Osvir

Picture the room with the glowing tube hidden by FoW; the party enters through the only door into the room and the two nearest creatures immediately turn to face them. In this case it can be more efficient to pre-position the two facing as shown than to put in the code to have them detect the door opening then turn to face the party. Since the room was hidden by FoW, the player sees no difference between the two approaches. I agree that there is little difference when you put it like that. But! There is a difference still. Because entering the room and then getting vision in the Fog of War and then see them turn is quite a different experience from them already looking towards you. Albeit it is a very slight difference, it is still a difference. In example A, which would be as seen in the picture, you imagine them turning towards you. If a dialogue is initated, "text" could symbolize them turning towards you (even if they already are turned towards you). In essence: - "You notice the blood-stained robes, the knifes and axes in hands and the chittering chatter of what seems to be cultists of some kind. Did they sacrifice something? *gulp* Are we the sacrifice? Turning towards your presence, snickering slightly, one of them begins to speak..." In example B, which is what I was trying to picture, they physically turn before the Players eyes. The above example (A) is an indirect presentation, kind of "But lol! He's already facing me!", this example (B) is a direct presentation. - "You notice the blood-stained robes, the knifes and axes in hands and the chittering chatter of what seems to be cultists of some kind. Did they sacrifice something? *gulp* Are we the sacrifice?" [The Cultists turn towards the party] "Turning towards your presence, snickering slightly, one of them begins to speak..." It does set the scene differently. Does it not? Which I will follow up with a question at Obsidian: What kind of aesthetic~choreography are you looking at when setting scenes? Will it be as rjshae presents or will it be "acted" out (so to speak)? An example to better clarify my question, for instance... a Wizard in his Wizards tower, you enter a library (not an enemy but simply a Wizard). He is looking through his books in his bookshelves for things to read or simply looking for a book he thought he had lost.. regardless.. will he be static and pre-positioned and text in the [Dialogue Tab] explaining what he does in his tower as you enter or will you physically see him roam about? Not talking cutscene per say, but simply a matter of "setting the scene". Is it going to be text-heavy or a combination between text and possibly some "acting" by the character models? Will we see head shakes ("No no, I don't know what you are talking about") and nods ("Yes! I've heard about it")? Shrugs ("Maybe") and arm/hand motions ("Why hello there!")? Will characters "act"? That is pretty much the jist of my question.

Coming back again and taking a closer look, the armor on the party characters looks great :D It's an Animat thing~ right? And these guys with bloodstained robes and stuff... they are cultists no doubt no? I'm getting a feeling they slay adventurers and forge their souls into weapons and armors, just guessing. Looks like Mama Cultist and Papa Cultist is in front, and they might cause a conversation to start. A little bit of a nit-pick: Shouldn't they all be facing the Animat thing in the middle? It looks like they are expecting the party, but how would they know they are coming? (Unless something happened before that caused them to get alarmed) Another thing that could be considered. If these Cultists would "Chant" or whatever, could the volume (Sound) be heightened the closer the Camera is to that area? I'm guessing it could give a nice smooth effect, hearing the songs or talking of these guys the closer you get to this room. OR as you enter the room a conversation starts with the Cultists (I believe they are but please correct me if they are in fact not) and you get to hear in on some of their prayers or whatnot, and when you engage in the conversation they THEN turn towards the Player. Just some choreography~ perhaps you could even choose not to engage in conversation and instead try to sneak by. EDIT: Who is in the scene btw? - Edair close to the door in plate armor? - Aloth holding a wand at the bottom? Wizard? - Cadegund with red hair? Priest? - An Aumaua Barbarian at top? - Test Character/Player Character in red armor? (Fighter no?) - Test Character at the right side of the door or...? A Ranger? Sagani?

