rjshae

It deem seem like a small group was angrily howling at the moon over a detail that was really pretty minor. I wasn't impressed.

Crafting always felt like a non-adventuring skill to me -- it's something you learn through lots of practice in a workshop. Simple crafting skills like cooking, repairing a strap in your armor, and honing your blade: sure. But learning to craft a masterwork blade by slaughtering ogres: not so much. If you need to use a work bench to craft something sophisticated, then it feels more in character to hire a craftsman and his team of assistants to help you do it.

On the assumption that the game will implement friendly fire rules for magic, then a magic user should be able to acquire the ability to avoid friendly fire effects by channeling spells around companions and allies. This should allow the magic user to cast, say, fireballs, centered on the party, that usually only damage the enemy. Damage to concentration could negate this ability, causing grief to the party.

I don't think the developers need to micro-manage the scarcity of money; that comes off just as annoying as level scaling or expendables scarcity was in DA2. Just give us enough spending options so that making gobs of money feels worthwhile toward the end.

repair kits never helped anything in FNV. With abdurance of repair mateerials they were only used when you get some unique weapon like fatman. And it was always not worth it when it came to creatuing repair kits via crafting. You're comparing apples and oranges. This is an entirely different game and my suggestion was for a universal implementation of item repair, not a one off.

Conquest of the Universe -- a space-opera campaign book in a high-tech fantasy setting, using the Pathfinder system. Successful: $6,140 pledged. The Ministry Initiative -- includes a new steam-punk role-playing game. Successful: $30,480 pledged. World Beneath the Clouds -- A setting book about the alternate world of Venus in the Hive, Queen, and Country steam-punk universe. Successful: $3,055 pledged.

It's hard to tell without looking at the finished product. Perhaps we'll see reviews on rpg.net down the road.

We already saw it in FNV. Never helped anything. You just hoarded a lot of repair kits but mostly used them on unique weapons\armor that you could not find spare parts to repair them. You're contradicting yourself. If you used the repair kits then clearly it did help, didn't it? Now consider the case where you only used repair kits rather than seeking individual replacement parts as you did in FNV. Wouldn't that be an easier mechanic? In a game like this where you are managing a party rather than an individual character, as a gamer you probably want that level of simplicity for maintenance tasks.

Here's a notion I had for a simple repair mechanic: Repair kits The durability mechanic could be abstracted to some degree through the use of 'repair kits'. While not in combat the player can view a summary report showing the equipment damage. For example, it could read: 3 items lightly damaged (>50% dmg) and 1 item heavily damaged (>75% dmg). If the player has purchased repair kits, these can be immediately spent in the dialog to repair the items; one kit to repair light damage and two for heavy damage. Dragging a kit over an item icon repairs it. A 'repair all' button allows all to be repaired at once (if sufficient repair kits are available). Repair kits can be purchased at a crafting store and stockpiled for a mission. In a sense, this approach is similar to stocking up with anti-toxins and healing kits for dealing with poisons and diseases. Plan in advance and you are rewarded by keeping your equipment in top form and your party in good health.

My thoughts in this: First issue: When unique items were in stores: * I don't want to buy unique items in stores I think the main problem with this is how much unique the item is and what kind of store. People like to think that unique items are rare,special things that can't be recreated and most people in the world haven't seen. When you can buy it from a store, it looses something af its allure. Possible solutions: Make a reason for the store to have them. Maybe a realy special store that it's difficult to gain entrance and deals only with special items? Bonus points if the seller is unique himself. (I don't think I ever heard anyone complain about the "Adventurer's Mart" or the Collector's Edition shop but I may be wrong). This I agree with. An upscale store with a restricted clientele would validate the process of buying an expensive magic item. Or perhaps a high end auction house with limited and varying items for sale.

If you've played a successful game, shouldn't you always end up with an excess of money at the end? I guess you could always endow a scholarly chair somewhere.

