czinczar

You are obviously unaware of the possibilities of game balancing. You can scale up or down the xp required by any given skill to level up..

I kind of aimed f I aimed for the stars, and if it lands on the moon, it's enough. Meaning if 20% of this system or something similar is implemented, my job is done and I am happy.

Confirmed user friendly mod tools

I voted "extremely detailed". I hate games in which it is said things like "duration : temporary", or "area of effect : large", or "increases your damage with swords", I want details, and it's even better when it is graphically displayed : circle on the ground when activating an AOE spell, and why not also damage potential being displayed by the health bar of enemies. If they are able to graphically represent the characteristics of a given spell, I am all for it.

Well, too bad for you guys, I was going to start a thread to unveil my next great idea : micromanagement of romance, in which each emotion is represented by a skill, and then there is body language, and also sexual performance and.. tools, but now.. YOU WILL NEVER LAY DOWN YOUR EYES ON IT ! LOL! Seriously though, this idea of lockpicking system is less complex than it seems. It looks like it when explained, but in game in would feel more natural, and also there would be a gradual learning curve., different challenges, new stuff, etc..

I came up with a little idea concerning lockpicking, some kind of menu based strategic process. The idea is to give the player more control on how the character should approach a problem, and the statistics of the character would determine if the action is successful or not. In principle, it is about breaking down the process of lockpicking into several stages. I came up with this idea because I don't want to see "one click actions" for non-combat skills, and particularly lockpicking. I want some fun and challenge, something to wrap my head around. So, here it is : 1) There is not just one skill named "lockpicking", but instead it is divided into several sub-skills which represent the different stages of the process of lockpicking - a skill to represent the capacity of the character to recognize which type of lock he has to deal with - a skill to represent the capacity of the character to apply adequate tension with his lockpicking tools - a skill to represent the capacity of the character to be aware of the sound feedback and interpret it adequately - a skill to represent the capacity of the character to correctly interpret resistance to his tools - we can also add skills that are more abstract and general, like timing, patience, etc.. 2) In game, there are different types of locks: from very simple to very complex, and in different states : rusty, damaged, badly manufactured, brand new, etc.. So, we could have many different combinations : complex brand new AND badly manufactured, medium damaged, complex rusty, simple rusty AND damaged, etc., and each of those combinations is vulnerable to a certain skill or combination of skills, i.e.: a brand new lock is vulnerable to a good sound feedback skill, while with a rusty lock, a good sound feedback skill becomes less useful because the sound is distorted by the rust on the surface of the metal(more noise) ; a badly manufactured lock is more vulnerable to the tool resistance feedback skill because there are some bumps and holes on the surface of the mechanism's parts which helps, etc.. 3) The lockpicking tools come in great variety. They serve to enhance the skills of the character, and they need to be adapted to the type and quality state of the lock, to a certain extent. For example, a certain tool gives more resistance feedback, another one can support more tension, etc.. Some tools should be fairly easy to acquire in game, while certain others should be hard to obtain. "Single ball", "double ball", "snake", "short hook", "long hook", "half diamond", "full diamond", "jiggler" are some of the names given to tools that are used in our real world for lockpicking. The process : The player encounters a closed door, or chest. I have imagined the process being displayed in the form of a menu. The goal is to arrive at 100%, at which the lock is open. The process starts at 0%. The player is free to use any combination of tool and action. For example : use his sound feedback skill in combination with a "full diamond", use his tool resistance feedback skill with a "jiggler", apply a certain amount of tension with a "short hook" etc.. Each adequate actions increases the % by a certain number, and inadequate actions decreases it. We can also imagine that the player can definitively jam the lock, by using inadequate actions, in this case the % of process could go in negative numbers, and if it reaches -100%, the lock is jammed. OR The player needs to follow a predetermined process divided into several stages. In each of those stages, a limited list of actions (combinations of skills and tools) is presented to him, and he has to make the right choices. He can't go back to a previous stage. At the end of the process, the percentage is given to him, or it can be displayed between each stages. The challenge for the player is to learn about the different types of locks, the different quality states of those locks, the different tools and their use, and advance and use his skills wisely. The balance between "player brain power" and "character skill influence" can be tweaked by increasing the influence that the character skills have on the % of process. We can also imagine a skill named something like "theoretical knowledge" which would influence the choices given to the player, knowledge acquired in books or with trainers, in a guild of thieves for example. Some remarks : The names of the different types of locks like "simple lock", "medium lock", "complex lock", could be replaced by the names of those who have invented those mechanisms in the game world. We can imagine for example 2 different mechanisms thus different inventors and names for each of the lock difficulty, a bit like the names given to magic spells in D&D : Olizuke Special Lock, Helius Inextricable Mechanism, etc.. It depends on the state of technology in the game world, but one should assume that someone has designed and crafted those locks. We can also imagine that it would be possible at one point in the game to meet one of those inventors, could also make a great quest/dialogue. For those who will say "I want my character to succeed based on his stats and not my personal intelligence", my answer is you should consider that when you are in combat, you personal intelligence matters. A different strategy often means the difference between victory and defeat. What I did with this idea is kind of transposing a combat system into a lockpicking system, nothing more : different weapons/tools, different skills, different enemies/locks. The idea as it is far from perfect and needs polishing. I am not expecting anything from the devs, maybe just influence them enough

