Feynt

Even the Mythbusters proved that gangsta style is ineffective as a firing technique (satisfying as it is). Of course this is a game, the +2 to intimidation or badassery of holding your blunderbuss sideways while you cap a mofo would definitely be worth it. >) Staves are still capable of disorienting an armoured opponent with a swift strike to the head, or unbalancing an opponent by tripping them or simply levering them over if you manage to get in close enough (admittedly ruining the reach advantage, but whatever. Fights are never clean). Yes, some martial arts were mostly formed out of necessity to overthrow an oppressive government which outlawed weaponry, or simply defend themselves against bandits when such restrictions were in place. Capoeira, eskrima, and jiujitsu as examples. Some martial arts however are not, among them ranks any sword based martial art (even classic European fencing is a martial art, but there's Asian, African, and native North and South American sword styles as well), as well as kung fu in general (shaolin kung fu was practiced by monks embraced by the government, not hindered by it). It should also be mentioned there's a big difference between random sticks you find in the woods and swing against plastic armour (or metal, if you happen to be a rich LARPer) designed specifically to resist impacts (because no one brings piercing weapons to LARP groups), versus treated wood carved out into a pole and possibly reinforced with a metal core. If a simple shinai, the bamboo sword used in kendo, still hurts through the protective head gear, imagine what a weighted chunk of wood about a meter longer would do when swung with purpose. As for the video, it's a point combat system. You'll also note neither of them is trying to knock the other over or skewer the other, nor do they commit themselves to full attacks (except in one case where the swordsman got tired of being poked and rushed forward to engage). Simple contact constitutes victory. LARP doesn't have this type of system, typically in LARP you go until you receive a proper wallop, and then excuse yourself (limping or otherwise) from the battlefield. But the video does display the advantage of reach, and pointy end or no, a stick to the face is a stick to the face (or to the gut, groin, back, whatever).

Didn't know you swung that way, sailor. I've got some friends you can meet up with if that's your thing. The difference is just like crossbows versus bows. One requires skill and training to use on the order of months to years, the other can be given to any random person and used somewhat effectively. Back in the day, an army of English longbowmen were the superior of most ranged units in combat. But training up and arming them was far less cost effective than making a crossbow, handing it to some schmuck, and drafting him into service for king and country. My money's still on the guy with the sling if there's terrain to abuse. Plus handguns run out of ammunition, slings basically use whatever's fist sized or smaller that happens to be laying about. Are you on drugs or just retarded? Not that I really care, just asking out of curiosity. Don't believe me, look it up. Most sites quote the foot range, where 50 feet is about 15m. However books in your library and your local gun club can verify this approximate range too. That is, if research doesn't hurt you too much. Addendum: I admit to laziness and didn't go out of my way to find an example to support swords vs. staves, but someone else provided a "this is how polearms work" video elsewhere and off of that was a spear vs. sword video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=O8RWLxlzTiM A staff is used much like a spear, except poking with it is non-lethal. A hunk of wood to the face is still enough to knock you on your ass though. In the video, the swordsman gets a few point wins, but by and large the significant reach advantage the spear has wins most of the engagements. And this is the european style of spear fighting, some asian martial arts focus on parry/riposte combat styles while others teach fast, broad swings in a circular motion and sudden stabs from that momentum to keep your foes at bay.

Didn't know you swung that way, sailor. I've got some friends you can meet up with if that's your thing. The difference is just like crossbows versus bows. One requires skill and training to use on the order of months to years, the other can be given to any random person and used somewhat effectively. Back in the day, an army of English longbowmen were the superior of most ranged units in combat. But training up and arming them was far less cost effective than making a crossbow, handing it to some schmuck, and drafting him into service for king and country. My money's still on the guy with the sling if there's terrain to abuse. Plus handguns run out of ammunition, slings basically use whatever's fist sized or smaller that happens to be laying about. Are you on drugs or just retarded? Not that I really care, just asking out of curiosity. Don't believe me, look it up. Most sites quote the foot range, where 50 feet is about 15m. However books in your library and your local gun club can verify this approximate range too. That is, if research doesn't hurt you too much.

I lol'd. Wrong Boo, sadly, as I mentioned. However, support Boo for president?