In many games, crafting just felt like a non-essential add-on that I basically ignored because it wasn't part of the mission. It's not that I was opposed to it, but I never felt motivated to use it until it became essential. The games where it did feel needed were Witcher, where potion making felt kind of cool, and the DA series, where expendables were in annoyingly short supply and were often needed to avoid frequent reloads. Durability was really nice in the Fallout series as it added an element to the survival. Otherwise, it's usually just a maintenance chore. Rather than having degradation, an alternative approach would be a capability to hone your gear with your crafting skills or by visiting an artisan. That is, your weapon and gear is given an extra boost that wears off with combat. That may satisfy both those who like the maintenance aspects and those who can do without it. Consumables are nice, but in the heat of combat they can be forgotten; a reload is then needed and the consumables put to use. I'd like to see a 'subscription' service for some consumables so that the item can be reused but has a cool-down. You essentially pay a large chunk up front for a lifetime of benefit, with the expectation being that you'd want to spend more later for an upgrade.

My concept of most CRPGs is that there is a hidden economy that covers all the little details of adventuring: acquiring food and drink, repairing items, and paying taxes and fees. To pay for those, there's an invisible tax on the loot so that all the little tradeable knick-knacks don't show up but instead go to pay for the expenses. To me this just part of that economy poking its head up into the game, in much the same way that you have to pay for a room to rent at the Inn. In the Fallout series the repair added a lot to the survivalist flavor of the setting; here, it's probably compensation for having so much lootable gear. You get extra loot, so you get extra expenses. I don't mind because it provides a certain level of grittiness to the game, much like the picture of a swordsman sharpening his blade after each battle. Those who don't like it seem to view it from a meta-gaming perspective as an extra maintenance activity.

Definitely not. They've taken so many things out of the game that it's obvious it was mismanaged. No stealth, no ammunition, no saving or loading(!!!) Taking things out of a game does not necessarily equal mismanagement. It can be essential to keeping the game within the budget.

Shadowrun Returns is set for release this month. If they come out on budget then I'd say they're probably a candidate.

Chocolate chip cookies of butt kicking for goodness...

I'm pleased with the item degradation mechanic because of the element of realism it provides. But perhaps it should just be part of the expert mode? That way all the cheese-eating surrender munchkins will be happy.

I've never been much of a fan of crafting so I rarely use it unless it is essential. On the other hand, item degradation is a nice touch of realism so I appreciate that addition. Thanks for the update.

You don't use them because: 1) you can save/load so you don't REALLY need them in this fight 2) they are good forever, so no reason to use them now 3) hoarding conditioning Well no, I think I mostly just forget they are there. Many specialty potions are only useful in certain conditions, so they tend to sit in the pack and become forgotten. On the other hand, healing draughts that are readily available, or frequently needed, do get used.

Okay, I get the business motivation for the first two; they just better not expect any future Kickstarter contributions from me. The third one sounds like just plain bad planning. It won't surprise me to see a number of video game Kickstarters running out of money as many of the goals seem far too optimistic for the amount of money being requested.

For what it's worth: Freeport: the City of Adventure -- a Pathfinder setting in a port city with pirates, rogues, cultists, and so forth. Achtung! -- Lovecraftian horror setting during World War 2. Throne of Night -- stand-alone Pathfinder adventure in the underground world. Wicked Fantasy -- Pathfinder setting featuring redesigned fantasy races. The Guide to Glorantha -- Two volume guide to Glorantha for any system. Sovereign Stone -- Looks like a traditional fantasy setting by a collaboration of Larry Elmore, Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman. The KS is based upon the Pathfinder mechanics, with new creatures, magic, and setting. Crimson Exodus -- A skills-based RPG system with the usual fantasy elements. The Elves of Uteria sourcebook -- A sourcebook of elves detailing five different cultures. Witch Hunter: The Invisible World -- 2nd edition of a cinematic, free-form RPG based upon the works of Solomon Kane. It is set in an alternate history 1690.

Whenever a character gains a condition and has a potion that will remedy it, show the potion as a small icon next to the condition. Clicking on the icon will cause the character to imbibe the potion as their next action.

I love OpenOffice; use it all the time. Yes it has its little quirks, but it pretty much does everything I need it to do.

Perhaps you assume to much capability for intelligence? Being able to open the magical gate using your intelligence doesn't necessarily mean you can use the same means to control how wide the gate can open. Perhaps the ability to control the effectiveness of a spell instead depends on your biological heritage?

I find it contradictory that the aim is to be able to avoid most combat yet most of the class features presented thus far have been combat-oriented. I'll put in a preference for having a decent amount of combat in the dungeon.