Grotesque

- real money sinks - no level cap whatsoever - item sketches

Hmm, this one I'm not so sure about. I'm not a huge fan of the stampede effect of the ie games when you have a full party. That said, we havent touched the mix yet, so theres a chance we'll make the footsteps slightly more audible. And MAYBE we'll be able to get a footstep slider for those who like footstep sfx. Maybe. The current footstep volume gives an impression of walking on the moon (no sound propagation whatsoever) and is not cohesive with the volume of other sound effects that happen in the distance but they're way louder than the footsteps of 5 characters marching or running on the screen. This effect is more prominent when the music is turned off or at a lower volume. A footstep volume slider would be ideal. But I think is better to have the "stampede effect" instead of insufficient volume because its all about audio feedback which is very important (lack of audio feedback has an alien/unsatisfactory effect)

In my opinion the sound of footsteps for the party members is too low. When playing, you can hear the birds, the pigs in town, the watermill, bells but when moving the sound of foot steps is too muffled out and this gives an awkward impression. Also I would suggest that the effects sounds (like the watermill wheel water splash) should kick in depending on the location of the characters and not the camera location

I remember playing Baldur's Gate for the first time and being struck by awe at how gorgeous and high quality the portraits were. I literally haven't seen till that day something similar in quality/execution. Baldur's Gate 2 I remember telling to mysels: "Ok... What Happened?" PoE portraits are not BG quality, that's for sure but better than BG2. Maybe its time to derail this thread into a compendium of portraits similar in BG quality for future use

All proof lead to the contrary

If only the game was as good as this track... (also it has drums) ___________________________ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkIoPrtQjqA SKIP TO 1:00/ best listened at really high volume https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJsEYwguuj8 <---- PART 2 One of best tracks ever made. I would love to see some eastern influences besides all this Jeremy Soule aka bland galore. Also it has drums to satiate you for a lifetime!

The thread that asks for pirate style pistols to be in the game has with one "vote" more than item sketches... Oh, the tragedy!

Yes they did, praise Zeus!

I undrestood very well what he said. I used the same term but with another connotation. In other words he says that Diablo 3 being a game in the Diablo franchise, is to be expected that story and items (bwhahaha) would be bad.

"The real offender with that game was the Real Money Auction house and I don't recall anyone raising a storm about it until after release." What? You couldn't be farther from the truth. Then I guess you have no idea about the shock wave and the great schism that arised on the Diablo 3 forums about that. "It is Diablo, you didn't need to hack anything to know the storyline would suck and the itemization would be bad" Here you have it folks, no comment. Another "gamer" that thinks that Diablo is just about hacking pixels that form monsters. Do me a favor and educate yourself:

I remember when Diablo 3 got hacked and rumors of idiotic storyline and itemization problems surfaced. Yeah! Just be good little robots and try not to dig so deep! The things that you're not supposed to see are bitching season free after release only! God forbid.

I've listened too all the files and their voice acting quality is semi-atrocious . Track 14 is abysmal in particular. If this sh!t gets into the final game, I will be a sad panda...

Its illogical to make concept drawings for items of such small scale that technical artists will not be able to reproduce ingame. Those sketches were particularly made for item description. I understand you do not like them but when I first saw them, my mind raced to this, They have a Da Vinci vibe into them and to be honest, I was intrigued at first but soon I loved them because those sketches along with their attached lore helped a lot fleshing out the world and really detailing it. Great stuff.

Sorry. I actually have seen that thread, but did not know that this idea had been brought up inside the thread. Had I known that, I wouldn't have made this one. But not knowing that, I thought the idea deserved its own thread. Call me a narcissist . I brought the idea of outsourcing the sketches on that thread. I don't know about the idea of fans making them because it needs peoples with skills and dedication. Outsourcing sketches needs money though and I doubt Obsidian has money left. I even consider they went over budget but will never hear about it.

For me the, the new intro of the Enhanced Edition was a total turnoff. Not because I have something against animated images used for creating an intro for a game (exquisite intro for Homeworld pops to mind) but because it was ammateurish. I did not understood why they had to change it with something subpar. So I exited the game and never looked back.

I am glad someone else invested time to write a post regarding this issue Here is a link with my post on this matter and please like the post and join the hivemind, http://forums.obsidian.net/topic/67163-please-bring-back-the-pencil-drawings-of-items/

who said helmets will be decorative only? If this is true, this is so... unfortunate, unforgivable and underwheling

Guess where the log is situated in this gem of a game!

Building interiors are larger than the building itself seen from the outside. I don't remember is that was the case also in BG1 and 2 but it annoys the hell out of me. Also seeing a secret door pressing tab is beyond stupid. What is the point of being secret if you can highlight it by pressing a button? Maybe that door you discover is via a scripted interaction. What is the purpose then of that interaction and status checking (perception or whatever) ? "Party models" fading in the background is a problem that applies also to enemies.

Down to the sewers is one of the best environmental tracks in the gaming history. And what other purpose a song in a game has other than to set up the tone and stir real, thick emotions? There are concerts where thousands of people participate listening to music to the likes of "Down to the sewers". And yes. This beta lacks trumpets

music is... Its like playing it safe. But I say they should not be afraid to experiment, to be more bold. MORE BOLDNESS!!!

"Frankly I think that immersion is a poor excuse for doing anything in a videogame." I laughed so hard I crapped my underwear. Help!?

The same sketch will be used for the same tier of weapons. E.g. a fine longsword will have a different sketch than an exquisite longsword, even if these weapons are in the same weapons category. Unique items would have unique sketches. In there'll be two layer in item depiction complexity, one item from icons and a second from item sketches. There is a reason the majority say that BGII had great itemization. One reason is this.

I totally agree with the OP. Reasons why this type of sight limitation would enhance gameplay experience (not ordered by importance): *common sense - see as far as your eyes are able (no X-ray vision to see behind a wall/door) Are you a bad-ass wizard and want to check out a room from a safe distance? use an out of combat spell (as I understand the game is lacking in this area) *sense of exploration - a true sense of exploration is achieved by elements of the beautiful 2D map not being in your face from the start. The map and its design can induce a sense of awe and wonder progressively, always keeping the player's interests at high level and inducing a level of curiosity like "I wonder whats behind that door/wall" *sense of suspense/dread - fear of the unknown is the most powerful thing and will never be topped by any villain/antithetic design Here I have a link with a game which could help for inspiration in this area: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3u8M3Frz5E

... you take the horse by the harness, bring it back, close tightly the barn door and give it pencils to make draw item sketches and bring other horses to brainstorm item description parchments that feel worthy of an infinity engine crpg.