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rjshae

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Everything posted by rjshae

  1. rjshae
    Here's an interesting article on Gamasutra: Art of War: Animating Realistic Sword Combat What do you think? Is it good advice for the PE combat animators?
  2. rjshae
    I'm wondering what role cannon will play in the game? Perhaps as a siege weapon with the PC's stronghold? It seems like too powerful of a weapon to use in a typical encounter, so perhaps the effects will only have an indirect impact? Will the developers opt for fortifications that take the cannon into account? (I.e. such as the use of ditches and ramparts.)
  3. rjshae
    Call me ignorant if you will, but I'm curious to learn if there is any trend toward playing "live" D&D (or other PnP RPG systems) using Skype sessions? I know there was some rumblings about playing D&D online, but I haven't heard much since then. Thanks.
  4. rjshae
    Here. Meh. A handful whiners doesn't equal "a lot". On the internet you can find anonymous posters to grumble about virtually any position. I think it's reasonable that Josh Sawyer has a philosophy of game design and is is willing to post his views. I'm not sure I completely agree with him on everything, but I'm pretty comfortable with most of his concepts. Time will tell whether he's right or not.
  5. rjshae
    Perhaps a simple approach would be to give each weapon a Strength requirement, then apply a, say, -5 Strength penalty to the off-hand weapon. That way, if you are physically strong enough, you can whip around a pair of Katana quite readily. However, the Strength penalty will still reduce the effectiveness of the off-hand weapon in terms of pure damage.
  6. rjshae
    Where are you getting that "Sawyer hate" impression from? I think it's incorrect. Most of the grumbling is coming from a few squeaky wheels. As to your other points, I'll just be happy if there isn't an "ideal" build from a power-gaming perspective. I should be able to stumble my way through much of the game even if I have a crud PC; it would just take longer and be more challenging to finish.
  7. rjshae
    The gods were watching...
  8. rjshae
    Any word on when the fulfillment site will be coming online? Thanks.
  9. rjshae
    ^^^^ Good to know. Thank you! Zdzislaw Beksinski -- man, that guy's artwork is bleak!
  10. rjshae
    By the time games are sold as used, they're usually available in the bargain bin and the developer ain't getting much anyway.
  11. rjshae
    I'm wondering if they will draw upon the experiences of the BGEE iOS port for a future release of PE to that platform, since that now seems eminently do-able?
  12. rjshae
    Hi Dimitri. First I wanted to say thank you for taking the time to tell us about yourself. It's appreciated. The questions I have is about the models that are going to appear in the inventory panels. Based upon last week's art update, it looks like those representations will be somewhat detailed at around 4,000 polys. Are you able at this time to tell us how much control the players will have over the appearance of those figures? Will it be comparable to the NWN2 system with multiple heads, hair styles, and tinting control? Or will there perhaps something more detailed? Also, I'm curious to know if those models will be emotive? I.e. will they perform animations as in DA2 and possibly behave in a manner that communicates their physical and emotional condition? Perhaps that is more detail than is really necessary, but I was just wondering. Thanks again!
  13. rjshae
    I did enjoy playing the Bard class in Oblivion, if only because of the character flexibility in a single-character game. One element I liked was the specialization in Illusion magic. That seems to make sense, since Bards have an affinity with sensory experiences. A viable bardic illusionist (Chanter) class would be an interesting twist and perhaps make the character more playable as a party member. Their combat skills could rely on deception and misdirection, with moves taking longer to play out but being all the more devastating when they succeed.
  14. rjshae
    Some day I wouldn't mind seeing a cRPG that uses some architectural themes from historical India and southeast asia. I don't think that has been explored much, and I suspect most westerners would find it exotic. Perhaps an intermix of romanesque and ancient Indian architecture would make for an unusual setting, while still being plausible? Shrug.
  15. rjshae
    I think the short answer is: we don't know how much customization will be allowed. The developers may not know yet either. But since this was a stretch goal, I'd be a little surprised if there wasn't at least a decent amount of customization allowed.
