Parsifal

I'm surprised that this hasn't been done already, whether from the devs or the ultra-fans. I haven't found a poll that really fits this. Given all of the polls and comments that mostly conclude with "yes I'd like that in the game", times 100 things, should we give the devs some sort of weighted system of priorities? Basically I'm imagining a poll with 40-50 features where each voter picks 10 priorities. This would give the devs a pretty great weighted or ranked list of fan priorities. I'm not the ultra-fan to put this together, but I do know cRPGs pretty well and I'll try to get the ball rolling here, based on what I've seen loved or hated in the forums. A few opposites will probably need to make the list, and if you don't prefer either, just use your vote on a different priority. The picture that we give the devs probably needs to be painted in pretty broad strokes, for clarity. Hence I have mashed some things together that tend to go together. The devs can always look at the individual polls later. Some of these options could be trimmed out by those who know what's already been decided for Project Eternity. FIRST DRAFT OF META-POLL Check your top 10 priorities across these categories: STORY / GAME WORLD / MAIN CHARACTER clear good and evil fuzzy/complex good and evil mostly one big save-the-world plot [with a few side-missions] mostly episodic plot [with one connecting thread or ultimate goal] lots of survival challenges [food, drink, rest, carrying capacity, etc] no survival challenges dystopian, gritty themes [explicit horrible evils & bad guys are probably lawful evil types] utopian, or "save our village" type themes [implicit evils & bad guys are probably chaotic evil types] humor and camp with a little seriousness seriousness with a little humor and camp high fantasy, stylized low fantasy, realistic make it mostly bread & butter fantasy cRPG, just great bread & butter make it mostly weird, unexpected elements from top to bottom [no cliches!] lots of my choices should affect the world, or lead to later events, multiple endings lots of rare, weird events that may or may not happen main character is "the chosen one", better than his party main character is not "the chosen one", equal to his party [i don't know what they've decided about the main character. Someone revamp this part?] CLASSES/RACES/MAGIC stats like d&d stats like s.p.e.c.i.a.l unique stat system balance the races give them good specific game world details [feel, etc] make the subraces very different make different languages matter balance the classes in combat balance the classes across the playthrough [combat +skills etc] give the classes lots of specific feel and unique abilities make the classes feel almost like a skills system and/or include dual-classing make "prestige classes" or highly divided development trees spells should lean toward time/engergy-consuming and big effects spells should lean toward lots of small effects unique magic system counter-magic different types or schools of magic [arcane, divine, etc.] NPCS/FACTIONS companions & npcs with robust personalities [side quests, needs, can become MC's friend/lover/enemy] companions & npcs with personalities mostly just for feel; easy to recruit and deal with factions that are based mostly on story [politics, religion, mob, neighborhood watch, secret societies] factions that are based mostly on mechanics [thieves' guild, mage's tower, dragonslayers etc] killable companions & other npcs COMBAT/SKILLS/GAMEPLAY highly tactical simple enough that I'm not always reloading or trying to cheese the game challenges levelled mostly on my party [i.e. even random monsters ramp up based on your level] challenges levelled mostly based on logic, location, story, etc, even if it's sometimes too hard/easy combat should be avoidable with skills skills should be avoidable with combat multiple solutions for a challenge, even if this cheapens each skill [pick lock, bash chest, cast open] many challenges should be far easier or only possible with the right skill do what you do well, but don't forget what MMORGs do right stick with what the old-school did right, lean away from MMORG as much as possible lots of randomness in combat and skills like critical successes and failures combat shouldn't really be decided by randomness DIFFICULTY/ LEVELLING higher difficulty setting brings higher rewards in-game [xp, unique treasure, perks, etc] higher difficulty just for the sake of the challenge levelling is steady throughout levelling is rapid at the start and tapers off lots of levelling, even if it's usually little bonuses not too much levelling, but when I level it should be a big deal OTHER FEATURES mod tools for elite modders to make user-created content main character's home base / inn / fortress crafting mega-dungeon puzzles, riddles, complex traps, mini-games etc. lots of undead lots of bandits and/or pirates rival adventuring parties to deal with dragons and other massive creatures firearms or steampunk lots of unique loot, even if it's hard to find, earn, buy, randomly get in loot, etc. lots of sex lots of fluffy/fuzzy bits [art works, books to read, performers, original music, slang/lingo, cultural details] lots of visual/game background [NPCs walk by, run errands, stores open & close etc.] time, weather, seasons that matter difficult main plot, easy to choose wrong a few side missions that aren't given to you but are based on realizing or noticing something POLL #2 PET PEEVES - Pick your biggest 4 Don't rush the game out [good size & replayability, good balance, no bugs] Don't even tempt me to grind [whether in crafting, re-rolling stats, killing respawns to make level, etc] No pulling enemies while other enemies don't notice the huge battle going on one room over No cheesing in general, including pulling, re-rolling, pre-buffing etc Don't let NPC conversations interrupt my intentions if I want to walk in swinging No overly sexy junk that makes console games fodder for 15-year old boys No romance at all Minimize my need/want to constantly reload [game is too hard, or to cheese combat, loot, rolls, skills] No chinsy DLC [buying in-game armor with real-world money, etc] Don't make me have to collect a bunch of stuff all the time Minimize the dialogue choices that don't have any real effect Give me a lot to read, think about and decide Don't give me too much to read, notice, map, or make notes on That's all I can think of. I tried to aim for no redundancies, so lots of preferences should be vote-able by choosing the right 2-3 priorities. Some of people's "pet peeves" are included by just voting FOR things in the first poll. If something's missing leave a comment. But I do believe that really broad strokes should help the devs tune this original, ground-up game. I left out the details from some good polls, because this priority-order type of poll isn't about details. If anyone wants to take this over, get some feedback, add and remove things, and make a check-mark poll, that would probably help everyone. If one of the developers wants to trim this down to only what they need to have feedback on at this point, that's great. Or, if this just rolls down to page 25 with 0 replies, that's great too.

