IndiraLightfoot

A big thx for this playthrough, Endrosz! A wonderful trip down Memory Lane. As for the monster graphics: The pics are actually drawing on various images in the PnP D&D and AD&D books that were available at the time, so when I played this, I actually had my brain filling all the gaps using its own imagination (like when you read a book), so in my mind, this game looked like DA:I, Skyrim or even like a movie, if you will. Bizarre, but true. When I watch these screenies I see and feel depth and atmosphere, where there seems to be none of those things present.

Hormalakh: I had exactly the same suggestion like two months ago, and then peeps bashed me for suggesting an ARPG-feature, heh! Well, +1 from me.

StarWars reported the same bug just five threads under yours, just saying. http://forums.obsidian.net/topic/69510-364-cant-enter-village-from-dyrford-crossing/

In essence, plenty of backers - thousands of them - will interpret that Kickstarter like GrinningReaper659 did: PoE will have the combat of IWD. As much as I'd love to have a new game made with that very combat, it isn't going to happen in PoE, and most likely not in its expansion either. Also, if I play the devil's advocate for a sec, it only says "the intense combat of IWD", which certainly emphasizes the intensity of combat, and not the combat mechanics, per se. I and hordes of others will have to wait until a game with BG/IWD-like combat will appear - perhaps Serpent of the Staglands will be the first? I don't see my interpretation as a minority intepretation, and I don't think that expecting them to follow through on this promise should be abandoned. So, in your mind, they might as well have said "the fun, intense combat of Neverwinter Nights" or "the fun, intense combat of World of Warcraft" as name-dropping Icewind Dale apparently can be completely divorced from the promise? Is this not a problem in your eyes Indira? I mean, I think that you like the combat (which is fine), but that doesn't make it okay to just give a pass on not coming through with what they said... If "of Icewind Dale" means absolutely nothing and could have been replaced with "of [insert any game with combat here]" or removed altogether, then it shouldn't have been said in the first place. I'm all about mixing things up and trying to improve on the IE experience, I was a vocal supporter of the removal of combat XP as I didn't feel that removing it took anything away from that experience (and they certainly never promised combat XP during the KS campaign, in fact they essentially stated it wouldn't be in during the campaign); but this is different specifically because they said it would be included. The only ambiguous part of this is defining what exactly constitutes IWD combat, but it's certainly a more narrow definition than "any combat that could be considered tactical," right? You misunderstand. On the contrary, I'm claiming a pretty huge chunk of the backers agree with you, even I do. My devil's advocate-comment was just a way of saving face on Obsidian's behalf. But I still fail to see why Josh & Co would change their entire combat system to one quite similar to IWD's in a matter of mere months. It just won't happen. And Sensuki's quite right - we all have an agenda. Mine is pretty open: I backed OE and the rest of their gang on this project for the great writing and then in order for the following games: -NWN2 MotB -NWN2 SoZ -NWN2 OC -F:NV -ToEE -IWD2 -Kotor2 I haven't even played Arcanum. But seeing the NWN2 series and the BG series as CRPG pinnacles, when I saw OE doing a KS, I had much more NWN2 in mind than BG. Still, and I really mean this, I would have preferred the BG combat over NWN2's - since it is pretty stationary and in some aspects (the lack of any RTS-connections) simple. NWN2 is all about the builds and scope and plenty of great story-telling. In essence, PoE would be better off with a carbon copy of BG's combat, but since I enjoyed the shyte out of NWN2, I can accept Josh & Co settling for something more-NWN2-like. That's my agenda. -

Haha! I wish, I wish! However, I doubt something will happen to any of these "fun offenders".

In a way, you are right about my being part of the problem, since I don't mind an Engagement mechanic - it at least makes some sense to me. It's just not worth fighting as much for as say, a better talent and skill system. If it matters a lot to you, keep up the fight, but...

Hormalakh: I'm well aware of that, but OE (Josh) are dead-set on it. I'm no fan of it (it's okay, if we get feedback on it - like AoO worked okay in NWN2), make no mistake about it, but this is a thread for realistic suggestions. If you have a bone to pick on that issue, there are plenty of threads dealing with it, but I tell you, your suggestion will fall on deaf ears.

I know, and there are lots of people sharing your sentiment, but it ain't gonna happen, and like I said at the start of this thread: It's for suggestions that can be changed until the game is about to ship, and that is no longer one of them. Perhaps for the expansion, I have no idea (though, I doubt it).

Nope. Can't go there. Wrong thread!

Lol, "the power of the naked". "Butt-hurt" takes on an entirely different meaning now...

No, but naked wizards.

Let me tell you this: When you start your very first game, even, and fade into the area next to Medreth, you will actually see your party for a sec (They fade in, you almost ready to move, then they fade out), and you get on with the character creation. Something is wonky about it all.

