Osvir

Which wouldn't or shouldn't be impossible in the least, quite the opposite. Import one picture and it should "overwrite" or "copy" itself to all the "sub-folders" (so to speak) and be the prioritized image in all states. So if you import, I dunno, Pierce Brosnan (really? That's the first one on top of my head?), you would ofc get Pierce Brosnan. Then you could modify it for "Poisoned", "Asleep", "Weak" etc. etc. The idea is to keep the old & easy of the IE games, but with potential to enhance the expressions depending on "Status Effect".

Every Might and Magic game after 3 had this and it wasn't just for health. The portrait changed based on various conditions like insanity, paralysis, weakness, poisoned, etc. The new Might and Magic game by Ubisoft will also have this feature. Brilliant! :D The point I was/is making is that Obsidian wouldn't need to put any Art resources on it because simplicity and cost-efficiency (but programmers would ofc have to spend some resources on it). It'd suffice if they only made the "Normal" state and left everything else alone BUT keeping "Hurt", "Weak", "Asleep" in a Folder-setup or in-code somehow so that Amateur Artists/Modders could fill in the blanks. A) Obsidian doesn't have to spend too much resources on it*, as I believe it would be fairly simple to code as well: IF [Poisoned] = Show [Portrait#1JAHNormal] Modders/Artists could open [Portrait#1JAHNormal], modify it a little bit, rename it into [Portrait#1JAHPoison] and insert it: IF [Poisoned] = Show [Portrait#1JAHPoison] B) IF Obsidian leaves this out and allows Artists to take on a sort of "sub-role" to fill in the blanks, it'll allow the Community and Gamers from all over to grow closer to the game. Fallout 3, Oblivion, Morrowind, New Vegas, Skyrim and all of the mod heavy games becomes better psychologically when Fans have touched the games. Mods make the games not just "better" mechanically, but spiritually and emotionally it leaves a little bit of a joyful tear in my heart that "The People" have taken a part in the creation of the full product and enhanced it Post-Release. * Unless it's something that Obsidian think they can and want to spend resources on of course. I wouldn't know, I'm just trying to get this idea through and at the same time present the idea of "you don't need to spend too much resources/money on this". I'm just thinking "for simplicity's sake", fwiw.

Agreed about Mass Effect. But I believe there is a better method. The pop-up method just doesn't suit me. I like the TES version of it, where you have to open the book first and start reading, then you get a pop-up "You have a new Quest!" or "New Codex Entry!". The pop-up thing in Mass Effect is easy to ignore because it's an action-oriented game and I might be in the midst of combat when it pops up. The physical copies of the IE and TES games are good fun, in a roleplaying sense too. You can give different books to your different characters because it would be relate-able to them and take up inventory slots. I hope PE does a similar method too. Whilst I am on the subject: Libraries? It would be kind of cool to have a Library Bookshelf that has different "Picture" states. If the Bookshelf is 50% filled with 50% of the Lore in the world, it could have a "50% Filled Picture" state. This could occur manually (find books and drop them in the bookshelf inventory, by going to the Stronghold and click on the Bookshelf) or automatically (as soon as you open a book wherever in the world, it is collected to the library). I get some Scholar Talent ideas w/ this book collection idea ~the more books you collect the higher chance of getting a "Learned" Talent or something? It makes collecting books more fun, I believe, as it gives a "sense of purpose" to collect books.

I'm the same. Which is why I think expiring potions is a good solution to give potions more use, otherwise they might end up stacking up in my inventory. Potential usage, that I can see with it: A) Use a Potion before it Expires (Should be able to walk through maybe a 2 to 3 story dungeon without a potion expiring) B) Potion Expires = Polarized Effect ([Heal Stamina] becomes [Damage Stamina]) C) Potion Expires = Use as a component to create a new potion that might have "Positive" effect or "Negative" effect D) Potion Expires = Use Alchemy to reverse effects (~Make 2 [Damage Stamina] into 1 [Heal Stamina] Potion) E) Stashed Potions should never Expire F) Potions, if Expiring Potions is in, should be a degenerating effect. It shouldn't go from [Fresh] to [Rotten] straight away, but maybe from [Fresh] (100% Effect) into [Good] (90% Effect) Over a longer period of time. Check my other large post on something that could work well imo. Or for inspirational material. Maybe be able to combine components to make a [Fresh] Potion last longer, or by combining 2 [Good] Potions you create a [Fresh] Potion. All those potions that I hoard in the IE games suddenly has more use. That is if Expiring Potions is something Obsidian would want in their Crafting system. BUT! I have never really played any of the IE games on the hardest hardest difficulty, saving it for Project Eternity and from what other people say about the IE games is that potions become more important in harder difficulties. I expect that I will use Potions more frequently when I play PE, because I intend to consider their usage much more than I have previously.

