Karkarov

Yeah well, if you want to deal with half your pick pocket attempts failing, a trap disarm check failing and killing someone, or failing a simple speech check you should have made easily due to RNG, or just going to the wrong place at the wrong time and getting steamrolled by enemies you can't handle you go right ahead. I am just going to reload my save personally and I won't feel bad about it at all. This isn't a table top game, it doesn't need to be played like it is. Did you just compare nicotene addiction to be an being unable to force yourself to accept consequences in a video game? If not reloading a save in a video game makes you feel physical reactions akin to being a smoker who quits cold turkey you need to get yourself put in a hospital. No, really. If it doesn't then you need to grow up and stop making comparisons between two things that are so different they aren't even in the same universe.

PS:T is a great story I am sure. You not liking what I am saying also doesn't make what I say any more or less true. It is, by far, the most over rated "GAME" Obsidian has ever made. Note the word "GAME" as in, more than just "STORY". The fact that it sold badly and was outsold by both Baldur's Gates as far as I know also says the majority agrees with me, not you or the other fanboys who will hop out of the woodwork to reply. Good story + bad gameplay + bad design decisions = bad game.

I see some people saying text can work wonders at being expressive. I counter with: This isn't a novel, it is a video game and the only reason text was relied on so heavily in the past was because graphical fidelity was not good enough to actually show emotion on a character. This even extends in some part to terrain, furniture, housing, and other doodads. Graphics are good enough to do this now. Also wise man once said "A picture is worth a thousand words". So if the choice is a thousand words of text or a well made character graphic, I am going to choose well made character graphic.

I think it is a good idea. The persona games do this quite well like some other posters have said and it can't possibly be that hard to make some additional static images from characters in PE. Personally I would still rather see well made 3D character models that are capable of showing emotion and moving hands and such as "pop ups" during conversation. It just needs to be the active speaking character always with the main character on the side, perhaps sometimes the main character gets supplanted depending on who is speaking. Basically what you see in Folklore, or more recently, Guild Wars 2.

1: Your lack of knowledge of D&D mechanics and the Planescape campaign world is hardly a defense for the game failing to be faithful to either. 2: Right, just like how in Bladur's Gate I needed an 18 int to get access to all the conversation choices. Or how in Baldur's Gate 2 I couldn't wear armor. Totally the same. 3: I am sorry you have never played a game with good combat and or didn't understand how to properly build a team and use tactics in the Baldur's Gate games. Again, this is no defense for the combat of PS:T being complete crap.

I was thinking it was going the full cheese monty and we were seeing Drizzt Do'Forton for the first time.

Intelligent factions that you can see go at it in game and be effected by the games progress both story and player choice wise would be nice. Especially if the player can choose to get involved personally. Either way it is still one of those, if we got time, if we can make it work well sort of things. It isn't a make or break.

Recording quality a bit low. I can forgive that. The god awful "leeroy" at the beginning? Not so much. That crap was old before it made it to Jeopardy.

Truthfully Forton is about as bad a character design as you can get. He is sending so many mixed messages it is just plain loony. I vote we switch him out for the already posted new monk companion..... Spock.

Because the higher quality the character models the easier it is to draw disparity between them and the "dead" flat 2d image with no movement, active shading, or depth.

The term is Pilgrimage. Which has a totally different meaning for Quarians than it would to the player. Your line is fine but it assumes logical leaps that simple aren't going to happen 70% of the time. The information isn't being given for Shepard it is being given for the player. Without context it makes no sense and your two lines have no context. What it should have been was... Tali: I am on a pilgrimage, humans might call it a "coming of age" ritual. Shepard: I see, but why track the Geth? Surely there are safer things to do for this Pilgrimage? Tali: Well the point of the Pilgrimage is more than just seeing the world but also serving the Quarian Fleet, a greater understanding of the Geth could be of great benefit to my people. Shepard: Are you saying the Quarian command is considering taking back your homeworld? And so on. Yes it is basically the same amount of text, but it conveys all the info you need to know as a player, and Shepard doesn't look like an idiot.

Well done to be sure. My only nit picks would be 1: She looks a little bit more butch than the concept art seems to imply. 2: Her concept art made her hair darker? She seemed more like a light red head.... but maybe it is just me.

Little bit different. These days they can make a 3d model that actually looks real.

Isn't 1990 anymore, don't know of a single game made in years that actually uses "who is closest" or "who is party lead" to determine who does the talking. I fully expect every conversation in the game (however it is initiated) to be lead primarily by the main character with some jumping in of party members when appropriate or requested. Also I am finding it funny how people consider fighters to be second class citizens or something. Just because they use a two handed sword doesn't mean they have to be idiots or incapable of using eloquent speech.

I laughed. I recently (like a month ago) finally let myself get convinced to buy and play Planescape: Torment, surely all the hype wasn't wrong despite everything I had read from a critical reviewer or knew from the liberties it took with the setting. Then I sat down and played the game and found out, nope, it is easily the most over rated game Obsidian has ever been involved in and has more bad gameplay decisions in it than you can shake an entire trees worth of sticks at.

Uh yeah.... Unity is completely capable of doing 3d graphics. The isometric view is at Obsidians discretion, not a limitation of the engine. Also do you have any idea how many games get released with little to no print media or tv coverage these days? Hundreds. The internet is by far the standard means of advertising video games these days and it costs less than you might think. Especially when you are dealing with a niche title that will already have appeal and be looked at by it's core fans without having to do more than exist. In fact I dare say word of mouth is the most common and strongest advertising most niche titles get in modern gaming and it costs 0. You need to also factor in that when this game gets to market it will be VERY closely examined by the gaming press. As of right now is it the highest funded kickstarter ever, it is made by a known company that has made a game that is actually critically acclaimed in the last few years (Fallout New Vegas), it will definitely be the benchmark for whether or not kickstarter funding will be viable for developers looking to avoid publishers long term or something that will only work for small projects. There will be people who couldn't even care less about the game itself who will cover it for no other reason. The game represents a lot more than a BG 3.

