BasaltineBadger

Obsidian said that the P:E is going to be mod-friendly. I see slight problem with that because there is no space to make new quests. When you consider RPGs the ones that had the most player created content was NVN and Bethesda games. NVN made it very easy to make new quests because of toolkit and lego-like world structure and games like Morrowind had lot of empty spaces to place quests. The problem with BG-like games is that since the background is hand-drawn it's hard to make new locations for players and everything is full of content so it's pretty hard to place something in already-existing locations.

Who forced Annah and Grace on him? I'll take actions over quotes... Yes Chris Avellone is mentally unstable man who don't even know what is he talking about, he actually wouldn't do anything other than write sappy romances but voices in his head forced him to lie in the Interview.

He had intended to go heavier on the romance angle with Gann. Make him bisexual, even, but the publishers balked. NWN2 was actually a far more... "romance-heavy" game in intent than in actuality. Infamous time and budgeting issues got in the way. I think it's a good deal more fair to say that MCA - and the rest of the Obsidian staff - don't like being pigeonholed. That means not being forced to hit romance checkbox A B and C and not making every meaningful bit of character interaction revolve around it. It also, I figure, means not being forced to ignore an important and basic part of human interaction because some people like GI Joes. Why did I enter this thread? Direct quote from gamasutra interview: http://www.gamasutra...lep__Part_2.php And yet, he wanted to make a male romance for another character of his. It's almost as though there's more nuance to the man than you can get from a single quote... Perhaps he believed that if he had to do romances he could as well do them well. It's not like gay romance with Gann would be different than heterosexual one so I doubt that he volunteered to write more romances. And direct quote >insinuations.

Just include it as a cheat code, and not a feature.

That's like saying a movie script that builds on unrealistic assumptions and defies believing isn't bad because it's a work of fiction anyways. Not a valid argument in itself. Except you cannot enjoy the movie without suspension of disbelief while many people enjoy games like Mario that make it obvious that it's a game and never even try to pretend to be reality.

The whole argument is already ridiculous. People could as well argue if we should include investigations and escorting NPCs, it's that irrelevant. If Bioware didn't wrote some bad romances that got people who only care about character relations interested in RPG games this topic wouldn't even exist.

The only reason why the topic went that way recently is because pro-romance guy said that people who are against romances are lonely and insecure, so this point is invalid.

Lack of immersion is not a valid argument against the game, just because you realize that you are in fact person in front of the computer and not elven bard doesn't make the game bad.

Only if the game is designed as such. You can design unwinnable combats that the player can only survive by runnign away (or using non-combat options). Say you run into a noble on the road with his bodyguard. You decide to try to rob him and attack. Suddenly the reast of his men (who were camping nearby) join in the fight. You party find itself fighting off LITERALY 100 trained soldiers - something that you can't survive even at max level. I'm just describing how it usually look like right now. For example in NV you can generally shoot through the quests that requires but you can't talk through Cazadors.

Not even in D&D are all orcs truly evil. "But wait" - you say. It sez CHAOTIC EVIL in the monsters handbook. Yea? Well so does the entry for DROW. And we have plenty of non-evil drow running around, now don't we? Aligment is a guideline. It shows a specific leaning of a race. Don't forget non evil Succubus and evil deva in Torment.

I don't have a problem with combat being prevalent or if someone wants to use it for every situation ... however, I would like there to be some situations where, although you can certainly resolve it with combat, the diplomatic solution provides greater reward (more experience, special reward, etc) ... that would be enough to break the paradigm of killing everything that moved ... you could still do it, but you will miss out on some rewards or experience if you don't take a more multifaceted approach There actually should be some situation you can't solve by combat, otherwise it will remain superior as 2-3 skills can replace every skill you lack.

The only problem in RPGs regarding negotiation/stealth and combat is that combat is universal solution to every problem. You can negotiate through some combat endcounter or stealth through them but not through every single one (you rarely can talk/sneak through bosses or random encounters). On the other hand you can fight through every encounter you could talk your way through or sneak pass.

He had intended to go heavier on the romance angle with Gann. Make him bisexual, even, but the publishers balked. NWN2 was actually a far more... "romance-heavy" game in intent than in actuality. Infamous time and budgeting issues got in the way. I think it's a good deal more fair to say that MCA - and the rest of the Obsidian staff - don't like being pigeonholed. That means not being forced to hit romance checkbox A B and C and not making every meaningful bit of character interaction revolve around it. It also, I figure, means not being forced to ignore an important and basic part of human interaction because some people like GI Joes. Why did I enter this thread? Direct quote from gamasutra interview: http://www.gamasutra...lep__Part_2.php

Why would you leave your friend? That's the whole point of this discussion. If you were a true friend then you wouldn't be leaving the companion high and dry. If you're going to treat him like dirt, then he's going to act like a hireling. He's going to demand payment, since it's all business with you. As for godmode, apparently P:E will end at around a D&D equilavent of Level 15. So no godmode. Because he's useless in combat and I don't want him to get killed. It's not like they are just left on the street, they usually go to some convenient gathering location and spend their time with everyone else who's not in the party at a time. Also why is third option trying to make people who don't want the mechanic sound like ****?

