rjshae

Yes, at higher levels the skeletons in IE games were a massive HP soak, to the point where a troupe of skeletons always operated at point. Pretty obvious tactic: target enemy spell casters as soon as possible with magic missiles then arrows. I always liked to have a bless or prayer spell ready; that +1 bonus makes a big difference over the course of a battle. (I never used bard characters, but the bard song would work for that as well.) D&D v3 haste spells were too useful not to cast on the whole party. Practically de rigeur after a while. For me a standard tactic was to plant front line types at a blocking point, when facing a sizable enemy force. Even having one flank against a barrier helped prevent enemy infiltration. Web the enemy rear forces to effectively split the foe in half. if the enemy is attacking from two sides, use grease or choking cloud to hinder one of the forces while the other is ground down.

Mideast peace talks = complete waste of time But it looks good in the press.

From what I've heard, they're going to be rewarding little or no XP for grinding in this game. Most of the XP will come from accomplishing objectives. (But you may miss out on some good loot by avoiding combat.)

While Microsoft was busy chasing tail lights, the competition switched to high performance vehicles and sped off into the sunset.

No, a single mouse movement doesn't matter. But when you're in combat with six characters, the character panels located on side, and the actions along the bottom... you can end up with a lot of screen traverses per combat round. You move to select a character, move down to switch to bow, move up to select the target, move to select another character, move down to pick a spell, move up to choose the target... It all adds up to lower efficiency and greater tedium. I never really clicked on portraits in games where I could directly click on the character on the screen unless it was to check inventory or go to the character sheet to get information/ check status effects. So, for my personal usage, clicking on portraits then clicking on actions makes no real sense. I do realize that is personal and doesn't apply across every user. truth be told, the only games I ever click on portraits are in the more recent 3d games where one has to manipulate the camera at times to get a clear view of the character in the midst of melee. We won't have that problem in PE. When characters became all cluttered together as they often did in the IE battles, along with spell effects flying about, I usually just resorted to clicking on the portraits. Shrug. Different styles.

No, a single mouse movement doesn't matter. But when you're in combat with six characters, the character panels located on side, and the actions along the bottom... you can end up with a lot of screen traverses per combat round. You move to select a character, move down to switch to bow, move up to select the target, move to select another character, move down to pick a spell, move up to choose the target... It all adds up to lower efficiency and greater tedium.

It's not quite as simple as that, actually. Sometimes taking more time will save money, or will yield much greater value for money. Most projects start out with a very small team (the research/design/early development/pre-production/whatever phase), then expand to a bigger team (full development), and then tapers off again in the final production/beta testing/release/whatever phase (not counting testers, which cost less per hour than designers or programmers). The early small-team phase costs comparatively little per day compared to the full production and release phases, and by being extra super careful in that phase you can avoid really costly problems later on. Oh sure, if you plan out the time you need properly you can sometimes end up saving money. Sometimes trying to tighten up the schedule can likewise end up costing you a lot more. But this is not the same thing as saying you can take an indefinite amount of time to get something done. Doing that can significantly increase your financial risks. For me it'd be okay if Obsidian took an extra month or so for a couple of heads to work out the significant known issues. That wouldn't incur a major overhead, and you'll like need those coders to work on fixing the discovered bugs anyway. Releasing a polished product would likely help with sales to people who didn't contribute to the Kickstarter (or at least it wouldn't hurt... *COUGH*Crafty Studios*COUGH*), and hopefully provide momentum for the sequels.

Tofu Kaiju A massive, opaque cube formed out of gelatinous vegetable matter that has been insinuated by a colony of single-celled, amoeba-like creatures, this monster seeks out carnivorous life forms through its sense of scent and swallows them whole. Trapped inside, the victim is slowly curdified and absorbed by the animated matter. The digested remains slowly leak gas, creating noxious eruptions of unpleasant fumes. Creatures striking at the mass may release pockets of this gas, causing attackers to choke and wretch.

Josh Sawyer already stated that they weren't including dynamic shadows because of the computational overhead. Personally though I wish they would implement and leave that as an optional configuration, assuming it won't require a ton of work to implement. 3-4 years down the road even low end systems should be able to handle it.

For directional lighting, would it be possible for them to implement low-quality shadows that fade rapidly with distance due to ambient lighting (so as to reduce the computational overhead)? I'm thinking that a simple shadow that extends only a body length, say, may add to the look and feel without a serious impact to performance.

