agewisdom

With regards to a large block of text during conversations with multiple parties, I am open to some reasonable form of differentiation. Like some of you have suggested, it could be: 1. Proper spacing; 2. Character potraits; 3. Maybe some subtle font colors, if garish colors are too disturbing for some... Something, anything - so long as it achieves the objective of: (a) breaking up the big wall of text; and (b) allows us to see quickly, who is saying what.

Quality over quantity, wherever possible, please.

Having it as an option would be equally great. I'm sometimes somewhat more irritated at a huge block of text conversation Planescape Torment style, where you sometimes get lost between who's saying what, especially when there's three or more characters discussing something.

I wouldn't mind, but it might be distracting for some players. A whole screen so that I can easily read on my monitor with NPC potraits to differentiate the characters speaking... Two thumbs up.

Psionics baby.... Finally, I can roleplay as Professor X in a medieval setting.

Since PE is take some inspiration from Planescape Torment, I would hope Obsidian really tunes its' conversation/description and lore system UI well. One of the things that I really got upset with PST was the text was a bit unreadable at times because the fonts were to small. So, my simple suggestion is: 1. Make sure that there is an option to adjust the font size of the conversation system, inventory description, lore books etc. (anything with a some amount of written text). Some of us are no longer young-un's anymore and having to squint and read on a large monitor is not very pleasing, to say the least. 2. Color coding when different characters are talking. I AM NOT TALKING about Mass Effect Paragon BLUE and Renegade RED here. What I am saying is when there's a multi-threaded conversation between the PC and his companions, things can get a bit confusing. Color coding between different characters conversations could make things a bit less confusing. For instance: PC: I don't think it's right to just leave him there. Companion 1: Come on. Let's just leave him. He's not going to make it, we have to hurry. Companion 2: We can't just let a person die without even trying. PC: Let's see what we can do for him first. 3. If there's any codex or in-game books, could we have some form of control over the font size. The Dragon Age: Origins codex is a typical example of this annoyance. It's great to read but the font size is so darn small, I have to squint to actually read it. 4. Font used and Background Color Some fonts are hard to read. Please don't use stylish fonts to evoke a fantasy feel if it's at the expense of readability. Or allow us the option to change to a few different fonts. And please don't use a grey colored font against a chocolate background ... The Dragon Age Origins codex had something like this and it made reading near darn impossible.

I don't think there's anything to worry about. If anyone can do it, it would be the all-stars team at Obsidian. Let's just give them enough space to establish a reasonably familiar setting to get everyone comfortable. Anything more radical might be considered in an expansion or a sequel.If they do things right, we might see a resurgence of the golden age of cRPGs, something I'd never thought I'd see...

I think the OP wants something along the lines of action RPGs like Diablo 2/3 where you can see the difference in terms of abilities and/or equipment. Might not be too realistic though. I would however, like to see the representation of the PC change if he changes into different sets of armors or dual wields weapons.

Yes, I really like town criers, news sheets and/or radio stations. It doesn't have to be up in your face like in FO3, but the ability to read some news or listen to some gossip in the fantasy world gives it a more authentic or in-depth feeling.

Seems like Alpha Protocol is a very cool game. It's one of the few Obsidian games I missed since FPS is not really my taste (except for Deus Ex). Maybe I should give it a go... hmmm

A very comprehensive and impressive compilation of suggestions. Definitely like some of the ideas and hope Obsidian takes them into consideration.

Yep, it might be true in real life but in PC games - it might just annoy players and make them feel compelled to use the strategy guide/walkthrough. I'm all for unexpected surprises - whether good or bad, but I think we're both in the minority here.

That would be cool but also a lot of work, for a very small minority. An Ultima fan eh.... you could cast the Armageddon spell with Mondain's skull in Ultima IV. Everyone except your party would die with one exception. Lord British still lives and would be mighty pissed. Never managed to take him down though...

Quests with delayed consequences doesn't necessarily need to be gotcha if you're given enough forewarning and chance to deliberate and investigate the options beforehand. Besides, there doesn't need to be a right or wrong decision, just decisions with differing outcomes. So, it wouldn't be exactly a 'gotcha'... more like: "ah... so if I hadn't made the choices I had, I wonder what would have happened instead?"