Isometric perspective. Kind of "top down" perspective. 1. Baldur's Gate 2. Icewind Dale 3. Planescape Torment 4. While I'm still at it: Project Eternity No First Person.

Something that none of these Lore stuff games have taken into consideration is.... I think it'd be wise to go into another aspect first. So, first of all: BG, BG2, IWD, PST, Skyrim and all of those games are WAY more intriguing than the Mass Effect or Dragon Age method. You pick up a virtual copy of a Book in-game and then you open it and read it. I read a lot of lore from BG, BG2, IWD, TES. In Mass Effect and Dragon Age I don't. Why? I can't say for sure, but there is a certain different "emotion" I think to picking up a book and reading it page by page. In Mass Effect and Dragon Age it's just a cluttered clutter of cluttering information. It's so much! Everything has a name, everything has a short story, look at something and *pop* "You've got a new codex entry". It becomes a lot. I am of the opinion that virtual in-game books ("physical stuff you can pick up") is more interesting than the ME or DA method. Anyways, back to what I was going to talk about from the very start. Some rather complex stuff I believe and I don't think Obsidian would have the resources for it: Story reading around the camp fire. Companion reaction to some of the lore or some of the books. Equip a book onto a Companion and he might recite some words later~ yep, kind of complex and easy to miss by the majority of players. When me and my friend played Baldur's Gate, we used to have some story sessions where one of us read aloud, great fun. As for the thread title question: I'll read most of them, might ignore a couple of them. I like to read descriptions and books. I also want to manipulate the information from time to time if possible, maybe finding an uncomplete book that's missing a couple of crucial words and I can go on a quest to find the true words supposed to be there. Or perhaps even be able to write in a couple of false pages in another book and then distribute it. Then some random generic villager #2 might recite a passage or whatnot from the book "The famous lord Ulfer went and took a dance at the ball and pissed himself on the floor!" or whatever I choose to put in there. Whilst I'm already at it. I want a blank manual Journal and Quest management Option (optional on/off thing). No auto-updates but I would have to observe the world and the things that go on in it and then write my own clues and ideas. Instead of "Updated my Journal = Go West" I'd have to fully read what the Quest Giver is saying and then write down my own notes. I want to cast spells that have blank descriptions and then after I've cast it I want to write out what it was I just saw, heck, even the damage too (which I could see in the Combat Log).

People want to pledge more money and get to a higher tier I think. Which is why it is, personally, surprising it isn't up already. More money = More PE. I don't know if you can get a higher tier by simply giving more via the Slacker Backer pledge. Can you? Regardless, thinking about it a lil bit.... because the fulfillment site has gotten a little bit of "hype" somewhat, it'd probably be excellent to release it at the same time as the "First Look" video comes out. People might go "I didn't just get a First Look treat!? I got the fulfillment site treat too!!! Yaaay!". Kind of the same reaction as Kingdom Hearts 3 got after they revealed more about Final Fantasy XV. But at a lesser level (of course). Otherwise, they could work on a proper fulfillment site until they decide to do a PE2 Kickstarter (if they choose to do that model again) and start off the PE2 campaign with a proper site right off the bat. There's most traffic (I think) during the Kickstarter campaign period after all, and that's where the big bucks are. More people would be inclined to heighten their tiers after a week or two (what with salary and all). But I dunno if people would appreciate that too much~ I don't care too much about the fulfillment site to be honest, but it seems like it could be a nice thing to have. I'd probably up my pledge a lil bit. There should be an option "Do you want rewards or not?" in my opinion, because I kind of just want to up my pledge to Beta Tier but I don't care much about the physical rewards.

