IndiraLightfoot

Cubiq: Fair point. But I want those action icons and that action bar bigger than it is in PoE (tiny). Perhaps the solution is to keep the combat log where Karkarov put it, put then move those portraits and have them on the upper left side (like many classic CRPGs and now, soon, DA:I) Then the bottom can be all action bar-stuff, like in Seari's EE PoE mockup?

I really like that basic disengagement mechanic, though - running away when something too nasty for you is beginning to wipe its heinie with your party, ply by ply.

I think that's what he's saying. That's not correct. In fact, mechanical repair potentially gives that lockpicker another chance to get some xp, since critical failure otherwise ends the xp opportunity for the lockpicker (unless you're save scumming, of course). Alright. I have played through the entire game, and this has slipped by me entirely. I had no idea you could do this!

On the Scorpitrons and one of dealing with them (mini-spoiler - yes, there are more than one):

Karkarov: As always, you have a knack for making these UI widgets, at least in my book. This is perhaps odd, but I'd like to switch the portraits with the combat log, while keeping the action bar/icons where you have put them - quite close to the action, which is very clever.

That certainly explains why my druid shell maiden worked so well. I went into the fights with her all shelled up, and all the baddies focus on her (if I did it all correctly), and then rest of my party used ranged attacks, even AoE spells, over that enemy jumble, and then rinse repeat. This is almost game breaking (although it can be fun at times). And once again: Notice how supernaturally fast the enemies are moving, between a few of your pauses, they go from A to B in an instant.

Yeah. I've tried and tried to use those very UI logs, and I have played those games hundreds of hours in total so far, and I can hardly read them. My eyes keep reading from the left to the right. However, I guess that there are other cultures out there which would prefer having it on the right side, provided that the letters started from the right as well.

Plundered after a treacherous journey into the maze built from shattered dreams, the Bioware Forums: Oh, and Viv:

Yep, the second one works! And I really like that one, and having the camping supplies at the clock/calendar-thingie actually makes sense.

Hiro: Thx! That's it.

I know. But this one, just like the other, simply gives me a cursor revolving, and then it refuses to open. Oh, that's the difference - before, your creations were already visible in the post, but now it shows up like a link with an X and a .jpg-file name.

Heh! I had to re-install WL2 just to see which achievements I did get. I missed that Patch 3 by a few minutes after I had finished the game, and in this way, I also got my party exported if I decide to reuse them somehow.

Seari: For some reason, I can't get you final EE version to open.

For 301 and 333: Max Perception, almost max Might, and then I pick a third attribute based on what attacks/abilities I use the most. Ideally, I'd like to have a hard time choosing how to balance the attributes.

At the very end, my brainy leader (RPG-wise and with high INT), Loretta Lobes, managed to pass level 40, and she was also our trap-disabling, mine-sweeping Demolitions. Funny thing is: She had no Leadership skill and had CHA 2. But my being a very thorough player, her Demolitions helped here stay ahead of the field with 1-2 levels the last 10 levels or so. Her having the big enemy-melting Energy Weapon also helped getting those levels up. Funnily enough, I had Honkey-Tonk Arleen as my Convo Queen, with higher CHA ( 8 ), Leadership 10 and high Smart Ass ( 8 ). She charmed the underpants of most people, and if they still didn't fall victim to her can-can saloon manipulations, she toted a sniper rifle and a SMG to great effect. However, my most efficient character, in terms of kills and general greatness, was my Patching Patsy. She was great at Heal (Rose did Surgery the best), and a fantastic Assault Rifle and Heavy Weapons marauder. Already in Arizona, she surpassed Angela Deth in effectiveness, and she saved the party countless times. She had a perfect mix of COO, AWE and also LUCK and INT. Overall, I'd guess that people underestimate the weight of INT and LUCK over the course of a long game, such as this - you get lots of extra action points, a few extra crits, nice hit-point pressies, and heaps of skill points via INT. My first character, Indira Lightfoot, was actually kind of sucky. She was too slow, and she had Bladed Weapons way too high. Her sniping was what saved her from being a total disaster. But she was useful in other ways. She did all of the Bashing, Opening Locks and Tumblers (Rose did the Electronic Locks, though).

I'm all for a toggle for the Z-key function. However, I'm getting old. CRPGs take lots of time as it is, and pixel hunting ain't that fun anymore (Try Grimrock and see for yourselves). Also, it's something of a tradition in a number of CRPGs I adore, so I will definitely use it. When I played through WL2, I had that key pre-programmed on my mouse, and it certainly helped, but only to a degree. There were still tonnes of stuff that remained pretty much hidden (I had to rotate the cam, since it was 3D). Even without rotation, you can hide stuff while still having the Z-function up and running. Let's just say that there a re a few easter egg items/caches in BG1 and BG2 that get highlighted, but they are almost pixel-sized when lit up, so they are very hard to spot anyways. That's enough item hunting excitement for me, but I do respect people who want to go more hardcore than I do.

