldn't I want to retreat, get him away from the fight in other words disengage?. I think this is an example of what I mean. In Skyrim In Skyrim there are two ways to fight the dragons; lure them to where there are town guards or soldiers. The other is solo or with one companion. I did this by having my character fight until health ran low then ran behind a rock, tree or into a cave or building if there was one. Once I got health back up he went back to fight. For some fights this might be the strategy for a while.

Yes, I found this a bit confusing. The post itself is great but the poll confuses me and is simplistic in my opinion. First of all some of the "fixes" suggested may be easy to implement and others hard to implement. Programming is not a simple thing and errors and conflicts can easily enter in. Second it is impossible to please everyone which is one reason I love user made mods for games. Third there is the time and financial aspect to consider. Fourth If third party software is needed that in itself can create conflicts. This game is slated to be released in a few months so I wonder just how much the developers are able and willing to change the game. They might do a DLC or patch to change things . As a backer I do not want them rushing out a buggy game but I would like to play this game while I am still able to and I am not being funny or sarcastic when I say that. If some of the fixes can be made easily without a great deal of time and cost fine. If not then I vote for no fixes. Let a User Modder make a mod to fix what he or she does not like.

I will start playing the game as soon as it is released. I will take my time and explore every nook and cranny. Minor bugs won't bother me but major ones will upset me. If the game is as good as I expect it to be I may not come up for air for a month.