I want to throw in "Expiring Potions" and "Ideas for creating items with negative attributes that people will actually use?" as well into here, mostly to raise awareness of the topic. I think it fits the same bin. SHAMELESS PROMOTION!!11 1. Crafting Components [Potions] w/ Expiring Potions 2. Items & Potions that give a temporary or "semi-permanent" boost with side-effects (Gulp 5 potions and you throw up, but you can fight for longer than you would've been able to previously)

I believe in a sort of philosophical extraordinaire as a last boss. Something that makes the Player question their experience in the game world as a whole, the final page of the book. In many ways the last boss doesn't even have to be "the end" of the book either. An epilogue chapter would be nice for various reasons (you can add end-game content into it, such as my Stronghold Defense Mini-Game idea*, you can also close the "story" nicely too). As for Mid-Bosses (Disgaea reference) and such, I think they can be put into the world without much "reason" a la "This is a bad guy defeat him". They serve more or less as "obstacles" anyways, but it'd be nice if they too had depth to them. It's also a little bit "eye of the beholder" (as in: Watching art, subjective, not the eye of the beholder). What else did I want to squeeze into this post?? Right! Haitani, a brilliant display (in my opinion) of a mid-boss that is tipping on the edge of being "Badass Last Boss" and "Badass Mid-Boss going Last Boss". You don't quite know what his objective is, except that he is spurring on the protagonist to his own goals. Haitani wants to achieve goals, and he'd probably sacrifice himself in doing so as well, because he understands that he is only a chess piece in his own scheme. He is not the King, but he appears throughout the story of Zetman time and time again as this annoyingly powerful character that just plays with the "Hero". A manipulative S.O.B. I find him very intriguing, intelligent. But he's not quite the Gannon or Bowser material that people talk about in this thread, yet he's definitely someone or something that could reappear in several sequels depending on how such a personality type is handled. I've talked about this one before in other threads (Haitani), but it's a brilliant (imo) display of a great model for a sort of "deep", "mysterious agenda" type villain. Additionally, he outright helps the hero several times, but only so that he can achieve his own goals. Another twist is to have someone of the VIP's be the main bad guy. Aloth, Forton, Edair, Sagani etc. etc. or even potentially become the bad guy. Though, then I'm talking about dynamic last bosses and that'd get hard to do, probably. Imagine picking up Aloth, he's bratty or whatnot, then at the end he's a monster Wizard who's been playing you for fools all the time. Or something. I don't think this model would be very appreciated though, unless done in a very good manner. I could see lots of "Damn, I just lost my Wizard that I've been playing with all game! And now I don't have a replacement!!! Gaaah!"-complaints and stuff. So maybe not. But I'm just brainstorming through it. * TL;DR @link: Being able to talk to someone at the Stronghold to set up a "Defend your Stronghold!" mission and play it as much as you want~ self-challenging stuff~

Potion Overdose: www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0Gx8hYi0hQ

