Review or Die

I'm glad some people discussed the articles I wrote: I wasn't sure anyone would read them at all! For what it is worth, doing a quick re-read I was not as clear as I could be about the expectations for such a title. Specifically, I did not expect this hypothetical Obsidian-made Fallout to make 300 million dollars. I expected that for a six million dollar game, it would make an amount respectable and proportional to its budget - a companion to go alongside Fallout 4, not a replacement. I wish I had made that clearer in the original article, particularly when that point is so near to the beginning.

You really have come up with a very ingenuous idea. I seem to remember some of that being done in Planescape Torment, and it really added a lot.

I really like this, and I think there's a lot you can do with it. The 'barks', as they call them, were never something I found particularly engaging, but you can get a lot of immersion in to the characters and their situation that way. I would love to see this player with in a really unique way like what you're suggesting.

The things I'd want to see, in order. 1. Bigger music budget (more music is ALWAYS my preference) 2. 'Wild Wasteland' style option to let the game go all-out in terms of funny stuff. I actually thought Fallout: NV didn't go far enough on that. The Low Int/Cha scripts are great, and I think this could be just as good if it's something of interest to the writers. 3. Mega-Dungeon level per 50/100k. Let's get 15 levels! 4. Another companion.

No sarcasm here: This is my favorite post in the whole topic. I wish this had topic had been devoted more to the points in narrative I made, but if I got this post instead, then the topic is salvaged for me.

If you're asking me (I'm not sure on the way quotes are typically handled by users in this forum, I apologize if you're not), I'd be happy with that. It stops things from getting lost by dividing it by party member. The visual/textual representation would make it much easier to navigate, too.

I called it inventory tetris because that's what I called it when I was a kid, swapping things around to make it fit, and moving one thing somewhere else forever and ever, not knowing it was a term for something else. So I apologize for the lack of clarity. I do not like the limited number of inventory slots, it is arbitrary and tiresome, and not being able to see what items are what without clicking or mousing over is frustrating and unintuitive. The less work inventory management is, the happier I am.

I wasn't even aware that we were discussing the IE inventory systems. In your OP you specifically complained about Inventory tetris..... which would be the grid system. The IE games don't use an inventory grid. We are discussing nothing. You are arguing over a post you did not read.

Which is why Fallout New Vegas was smart enough to separate things by categories. So does skyrim. And compartmentalizing doesn't fix the problem. It makes it worse, since, instead of scrolling up and down to find your item, you have to scroll up and down to find the item's category, then click on the category, then scroll up and down to find the item. Screw that. I'd rather play inventory tetris than duey decimal system librarian. The fact that it will not have a blind adherence to the Infinity Engine's inventory system has been mentioned by a developer in another topic, which is ultimately all I really care about. I'm not actually here to argue with you, you know. Or anyone. I posted this for the developers. They can look at it, ignore it, keep it vaguely in mind, or do whatever else they want. If people want to have a discussion, that's great and completely different, and I'd probably participate despite my relative lack of experience to other WRPG gamers. But you don't discuss, you get angry and accusatory and dismissive, and I don't see much the need to continue responding to you, a thing which I did last time purely by mistake because I knew there was nothing good which would happen because of it. Nor will anything good come of this, I'm afraid, but I am compelled to post it.

Which is why Fallout New Vegas was smart enough to separate things by categories.

3. We will have weight in our inventory system, and with more party members (6) we can make that number much smaller than many newer games. We aren't looking to design something that is annoying however. We'll be playing with getting a bit of a "realistic" feel for the inventory without making it super annoying. Hope this helps. Glad to hear your comment regarding the inventory. The Infinity Engine's inventory system never felt very fun to me, just... tedious. If it's well balanced to allow the tactical elements of the gameplay to shine through, doesn't frustrate the player, and doesn't require you to spend a whole lot of time playing with it to get to the story, I'll be happy. So does that mean... A list inventory? Personally I actually like the IE inventory style... With bags for the different small things and a bag of holding you run out of space a lot less (it would be interesting if you could have pockets on your paperdoll that opened bags for these things like a gem bag and scroll case, meaning they didn't take up space in your backpack). That's what I prefer based on games I've played. But if Obsidian has other plans that fulfill the goal of letting the player focus on tactical gameplay and the story, I am totally happy. I trust them as developers.

I've seen some word that there will be about 40-50 minutes of music. I would like to see the music budget increased to provide double that amount, if possible. Music is critically important in an RPG, perhaps moreso than any other genre, because it goes on so long.

1. Crafting will not be an afterthought. I can't give you a ton of details on the system yet, as it has yet to be designed. I will tell you our goal is to give you things to craft without throwing the balance out the window. My personal preference is to have crafting be a tool to help fill in the weak spots in the party's inventory and allow the player to make some powerfull stuff with enough research and work. I do feel the best gear in the game should be aquired through adventuring. We aren't making an MMO. Again, it is really early in the development process. The design for the crafting system will not be touched for at least a few more months I'd guess, but have faith, we'll make something good. 2. We like giving the player the freedom to get his/her arse kicked if he/she ignores signs that say "Hey, you're not ready to be here yet!" and they try anyway. The trick is to communicate that information so the player knows an area, or a creature, is probably beyond his current level. 3. We will have weight in our inventory system, and with more party members (6) we can make that number much smaller than many newer games. We aren't looking to design something that is annoying however. We'll be playing with getting a bit of a "realistic" feel for the inventory without making it super annoying. Hope this helps. Lastly, you should back Project Eternity because it is going to be awesome...duh I keed, I keed. If your not comfortable donating, we completely understand and appreciate your interest to come to our boards and voice your concerns. Glad to hear your comment regarding the inventory. The Infinity Engine's inventory system never felt very fun to me, just... tedious. If it's well balanced to allow the tactical elements of the gameplay to shine through, doesn't frustrate the player, and doesn't require you to spend a whole lot of time playing with it to get to the story, I'll be happy.

You could have the sprite next to the item name, and as something you can see when you click the item within the inventory. Cause I agree, those are very nice looking. I just don't think they're nice enough to be the reason you have an inventory slot.

I apologize if crossposting isn't considered acceptable, but I posted this in a topic about mood in this forum. "KOTOR2's humor felt the most right to me, tonally. It never went goofy, but there was always something about it that could get you grinning and sometimes just laughing out loud, despite the fact that in all likelihood the universe was going to be consumed of every living entity and you being some sort of abomination unto the Force that could very easily be the most dangerous person in the universe. I never was a fan of things that took themselves so seriously that they forgot that human beings are naturally inclined to try to relieve tension by joking, and that people are... well, they're a little ridiculous. They've got their quirks, their foibles, their things that have them saying "And what's so WRONG about [my stuffed purple giraffe]?" By ignoring humor, you're ignoring a fundamental part of the way people interact with each other and human nature as a whole. And if everything's serious, then the game can't get serious. It's a matter of contrast that makes a scene more impactful. I don't need a jester companion who tells knock knock jokes, but some humorously witty dialogue is a must for me."