rjshae

I'm interpreting the "rest vs. cooldown" as a consequence of improved proficiency with the spells. I.e. as you gain in level, rest requirements become cooldown requirements. In that sense it seems fairly intuitive. But yes, they'll obviously need to balance it, along with all of the other combat elements.

I'd have mixed feelings about using a single stat in that manner because the list represents different technologies. But I'd probably be okay with using different pairs of stats in a rock-paper-scissors fashion. E.g. melee damage from Might & Intellect, bow damage from Intellect & Dexterity, wand damage from Dexterity & Resolve, spell damage from Resolve & Might.

Hindered vision is great for generating suspense. Darkness, thick fog, rain, and heavy snow all make you a little more wary of what lies ahead. Throwing in environmental penalties just contributes to the fear factor because you're less able to deal with the potential hazards.

If they did then the question would be "why didn't you kickstart this instead of PoE?" and "won't this take focus away from/ be too similar to PoE?" from a lot of people. They'd already get some people who will not back again due to not having a completed product from the first ks, and they already have the most popular fantasy subset covered. If they were to do a Skyrim type open world thingy in fantasy chances are it would be set in the PoE world anyway. Whiners gonna whine. If the concept is any good, it'll get supported anyway.

I presume Fantasy isn't there because P(o)E is itself fantasy and it would be a bit odd to kickstart another fantasy game given that, unless it were a sequel- and that was ruled out as a KS, iirc. It's... a bit odd? No, they would just need to choose something a little different that would inspire donations. Fantasy would work perfectly fine for that. It's the broadest of all genres.

I'd skip the supernatural and just use supertech. AI computers, nanotech, robots, GMOs, cloned extinct beasts, cyborgs, aliens, time traveling disaster, micro big bang inflation, asteroid/comet impact, run-away evolving computer virus, attack from a parallel universe (Fringe), a world war, massive EMP, ... the list is endless.

The thing is that, at least in our real-life history, the overwhelming majority of weapons were made for the average soldier. Heavy weapons that only a very strong person could use were almost never used in battle. "Massive" axes and swords never really existed, except for ceremonial purposes. (Bows are really the only exception to that, they were made with a wide range of draw weights.) It's a fantasy setting and there are humanoid creatures of many different sizes and capabilities. Hence, your historical analogy don't apply.

I think it would work out okay if every weapon had a strength requirement, with an increasing penalty for being below that strength (be it in speed or attack proficiency). Stronger characters would migrate toward heavier weapons that only they can readily wield, effectively resulting in greater damage. This is reflected in the typical burly fighter imagery where they wield massive axes, swords or clubs.

I agree that Strength affects melee damage, but so does knowing where to hit and having the ability to hit it. A quick fighter with a rapier can kill you just as dead as a burly fighter with a great axe. The latter would seem to have an advantage in blowing through heavy armor but do poorly at hitting a nimble opponent, whereas the former would probably do better against a wider range of foes, but particularly against those wearing light or no armor. As long as the system reflects that, then it will probably work out statistically.

How much for just the lens flare? Very nice, but... show me a high quality ocean surf simulation and then I'll be impressed.

From reading through this, I am wondering whether Strength impacts the type of weapons you can use? If a high Strength is required to wield a massive weapon with ease, then that would be an indirect benefit to the damage. Having a high Strength with a small weapon like a dagger shouldn't be as beneficial as it is implemented in D&D.

I'm not following your logic. If you, say, use Kickstarter to finance games that then sells like hot cakes and makes a profit, how is that a problem sustaining a business model? Magazines use subscriptions (and advertisements) to fund their publications and, as a business model, it worked fine for many decades.

A comparison that actually demonstrates nothing since Ivan Drago is highly skilled in the art of boxing whereas Einstein was not.

Have a great holiday and thanks for all the cool updates and presentations!!!

Thus far I've backed PoE, Wasteland 2, T:ToN, and D:OS--all (more-or-less) party-based CRPGs. I like a lot of what I've read in their updates, but then I'm not an overly critical person. (My biggest disappointment by far was that the Wasteland 2 developers decided not to use hexes for combat. ) I would have backed Shadowrun Returns if I'd got in on time. However, now that it's out I'm waiting until it has sufficient content to enjoy for an extended period of play (and is well patched).

Yup. Also, from update 36: Wizard 1st Level Wizard Spells - Wizards can access all 1st level wizard spells immediately. Unlike other wizard spell levels, the wizard does not need to find scrolls or grimoires to use any 1st level spells. Wizards can cast a fixed number of 1st level spells before they must rest to recover their uses. They can cast any combination of different spells up to the per-rest limit. As wizards gain levels, their 1st level spells will eventually become per-encounter resources. Blast - When wizards use any implement (i.e. a wand, rod, or scepter), they generate a Blast on the target. The Blast does a modest amount of damage to all enemies in a Small area around the target (excluding the target). Thus they will always have the Blast capability even if all their spells are consumed.

Your assertion is invalid. Turn-based is essential when a game allows you to directly control a large number of units. There's a transition range in which turn-based and real time represent different tradeoffs, with real time being the most optimal for controlling a single figure. But turn based is not archaic and it will always have a place in gaming.

Clang failed rather badly, I believe. It was a half million dollar project.

The overland map in SoZ felt open world-like without being anywhere near as detailed as Skyrim, and it was all from a fixed perspective. I would enjoy seeing an overland map used for a multi-world sci-fi setting, with the already mentioned isometric approach employed in tactical areas. That could be pretty novel.

I seem to recall they are including elevation data for the area maps, so it seems like implementing height advantages should be possible--particularly for ranged attacks. I have managed to implement D&D-style scripted terrain effect triggers in another game system (NWN2), so it's definitely do-able given the availability of a suitable function library. Not sure how useful those would be though unless combat occurs in wilderness areas with lots of vegetation or swampy ground. The main one I'd like to see implemented is lighting effects on targeting.

It's difficult to take the thread vote seriously since it didn't include Fantasy or Horror as options. I suspect that Fantasy would blow Sci-Fi out of the water as a preference. Not that I'm against Sci-Fi...

Companions usually come with extra baggage. Now we have to jump through additional hoops in order to acquire that baggage? Who would bother unless we know in advance that the companion is worth the effort?

Mmm... pointless red herrings are annoying. They need to be there for a reason, whether it be to lead the party into an ambush or distract them long enough to accomplish an illicit task. In the latter case, the party should have the opportunity to ferret out the reason before-hand through a thoughtful investigation.

There's a lot of details that party-based CRPGs often leave out: food, water, guard schedules for camp, bed rolls, travel supplies, shaving kits, &c. Some things are just better off being abstracted for game purposes. If you want to simulate material components, then only allow spells to be cast off scrolls and make it easy to make more... at a spell component shop.

There was an old style of wargames that involved turn based combat in which the actions were plotted out in advance, then performed simultaneously. I'd argue that RtwP is just such a turn-based combat system that uses an AI helper function. It can run in real time because the AI is making most of the decisions for you. I almost think I'd like to have RtwP in combination with the ability to plot out specific movements for selected characters. If you want a character to circle around the battlefield, say, then you should be able to do so with a single pause, rather than having to micromanage every step. Then, when the movement is complete, I want the action to pause again so I can issue more orders.