rjshae

Nope, no skimpy digital representations here. Trying to fight slimey monsters while half-clad seems daft. Save it for the employees in the in-game brothel.

For a cloud-services developer: without u, the cloud would just be a clod

Seriously? It isn't. The NPCs and 'story' simply aren't interactive enough. Its an entertaining hack\slash and exploration game, but the RPG elements are light and largely irrelevant. And choice and consequence are kept in the writers' hands, not the player. It is a role-playing game. Yes, addressing your concerns would have enhanced the role-playing aspects. But the game definitely lies on the role-playing spectrum.

No, it'd be too easy to min-max a party like that. I don't have an issue with camp followers in a game, but I prefer the sense of immersion that comes with having a set party that travels with you and endures the same risks as you. With the suggested approach, I think you risk having a party split between those optimized for combat and the rest optimized for non-combat.

Remember why that happened though: LucasArts forced Obsidian to finish KOTOR2 within a very short time frame of 14-16 months. Presumably that isn't the case here.

Is there a good reason to imagine these DLCs were cut content? If so, what is it? If not, why suggest it? More likely they started off with a broad set of options for suggested content, figured out what they could prioritize and still meet the schedule, then preserved selected other potential content as options for future expansions. That's just business at work. What we're getting is very likely what they could accomplish given the resources and time constraints, so I'm not clear why there would be some sort of conspiracy at work. If the original game doesn't hold up well, there's no way the added content is going to help sell it. They know that. What we're getting with the DLC probably isn't even the full list of potential additions.

Hopefully the game will hold up well even without the expansions. I'll probably play them during a future replay, so for me their purchase depends on whether it is worth a replay. If I never feel the urge to finish it, then probably I won't bother with the add-ons.

Oh joy, another "what is a role-playing game?" discussion. All I know is, the more 'choices with consequences' I get to make for the character build and h{er|is}} actions in the game, the closer it feels to a role-playing experience.

For me, one of the better RPG element of the examples he gives (Fallout/Elder Scrolls) was schedule-driven characters. If their response had been driven by the time of day, that would have been even better. Second up were the presence of interactive NPCs with a story to tell but who weren't part of the main story line, and who you could actually give a darn about. Third was a change in local or world circumstances due to actions you have taken. Stuff that adds to the sense of immersion. Despite all that though, I connected much better with my character when I could build him (or her) from the ground up and control his advancement in detail. FO3 did that very well, at least with the intro.

That concept seems to be based upon a chemical propulsion model. Perhaps an air-breathing, beam-powered propulsion system may still work, if the lasers are applied with sufficient strength and duration?

Perhaps dual parrying daggers? Otherwise, its one of those corner cases I wouldn't expect they're going to spend money supporting.

I enjoy sci-fi cRPGs and the OPs suggestion is a good start. My interest would improve greatly if is were troupe-based with turn-based combat, plenty of diplomatic interaction, and some good alien PC designs.

Fallout setting -- mountain bike -- specia[!l] stats (aspice?). Why not? Could be fun.

Nope. But why didn't you make it a poll? I'm sure there are at least 3 people who give a rip.

As long as they don't have lispian womance, I'm okay with that.

Independent publisher typically means a publisher that is not part of a large conglomerate or multinational corporation. I think that applies to Obsidian. Size is relative and definitions vary. I don't think that matters anyway. The key element is whether an outside publisher can control the development process of a game.

It would be good if there were an 'Abridged VO' option. I.e. speak just the first sentence or so, then let the player read.

I wasn't really talking about voiced prose (only). I dislike narrators in general, anywhere, including “major scripted interactions”, as they break my immersion really hard for whatever reason. When done well, a good narration can add a lot to the story's tone and verisimilitude. It can make the plot feel like a tale told by a skilled bard. But I suppose not everybody will feel that way; it probably depends on your past experiences.