rjshae

Tough. Fine weapons and armor being priced out of reach of a peasant character is realistic. So is having to scavenge for some extra cash. What, do you want everything handed to you on a plate? Sheesh, suck it up.

They could simulate a lot of weapon variety with a min and max weapon strength ratings: below the min you start taking a penalty; above the max you stop receiving additional Str bonuses (because otherwise you might break the weapon).

D&D 'Armor Class' is an archaic approach that deserves to go into the dustbin of history.

I really like the GURPS approach to combat, with the swing/thrust attack forms, parry/block defenses, and the bash/slash/pierce damage types. Once you have a general mechanism like that in place, then implementing distinctive weapon and shield variety isn't a big leap. In practice, of course, the mechanics would be handled by the characters so you don't have to micromanage everything. But it would present some tactical decision making with regard to your weapon and shield selections.

Crowded wilderness areas just feel highly unrealistic. A more time-based approach rather than a spacial approach would give it a better feel. I.e. each time you wander the map, you'll bump into different things.

Yes, that second city seems like the biggest back-breaker. It probably means they won't be able to spend much time on the smaller settlements. I'd have preferred several small towns and villages; more of a medieval feel. But we'll see...

This should be easy to model: if the party has somebody with a 'survival' skill then the corpse leaves a skin. Drakensang simulated it in more detail by giving an 'Animal Lore' skill. But that's perhaps too detailed for this type of game.

I'd be okay with managing the stock ammo at the party level, with unique ammo being managed at the individual character level. I.e. have a pool of shared, low level ammo but allow individual overrides for high end ammo.

If they work on building an enjoyable game that is representative of a Baldur's Gate brought up to the present state of the development art, then under two years. If they try and satisfy every single input from all posters on this forum, then at least double that time. Plus they will greatly exceed their budget, resulting in a calamitous failure and the end of Kickstarter. Well... maybe not quite that bad, but they surely won't be able to please everybody.

I'm quite happy with the artwork for the mega-dungeon. But I don't think that continuing to extend the drawing is necessarily the best use of resources. If you are feeling bitter about the lack of visible feet then I think you are in a really strange place right now.

I just hope they don't feel like they need to stock every little nook and cranny of a wilderness area with something to do. That just feels very unrealistic.

From what I've heard you'll be travelling from location to location, rather than in a sandbox environment. There's bound to be at least a few locations that you only find out about through exploration or as a quest.

These types of things have already been done in NWN2 and other games, so I'm sure they have it in mind.

An advantage of the Forgotten Realms setting was that there was a lot of history and lore already developed, which the authors could draw upon for background material. Building up the lore from scratch will likely be a lot more laborious.

Nah, they've already got enough to do. If we keep asking for every little thing, it'll take them an extra year to finish.

Yes, too soon.

Isn't a fan meltdown de rigeur for this forum? Wait for it...

I would not mind this as an easter egg Debating the merits of hiding weapons in their plate mail jubblies, no doubt.

With Ciphers around, one wouldn't necessarily have to start with a blank slate. A powerful Cipher may be able to insert false memories; perhaps even an entire false background (like the replicants in Blade Runner). Over time a character may begin to discover discrepancies in their personal tale, which will thereafter lead them to begin a search for the truth. This can really mess with a character's head, causing them to doubt what is real and what is not. Note that this could instead be applied to a companion instead of the PC.

Thank you for the update and the nice artwork. It's all sounding good.

^^^^ You really don't want to mess with an evil fraction. But the others are not half bad.

If you do hide the interface, then it would be nice to have a tab along the border to do a quick restore. (Yes I know there would be a keyboard equivalent.)

D&D has no ownership rights to German mythology. PE can use the name kobold to their heart's content.

Yes, nobody ever, ever comes to hate somebody they once loved. That's why divorce rates are so low.

This would not seem to be cost effective use of resources. For example, the Shadowrun Returns is using ~2,000 polygon models. I'd think that should be plenty at the scale this game is being presented.