Ogrezilla, Thanks for the feedback for Final Fantasy Tactics. I kinda gathered it was more of a tactical/battle game probably alongst the lines of Jagged Alliance(?). I like these games too, if they're interspersed with interesting stories. Of course, cRPGs are my favourite kind of games especially those with the Obsidian flavor. All this PE talk has got me in a Baldur's Gate mod again. Maybe it's time to reinstall the old baby with the Big World megamod and give it a go...

final fantasy tactics did that between each chapter. Really? That's very interesting. The only recent game that had this concept involved a certain Hawke in DA2. Bitter experience, to say the least... from chapter 1 to 2, but its a 2 year jump. You are a cadet in ch 1 and start ch 2 as a part of a group of mercenaries that you've been a part of for an unknown amount of time. Then every time you go from one place to another a day passes on the game calendar. I really don't remember the specific jumps between the other chapters but they were less significant I'm pretty sure. Still, the game probably takes place over a few years instead of a few weeks. Makes me want to try the game out Usually, games gloss over the time aspect. I think having a semi-time system with some measure of aging would really add a lot to a cRPG and immersion. However, it's quite difficult to implement. Having a time system will really make a big dent in immersion when you realize the village you visited 2 years ago looks exactly the same as it does currently. Hey, it even has the same beggar sitting in the exact same place and saying the exact same things.... talk about deja vu

Ooh... yes, I forgot how cool those incantations were in bringing the spells to life...

Mass Effect really overdid the news aspect. I agree with mostly what you've said. News should be exactly that, news about important events that is taking place in the country or village that you're at. Obviously, in the beginning - the news would be covering important heroes and figures in the PE setting, which should obviously EXCLUDE a young PC that's just starting out. Later, perhaps much, much later - if you've done something particularly noteworthy, you might get an honorable mention. Harry Eden in FO3 eh... interesting character indeed.

I think this could be a good idea if done on an extremely limited scale. Perhaps this could be restricted to something like: 1. Lore Books 2. Weapon/Armor/Amulets item descriptions 3. Ideas for cool spells 4. Special Abilities 5. Chained quests etc. Sort of like a brain storming session so Obsidian can use to inspire them or even use them, if they're really good.

Brilliant! Some of those look like screen captures from a movie rather than paintings. Definitely would love to see some of these incorporated into PE.

final fantasy tactics did that between each chapter. Really? That's very interesting. The only recent game that had this concept involved a certain Hawke in DA2. Bitter experience, to say the least...

Exactly! This would differentiate it from some action RPGs masquerading as cRPGs. But quality over quantity is what I'm looking for. An unexpected surprise to mix things up a little...

This. I suppose you are talking about individual spell experience? So the Magic Missile spell would level up the more you use it, correct/wrong? I support this. This could work but might needs to have some explanation in-game to let the player know. After all, most of us wouldn't have experience with this type of magic system.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I'm not asking for all quests to have delayed consequences. I'm just asking for a handful of quests, say 3-5 out of maybe, say 100 to have some measure of delayed consequences and have some rippling effects on gameplay to mix things up a little. As have been said before, there are a few caveats I would like to be incorporated to prevent the gotcha or I have to have a walkthrough syndrome foist on the PC. 1. There should be some foreshadowing or way to investigate what the possible outcomes could possible entail. Maybe not a predicatable outcome but a FAIR outcome which would make sense in hindsight and jives well with the lore in-game. 2. Whatever decisions the PC chooses, it doesn't necessarily need to a situation where one set of choices leads to a consequence that is negative and one which is positive. There could be different consequences with different measures of good and bad depending on the type of decision taken. If a selfish decision is taken earlier, it might make a thieving faction more disposed to liking the PC and vice versa. So, things wouldn't be black and white - which may prevent the want/desire to use a walkthrough with the game on the first playthrough. 3. It should be sparingly used, so that the PC doesn't feel like the game is trying to trick you into gotcha situations. If it's well implemented, the player may be more circumspect with his decisions. Granted these type of quests is a poor simulation of living quests. Whilst living quests are great, they then impose some form of urgency on the players to 'get on' with things which I gather some people wouldn't appreciate.

It's not to prevent save scumming per se. It's more to allow for a more authentic or genuine role play where the PC just has to deal with the consequences of his or her actions. But, when you get immediate outcomes of certain decisions, it tends to make (some) players gravitate to decisions which gives the highest XP or loot...