Infinitron

http://forums.obsidian.net/topic/64048-update-58-crafting-with-tim-cain/page-18?do=findComment&comment=1348405

Josh Sawyer does not approve http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3506352&pagenumber=444#post417169453

Yeah, well, I guess there are good chances of it being removed now, then. Non-skill-based crafting, here we come. Who knows what the other non-combat skills will be like, though.

Really? Dragon Age 2, Tiberium Twilight and Fallout 3 surely were accepted as a "new normal" by the masses. Apples and oranges. Dragon Age 2 and Fallout 3 were no longer recognizably traditional CRPGs. Project Eternity as described by Tim Cain and Josh Sawyer is recognizably a hardcore, traditional CRPG, but with different mechanics than some people may have expected.

I'm not sure Project Eternity is the type of RPG you're looking for. It sounds like you want a skill-heavy, Fallout or Realms of Arkania type thing: The Infinity Engine games were never this skill-centric and it was never a given that Project Eternity would go that way.

Sensuki, what amuses me is that the only reason you're upset about this is because you understand the designers' motivations behind it. If Project Eternity was just released working the way Tim Cain described without anybody knowing anything about what happened behind the scenes, you'd just have accepted it as is without raising too many questions. Because that would be the "new normal".

It has been stated that the Barbarian will be prone to exhaustion. Whether this is due to them taking more stamina damage than health or Frenzy eating up stamina is unknown, but I'm positive there will be some reason for it. Yes, but what I'm saying is, you don't need to rest to refill your stamina. Health-wise, the Barbarian will have more longevity than other classes - he can go longer without resting. So that bit about "taking a breather" isn't entirely true.

Passing out is what happens when you run out of stamina, not health. You don't need to rest to refill your stamina.

That is absolutely true, but with frequent or/and periodic updates people who aren't involved with production can get better picture how product progress, which is much harder usually do when updates are rare and random. But of course it is possible that project without any updates has managed perfectly, but outsiders don't have anyway judge if that is the case. One thing what people probably learn from Kickstarter projects is that there is reason why companies often want to get periodic and detailed reports from projects that they have funded, even if they don't do anything with them . Sure, it's definitely a bad sign if a project doesn't give you any updates for months on end. But I don't think that (for instance) whether a project's updates are weekly or merely monthly has any bearing on how well it is being managed.

Yes and no. Since the Barbarian takes less health damage, he has a higher longevity than other classes. He actually needs to rest LESS.

I hope you guys realize update frequency isn't directly correlated with how well a project is managed.

In a combat-centric RPG, everything comes around to combat effectiveness eventually. Only skills that directly affect combat - weapon proficiencies, armor proficiencies, shield proficiencies, saving throws, resistance scores - are combat skills.

How is it not a non-combat skill?

Obsidian made the UI smaller because 30% of people wanted them to - so they've done it before, why not now ? There's probably a difference here between things that Sawyer et al consider "fluff" and things that they consider core to their vision. They didn't back down on objective-based XP, for instance.

Sharpening could only be performed at a crafting station. It would be analogous to repairing under Tim Cain's current system. Under both systems, one character can still do all the repairs/sharpenings for everybody else. Crafting for everybody else is just a way to forestall the weapon's breakage/blunting. As for the usefulness of Crafting to wizards, that's a different story that requires more clarification. I've asked Josh about it on Formspring.

Again, it's not my idea to simply rename "full durability" to "sharp". It's not just a semantic trick. If that's the impression I gave than I apologize. Encounters would have to be rebalanced so that sharpness is a buff, not a requirement or an expectation.

Depends on how they balance encounters. In the current system - damaged weapon puts you behind. Logic implies that encounters be balanced against having a sharp weapon. So the same applies, otherwise it's a ridiculously overpowered buff. I imagine that if my idea was to be implemented, encounters would have to be rebalanced such that a sharp weapon isn't absolutely required, except in town battles where the player is guaranteed to be at full strength. (see here: http://www.formspring.me/JESawyer/q/469557999036295539) It would be an actual buff, not "full durability" relabelled.

In areas with high combat density, yes (like the outdoor areas of the Icewind Dale's). P:E will probably be dungeon-heavy so unless spells are a more limited ressource than in IE games, the same applies there. And if buffs are limited things like sharpened weapons become more desirable. Fair enough. If you think a player is entitled to be perma-buffed, then my idea isn't a solution for you. I don't think most people feel that way though, nor do I think the game will require it.

You haven't answered my question. What's wrong with letting your sword run out of sharpness? Do you feel that you need to run back to the blacksmith and sharpen it every time it runs out of sharpness? If not, then why do you think Crafting is still "mandatory" under this system?

That's not relevant. Did you feel the need to have Bull's Strength on all the time? Yes or no? If not, then why do you think you'll need to have your weapon sharp all the time? What's wrong with letting it run out of sharpness and be non-sharp? For the purposes of this comparison, there's no difference.

I'm telling you it's not mandatory, bro. It's all in your head. It doesn't matter whether it's a skill or a buff. You don't need to do those things all the time. Besides, you don't even know what other skills the game will have yet, so how do you know it's the most useful one?

Really? Did you feel that it was mandatory to have your swords sharpened with whetstone at all times in the Witcher? Did you walk around with Bull's Strength on at all times in the D&D RPGs? Because I didn't.

Looks like somebody on SomethingAwful had the same idea and Josh responded to it: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3506352&userid=17931&perpage=40&pagenumber=13#post417131378 I swear I came up with this independently though.

Yes. Attaching an item resource to this might be a good idea, by the way.