I absolutely love it :D No analyze, just by looking at it I get all excited and I want to play it and build my character, story and play around in this world. Now I want to see it in motion!! That would be like.... I think next month, am I right? Speculation: I did some research a while back on Wasteland 2 (from Kickstarter start up to demonstration). I think it was something like 9-10 months in total. So I believe we might see this beauty in motion "soon"-ish. If not next month, I think the month after that. /Speculation End Regardless, good job, love it thanks for showing it to us <3

Why I think Expiring Potions sounds [Good]... Alchemy First of all, it kind of speaks for itself. If a Potion becomes "Rotten" after 10 Days (give or take), then it would make sense if you could use the "Rotten" Potion in different uses. Maybe coat your blade with it, cause a Disease on the enemy, slip down some of it down your enemy's jug of wine during a very intense diplomatic conference, mix it with a "Good" Potion and create a beneficial Potion etc. etc. It's complex though, because depending on how many Potions are in the game, it might be A LOT to take into consideration. But it could also simplify Potion "Crafting" a.k.a. Alchemy: [Fresh] Potion Component [Good] Potion Component [Average] Potion Component [sour] Potion Component [bitter] Potion Component [Rotten] Potion Component I just pulled down the Potion list to 6 Components instead of... what... 10's & 100's? (Potion of Strength, Potion of Endurance, Potion of Speed, Potion of Heroism). It does make potions less individual and unique though and the list of Potions being able to create becomes slimmer. I just think that I might have something here that makes it easier to work with in "Crafting" terms. There could be some 2 unique traits to special potions or to each tier. Main Component: [sour] "A Sour Stamina Potion, said to enrich any who engulfs it with fatigue. Sipping won't do!" Sub-Component: [sweet] "A tone or a hint of sweetness might touch the drinkers lips before tasting the main component" Journal Notes With Expiry dates comes a further implication: - How long does my Potions last? Will the game note it for me for every single potion or would there be a lot of potions that doesn't have it in their description? Could I add it in-game in-journal or in-description? That would be awesome. I want to go into ITEM descriptions and add my own "Lore" so to speak. But that's for another thread. Back to Potions: So I've got a Potion in my inventory for X amount of Days, when it goes bad, I can "write it in". As I understand it I remember there being some talk about a "Codex" of everything you find. You find a book, goes to a large Codex (Gone is the days with Books in your inventory, I believe). Because when a [Good] Potion goes [sour], the Potion is no longer [Good], then I could go to the Journal entry of the [Good] and write how many days it took for it to Expire. This I would enjoy a lot I believe, but it also a lot of "High-Level Roleplay" I suppose. Requires a lot of attention from the Player. Community Crafting I think it speaks for itself: "When does the Potion go bad?" "Can you create a special Potion if you wait 3 out of 10 days and it is still [Good]?" ([Good] goes [sour] in 10 days so... would 1 out of 10 Days give the [Good] a trait? Would 2 out of 10 Days give [Good] a different trait? etc. etc. Maybe more like 4/12 Days gives 1 Trait, 8/12 Days gives 2nd Trait, 12/12 Days = [Good] into [Average]) Lots of talk, lots of discussion, lots of "Community Alchemy" could spawn out of it with no certainty. But that goes for any Crafting system regardless. Unl. Stash, Pack/Inventory & Drops In the Unlimited Stash the Potions could be in some sort of "Stasis" (I.E. They don't go "bad") but as soon as you pick them up into your inventory they begin to "tick". Same would go for Drops obviously, it would be waaaaay too complex if enemies were carrying Potions that were slowly degenerating as time went on (But hey, if it would be possible to create some sort of "Global Timer" I say thumbs up, cus I'd like to see some dynamic events taking place that I can encounter and/or even Miss and encounter on perhaps a 2nd Playthrough *gasp!*). Why I think it could go [Rotten]... Potions handled this way could be complex for the Developers to create. That's it really. Of course, I wouldn't know, but Obsidian has way more experience with Crafting systems than I have and they might even have a better system in mind. But I just thought of throwing this out there for inspiration or whatever, in some sort of simplistic manner. The system I propose could also make Potions too much work for the Player, and it becomes a hoard mode regardless. Potion Belt I remember Josh saying something about a "Potion Belt" that each Character would have, a sort of limited "How many can you carry?" slots in your inventory. So hoarding Potions into your Stash sounds feasible, but the one you "Equip" sounds like they will have more of an Active usage, I.E: You Equip Potions to prepare for what's ahead, not for Hoarding. If the Player puts them on His/Her character = Probable because He/She is going to use them. Otherwise they'll hang around in the Unl. Stash. I'd like to see what could be done with Expiring Potions without causing the Player to loose too much "Control" over it as well. Having Potions go "Bad" when I really wanted to use them for an upcoming boss won't help at all, unless the "Bad" Potion can be used in some sort of utilitarian way. Also want to throw attention to This Post instead of doing a "Copy+Paste". It's from Infinitron's thread "Ideas for creating items with negative attributes that people will actually use?"

