rjshae

If you were in the IT field, math, physics or the like, it wouldn't seem ridiculous based on the visibility of mathematical functions. Math is the method of understanding the universe. There's no pre-existing chaos in the non-reality of a game, because it was all crafted by human minds. It's real reality that is chaotic, and math is the ultimate means of quantifying it. If you play a brofist brass-balls spess muhreen shooter, there's math going on unseen for every action you make. Every shot made is a vector; the vector is defined by the numbers representing the player's location and direction in the 3D geometric space (also maths.) One of the differences between rpgs and other genres is some/more of the math is revealed to the player. Games can be NP complex, so in that sense they map mathematically to the real world.

That might be an option for Expert mode. I think it would only add to the difficulty if the loot you don't add to the stash were to disappear over time. Otherwise it boils down to whether you want to make a bunch of extra trips back and forth to collect the remaining loot.

Yes, getting out in the mountains on a long hike (or bike trip) can help lift the spirits. A long bout of repetitive, mindless trudging, while de-stressing from all the magnificent surroundings and the thin clean air. Spend a night in a remote bed-and-breakfast then enjoy a hearty meal before heading back. It gets your mind off things and helps you feel alive.

Low level combat in D&D can feel that way. Early BG combat seemed like long intervals spent waiting for something to hit.

Probably the M&M series. Just endless repetitive mouse-clicking combat with little in the way of tactics. It got really old.

Jokes are usually funny. Ah well.

I certainly can rule out nostalgia. I'd never touched an Infinity Engine game before this Kickstarter, so there's clearly some level of appeal that goes beyond nostalgia. Well my point was that certain notable Kickstarters have succeeded because of a nostalgia factor. That doesn't rule out support from other influences, but they may not have succeeded anywhere near as well as they did without a nostalgia factor being present, if at all. Any example of what happens without a nostalgia factor may be Zaharia.

My one concern for the expansion is that it not just turn into an easily implementable sequence of linear combat missions; that it have a balance between combat, interaction, and problem solving, just as we're supposedly getting in the original.

Evil, but funny.

*tries to stare you to dead with hatred* Ah, so you're a child. Good to know.

This is okay as long as there is a plausible mechanic *COUGH*magic*COUGH* to explain the transition. Perhaps psychic surgery involving you and some fresh humanoid brains...

Watched Ender's Game and Pacific Rim last weekend. The former seemed the better of the two, even though it is generally lower rated. The acting in the latter just seemed a little too forced and over the top. Both are decent popcorn movies.

"It requires five hours and twenty minutes to gather up your hidden stash and return to camp. You arrive just as dusk is falling."

Oooo... New nVidia Flameworks Tech Demo

I think that could be handled with suitable artwork. For example, the background image for your gear could show the faint shape of a backpack; the background image for the stash could show a mound of gear, tied up and covered in a tarp, then concealed in a hole in the wall.

It got rave reviews upon release, so that was hardly it. It sold badly (relative to the other IE games) because it was set in the obscure Planescape setting, whereas Icewind Dale and Baldur's Gate were set in the Forgotten Reams, which was a big draw back then. The Fallout games, which also took place in a non-traditional setting, apparently sold even less than Torment. Yes, that's a point I keep in mind each time a poster complains that game companies don't "do something really different". That difference means the game is only going to sell to niche group within an already small market, unless it is heavily promoted or the new setting has a strong following. Perhaps in the end that will become a primary role of Kickstarters: use the contributor funding to develop a market for a niche setting or genre, then base future AAA titles on those that succeed. Thus far, however, the biggest Kickstarter video game successes have been based on nostalgia.

Yup, it's just a gaming abstraction to avoid hours of tedious walking back and forth.

Win8 works pretty good on mobile and tablets (and looks good there- better than Android, imo :>), by the way. It's just that it super sux on a desktop pc. Yeah, all it does on the desktop PC is constantly get in the way.

Oh yeah!

The Lost Lands: The Lost City of Barakus by Frog God Games -- "Detailed within these pages is the great, bustling metropolis of Endhome, the Penprie Forest and Duskmoon Hills located north of that city, and, finally, the huge dungeon that is the Lost City of Barakus." This is a hardcover campaign book containing a low level adventure designed to take characters up to level 6. Separate books for Pathfinder and Swords & Wizardry. Succeeding at $26,215 with 393 backers. EXTREME EARTH: A Dystopian Superhero Campaign Setting by Joe Bardales -- a supers campaign setting in a world that is short on resources and rife with paranoia and corruption. There will be seven different books for different rules systems. Currently at $1,250/$7,500 with 44 days to go. City State of the Invincible Overlord by Judges Guild -- They are bringing back an updated version of "the first published fantasy RPG city setting back to the presses for JG Universal and the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game System." Succeeding at $37,758. Retro gaming indeed.

Point taken, but the last sentence is what worries me. What I gathered from the Obsidian interviews is that they want to make this in to a successful franchise. Now did they mean that they want it to find a healthy market(beyond kickstarter), or simply satisfying the people who kickstarted it so they can go another round (sequel/exp). I guess it's a question of if they have ambition to make a big studio out of Obsidian or if they are fine with getting paychecks for making games they love(?). I could see them making different styles of games based on the PoE world setting, like a single character sandbox and/or a MMORPG. Or they could produce games in a different genre, such as sci-fi, with a modified version of the PoE rules. They would already have the core code base written and debugged, so it should significantly reduce development costs.