Basically, this. Also, your bigotry is showing. I don't enjoy playing as a human in any game, they offer no advantages or disadvantages in almost every setting. It's been far too long since I've seen "flaws" in character creation to add variety to the person you're playing as. Thus, I get my variety in choosing another race. I think it would be interesting dealing with the trials of a bipedal world as an intelligent animal. "Oh God it's going to ea- Oh, you're a customer? C-Come in, come in, sorry about the... Never mind." - Shopkeeper to intelligent panther character looking for supplies They've already said a wizard isn't necessarily the equal of a man with a gun. But that arrangement aside, a staff meant for combat offers a significant reach advantage over the average sword, can parry safely and with greater ease (two points of focus instead of one), and levers very well to throw opponents off balance. An experienced staff wielder is easily the equal of swordsman in the right environment (not a narrow corridor). Also, fast moving projectiles are fast moving projectiles. A metal BB or a slug, either will kill you if it moves fast enough. As long as we aren't talking 10 paces, turn and draw, the silence of a slingshot gives the wielder a decided advantage in an area where he can hide and pick his shots. If we're going further back and talking about a sling (not a slingshot which has more akin to a bow), an experienced sling user can put a rock through a medium to large can at 20m+ with a minimum of prep-swinging. The effective combat range of a modern handgun is 4.5-6m, though they're maximum effective range is more like 15-20m (and that's a crack shot with time to aim). Guns in this setting are blunderbuss at best, effective at point blank range essentially (inside 3m). So yes, I'd go with the guy with the sling. In my example I was giving comparisons between plain leather and daggers, versus some enchanted clothing with equivalent or better protection and swords likewise enchanted to give dagger like weight. Swords are still swords, they're long and awkward in close quarters or tight environments. They're meant to slash with, not so much with the stabbing. While you can stab with most swords their length means you have to draw your arm back further to stab something very close, giving your opponent an opening to strike at. As far as reach is concerned, swords outclass daggers. But they're meant for different styles of combat. Slashing weapons are exceedingly poor when your target is inside of your swing arc, and a guy with a dagger is looking to be that close to stick you. And what's more, his goal is easier because stabbing is a natural punching motion that flows well with his forward momentum. Likewise they mentioned magical protection has disadvantages against technological advances like guns, so yes the enchanted clothing may offer better protection than the leather.... against blunt attacks maybe. But would it cut just as easily as regular cloth? Would it stop an arrow any better? If we go with your gross misinterpretation, leather armour worn by a nimble person is absolutely better than asking someone to dance about in full plate. Yes, people CAN do fancy acrobatics wearing 60-70lbs of metal, but they tire quickly. Would you rather parkour in full plate or motorcycle padding? Can leather armour stop a sword as well as full plate? No. But they're meant for different styles of combat. The guy wearing leather is looking to avoid attacks and is armoured more to cushion those hits that do graze him. The guy wearing plate is basically hoping for the best as he weaves about, but is wearing the armour to give him the best odds against cutting blades and basically anything else that is not a direct hit. I'm glad you can get your wife beating on, if you so choose, should this come to pass. I meant drinking with my party and having funny (potentially hazardous, potentially beneficial!) augmentations to skill checks.

Retaining a familiarity isn't wholly necessary, aside from finding a niche for each armour type. Padded armour (for example) doesn't need to work the same as it does in D&D, it just needs to have a similar position (the lower end of the spectrum of protection, but with unhindered motion because it's essentially thick clothing). There's also no real need to invest thought in "better" armour when "different" armour is also a potential idea. Perhaps some kind of plate armour is made of lighter metal, so it hinders motion less but offers slightly less protection. Perhaps some kind of padded armour comes with plating on the arms and legs to allow a special bonus for blocking, while weighing a good deal more. This means that you're not jumping wildly away from the base armour (padded armour is still the weakest type of all), but you're enabling a playstyle choice for the player. For example, maybe that padded armour with the plated limbs would be good for the monk who would be adept at blocking with his limbs, but would benefit greatly from the mobility of the lightest armour available. Being a warrior type he's probably got the strength to bear that extra weight, and so it's strictly an improvement over regular padded armour for him. Likewise perhaps there's some sort of ornate plate mail with runes etched into it which helps to channel magic. The shape and etching of the plate reduces its protective qualities a little, but it would be appealing to a wizard who just cares about the magical boost while having comparably the best physical protection available (even if it's only a little better than the next type below). In order: No, obsolescence is bad. No armour should replace previous armours, or else you're going with the Diablo style of loot drops where you start off as a level 1 barbarian finding quilted jackets and end your romp searching for the next piece of armour with +2 to awesomeness to replace your aging full plate of lesser badassitude. I never liked the idea of +1. It made it an arbitrarily better piece of equipment because some drunk wizard decided to waste a level of experience to make a piece of equipment he couldn't wear (+4 full plate for example) and then stuffed it in a chest somewhere just because. I don't like the idea of "better" in general, because then you have to deal with power creep as well. I like "better for me" however, gear that's skewed in favour of my playstyle which may hinder another playstyle I don't care so much about (as I mentioned above). Mmmm... Hard to say. I'd rather that armour made sense in protective values more than be forced into a list because it's an upgrade of a similar type below it. And again, I don't like the idea of obsolescence, so this is kind of a moot point as far as I'm concerned.

