[Taking cover~]

And if there's any channeling/concentration/cast times for the ranged characters and casters, that immediately throws everything out--if the enemy isn't stupid, we'd probably end up seeing a lot of stand-offs. Not terribly tactical.

 

I'll stick with my LOS play in 3D free camera games like MMOs. (Not into FPS otherwise.)

 

Not necessarily, often times I see "Leaving cover" in case you have to channel anything. In other words, your Chanter would expose himself if he started chanting/buffing up.

 

Take this scenario for instance, 2v2:

You have a Fighter and a Chanter, the Chanter is hiding behind a rock and the Fighter is engaging the enemy "tank" on the field. The enemy also has a ranged-type creature behind cover shooting at your Fighter. Not much of a stand-off, currently the Fighter is at a disadvantage 2v1. When the Chanter exposes himself (leaving cover) to chant a buff for the Fighter, the ranged-type enemy will change focus (depending on difficulty of course) and target the Chanter instead, the odds are even. The same thing, if you would direct your Fighter to take down the enemy Archer behind cover, you could possibly see the enemy "Tank" do the same towards your Chanter.

 

We'll see what happens. Although Obsidian has an idea, I am sure they will be inspired by X-COM (it being, after all, a part of the "Old-School turned Modern" genre too). X-COM: Enemy Unknown had 2 years of development too

[If you wanted another class...]

I think having a game play element that transforms a party member or yourself into a Lich is interesting, removing the soul and putting it elsewhere (like the phylactery) however makes me feel you would only get weaker rather than stronger. It would have to have its own lore and twist which makes it different to the standard Lich I reckon.

 

Dragon knight/dragoon/Kragoon/whatever could be done similarly, a dragon becomes your patron.

Demonologist could be the same but swap dragon for demon (or whatever this world holds for us)

 

A bit off-topic:

Oooh... that is something I personally always have wanted in an RPG... "To tame a Dragon", I can see it as a tedious difficult task of course and if you fail you fail (You need to bring it down to 1-10 HP, give it a couple of status effects and be ready with a poké ba... net~ or whatever else you need to capture a Dragon). Now Dragon's are crazy wise and all that... I would love to be able to make a Dragon submit after either a long and hard struggle or a long chain of quests getting some Dragon kryptonite then forcing it to obey your command.

[Automatic regeneration of hit points during combat]

I like the Endurance/Health idea personally. Blocking a mace strike with your shield will obviously take effort but won't do any damage. Having your endurance then regenerate seems perfectly sensible to me.

 

If, instead, your character actually gets hit by the mace then the damage taken shouldn't heal without spell/potion/salve.

 

What's important is that you don't have to deplete endurance points to cause damage.

 

Ah I see! This is great :D

[Taking cover~]

Immediate observation: That's a 3D zoom-in environment with free rotating camera.

 

While I like LOS play and all that, the terrain view is going to be more restricted. I don't think it would work well in the locked isometric view; terrain levels could be difficult to see. Specific 3D objects like large crates, sure, but in general.... definitely not on that scale.

 

Yes, of course. I wasn't even bothering explaining or bringing up camera angles because I felt we've got that "covered".. not intended as a pun xD

[Taking cover~]

With X-Com: Enemy Unknown around the corner (2 more days <3 release on October 12th where I'm at).

Will Obsidian be influenced and inspired to include something similar to this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtNpHPW-gvc&feature=fvwrel

EDIT: Somewhere around 3:50~

 

Will we see a cover system utilized?

 

Tim Cain talked about "not being able to attack from prone stance" but what about the crossbow? I could easily fire a bolt with a crossbow from prone, or with a gun... is it completely out of the question?

 

P.S. X-COM: Enemy Unknown looks so badass o.o

[Would you like to see a "arena" in PE?]

I would love to see some sort of Gladiator Pit. It can be done in many ways. Most interesting way of doing it (imo) would be like the movie Gladiator does it. You become captured, kidnapped, thrown into the pits and you have to survive. Meanwhile outside the Gladiator someone is trying to save you, or you could outright try to escape, take down your jailors and flee the pits. That'd be an interesting way to do it.

 

Great Arena's have been implemented as well, but often times they fall short only because "Why did it end?". I really enjoyed the Arena in Fable (the first one), and was a bit disappointed I couldn't grind more in it. I enjoyed the Oblivion Arena too, though at the same time it disgusted me.

 

Games like Tales of Destiny (my favorite game of all time. The only game I've finished from start to finish countless times 5-6 times I think?) and Star Ocean utilize arena's great too but they are way more "skill-based".