Admittedly, and explanatory, in Revelations (on my playthrough) I did kind of get bored of the defensive missions, and the more I leveled my Assassin's, the less "Defender" missions I wanted to do. I became more prone to stop a defensive mission from even starting to begin with the more time that carried on. The moment the map flashed in some manner indicating that I would have to play a "Tower Defense" mission to not lose a point on the map I stopped it from even happening. That, in my opinion, was the flaw of Revelations. Because I liked the Tower Defense missions in the beginning of the game, but it was so tedious to run across the entire map to defend the points. And when you finally can defend the points by "remote" it's not interesting anymore (by getting "Master Assassins" who can defend the towers by themselves). It should've almost been the other way around, in Revelations (i.e: defend the positions on remote from the very start). So, what do I want to say? The "remote" function was a great feature in Revelations... but the problem was that when you get it you don't want to defend any more points because you've gotten tired of it. All I ask for is that if Obsidian are considering a "remote" function for the Stronghold Defense missions is to hand it out early enough that it can be used before "Defending" has become a chore. Additionally: Do not send wave upon wave upon wave of enemies too frequently. In Revelations it became, eventually, "AGAIN!?". Though you had like 15-20 points to defend. The Stronghold is just a single point. Still! Don't send Bandits and Factions at it too often, I think. Aaaaand finally: Are you considering Stronghold Defense End Game Missions? (A sort of unlockable Bonus?) "When you finish the game you can challenge the Stronghold Defense Survival with endless waves of enemies!" or something I don't even know what the Stronghold defensive missions are going to be like but for some reason I envision them being awesome! - Import your End-Game Savefile - Play Stronghold Defense or Stronghold Attack - Modify Extra Adventurer's Hall Companions (Optional) - Endless Waves/Time Trial. Compare scores/wave completion with community~ Why am I suggesting this?? Because I realized that Stronghold defense can be a very fun game in itself, I used to play em a lot (lots of Tower Defense and Castle Defense games). But if we get too few in the core game experience, it'll leave a sour tooth a la "I want more but I'll have to start all over!" and if it's too many in the core game experience it's going to be "What a bore....". With a sort of "Challenge Enemy Waves!" Game Mode the Player can moderate how much he wants to play it (specially if there's only a few instances in the core game experience). If not an Unlockable "Post-Completion" Game Mode, maybe you can go to some "Butler" or some "Manager" at the Stronghold and enter some psuedo-experience giving "Stronghold Defense" Game Mode and moderate how much you want to play the defensive mode as a "Mini-Game" with no impact on Experience, Story and with no "Weapon/Item/Thing" Rewards. Simply, "Stronghold Defense Mini-Game". Kind of... "I really liked the Stronghold Defense missions but I felt there were quite a few of them so I can go talk to this [Character] and play some more". .... and suddenly I'm starting to think about Multiplayer, but I think I'm going to drop that before I go overboard I'm just brainstorming!! Note to self and everyone else: Read Ieo's signature But maybe something to consider for future installments if you come to the same Multiplayer Stronghold conclusions as I do. One Defends a Stronghold, the other besieges it. 2 Parties with only Adventurer Hall companions or co-op defensive, or co-op besieging.... aaaah!!! *stops*

I'm with you. But I'll probably explore the game several times and try different builds (3 party game, 4 party game, traditional 6 party game, lots of adventurer hall companions on one game, Solo on one game. Ultimate Hardcore of Pain Mode+Difficulty+ Mods mode etc. etc.) I believe I will also assess the importance of the Stronghold during actual Gameplay. "Do I really want to get this?" etc. etc. depends on circumstance. However, Tim says in the update "You will be offered the Stronghold before Act 1 is done"... makes me curious... let's take the instance where I say "No". Is it permanently "No" or is it "Maybe later"? Does someone else take control of the Stronghold if I say "No"? (Some random Faction or a good/bad-relationship Faction?) Because it would be kind of interesting to see how that could be handled, let's say I say "No" to the Stronghold right away and continue on my journey. Later in the game, maybe in mid-Act 2 or late-Act 2 I can besiege it or do some sort of Quest to "take it". Of course, all the upgrades and such would be a little bit behind compared to if I had grabbed it right away but...... it was my choice to do so right? Similarly... a bit complex perhaps but... depending on which Faction gets the Stronghold (If I choose "No"), maybe there could be some "Faction" relevant Upgrades that are already finished? Perhaps even, but this is most complex, get some "unique" Faction items or Faction upgrades done to the Stronghold if someone else becomes owner of the Stronghold. Guard Faction = They'll upgrade the Armory the most if you're not the owner. Wizard Faction = They'll upgrade the Library the most if you're not the owner. Rogue Faction = They'll upgrade the Mission-relevant section if you're not the owner (or something "Information" or "Spying" relevant). Furthermore, turning it around, something I asked a couple of pages ago... what happens if I say "Yes" to the Stronghold the second I can get it and later in the game I lose it to some Faction. Do we simply barge in and destroy as many intruders as possible until they run away? And also, a little bit "gamifying" but it makes sense somewhat.... about being "notified" of an attack on the Stronghold. Assassin's Creed: Revelations got a pretty neat mechanic where you can defend your points on the map "on remote". Could the notifications kind of work like that? "Defend the Stronghold!" but you don't really need to walk back, instead you get to control your "Adventurer's Hall"+VIP companions stationed at the Stronghold and defend it "On remote"... so to speak. I think it could be a nice little feature instead of "Gosh now I have to walk back through the world map to the Stronghold, deal with the attackers and then go back to this place". It could be: "Okay I'll take control of my guys over at the Stronghold and then when it's done I'll get back to where I left off with my adventuring party". This too should be optional of course a la some notification~ (carrier pigeon) "Do you want to go home to base or should we take care of it?", maybe I want to go all the way back and flank the attacking enemies or my adventuring party is much stronger than what I have in the Stronghold (safety first, sometimes). Finally: If the attack is immensely powerful, could you ask for aid from friendly Factions? - "There's no end to them!!" - "Run to the pigeon nest! Quick! We have to get reinforcements!!" or send some runner or something

