AdaMusic

And I started playing BG2 again. Amazing game.

I agree on what is generally said about the visual problems with PoE, so I decided to take this image and adjust one character to meet the requirements for visibility as well as substance. I only used methods that could be easily implemented in the engine and won't need a lot of work. This is the original character: Rather flat and hardly visible. Add to that some contrast and brightness increase: Already providing more substance. Now add a backdrop, which is basically just a blurred silhouette of the character: Coming along nicely. And for good measure, add a base shadow to the floor, separating the character a bit more from the floor: And for better comparison, a gif switching between the original and the improved visuals: And finally, to add context, the entire image with the updated character: Maybe I'll find the time to do this for all chars in the image to see how it'll look. Let me know what you think. P.S.: This was just a quick shot at it so the floor shadow is a bit dark. Forgot to dial it back... Problem is that you now have the scooby-doo effect again.

Sure, although there's something like that on the combat HUD above characters already but IMO it is too small and characters are too close together for it to be readable and useful. What I would really like is this: The bar would fill up to when the action is actually performed instead of showing recovery time. So if I start casting a spell mid-recovery I can clearly see: A. That it was queued as the next action B. How long until it will actually occur C. If it is interrupted, the bar would reset to zero and it could flash red or something I assume you would also hate this, but I don't really understand why you and others hate certain types of UI and feedback. Regardless though, they could make it so that you can disable it with Expert mode and the like and it would be okay. Personally I'm about as much feedback as possible, I don't care at all about skeumorphic UI or immersion when it comes to UI functionality to I'd like as much useful, readable, clear feedback as they can fit as long as it makes sense. And allow it to be disabled for those who hate it. It would be better to put the spell icon on the right side, because keeping it on the left side could confuse idiots into thinking that the health bar is actually the progress bar.

I totally agree with the thread creator. I'd love to write 10000 lines of text about it, but I feel like it wouldn't make a difference.

I liked the DAO item system too. I prefer the inventory system in IE games but I would be so much happier with the DAO inventory system than the current stash system.

What is your definition of strategy then? Do you want to discuss or what are you really trying to achieve? Strategy (from Greek στρατηγία , "art of troop leader; office of general, command, generalship") is a high level plan to achieve one or more goals under conditions of uncertainty.

Still it feels lacking. I feel like it is overwhelming compared to D&D/IE games while being less quality. Maybe it will be ironed out in the retail. To me IE games has the best combat system in any cRPG to date; I don't understand why they would try to change that with the motivation "all classes should be fun to play" (it is a party based goddamit!).

Yea. Feeling boxed in can be great for immersion. Maybe some of the devs have claustrophobia? :D

wuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut. Did you seriously just say that? I played Baldur's Gate when it only had 4,000 pathing nodes. 4,000! If you had trouble finding arrows or managing your inventory, it was entirely your own fault. I have never, in any IE game, had any issues with inventory beyond it being full and me having to go sell everything before returning to where I was. Oh god. You don't read what people write do you? When did I say that I had troubles managing my inventory or finding arrows? I said the inventory system in BG added immersion and strategy; one of the cases was the arrow juggling.

Yep. But with no fog in safe areas. I think fog should be in both safe areas and dangerous areas tho. It should be up to the player to decide if he or she wants an area to be "safe" or not.

That seems like a muuuuuuch better solution. Even in safe areas.

I feel like the put too much work into the combat aspects of the game, with skills, abilities and what not. Would've been much more interesting if the skills/attributes had a huge impact on conversation.

LOS without doubt. I feel like its not even "discuss-able". The decision is just so obvious.

Absolute nonsense. 60 arrows is more than enough for several encounters, and as you use up your quiver slots you'll open up more and more inventory space for the loot you're finding. Arrow carrying enemies are also abundant. Implying there is any strategy to the inventory/encumbrance system in the IE games is just silly. Did you even play BG1? I thought the IE encumbrance system allowed way more strategy than the current stash system, ESPECIALLY in BG1 and BG2. Just as Stun described, there were lots of arrow juggling in longer journeys in BG1. You could never be sure if your arrows would be enough; it was exciting and added immersion to the roleplaying aspects of the game.

I feel like the music is very "average". There are no tunes that I will remember but the good aspect is that there are no tunes that irritates me. I guess they are "OK" in the music department. I don't really care if they change the music or not, as I will probably just launch BG, Elder Scrolls or IWD music while playing instead.

What? Inventory Weight limits were a *huge* deal in the IE games. Most people did not "just drop things in any available slot until a limit was reached and then start dragging things over to the next character." instead, it was exactly as infinitron suggested. You made sure your high strength characters carried all the heavy stuff, and your weaklings carried the keys and scrolls and excess potion stashes. <shakes head> Very well said.

Good tips. I agree with everything you said. I feel like, with the stash system, that I have to run back and forth even more from the inn to the "dungeon" than what I had to do in the IE games. I really dislike it. I also feel like the inventory, especially when you loot, is really not intuitive and I really feel like I don't know where picked up items will go. For instance: if I choose "loot all", where will the items go? The stash? Whats even more important is the roleplaying aspect. With the stash it is completely removed. Sensuki you'd make a good game designer.

It is a good idea. Only downside is that it hides the portrait abit.

Why wouldn't it work properly? Should just be a change of a simple variable.

Huh? Why? Because if you want to make good use of the crafting system, you want to be able to keep loads of piles of materials around that would have been vendor trash without the crafting system. And why do you need a stash for this? Why not just use inventories + storage areas like a chest (as in basically all MMORPGs, aRPGs and cRPGs ever made)?

You are contradicting yourself. We are the beta testers and we are verifying problems by debating stuff in this forum. I think "no bad builds" will always be a failure. Just makes the whole choice of stats totally uninteresting and unimportant. If I can just pick random stats and still have a good character in all situations then you have totally failed with game design. I'm not contradicting anything. Attributes being useful to all characters doesn't mean those characters have to play the same way. Get. Your. Head. Out. Of. The. D&D. Box. Get. Your. Head. Out. Of. The. Ad hominem. Box.

I'd also prefer that approach. But I dislike crafting in about all games but BG2 so I guess I'm kinda biased.

Wow. The IWD portraits (and the BG portraits aswell) has so much emotion built into them. Really a work of art.

Huh? Why?

IMO the game seems easy just buggy. Don't feel like they need to change the difficulty; maybe just add 1-2 tutorials for noobs.