 

How do you keep an Arena both challenging, and consistent in a tactical RPG like P:E?

[Character Death]

Argh! This is so frustrating "Oh crap my main is dying... guess I'll see the death scene again and be forced to reload ah well *shrug* not like I've already seen it a couple of hundreds of times already *shakes fist*" (even worse is: "I haven't save in like 5 levels of this dungeon because it's been a breeze all the way until this freaking room and... oh well... guess I'll play something else" which is entirely my own damned fault xD)

 

I think this is some sort of coding thing linked back with the older games and older technology (I think?)... and I hope it isn't an issue today. So let us be able to bring our main character to the temple and ress him please :D there's also the question of "Lore" though, in Baldur's Gate (at least). When one of them *Spoilerspawn* dies they can't be ressed? It might be that too and have nothing to do with olden technology of the computer craft.

[Automatic regeneration of hit points during combat]

Please correct me if the Obs devs are still considering another system of regeneration.

 

Yes. They're considering the system I described in the first paragraph.

http://www.formspring.me/JESawyer

 

Note that Feargus also answered a question about automatic regeneration of HP with "yes and no". He was thinking about endurance and health probably.

 

Thank you I have nothing further to add. I am not necessarily against regeneration, I would just prefer it to be excluded. In terms of regeneration I'd rather see it as something "High level"-only and/or artifacts like Jarmo suggests (i.e., Ring of Regeneration).

[A Personal Rant Concerning Character Customization]

I'm bipolar, personally.

 

I love to tweak for hours, but I also love to "get on with it already!". I spent countless hours with Shadowkeeper and DLTCP just to get the right color palette on my characters. I even made duplicates of the armor my character's were wearing just so I could get the right color to fit with their Portrait appearance. I also spent less than a minute pressing "O.k." getting the first pre-generated character appearance there is.

 

Sometimes I like to customize, sometimes I don't. This is mostly a replaybility feature though, and I would love to see something akin to Baldur's Gate (just taken one or two more steps further).

[Orcs - discussion]

And i thing that putting orc intu the lure whould by much more realistic, and easy than "godlike-race" pff .

 

Who is to say that Orc's aren't a "Godlike"-race in the world of P:E? it all comes down to the lore.

[If you wanted another class...]

Other: Dragoon or Dragon Knight.... hmm... would be interesting to see a completely new take on it "Kragoon"!!

 

However, like Ieo and others say, I think we've got enough classes for now. Additional classes either in expansions, further down development (if there's an idea, time and money for it) or future installments (sequels, prequels, next IP etc. etc.).

[Chanters' Harmony]

This brings up the following question: Should classes have synergies and combinations between them? Could two Fighter's in your party have a "stance-mode" that they both could utilize together? Should two Mage's be able to power up each other's spells? etc. Could a Fighter+Paladin have something? A Ranger+Rogue? etc.

 

edit. e.g., could other classes harmonize between/with each other?

[Orcs - discussion]

I had to edit the savegame and change the race title to Orc on my Half-Orc, because it didn't exist in the game and I wanted an Orc. But as this is its own story, I'm sure that Orcs and Drow could be something "new". I can understand if this is a touchy subject because Drow has always been in a certain "way"... in this case perhaps something equivalent oof the two could exist but presented differently (e.g., new lore, not so hated, looked down upon, fear etc. etc.).

 

A noble honored Orc Clan in the midst that are respected by Barbarians for their ways, or a Drow faction that acts like a Robin Hood-ish thing from the shadows. Something different when I was researching Drows:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trow_(folklore) found the enemy of the Chanter xD

[Minimizing Save scumming. Or is it too much of a hassle?]

I've said it before and I'll say it again. An optional prevent_save() function is trivial to implement. All it takes is a variable check on the part of the save function, a BetweenSaveTimer, and some way to actually set the variable, like maybe a line in a .ini text file or an obscure option in a setup menu. I'm just not sure whether enough people have this problem of compulsive saving to justify the extra programming time. Of course I'm not sure that would satisfy every compulsive saver here. Some may not be satisfied unless no one else is allowed to "save scum" either. To them, what other people are allowed to do may be more important than what they are allowed to do. I think certain people are just used to getting console friendly features in most games nowadays. In console games the anti-save-scummer faction is a large majority. A scary thought, but I guess that's just the way it is with console games.

 

A good question to ask the Dev's, I'm sure; "How much, approximately, extra programming time would/could this take?" a bit of a "too early" question to ask as well though probably maybe...

[Minimizing Save scumming. Or is it too much of a hassle?]