"No yellowish? Die!"

Now that is what I call a bug!

Quetzalcoatl: Not only are you unswervingly loyal to OE's vision and creative integrity; You do know a lot as well. *Bordering on all-in oily*

You can get one from me: I said that you "were wrong for the most part". It should have read "right for the most part" (about 2nd ed as interpreted in BG).

No worries, Namutree! Also, don't forget, once again, all the buffs that are increasing your STR, so having 15 instead of 13 or 11, meant a lot when you started to add items on that character, or spells, and so on.

Quetzalcoatl: I have played the BG and IWD series heaps of times, and I am an old D&D buff: Your claims here are for the most part just wrong. For instance, 15 STR +2 hit and dam, it's pretty huge, especially under 3rd rules IWD2, that's like useful during the first eight levels (and ever on) and myriads of encounters right there, with quite an edge on hitting and dealing damage. Well, in BG+SwordCoast, STR 15 didn't give you any + to hit and dam (It had that almost logarithmic STR 18/01, 18/73 or 18/99, 18/00, instead, so you had to adapt to hat, but the game itself included plenty of other stuff buffing your relative STR-level, if the enemy was weakened and other such effects or states, and then 15 could mean sweet bonuses even then. It was based on the d20 system, remember?

I forgot about them bleeding doors. I complained about them early on, and you are right, they work badly on transitions, but I just wanted it to add: Make the hit boxes on doors and all transition triggers bigger. I hate that little icon circle. It's too small.

This is a thread for giving suggestions to tweak, change or improve stuff that within reason can indeed be tweaked, changed or improved until the game will be released in spring 2015. Therefore, I propose to set aside perhaps the biggest controversy in the beta forums, namely this: In essence, plenty of backers - thousands of them - will interpret that Kickstarter like GrinningReaper659 did: PoE will have the combat of IWD. As much as I'd love to have a new game made with that very combat, it isn't going to happen in PoE, and most likely not in its expansion either. Also, if I play the devil's advocate for a sec, it only says "the intense combat of IWD", which certainly emphasizes the intensity of combat, and not the combat mechanics, per se. I and hordes of others will have to wait until a game with BG/IWD-like combat will appear - perhaps Serpent of the Staglands will be the first? Alright, onto the real business of this thread. Here's what I really would like to see in PoE before the game's released: -Even more talents, for all kinds of classes - not just weapon stuff with Athletics -but rather more like Ancient Memory for Chanters. Don't be stingy, Josh. Pour it over us (especially since we won't get any multi-classing soon) -Separate talents and skills OR keep the system, but let the old system with skills return and be the main skill hub -Spend resources on making animations and feedback on disengagement attacks as clear as possible (Snuff out Sensuki's über-kiting too) -Tone down the spell FX A LOT. Go over those that actually OTT, and make them sensible and functional and non-garish -The sound FX are great, but try to give us a lot more music, including battle music, and just the same two or four tunes the entire game. WL2, I'm looking at you. It will be worth the effort. Perhaps Justin can remix some stuff, at least. -Make sure that plenty of encounters have baddies that don't all gravitate towards the players attacking characters, that is, have baddies being ranged and staying at the back, have a few that will opt for certain spells and mixed tactics/combined arms -Consider adding tiny combat xp to all baddies, or make bestiary xp a broader concept. I just played through the area under the ruins carefully, leaving those beetles at the far end, and I didn't get xp for two hours. -Please fix the character creation screen so that I don't have to use scrolling to read the descriptions and benefits in the right big screen. Make it even bigger or something, but that's just annoying. -When shopping, let us examine the items we want to buy easily, by a mere click, and give us all info, just like in any normal CRPG -Make it so that baddies red marker circles and all the loot always is findable via mouse-over, and obviously, enemy circles need to be visible all the time (unless it's invisible or teleporting or something). Which suggestions do you have for these last months of PoE iterations?

Indeed. I have a hard time believing stark lime is what they were going for.

When the beta came out, I immediately pointed out that the party members all move robotically - they start, walk and stop abruptly, and in sync. I wouldn't go as far as immersion-breaking, but I certainly agree with the gist of your point. I am too impressed with the animations shown in that T:ToN glimpse, and I am very glad that I backed it too.

Wow. And, I mean, how on earth can another stat (seemingly unrelated) get dropped as well in most cases during character creation? And how can so many BB players have missed this during them playing 364? Are we the only ones caring about the attributes and points?

I couldn't agree more! In almost every fight, I had the problem of red marker circles "disappearing". In one case, I spent over half a minute, just locating one baddie hidden beneath the fray FX of the encounter. This has to be fixed, just like those loot bags that are very hard to mouse over.

I haven't rolled a wizard yet, and have barely given the BB wiz any attention, so I must admit: This is just bizarre!