Ink Blot

Aye, I'm aware of that. I'm almost 50, so lived through pretty much the whole evolution of personal computers.

What 'known classifications' are you referring to? The platform is PC. OS X and Linux are operating systems. Why they use 'PC' instead of Windows in that list is a bit strange, but in any case the three quoted are referring to PC operating systems, not different platforms.

I would, actually. Sure, you can create a party that blows chunks, but I personally feel there is a certain onus on the player to at least be familiar with the rule set on which a game is based. Having that familiarity will allow you to make at least a functional party, if not actually optimal or power-gamey. Jumping into a game and not even having a rudimentary understanding of the rule set is stupid, IMO. It's just as easy to create a single character that sucks rocks as it is a whole party. And while you can cover yourself by recruiting effective party members, if your main character sucks you're probably not going to have fun playing it anyway. To me that would be every bit as unenjoyable (maybe moreso) than the case of making a crappy party.

I'm not a lawyer either (and not going to be one), but I'm pretty sure in Canada if you were being sued and the complainant lost, they'd have to cover your legal fees.

I think Ffordesoon is likely on the right track. Obs is showing us the flashy stabby-stab stuff and not the other more subtle skills/abilities. I'm pretty sure from the way they described their vision of the game that there will be plenty of ways to resolve conflicts and situations that rely on skills, dialog, non-combat spells, trickery, stealth, etc.

Probably going to be a lot of angst about this and I'll admit I was a little worried when I first heard the news. But after reading the details, I see no issue here. As far as the DRM-free releases go, I can't imagine GOG wouldn't carry the game for sale to the general public after release, but hopefully a dev can clear that question up.

Are you making a case for romances though, or a case for friendships (to various degrees)? Sounds more like the latter to me.

The case for Turn-based?

I can't find a link, but I thought the Obs guys said they were looking at a price point of 30 or 35 dollars for the game on release. And seriously, pirating this game, which is made without publisher interference by a game company that just wants to put out a game that's a nod to all the old IE style games so us niche fans can finally get something we really want: that's about as low as you can get. Actually, no, it's even lower to post your intention to do so on the developer's forums. The mind boggles.

GOG doesn't have an overlay or client like Steam does, so no cheevos, trading cards, etc. Not sure how they'd incorporate these things into a non-Steam game.

In addition to what's already been mentioned, there's Dragon Age:Inquisition, Eschalon Book III, possibly Age of Decadence, and Darkest Dungeon looks like it might be pretty interesting.

Nice. Thanks for posting this.

Wizards... pffft. Give me the Chanters! Yeah, baby!

I took it to mean this as well. While strictly speaking, it references the northern hemisphere, I've seen/heard it used frequently to describe a forest type, and not necessarily meaning one that's geographically located in the north.

Pretty much my thoughts exactly, although I'm apparently incredibly slow at playing (took me 87 hours to go through DA:O the first time, while many players were saying they finished in 25 or so. Still don't know how they did that). Oddly, my confidence in a good, long, meaty game will be boosted if Obsidian delays the game by several months. Anyone else feel that way as well?

The Undercity.

I think it's lame for all the reasons you stated, not just the last one. I don't mind having to reload some fights. No big deal as long as it's not due to some kind of cheap advantage the game has over the player (i.e. the boss is immune to everything except the stench of wilted tulips - you did keep that bouquet of wilted tulips you found in the graveyard 14 hours ago, didn't you?). If you need to reload because you got your tactics/strategy wrong or because you didn't use the proper buffs, I'm cool with that.

This is easily solved with a good in-game journal that updates regularly. And it's a nice, unobtrusive solution as well. For those that don't need the feature, they need not even touch the journal. For the older forgetful types like myself, it's easy to look up the quest and find out who you need to find and where they're located.

Heh, my wife's similar to yours. She tolerates my gaming obsession with (I think) a sense of amused incomprehension, but she has no desire whatsoever to play any kind of computer game (with the exception of the odd time waster on her phone).

Oh ye gods, how many times have my wife and I said that to each other! Love your sig, by the way. I may have to steal a variant of that for one of the other forums I frequent.

Wow, seems you've really struck a chord with a number of people with this thread. I'll just add my voice to the choir as well. Forgive me in advance, as I tend to ramble... I turn 50 this year and I have two kids, so I know what you mean by being a mature gaming parent and the demands that puts on your time (not that I'm implying you're 50 by the way!) But where I used to be a 'completionist' and felt this overwhelming need to finish a game if I started it, I don't do that anymore. If a game isn't providing me with any fun, I shelf it. Usually permanently. I have a big enough backlog that I don't need to waste my time playing something I don't like. That being said, PoE is exactly the kind of game I prefer, and I can see me pouring all my gaming hours into it until it's completed. Many people have said many of the things I'd say, so I won't rehash it all, but I quoted this as it's very similar to my situation. Odd thing is, the winter/fall season is when I usually find myself at odds and not really wanting to play the games I have. (I also tend to have this issue that when i complete a game, I don't want to invest the time/effort into learning the controls and game mechanics of a new one right away. I tend to default back to the IE games or other old favorites for a while until I get the ambition to fire up something new. Heh, currently I'm doing another Dragon Age:Origins run) But I have a good feeling that PoE will cure this winter malaise. Either way, I always find time to game (generally getting a couple hours every evening if I feel like it), so I'll have the time to put into the game as well as the lore so I can immerse myself in the game world the way we all love to in this kind of game. So no, I'm not anxious about the game or not being up to snuff. I'll take my time and savor it and if it takes me several months to finish it, then so be it. For me, if it takes that long, it will eventually be like sitting down with an old friend for a few hours each day. And who doesn't enjoy that?

No, I'd be all for that. What I don't want to see is something like what suggestions you'll see tossed around when this subject comes up: undead, creatures that tend to feed/prey on the regular denizens of the world (with apologies to Woldan and others, but Ulitharid? No thanks), etc. I have faith in Obsidian that they'll put a lot of time and work into any companion they come up with, but to be honest, I'd really just like to see them stay away from from the bizarre and weird. To me that would be a breath of fresh air. Of course, when all is said and done, as long as I'm not forced to use them, then they can put 'em in if they want. I can just ignore them if I don't like them.

This isn't a bad idea at all. If the focus from the beginning is to create a game with multiplayer capability, this could be a good selling point for a sequel. Note: I'm not suggesting an MMO type thing here, but more along the lines of what the IE games offered or perhaps NWN: the opportunity to either play the game with a friend or two, or the ability to set up your own server with your own module. I personally would probably never use that functionality but no harm in it being there if the devs plan for it and can still deliver a great single player experience as well.

I guess I fall in with JFSOCC, Nonek and the others: no weird companion just for the sake of having a weird companion. Hell, it's happened enough in RPGs that it's (as noted by Karkarov) just a cliche. If the devs come up with a really compelling story reason for this type of companion and give him/her/it an awesome personality and back story, then I'll be all in.

I was just confused if I'd missed something, but I guess Brandon cleared that up for us. Seeing the comments about how it would be relatively resource intensive though, I'm glad it's not in, although I certainly have nothing against it in principle.