I see that my comment about a second playthrough being a cheat like saves has been ignored.

 

EDIT: also hugs

How do you respond to it but agree? There is also the question of "I used these companions on my first play but on my second play a completely different set", hence changing the circumstances and tactical management completely making the upcoming battle entirely different. Of course I'd know the battle would be around the corner still. Maybe I'm a lower level, maybe I'm a higher level. Maybe I took a different route, maybe I'm playing more evil and previously I played more good how does that change the battle? Maybe I am part of the Bandit's faction taking out the Nobility this time but on my previous playthrough I was defending the Nobility from the Bandit's etc. etc. there's so many unknown factors between first playthrough and second playthrough with games like these. You won't make the same choices twice (unless, you know, you want to play the same path/way twice of course).

 

There's also difficulty taken into account, perhaps you played on Casual the first time, and now you want more of a challenge on your second playthrough. Perhaps it is the other way around, you played Hardcore the first time and the second time you want more of a breeze and you play on Casual.... see? There's so many "If's", "But's" and "Maybe's". I understand how it could be "cheating" playing the game a second time, but I fail to see the relevance.... edit: or is it the other way around? I understand the relevance but fail to see how it's cheating? xD I'm very tired...

[Minimizing Save scumming. Or is it too much of a hassle?]

Scientific Method:

http://www.sciencebu...fic_method2.gif

 

Ask Question:

Can you improve on the IE games save function? Can you improve on the save function altogether in a video game?

 

Do Background Research:

I think we got this covered but for the sake of it... only going to use "RPG" elements

A* Diablo uses a Checkpoint system. You'll always start off from the "Beginning" of the level. Waypoints help you get back on track though.

B* Baldur's Gate uses a "Free" system where you can save at any point in the game. Very flexible as every player can choose their own "preference" (Self-discipline) but also very easy to "abuse".

C* Final Fantasy uses a combination of the two, wherein you can save at any point on the world map, with "Fixed" save points in dungeons.

 

Graph:

Can save?

0's = False

1's = True

 

A: Save anywhere

[111111111111111]

 

B: Each "1" corresponds to an Act. Act 1, Act 2, Act 3 in this case.

[100001000010000]

 

C: Each "0" corresponds to a Dungeon. Dungeons do most commonly have a Save point as you enter them, and right before a boss (most commonly the case).

[111011101110111]

 

Construct Hypothesis:

It could be possible to improve on the system of saving by giving more options but keeping the core of the game, it would not be an improvement on "Saving" exactly; It would rather be an improvement on the "Player" control and decision-making. Does the player want to save all the time? Does the player want to challenge him-/herself by limiting how much he/she can save? To make it easier, in this case we'll use Baldur's Gate gameplay as an example. By giving the player choice, in an "Options Interface" of A, B, C (See Background Research) the player would be able to choose the system they prefer the most, the way the game plays would not be different.

 

Test with an experiment:

This one's all yours Obsidian.

 

EDIT: But from a designing perspective (not meant for Obsidian, really, more reassuring the population of the forums), perhaps designing the game to be able to "Save everywhere" in mind might be a good idea, so that it can be restricted further down the line? If you have 2 apples you can split it in more pieces than restricting it with just 1 apple after all... bad metaphor but I think it makes the point(?).

[How could I miss this!? Obsidian SoundCloud]

I have a good feeling about this... a very good feeling :D

http://soundcloud.co...n-entertainment

 

Yep, pretty much it. Just wanted to share this here, in case anyone has missed it like I did.

 

Liked and following.

 

EDIT: Yep what Canteousent says below, here it is (Update #14):

http://forums.obsidian.net/topic/60901-update-14-the-music-of-project-eternity/

[Pack-A-Mule]

I think they have something equivalent in mind. There's going to be a "soul" type character following you around... a "spirit" thing (a third-party Morte floating about), I don't know if it's going to fill this mule purpose or not but there's some consideration (from devs) that seem to be hint towards something... similar... :D

[Minimizing Save scumming. Or is it too much of a hassle?]

Errr..... let's see here.... I think Sawyer (or one of the other devs?) said something about map travel is going to be something akin to Icewind Dale and Baldur's Gate (wrong?). I've been reading so many threads so I won't even bother looking for the source... sorry :/ if anyone else can confirm this knowledge (for credibility) that'd be much appreciated (or if you know which thread I'm talking about you could link it perhaps?).

