Wirdjos

I second this heartly and it's one of the biggest reasons I'm supporting P:E. Because mechanics and lore are being developed side by side to work with in a single medium with a single engine, there is a much smaller chance of crazy, convoluted explanations for things that are obviously just mechanics. I generally play RPGs to explore the world and its internal logic so it drives me nuts when something appears poorly thought out or adapted. I'm pretty sure I'm with you. I find myself wondering what the system would look like without the resting mechanic. I think if we could find that answer, it would unite a few people arguing at the moment.

I smile everytime I see you post now I that I know where your username comes from. As for actual content, I think Vampero might be referring the way the dice rolls were so apparent that the whole thing felt rather mathematic. It kind of killed some of the enjoyment for me when I couldn't ignore that fact and encouraged me to reload til I 'got a good roll'. I realize dice throws govern any non binary system, I just don't like knowing it. Maybe he feels the same.

I agree that companions should feel like separate entities, so I really liked what DA2 was trying to do with the unique outfits. I just feel like there has to be a better way. Locked things like unique outfits prevent the player from interpreting a character and sort of roleplaying them as well. Portraits did a good job of this by providing a static representation of a character while allowing the player to decide equipment thus shaping the character themselves. I'm hoping for something like that which would allow for the character to change throughout the game as the story changes them.

Well, that was the fun part for me. When I tried to restrain myself as much as possible but at some point I was like "Damn, now I *really* need to use the big cannons". I completely understand where you're coming from. A lot of fun I get from a strategic combat system also comes from antagonizing over when to use that 'big cannon' and the satisfaction after finally using it. I think I would just prefer a little more leeway than say BG1 gave me in when I could cast anything and a couple fewer trash mobs that I knew didn't need magical intervention from the start.

I can't say I agree at all. That's exactly what makes Dragon Age so painful to manage with the AI completely off compared to Baldur's gate 2. In Dragon Age you are constantly cycling through characters that have very short cooldowns, while in Baldur's Gate you usually set a generic target for each of your men and *then* when it's actually useful to do so, you pick some special ability/spell/item to use. You actually just sold me on a more Vancian system. The way DA:O cooldowns were set up made the game fun to play as a pause and play action game, but annoying to play as a slow strategic game. I believe it is the latter here that P:E is looking to emulate. The biggest problem I had with the Vancian system, however, was that my mage was likely to not even be used in a large amount of encounters as I just didn't want to waste spells worrying about what was around the next corner. That made my mages into glorified sling swingers which seems like spitting in their extremely powerful faces. So I'm left liking the hybrid that's been discussed in this thread best, the one involving low level spells sort of freeing themselves from the Vancian and becoming more easily castable.

I know this is a couple of pages late, but no one else jumped in. Do you have a link for that? I don't recall reading that at all. I'm getting that from update #5 on the nature of souls. http://www.kickstart...ty/posts/312639 On further review, I might have exaggerated a bit. I believe the above heavily implies that souls will be the conduit of magic at least and that 'stronger' souls have an easier time with magic. From this I am speculating that magic will run on, or at least be limited by, the power of one's soul. Because liking it was not enough. I really appreciate the hard line you're taking here with what you will and will not do. I'm glad that you are listening, but refuse to let anyone else make the call. Bravo, sir.

I really preferred the system BG had with companion death. It meant that I could mess up a battle so bad *my* only choice was to reload (I wasn't going to let any person in my party permanently die). As long as it's rare and somewhat preventable, I support companion perma death.

I find it hard to believe that a pure Vancian system could even be used considering the only real thing we know about the setting is that magic runs on soul power. That seems to be a direct statement that mana, being soul power itself, is a part of this game. Perhaps a Vancian system could be simulated through slow to no mana regen though. I don't know if that would work, but I do have faith in whatever Obsidian is planning. On the topic of mana, I would like to bring up an interesting thing DA:O did with mana potions (in lore, not mechanics as the mechanics were the same old). Mana potions were made of an element that was actually poisonous to people in general and mages especially. This made chugging mana potions like downing a cup of spiritual Red Bull if energy drinks were distilled from battery acid. If they do go with a mana system, I would like to see a downside to any instant regeneration that implied it was actually danagerous to use.

You're completely right, we are not actually investors. Obsidian doesn't have a contract with us or anyother such thing. They can do anything they want with the money we've pledged. But there is a reason that they're stressing accountablity to the fans in all the interviews. That's the only way this Kickstarter model works. If they take all this money and shut us out and release a game, sure we'll get that game, but it kills any chance of a showing for a sequel or expansion. The whole system only works if the fans have faith in the company. I really like the idea of crowdfunding games so that companies can make the games people are actually interested in. I don't see that working unless the community funding the game is given the same respect as an investor. As far as how much is needed the make the game, I have no idea how much that costs. It was my impression it cost a lot. 2.2 mil is not how much I expected, but I'll stop worrying either way.

You have to remember that this is a different sort of undertaking. Obsidian isn't answering to large investors or a publisher, they are answering directly to us, the fans and supporters. They would have to comfort investors if they pushed back release, perhaps they wouldn't ask permission but they would have to jump through hoops for them. Now we are all in that position of investor. I consider these threads, and their frequency, to be both a message to other funders and to Obsidian that we want the best game they can make in whatever timescale. Because we are the investors in this case, we do have to make sure Obsidian *knows* our collective will and what we will endure before our faith in the project is broken. I just hope they will be willing to hold another fundraiser if they do run out of money and that the community will endure it.

