Loki Ador

Same issue here... Quite frustrating I must say, I hop Obsidian will fix it ASAP

It should be an option, deactivated by default. This way, quests will be designed to be acheived without the help of the marker, which would simply become a matter of preference.

I am rather skeptical toward a food system, let alone a 'food quality' measurement. Maybe, when the group contemplates exploring a desolate area where subsistance and supplu are actually an issue (example: a desert, an icecape) then the game might introduce some sort of 'supply' indicator, which would be a numerical value that would deplete over time as you explore such areas, and replenish when buying food rations. Such an indicator would not apply in normal areas. The game should not go further in terms of food management.

It should indeed be limited to some specific areas. If a forest is known for being infested by trolls, then respawn should be expected. However, if I manage to remove the ancient curse of the necropolis, then zombies should stop spawning. Somebody suggested a change in ecosystem: that would be a nice feature (although maybe a bit delicate to implement): I may have cleaned this cave from the demons and the hellgate the flooded from, that does not mean some neighbouring wilderness will not use this place as their nest.

As many have mentionned before, while the idea is rather appealing, the fact that there are only 8 companions makes it rather tricky to implement. If it were implemented, I think that there should ne be 'irreconciliable' differences: the PC should be able to intervene when companions squabble, and, based on his ability to cool off things, and, possibly, previous choices he made in the game, the situation may be defused.

It is funny to see how some people are anxious that releasing financial information about the project will result in the forum being invaded by an angry crowd recriminating against OE use of funds... As for the claim that people over the internet are too dumb to understand a budget, well they would be surprised how much somebody can read from financial statements (which are a financial informationmedium way more complicated than a simple budget breakdown). Besides, I have seen that some posters on this forum have quite good insights about game economics, so I am confident that disclosing these data would result in interesting discussions. Regarding people that would react badly, well those people have not waited for the release of such information to behave like douchebags. These data would not make things worse. Finally, doing so would set a standard for future kickstarter projects, which would result in more transparency in crowdsourcing platforms (something they direly need)

While I understand your concern, I think the primary reason why people were overreacting in this manner was more due to a lack of information about what developing a game is about. Let us know what are the costs and magnitudes when developing a game, insead of fantasizing on individuals number thrown around without context, this would rather diminish this kind of overreactions.

If the ressource drain is marginal, the game remain primarily developed for PC (without concession on game design to get it to fit the console format) and the development time is unaffected, why not ? Truth is, all those conditions are impossible to meet. So I am against a console version.

I think the best way to get people to act as children is to treat them like children. Internet is no exception. Of course, there will always be some people using such a disclosure as a ground to complain. I would however think that with or without it, such people would complain anyway. And disclosing those data would also,help us realize what developing a project is about, what means are required, what generates the biggest resources drain... Moreover, it would provide actual facts when the use of ressources is mentionned or discussed, instead of fantasies.

I would like background to be part of character creation, through options that would affect your character's abilities (like in Arcanum or Vampire Bloodlines), and possibly the area where he begins the adventure. This way it would be open enou to avoid feeling railtracked, while offering grounds to imagine the character actual background. I have always felt that offering no hint at all on the PC's origins decrease the immersion

I think providing such an information would be a very valuable step toward more transparency. At some point, disclosing what they aim to do with people's trust (because this is what the money we donated is: trust) is very adequate, and would also allow us to understand what developing a game is actually about. They have no obligation to do so, but this would be a nice improvement in the way crowd-sourced projects are managed. As for people who think that the public cannot be entrusted with such an information, well I think that: 1) we are grown up adults, 2) retaining such an information would only foster baseless rumors and fantasies 3) requesting people's trust to fund a projet and in return not trust them enough to account to them regarding the use of their money is quite a paradox So Obsidian, please inovate again, set a new standard for Kickstarter : release such an information

Just for the sake of discussion, I would agree with OP, for the very reason that big studios like EA would simply not care about such a small franchise. EA's CEO stated that they had removed from their shelves low-audience games (cannot remember the exact quote, I found it while doing a short research on the video game industry current business model). EA is looking for 2-million copies selling games, not for niche games as PE. Even if the latter may end up having a higher sales to profit margin, it simply lacks magnitude for EA, who yearns for a limited portfolio of broad selling products.

The actual point is not how they would raise fund, but their ability to retain their independance. They can fund themselves through a publisher, I do not care as long as they remain in charge of the actual game.

I think romances should be included in the game. They can be a way on enhancing the game's narrative and create other types of interactions with some companions or NPC (after all, why do they never concern non recruitable characters ?) Some may accept your favors, some may pursu them, some may refuse them. For some of them, it may mean unconsequential intercourses, for others something meaningful (with or without sex) The most important is that they should be well handled, i.e: -align them with NPC / companion personality, not the other way around, and avoid the "hello I am your romanceable insertion without any other purpose" type of character -do not reduce the way of interacting with romanceable characters to romance: provide other ways of deepening relations with them : friendshipe, rivalry, brother-in-arm feeling... -do not abuse stereotyped conversation lines. Romance, as any interaction with a companion/NPC may contain some cliché, but overuse them and the interaction become boring -make them consequential: if I romance somebody, I would expect some consequences/follow up: ex: while the romance in PST was well handled, once carried out with Annah it would completely fade away as it did not happen! Maybe tweaking the dialogs with the character a bit after the romance has been concluded would do the trick. And this statement works for any kind of deepened interaction besides Romance: friendships, strong rivalries and such should be consequential when brought to a certain point. As for some people arguing that badly executed romances downgrade game content, it is true for ANY badly executed game feature (magic, combat mechanics, mega dungeon, big cities, paladin classes...) Actually the biggest reason why I want to see romances in PE is precisely because I trust Obsidian to make them right

Alright, that is clearer now. As long as it is an option, I can accept your proposal. I would probably not use it, but if some people happen to enjoy PE more with this kind of optionnal feature, why not ? Customizing and fine tunning of gameplay is always a good thing for me