Girdle of Femininity/Masculinity is comic relief, I never used it and I usually sell it at first chance. My friend did make a pretty funny, and curiously dumb, Orc Male Warrior who put the girdle on ("Hey! The Ogre was carrying it! Must be good stuff!". He also didn't let me identify it at first, but we had some meta-knowledge of the Girdle before-hand. Regardless, he changed the Picture of his character into a buff female Babarian Warrior and continued a roleplay of it. The Girdle in itself has no positive attributes, but it did allow my friend to make more of it using his imagination. The Berserkering Sword +1 is also, personally, an item with that roleplay element. I put it on Khalid, and for a moment during battle I envisioned him as a Berserker. I roleplayed it myself (Singleplayer) in my own imagination, Khalid picked up the sword to become a warrior with courage and power, something I feel he wants to become. I.E. he wants to become strong so he can protect his friends. Eventually I "Removed Curse" on Khalid, because he did become strong with the sword in hand, and I was tired of reviving our teammates that he struck down (Every battle with Khalid was "Stay away from Khalid or he'll destroy everything around him", that's how strong he became). The effects of the Berserkering Sword is that the party member gets "Berserk" effect and you can't control him, it's a strong weapon with a strong effect, the downside being that as soon as you engage in combat, the character wielding the sword attacks the closest target (Doesn't matter if it is an ally or an enemy). I had lots of fun with it as well before it got annoying, because the combat positioning became very dependant on Khalid, I had to adjust all of my tactics because of 1 character in my party. But I had a lot of "Oh sh..!" moments as well where I was having a battle after every battle, it takes a couple of turns after battle before the one wielding the sword "calms down" so after every battle you have to run away from one of your party members. It was great fun and I have a lot of memories of the battles that took place. There is also a Katana, which might be a mod item, that my friend was wielding. It saps the lifeforce of your character every time they do a critical hit (You lose 1 Endurance temporarily I believe, or permanently). It's a strong weapon, but as I said, you constantly become weaker and weaker by using it. I can't say much about it because my friend didn't use it for too long because it had such a strong "weakening" effect. It was on its way to make his character only have 1 HP (if he had kept it around). It was a strong weapon with a much stronger weakening effect, which takes me to the point of Negative Attributes. Weapons with Negative Attributes or Effects need something that is balanced. The sword I mention in the paragraph above for example; It causes more harm to the Player than it gives. There needs to be some sort of "hard cap" on how weak it can make the Player character. Example/IIRC the Self-Inflicting Lifestealing Katana: - At first when beginning to wield it, it is strong. - After using it long enough, you have 50% Health. At this point the Katana isn't strong enough to justify how weak you've become. - The idea here would be to make the Sword stronger the weaker you become. It saps your life after all, for whatever reason. As it has stolen 10% of your "Soul", it could gain 5% Strength (+5% Strength, -10% Life/Health/Stamina or whatever seems most fitting). If the weapon (The Katana) would have done something like this, heck yes it would have been worth using. Instead it became a "gateway weapon" so to speak. Negative Attributes (Cursed Items, generally) need to be countered and balanced somehow by a Positive Attributes in an interesting manner: "Weeeell, it is a better weapon statistically buuut... it does harm my character"~ not to forget the mention of roleplay value. I have more roleplay value with a "Cursed Item" than I have with a "Regular Item". I also think that Crafted Items and Legendary Items that is tied to the Player also have roleplay value, which is why I want to advocate for "Player Named Legendary Items and Weapons". Specifically weapons, being able to create a unique item in-engine in-game, and not use some toolset for it and then finally name it something like (in my case) "Blade of the Osvirian" and perhaps even add a description to it akin to how you can write in your own In-Game Journal. "Do