TEP The Eternity Project ^^

First impression: Real-Time w/ 2 (Version 2? Too?) Now to read. Sorry xD

What about medical measures? Bandages? Needle and thread? Maybe some medieval aspirin for a magically invoked headache some sort of natural herb? Will there be doctors in the game that can "heal" health, and if PE decides to have some of it, will there be ways for the Player to learn some of it? I'm thinking of a sort of hybrid/combination between Plague Doctors (Assassin's Creed, Location based) and First Aid/Doctor (Fallout, Skill based) elements. Will there be injuries, can you treat them? Can you get permanent injuries too? (Lose an eye, hand, leg, get some sort of sickness~) The latter is a sort of suggestion for the hardest hardest difficulty. It'd be a sort of achievement to get through the game all battered and worn, with only one arm, partial blindness, heart problems and whatnot and managing to defeat the last poss whilst being handicapped. Difficult as **** but tactically "manageable". Of course, the game should already be super difficult without this, I'm just asking for an element to make it even more difficult based on "Luck" (I guess).

Our ranged weapons do good damage, but can't compete blow-for-blow with two-handed melee weapons. The exceptions to this are firearms, but they are relatively inaccurate and slow to reload. Sounds very reasonable. Got to jump straight to curiosity: Is it too soon to discuss/reveal "Rules of Engagement (Ranged)"? ;D Are you considering "Line of Fire" elements? (Got an ally in front of the shot = Lower Accuracy, potential Friendly Fire*?) * Strike through for some sort of effect *shrug* I'm still curious if Ranged weaponry can handle Friendly Fire in a RTwP environment or if it is a difficult element to handle for Archery in a game like this. It's not something I can say that I've seen 100% for sure, about 80% sure I've seen it. I do recall having seen it in some Turn-Based semi-hexgrid deal where you can potentially shoot your own units if they are in the way... can't remember which game though..... right Disgaea... but that's for targeted abilities. So not really the same thing I'm flirting with.

Playing some ToEE, got me a nice little Ranger. Anyways, something struck me as I was playing it. Not because it is a mechanic in ToEE or anything, but I keep moving my Ranger into an open "Line of Sight" position (because it makes sense to me, and it becomes a little bit more immersive). If not flirting with "Friendly Fire" as a feature for Archers, could you get an Accuracy Plus or Minus depending on obstacles in the line of fire? In essence: If you have a Figher in your Line of Fire, could that affect the Line of Fire somehow? "You lo se 25% chance to hit" or something. Just thought I'd press this into the discussion. - Target is not obstructed by an ally or object: Higher chance to hit - Target is obstructed by an ally or object: Lower chance to hit Makes sense? Thus, positioning becomes more important but you can still hit an enemy that is obstructed.... and possibly Friendly Fire

I'll bite. Design your own life brother, Obsidian isn't responsible for your actions in your life. If fights start in your family it isn't Obsidian's fault, but probably something on your end. But aaah, some ideas... you have many choices but I'll go through 3 rather basic ones. Pick one or combine as you please: A) Neglect your family, play the video game for 24 hours a day and isolate yourself in the basement and hide away. Fights will ensue no doubt. B) Invite your family to the experience. Reward your children by giving them the controller if they do their homework. The wife should like that (possibly). Oh, and help your children with the homework too for bonus points. Make choices in the game with the family. Take turns playing. Make it into an optional family "event" for those who are interested in joining in ("Game night" or whatever). Maybe even "Bedtime Gaming" for the children before bed, making it into a "Bedtime Story" but with the game instead of a book (I don't know the age of your children though, PE might be rather gritty, gory and dark). C) Play a couple of hours a week. 1 hour every other day maybe. Make sure that you are clear that this is your alone time for meditative reasons or whatnot. Do you have any hobby already that you spend time with? Can you replace it with PE for the duration you are playing? Because I wouldn't believe you are glued to your wife 100% of the time anyways. Combine with . Play extra when you have time and/or is free (if you get home before the family or whatnot). Lay the bricks day by day. Finally: Discuss with your wife when the game has actually come out, I suppose, and you are actually playing it. Make sure you prioritize in a logical way depending on your situation in life and depending on the day. Play reasonably, eat your vegetables and don't forget your real life friends and family. Baldur's Gate had a reminder during the loading screen sometimes: "Just because the characters in game doesn't need to eat, doesn't mean you don't have to!" or something like that xD I suppose there could be some messages like that during loading screens? "You have played this game for 53 hours straight! Have you eaten anything yet?"