 

What I am speculating on, if the above paragraph is correct, is that we'll see "areas". One suggestion to lessen the save scumming could be to drop "Campsites" or some other Save "thing", 2 times per area. You'll have to return to these areas to save. It wouldn't necessarily remove the save spamming (because you could just simply drop one of the "Save Point", engage in a fight, return to your player generated "Save Point" and save, then repeat). It's the best solution I've heard though, which gives the best of 2 worlds.

 

It is practically Baldur's Gate saving anywhere with a twist. Another solution is to limit the times you can save in each area, with a slider (difficulty option?). "Unlimited" "10 times per area" "5 times" etc. etc. 1 time per area would be as low as you can go. This way it'll purely be your own choice and preference. Then it'll be your fault for save spamming, which it all comes down to anyways.

[Automatic regeneration of hit points during combat]

We've had tons of discussions about this, I think the "no regeneration at all" is the verdict (speculation) at this point. You only heal by spells (cure light wounds and friends), (health) potions and resting. I think that's that at least? Please correct me if the Obs devs are still considering another system of regeneration.

 

EDIT:

I would like to see all kinds of regeneration inducing artifacts, since those are my favorite and really streamline gameplay.

(only really come to play out of combat though)

 

Though I haven't seen this thrown into the discussion before and it kind of flirts with me

[So I Left the Guy Naked in the Adventurer's Hall...]

I really only have an issue with this:

 

Should NPC have their own money stock to buy with and items that they can use and sell?

NPC should be paper dolls I dress and undress.

The other option is, I think, very hard to design. This requires your Companion to have an advanced AI, or you need to sit and tweak the AI beforehand etc. etc. "This is what you should buy Moron, not this!" etc. etc. I want full control

 

* I want my companions to even rob me off my money if they feel inclined to do so a la their personalities.

* With the above said, I'm totally down with sharing earnings with companions and think it's not more than right that I do.

* The Gift thing is an excellent awesome idea and I want to endorse it great mate

[Paladins and Bards]

I don't get why its so important to a few people not to include certain classes, if you don't like them, don't play them.

 

It's not always about wanting to exclude certain classes; it's about trade-offs in resource allocation. Do you want Bards or do you want, say, an underwater adventure? If you don't particularly want to play Bards then you might prefer the underwater adventure.

 

No matter. We're all getting something we want or we wouldn't be here.

 

I'm looking at it from the opposite side. Without the Bard Chanter, the Underwater adventure won't be there because the Chanter God hails from tales of a Siren that lured in good men and taught them how to sing for her pleasure.... *shrug* see where I'm getting at?

 

I believe that the more classes there are, the more adventures, culture, religions, in-game ideas, stories, lore there's going to be. Though, at some point you might need to balance it carefully (I'm thinking about the Disgaea games, they're the opposite, tons of endless classes, races, levels, little story in comparison to all you can do "out of story").

[The Monk Class]

This is all I can say about the Monk class really:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRSzBzgVEUA&feature=related

Towards the end o.o Monk's are in balance with their essence, with their physical being. Watching this guy move (in comparison with the average joe in yellow) you'll understand what I'm talking about. I always feel that Monk's in games get portrayed as some sort of "earthy" hard hitters. Again, I wish to endorse the Vagabond manga (it is absolutely fantastic), displaying an absolutely great display of realistic monks.

 

There's also Avatar: The Last Airbender, every monk is on a path to find all four elements within him-/herself in a sense. Which feels like one of the moralities of Avatar Aang's journey ^^

 

EDIT: I can only one thing which also this video so very well displays in the early seconds of this video:

 

"It will be broken"

[What kind of dialog mechanic you want?]

Bump;

 

Voice Auditions, I am sure that many of your fans would do this for free and you could hand-pick who/why/how. Cost effective too.

 

There was at least one other thread suggesting this, which I can't find, and I think most of the arguments against could be boiled down to "logistical nightmare for auditions and scheduling and flying in to use proper audio equipment" etc. etc. It sounds neat on its face, but I think it'd be very impractical.

 

True! Didn't think of that, I've got a studio in my living room xD

 

But modern recording equipment today could suffice. You hardly need an isolated studio to make great sound. All you need is a good enough microphone and Garageband <3

 

Anyways Ieo, I just wanted to throw that out there (about the auditions) just in case Obs want voice overs. Best place for resources on the voice acting (and much cheaper/for free) is probably by asking the fans. There are many talented people out there, with the proper gear and proper skills.

 

Most of all, personally, I would love to have the dialogue and sound editing to be as much of a breeze as possible so I can do my own voice over post-release.

[What kind of dialog mechanic you want?]

Bump;

 

Voice Auditions, I am sure that many of your fans would do this for free and you could hand-pick who/why/how. Cost effective too.