Assuming 'permanent' injuries (i.e. injuries that cannot be healed in combat or without something speical) are a part of the base game, all you would have to do is disallow the special healing event in Trial of Iron mode thus creating truly persistant injuries. That said, I would never use that mode because I find those type of injuries annoying and down right unfun. I would be in favor of a system where first combat effectiveness is handicapped by low HP, then 0 HP incapacitates and when the battle's over the affected character gets up (having not actually died in the first place) and now has an injury that can only be healed by a special consumable or a temple priest. Let this happen to a character enough times, the character will start to distrust the player cause a reputation, or whatever system they use, hit. This would give us semi permanent consequences without IMO calling for a reload.

You are pretty great with that, C2B. I was asking mainly so those things would all be one place (and because I knew you were here and might contribute), but I wouldn't mind knowing what you know about Rob Nesler. His role in other games and his role in PE.

Would it be possible to add developer profiles to the wiki? I really like being able to look up developers as they're mentioned and look at what they've done in the past as a means of judging what they do well.

Don't completely discount level progression and early opponents becoming weaker. One of my more memorable moments in DAO was the encounter where the opponents directly states that normal people would be foolish to challenge me. It made me feel like I'd come a long way from getting kicked around by random stragglers, like I'd accomplised something and become force to be reckoned with. That said, I'm pretty sure my overinflated ego was roughly handed to me in the very next room, so the moment really worked. While DAO is certainly not a bastion of game balance (especially after all the DLC addons), I do think this is how character progression should be handled. Let the player utterly best some early opponents and then show him the next seemingly insurmountable challenge. For the people that disagree with me, increased difficulty usually solves that problem.

Kuldahar sounds amazing. I'm still playing through some of the developers' previous credits and haven't made it to IWD yet, but that really gets me excited to play it. I would love to see a town like that in PE, preferably progressing at the same rate to avoid Kirkwall's obvious failings.

We usually recycle 2D backgrounds from other games i.e. Icewind Dale, Planescape Torment, Pool of Radiance 2... etc. However, there are also several talented artists in the modding community who have made some very beautiful original content as well. Ooo, original artwork? That sounds quite exciting!

A good game is the foundation, I agree. Without a good game at the base, who cares if you can mod it? Moreover, not all games are equally as worth modding. For example, as much as I love the game, I don't have much interest in Planescape: Torment mods beyond general bug fixes or restoring unfinished quests. Why? Because to me, Torment is primarily about its central storyline, and messing with that is as obnoxious as...say, adding a few new characters or plotlines to a newly released version of Casablanca or something. Torment is not the optimal game for modding, to me. But then you have games like BG2 or Arcanum, which have their central storyline, but that central storyline is very obviously not the most important point. The most important point is the exploration and the quests and the companions that surround it, the atmosphere and the world and the characters. In such cases, not everything added to the mix is good (yeah, there are plenty of horrible mods out there), but if it is good, it can add immeasurably to your enjoyment of the game. To sneer off everything that comes after the developers release a game because it wasn't made by the developers is close minded in the extreme, and as far as I'm concerned the surprising number of people in this thread who dismiss mods out of hand are only doing a disservice to themselves. But I digress. You're right that a good game is likely to be played by fans for nostalgia's sake and played long after it has been forgotten by the vast majority of the gaming world, moddable or no. God knows I have had a few (unmodded) games on my computer that have been there a lot longer than they reasonably should have been. The game itself, however, remains as it was. It will never have new things to see or do. For some games, that's fine; it fits the game. For others, to have new things to see and do is a pleasure which keeps a game popular long after it should reasonably have faded into memory. I completely agress with you, Death Machine Miyagi! What you described BG2 and Arcanum as is exactly the game I want to PE to become. I love to explore and added content from modders is a great way to keep that fresh and improve replayability. But that is largely what mods do, add replayability. Modding and a toolset won't likely be all that important at launch. I would support adding a second Kickstarter after launch for the development and release of a toolset, but then I'm hugely in favor of multiple fundrasiers for adding content and such after the fact. How was the area art issue solved in BG? That does sound like a pretty big hurdle.

The straps holding the shield to her look like belts to me. Seems like they'd come off like a belt around the waist would. Still not quick, but she wouldn't need anyone else to remove it. Please correct me if I'm being foolish or blind again.

And blind it is. Not only have I been looking for that update all day, but even after I found the update in the forums, I still couldn't find the concept art. Heaven (and forum members) help me.

The edit is absoulely perfect! Thanks for listening! Also where did you get that, C2B? Are you holding out on us or am I just blind?

She. Polina Hristova. (At least I think it's her. As Edair was hers) Edit: http://www.polinadesign.com/ (You may have seen that already in the other thread) I did see that. She does great work. Not sure why I didn't draw the Edair connection earlier. Thank again, C2B.

Seconding Chunkyman heartily. Fantastic job, Fev! And for the artist, should he or she be reading this, the original artwork was fantastic, it really was. I think everyone, including myself, is just a little skittish after too many armor-bikinis.

The update says that the novella will be added to the $50 and up tiers. Not sure why it's only showing for the $110. Maybe because it was added after the update?

Am I right in believing that the article Mr. Sawyer just posted explained why the plate armor wouldn't necessarily cover her midriff? It looked like the armor being strapped on in the picture ended at the start of the stomach.

That would great. Better yet, give them some reason for being there. I never could figure out why everyone was awkwardly standing around the fire. And where did everyone sleep? I'm okay with characters sticking to certain areas if I can figure out how they're entertaining themselves. Calm moments like that are really good opportunities for characterization. Would really to see it used for as much.