  16. rjshae
    Yeah, I'm not sure that making everything imaginative or weird is necessarily the right way to go for a serious-themed RPG. Having a mundane setting with everyday architecture, albeit exotic, adds to the gritty feel of a setting. A bunch of peasants or even merchants are not going to be able to afford fancy construction; they are going to live in plain stone, wood, or plaster dwellings with, perhaps, an appealing facade. The fancy stuff is best left for the wealthy, the temples, or for the races that live for thousands of years and can afford to spend time working on such things. But I'm sure these guys know this already.
  17. rjshae
    I'd rather not have the FoW easily removed, even if you bought a map. But I could live with a clairvoyance spell.
  18. rjshae
    Well I hope they are decently good at taking care of the pack animals. Because that's where I'll be leaving them. I really need to be sold on the idea that a chanter(bard) contributes their weight to a party. If bards are merely a buffing character, and they are taking the place of a useful back line character like a wizard or a psion, then they better be improving the capabilities of all the other five party members by more than 20%. Otherwise they're ineffective baggage. Beyond that, anything a chanter(bard) can do, some other class can usually do at least as well, if not better. I guess they could write poems and sell them.
  19. rjshae
    Okay, so if PE, say, ends up not having a general speech skill, what about a more tactical communication skill: the artful lie? That seems like a type of conversation option where you can't avoid having a binary branch; either the listener will believe the lie or they will not. Is that just based on a Charisma check? Or does the smooth speaker have an opportunity to employ their highly refined bluffing ability? Likewise, can an attentive person learn to sense when somebody is lying (like an experienced interrogator)? The nice thing about the lie skill (for a RPG) is that the listener doesn't have to make it immediately clear they perceived a lie or not; it can continue for several branches, making it unclear whether the skill check was successful or not. The listener in turn may lie to cover up their perception of the untruth, while turning the situation to their advantage.
  20. rjshae
    Perhaps lizard-like rats?
  21. rjshae
    There are many possibilities. At first I took it to mean that perhaps he's a spy, or something comparable. The best agent is one that doesn't stand out. But, of course, he could just be a wanted man who is trying to hide in plain sight. Maybe he was the son of a noble who survived a purge or an invasion? He could be the bastard son of a deposed king. Shrug.
  22. rjshae
    One things for certain: whatever Obsidian does, somebody is bound to grumble about it. I'd actually like to see fewer monster types with more internal variety within each species: variation in size; differences between male and female or young and old; a few with old wounds, ragged coats, broken horns, or walking with a limp. It can also help to have more realistic AI, with males battling each other, females guarding their young, creatures hunting for fish or digging for rodents, &c. Finally, I'd like it for the creature forms to make sense in their environment: no fire-breathing creatures in a grassy forest please. Thank you.
  23. rjshae
    I agree that Rangers have some elements of the fighter, barbarian, and thief, but then there is overlap between many of the classes. They are probably the ideal scout class, having the stealth of the rogue and the wilderness acumen of the barbarian. In a pitched battle they would perhaps serve as skirmishers or raiders, moving in loose groups and employing hit and run tactics. For either case, shield is little needed and may even be a hindrance. Hence I'd expect them to be experts at fighting without a shield; much more so than a soldier. Rangers would be used to hunting in dense foliage and shooting moving targets, so they would be better at targeting foes during brief moments of opportunity. But I don't think that they would be any better than a veteran bowman at long range.
  24. rjshae
    I wonder whether every individual in the game going to belong to at most one faction? Perhaps you have characters that have weighted faction viewpoints? I.e. 25% Faction A, 50% Faction B, and 25% independent. In that case, the reaction of the character may be more complex; perhaps leaning weakly toward a factional viewpoint, but being open-minded enough not to immediately like or dislike you. Likewise, if you attack a character who is only a partial faction member, perhaps that faction will not immediately consider you hostile?
  25. rjshae
    Worked poorly for "Shaker"... Pretty cheap dude, don't kick people while they are down. This is AMERICA (deep, throaty, GTAVC/SA gun shop voice,) if their idea failed in the marketplace of ideas, then it wasn't a very good idea. Right. Americans only ever buy good ideas. Snort.
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