We already know there won't be resurrection/raise dead magic in PE, nor (much) healing magic for that matter, so that one's out. Animating them as zombie minions sounds cool though. Macabre, but cool. Sounds awesome. Become a mythical figure a la Count Dracula (conceptually). Is the Stronghold a sort of "Landowner" type deal (what with taxes and all) or can it be an isolated and individual location not necessarily tied to a deed of land? Or is the Stronghold tied to a Players "faction"? What kind of upgrades can we see the Stronghold undergo? Infernal? Undead? (as spoken of before) Druidic? Human? Dwarvish~? (Tunnels/Underground) Wizard Tower? Or is it a "Various different aspects" type of Stronghold? (The Library can upgrade to a Wizards Tower, the west wing into an armory etc. etc.).

I want to chime in with these two chaps. Great update, the Stronghold sounds exciting :D the notification business is really the only thing that made me raise a curious eyebrow a la "How will this be handled?". Of course it is nice to get notified so that you can defend the place, but getting spammed and/or getting informed in another situation where I am engaged and/or immersed will break the experience. Kind of: "What an awesome place I am in, the story is great, the enemies are challeng.... *beep beep beep* ... stronghold attacked!?!? Need to defend!!". And also getting notified in the middle of a battle and hearing "You are being attacked!!" could get stressful. How exactly do you get notified? And can you somehow "turn off" the notification (I.E: telling your stronghold management team "Don't notify me when I am out in the world"). Or is it "notified" between instances? (When you are about to exit or enter an new area) Some ideas: - Messenger Birds & Messengers, Runners (Over land) - As for Dungeons I think there could be a Stronghold upgrade (depending on how Cipher's work) that allows a Cipher to telepathically communicate with your character. - Running out of a dungeon and finding a dead messenger near a random small spawned mob (3-4 units) that carries a message "You are being attacked!!". This allows me to possibly finish an entire dungeon (or as I need to go and make a pit stop near a camping area) and get also get immersed into the sense of protecting my castle (after all, how long has the messenger been lying there? Maybe I'll return to the stronghold and it is heavily under siege). Final questions: What happens if the Stronghold is lost to the attackers? Who are the attackers and who can they be? (Rival Factions or random mobs of enemies?) In case other "powers" can occupy the Stronghold, how does that affect the land around it and how does it affect Factions? Can I also send parties on expeditions to explore the reaches outside the Player explorable world in PE? (Outside of the map pretty much) Again, great update and great features :D I'm really looking forward to this game experience.

I like your points, but these 2 I wanted to just discuss and go a little bit further with. 1. I agree. Similarly, Leliana's (Dragon Age: Origins) presentation in one of the first trailers was awesome. It was like she was casting a spell when she made the Acid Arrow or whatnot. Arrow Spells or whatnot could have a sort of "Casting Time". As if they are Chanting or Vocalizing the spell "Turn to ashes!" and then fire a fire arrow. The issue, in my opinion (now that I think about it) is that many of these "Magical Arrow" spells (such as "Volley of arrows!") is that they are instant cast, instant effect. But aah, I went off-track a bit. Just really wanted to say that I do think that the concept of "Volley of Arrows" is a nice ability, but in DA2 (specially DA2) it was an "Every battle, every time" type of ability that you could use over and over and over again. Furthermore, "Arrows" is kind of an Archers "mana points". Can Arrow/Bow Spells work with an "Arrow Points" mechanic? Volley of Arrows = Deals more damage the more arrows you have (Consumes 1/2 Arrows Used/Damage potential higher/lower depending on how many arrows used). Maybe the AoE gets wider/larger the more arrows are used in the ability. Fire Arrow = Deals Arrow*2+Fire Damage (Consumes Arrow) Not to forget to mention combo-spells, what happens if a Wizard and an Archer collaborates in their attacks? 1 concept that comes to mind: Wizard opens a portal in front of archer, and one portal above enemy. Archer shoots one arrow into portal, Wizard absorbs the energy and shoots a volley of magical arrow-like energy out at the enemy (or something). Consumes = You won't be able to pick up any of the arrows consumed after usage. Etc. etc. 4. The difference is range really. You can one-shot a Wolf with a two-handed sword, but there is risk involved and you might lose health (and even possibly die, I've done it several times on some of my BG games and lost my Fighter or Monk to the wolf-beasts in the starting area = Game over). There is no risk involved whatsoever with the use of a bow. I like both the risk the Fighter is put in, and I also like the safety the Archer is in. The only real issue I have is that there is almost too much safety and no risk for the Archer-type in the IE games.

