Entropious

Actually, I would be in support of several "morality meters", something along what was SUPPOSED to be a part of Fable 2: cruelty/mercy, greed/generousness, lawfulness/anarchism etc. In this way we could at least have a measurment of just what type of a person we are. I know that many players are against it, instead favouring "no meters", like in Dragon Age BUT, please remember, in case the factions of the game will be following a philosophical agenda rather than an economic one, such meters could allow the player to have a gauge at just how much does his character (not the mindset of the player) fit in with a particular organisation. Or perhaps something along the lines of "morality perks" would be advisable. For instance, once you kill a set number of elves, you get an "Elf Hater" perk, which automatically alters how elves within a given region view you.

In order to give a fair answer to such a conundrum, one only has to recall the Slayer series books of the Warhammer universe, especially those written by William King. What many, many readers absolutely adored about those books was not the plot, or the action, or even the characters (even though they were excellent), but the little bits of outside fluff and plot elements planted throughout any book, from locations (The Blind Pig) to interesting individuals (Mr. Hong), up to the potrayal of entire races (Skaven).

Actually, I wouldn't be so much in support of different starting locations. Quite the contrary, I find the idea of starting in THE SAME city, but as different persona, to carry much more posibilities. Imagine two characters played by two players: a thief from some discriminated against minority, and a paladin born within the rulling elite. One could only imagine how varied, within the scope of a single location, could their respective beginnings be: the attitude of citizens, accessability to locations, friends and enemies, tools of the trade, wealth etc. Most importantly, however, I do not want each ethnic group to have an equally hard/easy time. Go ahead, be racist and let one group have a clear advantage at thre cost of the sweat and blood of those beneath. Be discriminatory against women (or men, imagine that). Racism, xenophobia, feudalism...all those elements enrich a give setting.

A given character should only partake in Experience Points earned while he was actually a part of the effort. Let's not turn to some obscure notion of "being X levels behind just for the sake of convenienve".

I was thinking more along the lines of worshippers of "The Sleeping One" in Gothic (their main source of income were narcotics) or, in general, cults present within the works of Lovevcraft. "Alien", "mystery" and "insanity" as the main motiffs, not so-called "grimdark".

Additionally, I hate features of "counting up" every little thing I do, like in World of Warcraft. How many times I hit someone, how many spells I've cast, how many carrots I ate yesterday...why in God's name do I need that kind of information? Keep it simple, disciplined and neat.

I chose "everything" but only under the condition that features such as magical domination, hypnosis and the like are present (varieties on Jedi Mind Trick) where you can simply make someone believe or behave in a way you deem appropriate. If such conditions are met, I would vote for the possibility of finishing the entire game without killing (by yourself) a single being.

If there is one type of faction I believe would be particularly interesting, I would have to point out towards a "Lovecraftian" cult - a dark gathering worshipping not some "evil" gods, but completely abstract, alien entities whom the human mind cannot hope to complrehend; a gathering of the lost, hopeless and desperate, no longer driven by ambition or earthly desires, but by the insanity brought about with the forbidden knowledge they now possess. As such, I believe the bogs would be an excellent location for such a cabal. Also, utilising the old alignment system brought about by D&D, I would have to stress that such people would fit the "Chaotic Neutral" category, rather than any notion of evil. Last but not least, I believe that such a faction should NOT be joinable, or at least several exteremely severe plot requirements would have to be made. After all, the stress would be put on the mysteriousness and otherworldness of such a society, the depravity born not out of spite or immorality, but total, utter amorality.

Of course, the developers could also go in the direction laid out by Planescape: Torment, and make most weaponry unusual, quirky, and highly personalized. In the end, it all depends upon the nature of the in-game universe, how the economy functions, whether society functions more or less normally etc. Please also remember games such as Gothic, where, due to limited resources and the overall plot situation, owning a real sword was already considered a feat in itself, so sparse they were within the region where the game took place.

As many people have already pointed out, achievements are mostly targeted towards console players, whose games are so short and tedious that they need additional incentive in order to replay the content of said product. Project Eternity, as it seems, will be a rather large product, spanning many, many hours, with an open or semi-open world, not just and endless jumble of invisible tunnels and corridors (HELLO CONSOLE GAMES). Therefore, I strongly thing that introducing regular achievements is a waste of time and effort. Unless, as I have stated before, we are talking about titles similar to those found in Arcanum. If such is the case, however, I want those titles to be more present within the game world, not just as an entry inside my journal.

Most importantly, however, I wish for the classes to be directly tied in with the fluff. Having a warrior class just because "there has to be a warrior in a fantasy setting" does not, in my opinion, cut the cake.