Seari: Very cool mockup - so classic and classy! Although I am more in the minimalist camp on the UI - I really liked the UI in NWN 2 (espec the bars) and even those wheels and mini-UIs of ToEE, I have to say, this big frame-UI fits the PoE setting very well. It's literally a frame. If the Ui panels were done in some dark wood, it would be very BG-y. The best thing about your mockup, which I miss sorely in PoE is that ability/action-icons are big. They are beautiful and they ought to be big enough to be seen and easily used. I hate those mini-squares, just like I don't like the mini-icons in the invos. Oh, and even if a bigger part of the screen is blocked, we get a combat log/text info window worthy of a IE-inspired CRPG.

As a happy PC and AMD graphics card owner with Mantle capacity, Tim Schiesser at Techspot writing this made me extra cheerful: "There are lots of graphics options for the PC version, allowing you to fine tune the level of fidelity. Mantle will be supported in Inquisition as well, for those with AMD systems (it wasn’t ready for the preview), and BioWare tells me that there are no stupid limitations on the PC version: that means no FPS cap, no resolution cap, and even (potential) support for triple-monitor gaming. Compared to the PS4 version on the other side of the room, the PC version looked superior. That’s not to say the console version looks bad; in fact it looks pretty awesome for the limited hardware that’s found inside. But you’ll undoubtedly get the best experience on PC, with enhanced textures, better lighting and more of the awesome particle features of the Frostbite engine. You also get access to the advanced mouse-optimized interface on PC, rather than the simplified hack-and-slash focused UI on consoles."

Guard Dog: I have to congratulate you on your Discipline of Steel. Wow! Me? I just can't help myself, and as of late, that may include dreadful DLCs as well.

^This times a thousand! If this isn't fixed, combat will be pretty disastrous, and I say that with decades of all sorts of CRPGs under my belt.

I've read most previews now. Yep, there is a whole bunch of them, and I must say that they sound promising. Less handholding than I thought, lots of exploring, lots of action (some bordering on Assassin's Creed acc. to one reviewer - which may be cool, since I do adore Dishonored, which is a bit similar). The best one is this, by Viseira at the Bioware Forums. At the top of that post, there's also a link to plenty of other previews: http://forum.bioware.com/topic/517501-dragon-age-inquisition-hands-on-with-the-first-five-hours-pc-gamer-interview-with-mark-darrah-spoilers/

prodigydancer: You are right, and I am well aware of that. However, there are plenty of games out there that use animations for both visual combat feedback and combat pacers in their own right. Any auto attacks need to be scripted to take such bot-advantages into account.

Grunker: I agree. Those percentages and decimal numbers (for grazes) must go. It may fit some futuristic post-apocalyptic games, but for some reason, it actually makes my precious CRPG feels curdle and then go stale. The same goes for super-high numbers. It fits ARPGs, and perhaps DA:I (we'll see), but I don't want to see it in PoE. On movement speed: Sure, slower is nice. But let's be frank here. There shouldn't even be a slomo-mode. That also oozes of some replay a la Matrix slomo action movie or sports or just lameness!! The game should have one speed - it's not default - it's the only one available. The biggest culprit in combat is rather speed and the magnetic grater problem. Magnetic grater problem? Well, noticed how all enemies move sci-fi fast? And they often gang up on you? Everything becomes a graphically messy grinder with metallic "shick, shick, shick, shick" going off like one of the bizarre robots in WL2. That's where the fun in combat dies in PoE atm. Instead, it becomes "throw your hands" bad, leaving you with a sense of lack of control (unless you pause every nano-second - which sucks!). Grater? Well, this magnetic enemy mess constricting your pc is grinding it down - small grazes and a thousand papercuts make it bleed out, just before it dies from being squeezed to death. The solution: Less damage per hit. Slower speed. And the most important part - remove recovery and all sorts of meta-gamey counters and pips and bars - all of it, and replace that with combat animations that are slow enough and oomphy enough. Instead, balance the combat via these animations and the melee position shifts they entail. Attack with a 2H-sword? Well, that swing will be big, take time, and push the enemy a bit, if you land a hit, but if you a miss, you will stumble away a bit. Attack with a crossbow? Best part in game so far. That animation takes time. Thumbs up! Stillettos, daggers - they are the only weapons that should be "shick"-quick, but the amount of damage should be low, and some armour will prove almost too hard for them, unless they are magical, or handled by stiletto pros wiith armour-passing specialisations and what not.

The ultimate CRPG, with interlinked worlds, weird portals, and strange and spectacular and adventurous Spelljammer travels in between.