I keep using this sword that has 5 Damage output or do I use this sword that has 10 Damage output but also gives my character poison in every single battle?" I also wish to chip in Potions here. A Potion with a Positive Effect could be stacked, let's say 3 times: 1st: You get +1 Strength 2nd: You get +1 Strength. Now +2 in total 3rd: You get +2 Strength. Now +4 in total. BUT: * Every other turn your character gets -1 Strength for 5 turns. After 5 turns it means your character is "Weakened" and has -1 Strength. * Additionally, afterwards, your character stays "Weakened" for 10 turns. So you have -1 Strength for 10 turns. * When the battle ends, the "Weakened" status could disappear or stay in effect for 10 "Out of Combat" turns (Meaning that if you encounter a 2nd Mob around a corner, you'd still have -1 Strength, but for maybe 2-3 turns depending on how many "Out of Combat" turns you spent) So what is the Advantage of drinking 3 Potions? - 1 Potion: +1 Strength for 2 Turns - Turn 1, 1 Potion: +1 - Turn 2, 1 Potion: +1 - 2 Potions: +2 Strength for 2 Turn - Turn 1, 2 Potions: +2 - Turn 2, 2 Potions: +2 - 3 Potions: +4 Strength for 1 Turn - Upkeep: -1 Strength/+3 Strength for 1 Turn - Upkeep: -1 Strength/+2 Strength for 1 Turn - Upkeep: -1 Strength/+1 Strength for 1 Turn - Upkeep: -1 Strength/+0 Strength/Standard - Upkeep: -1 Strength/-1 Strength for 10 Turns [EDIT]For an even more "Hardcore" version of it (I was kind of "kind" with the example above but really I'd like to see something like the below): - 1 Potion: +1 Strength/Now +1, Lasts 2 Turns (3 turns effectively, from the point of drinking it) - Turn 1, 1 Potion: +1 Strength - Turn 2, 1 Potion: +1 Strength, Drink 2nd Potion During Turn - 2 Potions: +1 Strength/Now +2, Lasts 2 Turns (3 turns effectively, from the point of drinking it) - Turn 1, 2 Potions: +2 Strength - Turn 2, 2 Potions: +2 Strength, Drink 3rd Potion During Turn - 3 Potions: +2 Strength/Now +4 - Upkeep: -2 Strength/Now +2 - Upkeep: -1 Strength/Now +1 - Upkeep: -2 Strength/Now -1 (Weakened Effect Start 1 Turn) - Upkeep: -1 Strength/Now -2 (Weakened Effect Upkeep 2 Turns) - Upkeep: -2 Strength/Now -4 (Weakened Effect Upkeep 3 Turns) - Weakened Effect Upkeep 7 Turns. Pros With 3 Potions = Negative Effect: + You get Stronger for a "Peak" period of 1 Turn. + You have 9 Turns, if using it as Effectively as you can, where you are on the +Side (+1, +2, +3, +4) Cons With 3 Potions = Negative Effect: - The Weakness is consistent at -4 for 8 Turns. Pros With 2 Potions = No Negative Effects: + You don't get weakened and you have a consistent Strength "boost" for 2 turns. + In Combination with 1 Potions you can get +1 for 2 Turns and +2 for 2 Turns without any negative effects (Effectively speaking: 6 Turns boost) Cons With 2 Potions: - You can still get stronger if you Drink 1 More Potion. I.E. You can achieve a stronger potential, but at the cost of Weakness afterwards. - You have a Boost period of 6 Turns in comparison to the 9 Turns of 3 Potions. Effectively speaking: You'd get a total of... let's see... So you get 6 turns where you get an advantage, and you get 10 turns where you get a disadvantage. Negative Attributes, please BALANCE it with Positive Attributes.[/EDIT] Similarly, drinking a different kind of a Potion that maybe makes your characters faster could perhaps make them sick afterwards or poisoned or something due to the chemical/physical reaction caused by the ingredients. I.E: Your character becomes super fast, lots of adrenaline and lots of energy and they can dodge and attack really fast but drinking too much of the good stuff makes the "overload" basically. A quick "Peak" in power before falling down to a weaker state. "Fly too close to the Sun and your wings get burned and you fall, but for a second or two you were closer than you had ever been to the Sun"

I agree completely about highlighting objects... Though, some pixel hunting would be fun, community-wise something hidden and obscured and mysterious, something you don't just "find" by getting it highlighted for you. It doesn't have to be a magical super artifact of in-game power, but merely being something of "sentimental" value or whatnot. Something that is difficult. There are, as far as I can recall, some other hidden gems like this in older games (Metroid and Super Mario has some sort of secret that I think took near 10 years to discover). But then again, with a toolset that gets difficult to implement perhaps.

