Fog

---what type of dynamic, complex character relationships are important to your gaming experience, if any? I have played many games where the romance was terrible, a few where it was not bad, but none where it felt genuine. I'm sick of "fall in love, do quest, watch stupid sex cutscene " Not only is it unrealistic and unsatisfying, but it creates the false notion that romance is a prize, a goal which is achieved, rather than an adventure in itself. Don't care much whether the romantic subplots are predetermined or Mass Effect-style multi choice so long as the writing is believable and adequately solid, with witty banter, intrigue maybe a battle of wits, and where the love interest isn't there just for the sake of being the love interest waiting to bed the hero but is a useful and clever asset and companion with her own story and rich background, someone reliable you don't have to baby sit. ---if you enjoy romances in games, what type of plots do you enjoy or dislike (tragic, happy ending, marriage/family)? A friendship and attractiveness that grows in love, without all the drama and emotionally cripple characters usually thrown at us in RPG, I'm a fighter not a psychiatrist Jim! The romance doesn't have to end on the get-together, how the couple plays out should be part of the story, so one can roleplay not go through a chore. ---what romance or relationship arcs from other games did you personally enjoy that can serve as examples? Morrigan in Dragon Age have clever banters and a complex character. Fall-From-Grace in Planescape: Torment, for a succubus, she have pretty human personality. Vampire The Masqurade Redemption had an impossible and memorable romance. Also liked The Witcher series where Geralt of Rivia fooled around a lot but his soul belong to Triss Merigold. ---do you have any particular, preferred game mechanics for romance/relationships that you'd like to see included (optional questlines, dialogue, cutscenes)? Quests are always good but romance shouldn't be dependent on accomplishing a quest, "Yay you did my quest, I love you, take me now" don't cut it for me, and having a hero fight for the girl that he loves tends to get overused, the romance must add something to the game, like in comparison a certain skill type or some special items. Otherwise its unnecessary like a third fighter in the party. Maybe important plot scenes check if you have a romance, and change slightly to fit, flowery and cartoonish themes/settings are a no/no. Don't even get me started on pixelated porn.

Failure is a part of any good RPG, it means the game isn't built around the player, that's why I never reload unless my avatar is KIA and game is over, because trial and error and overcoming your failures gives meaning to success.

Human Barbarian, so I can hack and slash my way to fortune.

8 companions is good if you consider development time and character complexity, however I wonder about how they will be integrated in the course of the game and the starting choices restrictions since we have 2 big cities, and how the equation of perma death of party members (in higher difficulties) and their alignements will impact the gameplay style of those who want to roll with full functional all evil/good parties without using some random faceless mercenaries.

Practical armors and realistic weapons are what the majority of us are after, I'm hoping for armors with the same looks for men and women without being ugly and too bulky.

Never thought I'd spent so much bucks on a game, but this one is a childhood dream apparently shared by 73k+ guys and gals, you people are awesome I drink to that. What we do in life echoes in Eternity.