With my newgame+, I also want chocobos and Nobuo Uematsu as music composer.

Broken Soul SoulSeek SoulStorm SoulStar SOUL CALIBUR !

You want something as awesome as that video ? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZuQpRcAvf8

Just a little idea to add : the song would be about an adventurer, or a mage, a necromancer.. - a mortal on his quest to become immortal, so in one sentence : his Project is Eternity. Also, about the previous "place those words" idea, just what came to my mind : "I plan (my) escape from the torment of ice and wind" . My first language is not english so I am very limited when it comes to english poetry : - )

Ok, here is a challenge, maybe stupid and not what you are asking for but .. : place the words "plane scape torment ice wind dale fall out never winter night" and maybe some others ("baldur" not easy to place) in your next song !

You mean it's equally as bad and should be avoided ?

Soleynt green, that movie was "dark" in the core sense. Assisted suicides, making food from human remains, all that on the surface of a dying planet because of centuries of human greed, and the powers that be lying about it, covering that disgusting hell of a society behind a thin layer of varnish composed of mindless entertainment, false flag conflicts, ideological scam and mystification..

You should think about the fact that when you are in combat, your brain is also part of the process. A good strategy in combat means victory. Success is a balance between your character statistics and your skills as a player, your ability to understand the mechanics of the gameplay and use that knowledge to succeed(try to send a mage with low hp and no armor in close combat, for example). So, the dogma of saying "I want to have that character succeed or fail on tasks based on HIS skill, not mine", is something you should recognize that is limited in scope. I get to choose what my character does... but not if he succeeds. In role-playing, at least in my opinion but I know many other RP'ers believe this as well, you are trying to decide what your character would do in a given situation. But you aren't trying to decide if they succeed. So, using your combat example, I think my character would swing his sword. I tell the game to have my character swing his sword, and whether he hits or not is decided by his stats. I don't want to swing the sword for him (like TES games or DA2, for example, which still uses stats to determine overall effect but still.) Similarly, my character comes to a computer that is encrypted. I decide that my hacker character, who has a high level of hacking skill, will try to break the encryption. Then the game decides, based on his skill, if he succeeds. I don't want to solve a word puzzle or mini-game... as fun as those can somtimes be (BioShock has ones I enjoyed) I'd rather not have them. So, yes, I make DECISIONS for my character on what they will try to do. My character, I'm shaping their personality. But I'm not also acting like the master of proficiency and probability - I don't want to be my characters hand, nor the dice for that matter. Well, what I propose with mini-games in which the stats of your character play an essential role, is kind of giving more definition, more precision to the decisions you want to give to your character, more resolution to that process. If for example you send your character to lockpick a door, you could have more control on how you want him to approach the problem, and the result would still be based on his stats. I mean, when I am in combat, and when on paper my group is really too weak to win the battle, I can still try and win the battle with a good strategy (forcing the enemies to come to me one by one in a narrow hallway, focusing on the dangerous ones etc..)

