rjshae

This part interests me: the fact that human ethnicities are being based upon the same parameter types as the other races. It feels more consistent that way, and I hope that more diverse human archetypes are presented than are currently "permitted" in our PC-sensitive culture. (After all, it is a different world with unique evolutionary pressures... or possible 'divine intervention'.) I'm not sure what is meant by the human 'Ocean' ethnicity though. Do you agree that suggestive of a merman/mermaid ethnicity? Or does it just cover coasts and islands?

Demon Raptor--Formulated by a mad wizard (some even speculate by Od Nua) this flying creature combines the physical traits of an imp-like demon with a predatory bird, while assuming the social traits of a pack animal. When not scavenging they usually hunt in groups, chasing down larger prey by constant diving attacks that rip off small pieces of flesh. In the process the prey is steadily worn down and exhausted, leaving them vulnerable to a final, swarming, coup de grace. In some barren lands the Demon Raptor have been domesticated, which has allowed their physical traits to be modified to various degrees and their nasty personality ameliorated. Domesticated Demon Raptors have acquired the temperament of a loyal guard dog, and they can be relentless, cunning, and swift in the attack.

I like this idea, really, but fear it might produce too much micromanagement to be a regular mechanic. Terrain modifiers and the like would be cool because they add tactical complexity, but are simple to grasp and static. Lighting can dynamically change the combat environment anywhere that's otherwise dark though, and I suspect this might add a bit too much complexity to chew down properly. As I said, I otherwise do like the idea though. Between having to deal with a dark screen and shorter perception range, the choice immediately seems obvious, but then maybe you can't fight so well in the dark. A torch would improve your melee prowess, but what about rangers? You limit the sight of your own, and provide easier targets to enemies. Provided these enemy archers are smart enough, perhaps they take advantage of your relative blindness and stay out of your path as they fire on you, who can't manage to find those damned buggers with your torch equipped. There's a lot of potential here, but the real real trick is to employ such with elegence and mechanics simple enough to not overload the player, I think I agree with most of what you're saying, and I hadn't really thought about it in terms of micromanagement: the change in FoW radius would be handled by the game so, for the player, it's more a matter of tactical planning based upon the lighting. Once a battle is joined, the Priest or Wizard may have a spell that can light up the battlefield for the duration of the conflict. The Ranger can roll off into the bushes, quickly adapt to the darker lighting, then pick off those archers hiding in the dark. The non-humans with improved vision would be at an advantage in the dark, so they too may move outside of the party's torch radius. Maybe the Chanter has a spell that allows her to detect enemies based upon sound rather than sight. &c.

Has anybody been watching Orphan Black on BBC America? It's not bad at all; the drama has a nice flow and the suspense level is good. In some respects the premise reminds me a little of Hanna (2011), albeit without the genetic enhancements. I'm curious to see where they take it.

Again, I'm not pledging money I can't live without. If the company is upfront about the delays - why, how long, etc. - I'm okay with that. If the project dies and I lose my money I won't be happy - but I accepted that risk when I pledged. Yep, that be one of my rules to live by -- never lend (or give) out something you're unwilling to lose.

^^^^ I agree it would depend on other factors in the design, which may make it unfeasible.

A thought occurred to me: As a fairly simple innovation, what the developers could do is to implement a variable radius Fog of War (FoW), with each character having a minimum and a maximum FoW radius that depends on the the race and other factors. When a character enters the light radius of a point source, her FoW radius rapidly shrinks down to the minimum. Once the character leaves the point source radius, her FoW gradually expands out to the maximum as her eyes adapt to the darkness. The speed at which this occurs may also depend on the race. This would partially simulate the effect of light blinding at night, giving the player a reason to pay attention to light use and placement. It could also add to the suspense element, since the FoW is now shifting size. Finally, it would provide another readily visible racial difference.

Actually, delays could be a serious problem for a Kickstarter-funded project because it likely means a budget overrun. Just look at what happened to Legends of Eisenwald.

Thank you for the clearly written FAQ. It added several details I don't think I've seen before, particularly the ethnicities. The Aumaua heads are interesting and nicely formed, although the polygons are visible in the hair. Can't wait to see it with the texture added!

Yes, I couldn't get into the book either; I'm not sure why. But I thoroughly enjoyed the TV series; it's one of the few I have in blu-ray. Sean Bean sold it for me--one of my favorite actors. The remainder of the cast is generally top notch as well. Just wish they had more episodes per season...

Plus your individual party members are going to adjust to the darkness at different rates, depending on where they are situated and their movement. Would you adjust it to the character with the best sight, the worst, or take an average? It's probably much easier just to track the vision effects on the individual character portraits instead of in the area panel, and easier to play that way as well.

It does drag on a bit in places; somewhat the same way that the Lord of the Rings trilogy got a bit tiresome.

I hope that assembly involves glue and lots of tooth picks. Otherwise you should probably go visit a doctor.

In TV news, the BBC apparent plans to make a 6 episode mini-series of Suzanne Clark's award winning fantasy novel, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. Could be good...

Yes, how they implement the hide skill versus lighting and shadows could be interesting. Perhaps at night it will just depend on the brightness of point light sources and the distance to the light? I'm not sure if they will factor in the effect of obstacles.

Update posted for Clang.

What does one name matter?

Waiting for the announcement that this world will have neither dogs nor cats, but instead....

All of which takes processing power and development time to implement. They're operating under a limited budget and targeting a wide array of PC capabilities. Such capabilities as you mention will only have a limited impact on the game, so I think a little pragmatism is needed.

The movement speed seemed pretty normal to me. You don't want it to stray too far from reality or it will look cartoonish.

I'm feeling good that Kickstarters have been able to find success the second time around by retooling their message. Telepath Tactics is doing pretty well this time, for example.

It's a decent idea. However, I think the nature of each faction may tend to restrict the nature of their response. Thus a business may focus more heavily on the practical aspects while a religious creed or political faction would put more weight on the emotional elements.

The 2012 market for video games was US$67 billion. By comparison, Kickstarter earned $119 million in its third year. That's the combined total for everything, including games. It's about 0.2% of the video game market, so people are using a really small shovel. Maybe a trowel?

I don't know why, but this reminds me of reading some people's forum comments. Will need to contemplate the reasons over a little wine and cheese...