I think the water and shadows part is actually pretty simple: Make it demi-3D. Create simple 3D models that animate as the characters would (or potentially just a single model!), and then make them draw invisible. However the models themselves would cast shadows, and could potentially receive shadows as well, which could overlay on the sprite characters and fake a 3D shadow effect from the environment. This means doubling up asset creation a little, but it's actually simplified a bit since you don't have to define the models very much. They're just there to cast shadows. Likewise water has been done to death and back to life with shaders on 3D planes. You can create areas in your Unity scene which apply these shaders to cause rippling water, and save a ton on animated textures. Seriously, realistic water shaders are plentiful and beautiful.

This is basically my stance. I can take romance or leave it, as part of the story. I am not looking for ME level engagement. At best, I'd like a couple dialog options here or there where I'd flirtatiously suggest my beau accompany me into action, retorted by equal tongue in cheek remarks about scaring the dungeon denizens.

Actually, I could see them putting in a couple joke weapons or pieces of armour. A sord perhaps, or other iconic weapons and armour from popular movies, comics, or games that are unfeasible and likely carry penalties that make them inferior to (but still as usable as) any other option available to you. Another example could be Cloud's buster sword: Always last in initiative, -whatever to hit, but +DAMN damage with a high critical hit range.

I'm a simple RPG player with simple needs. There are many like me out there, and many have their own list, but this one is mine: Race wise, there must be a playable bestial race (which isn't just nekomimi. Actual animal hybrids or lesser, like wolfmen or even just playable wolves). Bonus points if they don't always follow a stereotype of being outsiders to the other races because they're so different. Extra bonus points if they are intelligent animals capable of communication, but perhaps not using tools (and my condolences and commendations to the story writers writing the quests that can deal with that race) Weapon wise, a staff must be a valid form of weaponry. A talented martial artist (eastern or western arts) skilled with a staff is the equal of a swordsman. There is more to holding a staff about the middle and swinging it left and right until things fall down, and seeing the majority of RPGs disregard staves as weapons only a mage would use or relegate them to magical foci and nothing more is disheartening. Again, my gratitude if staves (and other weapons of course) can parry intrinsically as part of the skill to use them, and allow for riposte. Item wise, non-magical equipment has to remain valid as well. A guy dressed in leather armour and wielding a pair of daggers should be just as relevant in combat as a guy wearing enchanted clothes that offer plate mail like defense and wielding swords that are as light as willow boughs. Enchanted rope that is as strong as chain and normal rope need to be as valid when tying someone up or using it for normal purposes like climbing (let the enchantment come into play when combat starts and swords start swinging at it). I enjoy power creep as much as the next guy, but I want Angelic Layer, not Dragon Ball GT. Characters must be capable of getting drunk. Maybe there's somethings that benefits from getting drunk, like drunken boxing or diplomacy, but damn it after a long, hard fight I want a long, hard draft at a tavern. Or, perhaps, my tavern now. >) How about the rest of you? Any short lists to help guide the dev team on their journey to completion?