You should think about the fact that when you are in combat, your brain is also part of the process. A good strategy in combat means victory. Success is a balance between your character statistics and your skills as a player, your ability to understand the mechanics of the gameplay and use that knowledge to succeed(try to send a mage with low hp and no armor in close combat, for example). So, the dogma of saying "I want to have that character succeed or fail on tasks based on HIS skill, not mine", is something you should recognize that is limited in scope.

Hello, So, we all know what the fun and challenge of tactical combat is, but what about non-combat skills? Do you think there should be more about those skills but just one click action ? Maybe some kind of mini-games in which the statistics of your character would play an essential part ? Something that would resemble the lockpicking mini-game in principle in some other rgp's, or the hacking interface in deus ex 3 ? Do you have your own idea of how those non-combat skills should work ?

I'm not imagining it yet, as we don't know specifics of how XP system will work :] So far Tim Cain has just said that they want to reward people for solving the problem and not for just killing things. Also, XP add to common pool, so I can use XP gained through other means to raise the pickpocket skill. Xp gained through other one click actions ?

????????????? And battle isn't that? You try one tactic. It fails. Load quicksave. See? I can overgeneralize too. Well, not really. There is fun and challenge in tactical combat, there is none in one click actions. And I have often reloaded a quicksave after a victorious tough battle, just because I wanted to master that particular battle and to be victorious without a scratch.

If you fail to convince someone to not attack you. You get attacked. If you fail to pick a lock you might make a sound that attracts residents. If you fail to make a healing potion it might be poisonous and you wasted the materials. If you fail to disenchant a magic trap, it explodes. I.e. you better succeed or you'll get ****ed over. Yes, but that is just one click trial&error actions, where is the fun, the challenge ? And there is always the "load quicksave button".

Please, not mini-games. If the skill of my character is high enough to deal with specific problem, then it's all that is needed. I assume my character is skillful enough to overcome any obstacles and can just open that damn lock or pickpocket that fat trader. Minigames are annoying, because in the end it's the skill of a player that matters and not the skill of character he created. It's perfectly fine to have skills working as "one-click", because it'll mean the PC is experienced enough to solve imposed problem and it should be entertaining and rewarding without the need of minigames. Well, the stats of the character can easily be made essential to the mechanics of the minigame. And also, obsidian wants to separate the combat skills from the non-combat skills, so how do you imagine that you will gain enough XP in for example the pickpocket skill ? By one click actions ? It's boring, and there is no fun, no challenge. Anyway, the minigame what just an idea, but there has to be some kind of challenge, otherwise it's useless.

What is the challenge of using non-combat skills ? We all know what the challenge of a fight is, but I don't want those non-combat skills to be easy to use, one click capabilities. Maybe we can imagine some kind of mini-game for stealing, a mini-puzzle game, like the lockpicking interface in some other games ?

Well, I am sure it was electronic arts, because of the bonds between bioware and obsidian. And something like that was to be expected : that's the wet dream of any publisher, I guess.

The best system for me that I have seen in few games is the following : there are certain minimum stats that you need in order (minimum dex, str, whatever) to use the weapon with minimum efficiency, but you become more efficient with that weapon when the linked stats increase. So for example : to use the short sword you need 1 dex and 2 str, that's the minimum you need to have in those attributes to use the short sword with minimum efficiency. But the short sword will be used with full potential when you have 5 dex and 7 str, that's when the weapon is "capped", that's the maximum power you can obtain from that weapon. I think this is a great way to show that anyone can grab a katana and swing it, but it takes more training to actually properly use it at its best.

Also, in PS:T, I really liked that shop in which you could buy all kinds of strange artefacts, like the nordom box, if I recall well. And a character that I will never forget is the Lady of Pain..That mysterious giant goddess/being ..

I totally agree. Voice acting is not necessary, romances are boring and useless, housing is also useless, and bioware? We would get a quest like that : Oh there is evil ! Let's gather a party and fight it!