However, if anything demonic and/or related to dark magic would be introduced, I would be highly against such classes be brought into a "high fantasy" setting. On the other hand, if the product moves more towards the "dark fantasy" genre, I would be all for it.

I can't stress enough how much I hate achievements. These turn a game which should be immersive into "Gordon Ramsay's Hell's Kitchen". Go ahead kids, win the challenges and win a rewards. The game itself is supposed to be one, giant reward in the form of fun and immersion. If achievements need to be added, it simply means that the game is somehow lacking, and the developers are trying to cover it up. Unless they are something akin to the aforementioned titles found in Arcanum. But, if such a thing were really implemented, I'd like to see various people actually referring to me by that title, depending upon which of them they should, logically, be familiar with.

Perhaps being poor in the real world isn't fun, but you cannot compare real-life experiences with those within a computer game. I truly doubt most ladies and gentlemen enjoy WALKING from town to town for days on end, sleeping on the ground, and fighting for your very lives every now and then. The beauty of any work of fiction, be they books, films or games, is that one can experience all which is appeling in a certain aspect of reality without having to deal with all those tedious, annoying downsides. Would anyone REALLY like to be a thief in some slums? Go ahead, move to North Korea, Russia or India.

Please remember, though, that this will be an isometric, 2D title, so I wouldn't expect too advanced movement and clothing animations. As such, it may be far easier than it seems to implement a nice look to cloaks and capes, longcoats and trenches, panchos and mantles.

I agree. Seldom have I seen portraits as tasteful, exotic and, in some cases, erotic (in a very good sense), while at the same time seing realistic enough for me to be thinking "Yes, that is how a Paladin would actually look like in a snowy waste." Good portraits are the first step on the road of gameplay immersion, and as such I find artistic, painted portratis to be much more to my tastes rather that any 3D nonsense thrown at me in other titles.

Realism, realism, and even more realism. And, what is more, I don't want my magic weapons to be shining, burning or menacingly growling, unless they are literally possessed by a demon.

I would opt for every "civilised" area to be already revealed, with every other are shrouded in a fog of war until it is explored. As for the journal, I think that Dragon Age: Origins did a great job. I would like for the art style to be more diverse in terms of appearance, but other than that, I would stick to such a template.

Sir, you are wrong about people in the Medieval Age throwing their wastes straight on the streets. Such individuals were simply fined by the city guard or whatever else served as a political body. Nobody wanted a plague on their hands.

Please remember that, at the end of the day, every work of culture is mimesis, the imitation of the real world, so you cannot entirely dismiss Earth, its history and cultural influence, out of the picture. If it was the opposite then, for example, people within this fictional universe could drink urine instead of water and no one would even bat an eyelash.

I would say that there should be at least one "good" and "evil" class, perhaps a paladin on one hand and a warlock on the other. I know that currently there's a certain dislike for "black and white" worlds, but, bear in mind, how those classes could be portrayed by a good writer: Paladin - caring, brave, daring, protecting the weak, merciful YET arrogant, holier-than-thou, inflexible and intolerant Warlock - self-serving, cynical, traitorous and manipulative YET open-minded, curious about the world, not filled with prejudice

The question of divine intervention is actually a pretty important one. On one hand, I wouldn't want clerics going around, healing and resurrecting through supernatural means (unless divinity will be explained as in the Planescape universe, in which case this is absolutely fine). Instead, I would opt for introducing a mechanic (although that could be difficult) where, depening upon how much favour one has with his or her god (of course this stat would be a hidden one), there would be a % chance for divine intervention at certain critical moments, both mechanical (the character is nearing death), as well as plot ones, as decided by the developers. This could be especially appealing if, in certain cases, without divine intervention a given plot line can enly end "bad" or "worse".

I didn't choose any of those. Personally, something along the lines of what functioned in Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay - Second Edition would be quite apetizing: you can cast spells as often as you want, without any fatigue/mana present, but each and every attempt at casting would not only hold the risk of simply being unsuccessfull, but also having side effects, from lesser ones (like spoling the food in your backpack) up to major (demonic possession). As such, magic would become a thing of true danger to both the caster AND the people around, making the general prejudice against mages (finally) logical.

The OP makes it clear that the fellow wishes for the game to be sodomite-friendly, that is, he wants it to fulfill a socio-political requirement of the radically liberal West. This has nothing to do with the game quality. Has anyone ever seen, in a review of Fallout/Baldur's Gate etc. issues concerning homosexuality? Did anyone note "the game is great, but no homo, so it gets a lower score"? Be reasonable.

Exactly, I much prefer joining the faction has a plot-based reward rather than an item-based one.