Now this is why romance threads always get locked. I wish Obsidian just told everyone if romances are in or not so the topic could either end or change into a more peaceful one.

Turn stamina usage off in friendly areas? or! perhaps make it somewhat involved with "in combat" \ "not in combat" as i recall, The Witcher 1 had this "danger meter" in many areas i guess it affected the chance of monster spawn in the area or smth, but -> -> carefuly placed, that variable might work with the stamina regen from time to time and perhaps after fully clearing an area of enemies, the peaceful music kicks in and we're free to jogg all around with only half stamina cost! yay! ideas, ideas If you don't mind jogging through cities this whole discussion was pointless, really.

To be honest, if OE follows all the advice in this thread, there won't be much of a game... "Ok guys, we need a boss for this dungeon level." "No bosses, the community thinks they are cliche'd." "No bosses? Ok... How about... hmmm... what kind of game are we making again?" "We don't know." The End. Dungeons are also cliche. As are adventures, quests and dragons. But are these clichés you would hope to see avoided or mocked? Mocking cliches is cliche itself.

It's the only thing I liked about casualisation of RPGs. It makes absolutely no sense, but it allows you the way out if you realize that your party balance is not very good in the middle of the game. Should be disabled in the most hardcore modes though.

I never really liked talent trees. They make character advancement too abstract for me.

Turn stamina usage off in friendly areas?

Well if you wasn't offending me then it's for other people to argue with your comment. It's end of topic for me.

JA2 didn't really involved a lot of backtracking or large cities, and wasn't even an RPG. It's a fine system when most of the game is about walking through locations filled with enemies, but not where you have to ha back and forth in a friendly city to do some quest.

Um, dude. Girls in real life often *bug* you if they have a crush on you. I'm constantly annoyed and aroused in real life I'm kidding a bit, but yeah.. Sometimes girls just say weird things to you just to have something to talk about. It's fine. I happen to like girls anyway and it's not a big deal. I happen to have my unsuave moments too where I'm not the brighest bulb in the haystack. But seriously, romances done the way you first mentioned makes a lot of sense. Obsidian/Bioware focus MAINLY on the characters who are around you the most because those characters are written to have the most personality. They like their own characters, and they want us to like them too, but if we don't, it's okay. However, I think there should be a middle road to your arguement. I would like to see romances/casual fling/using people outside the party be just as strongly written. The more thought into this subject the better. And for people who don't want this in their game, here's an advice for you: Don't flirt with anyone and just be quiet about your own insecurities. Some people just want to see their character happy. Others just like thriving on drama and hurt feelings. Lord of the Rings had the Aragorn/Arawen romance. Sam had that girl at home. Romance is just icing on the cake to sweeten the deal of saving/destroying the kingdom of PE. Yes, I am sadistic creep and have insecurities (lol wut) because I prefer one implementation of romance in video games to another. Brilliant logic there kiddo. Oh wait, Dragon Age 2 avatar explains everything. Sorry I bothered to reply. Yeah, it's an insecurity that you can't easy ignore the elements that aren't meant for you and that is optional, and that you have a problem that other would like it in the game. Also, how old are you ? Also, it's Dragon Age Origins, so kiss it ^^ I just said that I'd like it to be implemented in one game and not another. What you've written is just your vivid imagination. At least attack the idea, not the person behind it. Of course it it's not too difficult for you. I don't even know if we should continue this conversation. The picture being from DA 1 doesn't make you less of a Biodrone.

To be honest, if OE follows all the advice in this thread, there won't be much of a game... "Ok guys, we need a boss for this dungeon level." "No bosses, the community thinks they are cliche'd." "No bosses? Ok... How about... hmmm... what kind of game are we making again?" "We don't know." The End. Dungeons are also cliche.

Um, dude. Girls in real life often *bug* you if they have a crush on you. I'm constantly annoyed and aroused in real life I'm kidding a bit, but yeah.. Sometimes girls just say weird things to you just to have something to talk about. It's fine. I happen to like girls anyway and it's not a big deal. I happen to have my unsuave moments too where I'm not the brighest bulb in the haystack. But seriously, romances done the way you first mentioned makes a lot of sense. Obsidian/Bioware focus MAINLY on the characters who are around you the most because those characters are written to have the most personality. They like their own characters, and they want us to like them too, but if we don't, it's okay. However, I think there should be a middle road to your arguement. I would like to see romances/casual fling/using people outside the party be just as strongly written. The more thought into this subject the better. And for people who don't want this in their game, here's an advice for you: Don't flirt with anyone and just be quiet about your own insecurities. Some people just want to see their character happy. Others just like thriving on drama and hurt feelings. Lord of the Rings had the Aragorn/Arawen romance. Sam had that girl at home. Romance is just icing on the cake to sweeten the deal of saving/destroying the kingdom of PE. Yes, I am sadistic creep and have insecurities (lol wut) because I prefer one implementation of romance in video games to another. Brilliant logic there kiddo. Oh wait, Dragon Age 2 avatar explains everything. Sorry I bothered to reply.