1. Friendly fire One thing that IE games lacked was simulation of terrain height differences. In reality archers would tend to pick spots where they can shoot over obstacles - but as that's not possible in this game, I think we just need to imagine that's what the archers in the game are doing. I think it'd be a mistake to implement a simple 2D collision detection based FF mechanic. FF is potentially a good idea though. I think the game should first wait for a "critical fumble" of sorts and then check if there's someone (a friend or enemy) close to the intended target or along the line of fire - not the other way around. That said, I'd hate it if FF is a major concern that's used to balance otherwise overpowered archers. At least I'd like my squad to have a good enough AI that they don't shoot each other - make them prefer targets that are safe to pick and side-step when someone gets in the way. 2. Environmental concerns While rain and foliage do make archery more difficult, they can also make actively avoiding arrows more difficult. It's hard to evade in time if it's hard to see the release of the arrow. And for obvious reasons a humid swamp would be deadly if you have no shield and you're facing an archer. (As an aside note: I hope the terrain type is a factor in this game.) But I do agree that blindness would make archery mostly useless and potentially dangerous to allies. 3. Aimed Shots/GUI Shots How much archers arch their shots depends only on the range of the enemy. That's how they aim for range. If you try to shoot an arrow at half speed you lose 75% of the kinetic energy and most of your accuracy. My main concern, throughout my entire post, is that Archers do kind of get a powerful free "auto-attack" ability which rivals the power of glass cannons in many RPGs and action games. Archers tend to be a powerful asset. This is something I think should be balanced. 1. Great points! And I agree mostly and what you say makes sense. I still think Friendly Fire is a viable solution, but dice rolls is a bit of a risky stretch a la "My bow-user might shoot my Fighter in the back if I use his bow hmmm" which kind of sucks. That's why I thought that "line of fire" shots would be a great solution. But you brought up the aspect I forgot, and that's the AI. I could simply position myself so that the AI archers are shooting their own allies in the back. BUT! I do think close-combat in PE isn't like the IE games though, if you are engaged in a fight in close combat you won't be able to re-position yourself as easily as you can in the IE games. Coding the AI to simply shoot to get a clear shot (without hitting their allies in the back) is the only issue in that case. A picture to explain what I'm thinking: Grey dots = Player Characters Black dots = AI A = Close-combat~ there is no real reason to why the Archer dots are outside the circle but thought it'd be easier to focus in on the area like that. There is an escape route from B's clear line of fire, but that might make the enemy close-combat combatant interrupt the movement and deal a lot of damage to our own character too. B = Enemy Archer has a clear line of fire on our Fighter. C = Our own Archer has a wide open fire on the enemy Archer. This is the best option in this situation, our Fighter is way out of line of fire so there is no "risk" that we'll hit an ally. A clear shot to take out their Archer with our own Archer. Use all the chess pieces to deal with the battle type of deal. [EDIT]Furthermore, non of the Archers are "locked" in any sort of engagement so they are "free" to move as they please without interruption. So in the case of our Fighter being able to make the move without taking damage from the AI Fighter, the enemy Archer can re-position[/EDIT] If Close-Combat in PE is in any way like I think it is (like the above) and even moving your Fighter (in this case) out of the position might make their Archer deal damage to you for moving away from it, then maybe there is a possibility to code the AI to not shoot their allies in the backs, and it'd be a risky move for the Player to even try to abuse it in the first place (Engagement Circle stuff, Josh talked about it in an update some time ago). FF naturally makes Archers more of a potential hazard in corridors, and instantly they aren't as "overpowered" in closed quarters. Perk idea: "Shoot over shoulder - As a masterful and accurate fancy pants Archer you can now securely aim and shoot past your friends terrified faces. Give's an X% chance to hit over your allies shoulder" = Practically it'd give a chance to shoot "through" your Allies as seen in the IE games. Who is to say that some higher level AI enemies couldn't have perks too after all? 2. Makes sense, great points. Didn't think about the difficulty of evading in rain and such 3. Aimed shots were kind of a supplement of 1, an extension or expansion to the idea in point 1. Give the Player control of how they want to shoot their arrows akin to how a Wizard shoots their spells, but with an Archer-twist to it. My wish is that Archers are kind of handled like Wizards, but perhaps in a more skill-shot kind of way, or give them a tactical "overwatch" type of utility purpose. In the IE games it feels as if Archers are shooting powerful spells every turn. Furthermore, in DA:O Leliana was weak (in my opinion, I might've built all my Archers in a bad way though), and the point I want to make is that simply making Archers "weaker" and deal less damage overall might work but it could also fail miserably. To give some sort of "realism" or "authenticity", an Archer was a powerful asset on the battlefield and a skilled archer should be (imo) a threat to consider. I think that Friendly Fire gives a load of tactical challenges for the Player that gives more depth to the combat system. I do love the raw power of an Archer in the IE games. It's satisfying, but at the same time they pack so much advantage with very little disadvantage to them. Thus I'm thinking out of my own preference: Keep the power of them, but give them more "risk" to the Player. That's really it imo, the bows in the IE games are lovely, the only thing they are lacking is a sense of "risk". And no, again, I don't think dice-rolls is a good option for an auto-attack as I think it'd be too chaotic and way too risky (but I think a Player chosen Perk with a dice roll mechanic when you decide to take a chance and shoot through one of your allies is very viable). Additonally: 4. Others have said it, but limiting how many arrows you can carry in the "Top of the Pack" is a really nice idea too for balance sake. That sort of "resource management" is great, and it also makes you "count your bullets" in a sense. I think that arrows should be something you can collect from fallen enemies too (dice roll stuff, some arrows might break, some might be whole). As a footnote I want to specifically say that these FF thoughts aren't directed towards "Casual Play" but, as I usually direct the attention, towards a Hard/Hardcore Difficulty Play.