There are certain realities that can not be ignored in a commercial business. 'Take as much time as you need Obsidian' == LARGER budget

Upcoming space mission events of interest: 2013 -- MAVEN: Mars atmosphere and volatile evolution spcaecraft 2014 -- Rosetta spacecraft orbits comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko 2015 -- New Horizons flyby of Pluto 2015 -- Dawn enters Ceres orbit 2016 -- Juno enters polar Jupiter orbit 2016 -- Launch of OSIRIS-REx to return a sample from minor planet 101955 Bennuu 2017 -- Launch of TESS: Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite 2018 -- James Webb Space Telescope launches(?)... I'm particularly looking forward to the Dawn encounter with Ceres.

Will this setting even have the same domesticated animals as Earth? Mounts may be giant flightless birds, cattle could be marsupials, cats and dogs could be feathered lizards, ...

I too have high hopes for this game. The updates I've seen thus far have been of high quality and I'm really looking forward to seeing it all come together. What I find most concerning is the budget. This project may end up costing more than the designers expect. Plus the Kickstarter add-ons may end up costing more than expected. My fingers are crossed that it will all work out.

I wouldn't have a problem with that... Yes, kind of a shocker that. It pays to choose your Kickstarter rewards with care.

Ahahahahahaha....

Picture the room with the glowing tube hidden by FoW; the party enters through the only door into the room and the two nearest creatures immediately turn to face them. In this case it can be more efficient to pre-position the two facing as shown than to put in the code to have them detect the door opening then turn to face the party. Since the room was hidden by FoW, the player sees no difference between the two approaches. There is a difference still. Because entering the room and then getting vision in the Fog of War and then see them turn is quite a different experience from them already looking towards you. Albeit it is a very slight difference, it is still a difference. In example A, which would be as seen in the picture, you imagine them turning towards you. If a dialogue is initated, "text" could symbolize them turning towards you (even if they already are turned towards you). In essence: - "You notice the blood-stained robes, the knifes and axes in hands and the chittering chatter of what seems to be cultists of some kind. Did they sacrifice something? *gulp* Are we the sacrifice? Turning towards your presence, snickering slightly, one of them begins to speak..." In example B, which is what I was trying to picture, they physically turn before the Players eyes. The above example (A) is an indirect presentation, kind of "But lol! He's already facing me!", this example (B) is a direct presentation. - "You notice the blood-stained robes, the knifes and axes in hands and the chittering chatter of what seems to be cultists of some kind. Did they sacrifice something? *gulp* Are we the sacrifice?" [The Cultists turn towards the party] "Turning towards your presence, snickering slightly, one of them begins to speak..." It does set the scene differently. Does it not?, you've inserted an additional element into the scene that wasn't there before: a monologue by the head cultist. Well obviously, since you've inserted an element into the scene that wasn't there before: a monologue by the head cultist. If you want that type of drama, then the additional animation may be warranted. It all depends on how they write up the scene.

A few more: Pirates & Dragons, the RPG -- "Pirates Love Gold! Dragons Love Gold! When the terrors of the sea meet the terrors of the sky, there's bound to be trouble!" Treasure seekers journey to the new world, only to discover dragons. Rules based upon Renaissance D100 system. Includes a hardcopy rulebook. Currently £1,205/£12,000 with 31 days to go. Ronin: Chrome & Shadows -- "A post-apocalyptic cyberpunk setting for Savage Worlds. Massive metroplexes, syndicates and megacorps in an irradiated wasteland." The game is licensed and undergoing testing. Includes a PDF core book; no physical copy. Currently at $2,221/$6,000 with 14 days to go. Inscrutable Puzzlements: An Anachronistic Victorian Era RPG -- "An original ruleset accompanied by a Victorian setting with Gothic horror, steampunk, mystery, and fantasy elements." Succeeded at $1,700. Parahuman System Free Superhero Campaign Setting -- "Parahumans have always been with us, though we have not always recognized them as such. In ancient times they were worshiped as gods and demigods. Today, they are worshiped as celebrities." Succeeded at $705.

That's not necessarily easily implemented. For example, storing all game state information in the middle of combat, then restoring it afterward, may require a lot of extra coding for not much gain.

Picture the room with the glowing tube hidden by FoW; the party enters through the only door into the room and the two nearest creatures immediately turn to face them. In this case it can be more efficient to pre-position the two facing as shown than to put in the code to have them detect the door opening then turn to face the party. Since the room was hidden by FoW, the player sees no difference between the two approaches.

Brain sucking zombie cows with toxin-filled udders...