I agree, allow everyone to be killable. The only people who the game should warn about are the people who are vital to progression in the story. And even then, please give us options to later continue the story another way with another NPC. Perhaps killing Mr. Evil McBaddude because he curled his 'stache at you is justified in your eyes, it was offensive enough to your personal morals. But later have his nemesis Dudley cross your path and give you congratulations for the job well done and by the way here's this important thing you should look after. I am also a big fan of killing children as well. You know the games I speak of, and their invincible children... No one should be safe. Remember Obsidian, you work for us, not some publisher bound by sales figures and political correctness. You've already made $4m in sales on a game that doesn't exist yet. ~.^

Would you like to have Photoshop or Windows Movie Maker start everytime you run a game? This is a false equivalency and a rather poor one at that. Steam is DRM - it just so happens to be a DRM that a fair number of people find acceptable. If you don't find it acceptable, no problem! Just stick to a version without DRM - or, just don't support the project at all! I personally refuse to buy the Assassins Creed games, for example, due to the highly intrusive DRM they have had. I find steam drm to be much more palatable - I don't exactly prefer it, but it is something I can live with, that only minimally restricts me. I agree, this is most definitely false equivalency. Photoshop takes up many hundreds of megs, sometimes several gigs of RAM. Its default state takes up like 300-500 megs without any images loaded (at least as of CS2). Doing any sort of illustration work, I've pushed it well over 3 gigs on images. Steam tops at 150 megs on my computers at idle. I have never, ever, seen it go past 250, except when verifying file integrity or doing its own form of defragging. That said, I have had photoshop running in the background while I've played games in the past. On Steam. With 60+ tabs open in chrome. It's just how I use my computer. Also helps I have 16 gigs of RAM and an OS capable of accessing it all, but not actively trying to fill it all. And as for GOG as a DRM site, you're forced to use your account once to download the game. After you download it, you can burn it to a DVD, store it on your NAS, upload it to the cloud service of your choice, whatever. You could, hypothetically, also distribute it across the vastness of the intarwebs for all to use. They almost don't care (that last one would probably make them mad, and spoils DRM free for the rest of us). And you would never have to log into your account again. This is effectively the same as going into a Game Stop to buy a game, and then never going to Game Stop again.

Well, it's cheap in regards to their current holdings for a license. It would end up being around $2k for cross platform PC support. If they get ambitious, another $3k lets them try porting it to iOS and Android (which would be a neat idea, PE on a tablet would go over well for me). The major reasons for choosing Unity have been covered, but to elabourate a little on the scripting; the engine supports C#, Javascript, and Boo (a variant of Python for Mono). I suppose technically you might be able to work any language you compile into Mono bytecode into the engine, but officially it supports those three. What's more, you can call use different languages between scripts and still maintain interoperability. So three programmers on a project: One loves python, one loves C#, one loves javascript. As long as none of them work on the same scripts, they're free to work as they please and rely on the other's scripts as long as they know what the functions are and how to call them. A Boo script can call a C# or javascript function and any other combination. It's a bigger deal than you'd think. Plus easy integration of assets, Unity 3.5 even exports .blend files from Blender properly, as well as (of course) Maya and 3DS Max files. This means for the indie developer just starting out, for a grand total of nothing, you can get a game engine, high end modeling software, and a competent texture program (GIMP, lets say) to get started in the gaming industry. But, if you're a big name company with scores of employees and the latest in asset creation software, you're still covered.

I'm keen to have a bestial subrace category. All too often half animal creatures are enemies and enemies alone. It really isn't that hard to fathom the idea of wolfmen being at home in a village or town environment, it's a surrogate pack.

I prefer appropriately skimpy outfits. Armour like the platemail bikini in the first post which supposedly offers the protection of the complete coverage the males enjoy is right out. But say, partial leather with stylish clothing, offering situational armour. Then it's a great design. Sure, maybe with an exposed midriff you'll suffer a lack of protection for body shots, but with protected extremities you'll be more likely to parry and (as is normal) defend yourself with those parts of you that are padded. And for Mod's sake, please don't fashion armour that form fits breasts. This ^ is female plate. This v is not As for fanciful weaponry... I happen to like the asuran weaponry in GW2. And Monster Hunter's selection. I think it's less about the design and more about the complexity though. At the end of the day, a sword is just a big sharp piece of metal. Don't make it a clockwork weapon unless it's a hand blender or a chainsaw. Keep it simple first and foremost.