Might've already been said before but... just because you steal something do you have to get the whole Guard house sent after you? They really have nothing better to do? Jokes aside, I would like to dive deeper into the aspect of getting caught: - Parley. Come to a sort of compromise. - Got good reputation with the guards? "I'm the thief? He's the thief!" (of course, you should only be able to do so once or twice until the Guards start to suspect you are playing them for fools) - Reputation playing a part in how "whatever-form-of-guard" catches you. - Culture. In some cultures there won't be any guards (either because they aren't, frankly, nearby or because they are corrupt) and the person you're stealing from might turn around and start hitting you instead. Self-Defense. Doesn't mean that the entire village needs to go mad, but more of an "Eye for an Eye!" mentality and a feud to settle between 2 individuals (the Player/Thief and the Target/Victim). They could hit hard too if they have any weapons on them~ - Pickpocketing is an art of sleight of hand, you won't have time to pause the game and go through their inventories, panties and hearts. You should only be able to steal some coin and/or some hand-held weaponry (a sword hanging on a hilt, a gun, dagger etc. etc). Stealing a piece of Chest Armor isn't something you pickpocket, it's something you rob from their houses. Robbery and Pickpocketing is not the same. [Robbery] could be an interesting mechanic though I realize, practically go up to some dude, wave your sword, gun, wand, or whatever at the guy's face and threaten him "Take off your armor.. now!". [Robbery] = Threaten+Pickpocketing Build? /Brainstorm End

This just hit me, awkwardly enough: In DA:O, Skyrim etc. etc. people modify the character models to get more "Character Modifications" and "Edits" and similar. In the IE games you don't worry too much about the paperdoll per say, but the artistic character portraits. Isn't "Portrait" customization (in essence) the same thing but a different format?

Depends on who is reading it. I like to dig deep and analyze various perspectives because I think it's fun to do so