Yeah just throwing this out here but the engine for PE costs less than the engine of NWN2, PE has no licensing fees as it is an original IP so no need to pay WoTC, marketing is a non issue as this game already has kickstarter press and will see coverage on the internet no reason to bother with print or tv, and 2 years ago a very infinity engine esque game was made with full 3d and full voice work for only 3.5 million. You argument is no more valid than the OP's. They definitely had the funding to go full 3d if they wanted to.

Just like in Planescape: Torment where you could play a dumb character and definitely get just as much out of the game has a high int/wis cha..... oh wait no you couldn't.

Your poll is wrong WRONG!!!!! You are asking how the game should appear graphically, which has already been decided and Obsidian has already told us what they are doing. "Mechanics" of a game has little to do with it's graphical presentation. Example, the "mechanics" driving NWN 2 and Baldurs Gate 2 are actually pretty darn similar, but visually the games look totally different. That said I was thinking about how funny it is going to look watching a bunch of fully 3d character models running around on a flat 2d image. I hope Obsidian finds a way to make the game maps considerably more "alive" than they were in PS:T, BG, and IWD. I am beginning to think they expected to get less budget than they did. There are many fully 3d RPG's in the style of the Infinity Engine games out there that actually had smaller budgets than what PE got from just Kickstarter. Some of them even have full voice work to boot which adds a hefty sum on any games dev costs.

Mostly fixed. This is one that actually should have been a poll ! There should be room for your stats to enhance over the course of the game though. If not through the actual leveling process (which feels weird and arbitrary) do it through something more... seemless. Like through out the game is a series of textbooks on physics or advanced mathematics or something similar and every say 5 of them your character reads you gain 1 point of "intelligence". You could also get buffs from certain skill checks like say passing a "lore" check, or solving a complex puzzle in game. Similar things could be in game for other stats but even more ... sly. For example your "dexterity" (again with the D&D terms for ease of use) you simply gain an undisclosed amount of bonus every time you pick a lock, disarm a trap, pick a pocket, or craft a set of arrows, or some other task that is focused on manual dexterity. You could do the same for strength but make it forcing locks, attacking in melee (very slow gains), blacksmithing (again assuming crafting is in), passing strength check related challenges like arm wrestling in a tavern or clearing wreckage from a cave in. That way your characters are always improving naturally over the course of the game based on what they actually do. The only tricky ones would be Wisdom and Constitution. Charisma is one stat best left out of the game. Physical appearance should be based on player choice not a stats, how you speak or act should again be player choice, and the skills checks from it could easily be co opted to work off Wisdom, Intelligence, sometimes even Strength, a combination of the three, or a straight up skill check.

It's a Multi-Choice poll I worded my post poorly I admit. My point is the options are the wrong options. It should just be three straight choices. 1: full on relationships in game, you can be best friends with a character, fall in love, have sex, whatever. 2: Leave the romance and sex out of it and just go with personal relationships/friendship. 3: Just leave it out period. Anything else is just silly because that is what it really comes down to.

Another poll with poor choices. How about all of the above? Whats the point of including romance at all in the game if it means it can only be "one kind", and since when is being "good friends" with your party members considered romance? Unless you are talking about same sex stuff which frankly I would avoid because it will only bring the wrong kind of attention to the game.

Wow not really sure who is responding to this poll but they need to go back to game design 101 class. All classes need to be valuable in combat. What "out of combat" skills would they even be balanced against? Picking locks? Speech skills? Most modern games (and PnP gaming systems) leave plenty of room for all classes to have access to some, if not all, of the most common out of combat skills. Combat and non combat have nothing to do with each other and should be balanced separately, not that you really CAN balance out of combat skills. Characters either have them or they don't.

Man you guys love needless complexity that actually adds little to the game other than number crunching and more inventory management. Lets go and be "realistic" instead on this one. When was the last time you saw a suit of plate armor that didn't come with gloves, boots, and a helm? Never. Well guess what, that is true for all armor basically. Point? Okay. 1 Armor Slot = this is your entire set of armor, that includes boots, gloves, and helmet. 2 Ring Slots = self explanatory 1 Back Slot = cape, cowl, shawl, cloak, you get the idea. After considering a "tabard" or light robe might work here too. 1 Neck Slot = Amulets, Necklaces, all that stuff. 1 Belt Slot = Because you need to hold up your pants. 1 Accessory Slot = Glasses, Headband, Gems you keep in a pocket, Leather bands you can fit under gloves, Torc on your arm, earrings, stuff that doesn't fit anywhere else basically. Edit: After considering some more you could merge Belt and Accessory into one group. I will leave as is for now. As for weapons... 1 Right Hand Slot = what you are holding in ye old right hand. 1 Left Hand Slot = what you are holding in ye old left hand. 1 Quiver Slot = in case one of your weapons needs ammo. That is still 7 slots of gear not counting weapons but no longer do we have dudes running around in a plate cuirass, leather greaves, bone shoulder pads, chain gloves, and elven boots. We aren't playing WoW after all I would love not to look like a circus clown reject.

I agree to an extent. In the end stuff is sort of hard to code though and if they don't have level scaling (and why would they) odds are the "suicidal" dude may have actually been a legit threat when you first had the option to meet them. But maybe you put that quest off, maybe you just overlooked the area, who knows. I would simply ask that the devs include options to resolve things through skills checks prior to combat, that way a higher level party should have more than enough say "intimidate" skill to talk them down by then whereas a party that got there at level wouldn't.