I get the FO3 examples, and the d&d problem where a longsword is just better than all the other 1H weapon categories against 19 of 20 creatures. In that case, balancing sounds great. On the flip side, I was imagining how dumb it would be if all the weapons of a given type were always statistically different. If I find 10 swords after killing a squad of orcs or soldiers, is each sword really going to have unique stats? Anyway, this weapon balancing is not of great concern to me, I was just having a thought or two. Game design from the ground floor up must require a lot of consideration of what to make new and what to keep tried and true. I wish the industry wasn't absolutely swarmed with people trying to get in. I'd love to write dialogue and character for a game someday.

Regarding and the responses to it, this is mostly a matter of pure taste. I'm glad that if people disagree, they disagree with that thought and not the ones about grinding, or pulling enemies unrealistically, etc. For me, the Romans in Fallout NV feel drastically out of place even with the Caesar's backstory, whereas all the other game flavors are pitch-perfect. For me, cat-people and lizard-people are too 'high fantasy' or 'kitchen sink', though I'm not especially preferring elves or dwarves. I would have loved original races. It looks like we might get one or two, out of five.

Realism vs. Stylization: generally realisim. DA2 looks like absolute anime crap.

Sawyer, I think you're right as far as making a fantasy game goes, but I wouldn't make the "weapons are specific and unique" thing a completely fundamental value. Some weapons are just better than others. A few are unique and are either expensive or hard to earn. Most weapons are cheap, run-of-the-mill weapons for ordinary schmoes, without anything substantial to tell them apart. The games that you all worked on basically got it right. Don't try to reinvent the wheel on this issue.

The problem with fluff lore is that it requires phenomenal writing to be interesting, and that effort and talent should go into the quests, characters, dialogue, etc.

I voted "none of the above" because I don't like the grinding aspect of these. If you have a way around that, I'd be game. I'd suggest that crafting etc. is replaced by mission-based improvements that focus on a given character- maybe like the Fallout NV NPCs? X minutes of "crafting" feels like I'm not "playing a game" anymore. It feels like a game company is trying to use Addiction Psychology knowledge against their customers [World of Warcraft, etc].

As far as your list, I like the Black Isle d&d games, and the Fallout games. These are my all-time favorite computer RPGs, and most of my favorite video games, so I'll skip the reasons. You all know what you did right. DO NOT WANT: -bugs [this means you, Obsidian. New Vegas was released broken and is still semi-broken. Shame on you.] -bugs [it bears repeating. this is why I am not giving to Kickstarter, otherwise you'd have at least $100 from me] -levelling idiocy a la Oblivion [rats in Daedric armor, etc] -grinding, whether in combat or in crafting [Oblivion & Skyrim, WoW] -pulling [as in, the combat mechanics from Dragon Age 1, Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale, etc. where the player can trick half of the enemies in a room or area into fighting, while the other half ignore the fight unrealistically] -too many pop culture references, campy bits. A few good or obscure references are fine. -DLC that lets you buy improvements in gear, as in real-world dollars for virtual armor, etc. That ruins the feel of the game. -elements with bad tone or feel [the Romans in New Vegas, the cat-people and lizard people in Elder Scrolls, etc.] -bugs, bugs, bugs