rjshae

The sales will have a strong dependency on how well the end product is received. Thus far it's looking good, but gamers as a whole can be a finicky market. Even the smallest perceived flaws can draw remarkably virulent commentary.

Well hopefully the mix of options available during level up will allow you to build and tune your own "kit". Despite not having multi-class, these options, plus the skill system, may at least let you "minor" in another class.

Slayers of the Great Serpent II: Beyond the Forest of Night -- "A classic fantasy adventure for Pathfinder and D&D 4th Edition. This module is the second arc of a globe-spanning quest." $390/$1,300 with 29 days to go. Ultimate Werewolf Deluxe Edition -- "A re-imagining of the best-selling werewolf game: a new design, dozens of roles, a new expansion, and new art for up to 75 players." Succeeding at $15,692 with 25 days to go. River of Heaven SF RPG -- "A science fiction role-playing game set in the 28th Century, using a modified version of the OpenQuest D100 system ." Succeeding at £1,143 with 58 days remaining. Alterkine: Dossier d20 RPG -- "Alterkine: Dossier is a d20/Pathfinder compatible based role-playing supplement for modern and futuristic settings." At $100/$300 with 57 days to go. Valkyn -- "Valkyn Is a Tabletop RPG set in a fantasy setting. It's designed to contain rich & deep stories as well as fast paced & fun combat." Presently at $600/$5,000 with 24 days left. An Illustrated Bestiary of Fantastic Creatures -- "The Bestiary of Fantastic Creatures is an adaptable RPG booklet of creatures based on the illustrations of Casey Sorrow." Succeeding at $1,991 with 15 days left.

I only use console commands to fix known bugs or while testing mods. To each their own, I guess.

I want to gain maximum mileage out of the developer's writing, so I'll take companions for the first pass. The second pass depends a lot on what happens in the first pass. If we end up with no companions for a couple of classes, I might want to add a companion from the adventurer's hall to try those out. I also like to try it with a completely different mix of companions. For a hardcore pass though, I'd probably go with the adventurer's hall and optimize the party for my tactical combat preferences.

Is that funny somehow? It just seems lecherous.

Odd-ball or exotic companions can become tedious because of their often one-dimensional nature. You might want to stick with unusual pets.

Gotta like the guy who feels compelled to stand up and point it out....

Possibly it could be interesting to have in-universe achievements be linked to the deities in the game, or at least the temples of the deities. That is to say, you go to a temple and ask what you need to do to support the associated deity. The priests say the deity would look favorably upon you if you did X, where X is something within the portfolio of that god. As an example, for a god of war, this may be challenging and winning a battle single-handedly against a particular opponent. Upon succeeding, you then get an atta-boy from the deity, which perhaps gives you some minor benefit.

I guess in an era when Seahawks-Saints playoff tickets are going at $400+ for 3 hours of play, playing $100 for an extensive computer game is becoming feasible. At least for high end gamers.

Crowdfunding for Star Citizen just passed US$35 million in December. They have just announced stretch goals for $36, $37, and $38 million. It boggles the mind.

I think Obsidian could do better with darker setting than Star Trek. Maybe Farscape, the schizophrenic under-rated tv series' game by the under-rated studio. It has a great name and it was awesome and it fits the great writing talent at Obsidian... I can see it! Are you saying you want them to produce an under-rated game?

When I see in-game 'achievements', I think "everybody and their mother probably already has this, so why should I care?". The levels in a class-based game already provide a sense of accomplishment. I suppose if the achievements you've gained unlock new abilities at level up, then it would matter.

I didn't see Wasteland 2 or Blackguards either. Is that because they are in pre-release/beta? That doesn't seem like a valid criteria.

I count a total of three people expressing some concerns about the spell effects; many more had positive opinions. Are you just trolling, or is this the first actual documented evidence of a time traveller from the future?

It's the same stuff they've presented before.

...caused by magic. WoT seemed to follow that theme. Somewhat.

Will reduced casting speed mean fewer spells per unit time, or just a lower likelihood of getting the drop on the opponent?

With good pathfinding, there's perhaps a law of diminishing returns at work which decides how much coding effort can be expended before the costs get too high. Maybe somebody should work on a genetic algorithm instead and train it up...

Okay, I'll play the devil's advocate: What's the fascination with Steampunk? I seems like a niche market with a relatively small but dedicated audience. Without heavy marketing, they game would have to be spectacularly good to attract gamers from outside this interest group. Otherwise, I suspect they'll be lucky just to break even.

I'd think just a general Scouting skill could cover foraging, outdoor navigation, hazard avoidance, tracking, and possibly animal skinning. It sounds like every class will have access to every skill.

You guys will harp on about anything and everything...

I would pay for a war boar mount...

You're talking about games that are more than a decade old. I'd be shocked if pathfinding isn't vastly improved. Even ToEE was better at it, although there they took the easy way out.