What kind of success are you considering here? The company kind or the game kind? "Economical success" or "Successful experience"? Baldur's Gate would most likely not have been as successful for 13 years had the modding community not existed. It would have had its success for 2-3 years with honorable mention. "Longevity" is the keyword here. The modding community keeps the game "alive" and "kicking". Albeit for a "niche" crowd, no doubt about that. It also allows new curious gamers, 13 years down the line, to experience an updated version of a past shadow. It might not make the Company more successful per say, but it definitely makes the Game itself more successful. Let's say the Baldur's Gate modding community keeps Baldur's Gate alive for 10 more years, kids who are 5 now and turn 15 by then, they can experience an updated, developed and creative version. It definitely makes the game successful, and the company gets continuous honorable mention. Long-term "revenue", or long-term "success" without perhaps any "economic success" attached to it. "Passionate success" might be a fitting term for it? I dunno, but something along those lines. Love-for-the-game-success.

Okay, let's see here. I picked... Ultima (though I want to admit only VII). I have hardly played it at all (like... only the very beginning. Don't kill me), but Iolo gives a very good first impression and I felt engaged right away. I don't know why but I think it's a bit of the lore I've read on the game on some big Ultima Bible Wiki. So... the meta-knowledge of what I know of Iolo really colors me, and the history of how he was presented throughout the entirety of the series. Baldur's Gate, I found Khalid, Jaheira, Minsc, Dynaheir and Imoen (I guess... cannon?) really enjoyable in the 30GB modded experience I played. Not asking Obsidian to make a cross-reference in any way but yeah, I just enjoyed it through and through and they really grew on me a lot. I wish that Khalid could man up eventually though, and in my own "imaginarium" I feel he did. Khalid is, in fact, one of my most favorite characters... due to his struggle with his "cowardice" and the dominatrix relationship he has with Jaheira. Both of them, I love them. Specially that Jaheira is a Fighter/Druid is something I liked a lot. Minsc is comic relief and brilliantly written, I had a many laughs with him and Boo Fallout. Wow Fallout. I was keeping everyone alive through and through. They were like my babies in a sense. I saved and loaded many times and managed to keep Dog meat alive for the longest time, actually, I kept him alive throughout the whole game. I was on a mission to keep them alive, it was as if that was my mission. Keep your friends alive. I had like 6-7 companions at the end. It was a great experience, even if I had to save and load a lot. Planescape: Torment. They are just written amazingly well, now I haven't finished PST nor have I gotten too far. In most recent memory I believe Morte was taken from me (I haven't played this game in months, I feel a spiritualistic thing about this game. I play this game when it's the right time, I don't spend time to play it, that's how good this game is). The companions themselves isn't what makes this game great, it is the writing of the game in its ENTIRETY. I can't simply pluck one piece out of it and compare with the rest. KotoR. I invested a lot of time and energy into this game, rushed through it twice to feel both the Light of the Force, but also the Dark. The companions did not matter too much, but I enjoyed their reactions to the choices I made as a main character. In other words, I didn't feel the companions had much of an impact as they were simply followers who did MY bidding and followed my character REGARDLESS of what I did. Dragon Age: Origins. Shale. SHale shale shale. Female Dwarf!?!? :D :D That was amazing. I loved Shale through and through. Shale is one of my favorite characters. Oh, and Sten. I didn't like how I built Sten, but I really liked his dialogue tree and his curious friendship and culture clash with Ferelden. Morrigan captured my heart, I'm a sucker for dangerous chicks (dangerous to my heart ) but I liked her own romance with the dark arts. Oh, and I also REALLY liked Alistair, he was a brother... well... until he wanted to get in mah pants. That was very off-putting, but up until that point I thought he was great. Wynne, experienced woman who I thought was a great mentor to the Grey Warden main character, thought me much sincerity and kindness in many ways. Zevran I really liked due to his openness with his sexuality and his cool and kind of carefree attitude. There was a lot of depth to Zevran in the game, and there was an interesting philosophy to his attitude that I brought with me a little bit out of the game. Go with the flow bro! Mass Effect, I invested a lot of time throughout the 3 installments and yet I have little to say about the companions really. Ashley was cool and she wanted into mah pants, but when I shrugged her off she was bitchy, then she got bro-mode, then she died. Kaiden was bitchy through and through. In many ways I did not like how many of the companions treated Shepard, sorry, COMMANDER Shepard. But that was just my play. Jack, obviously an inspiration of Jack from Chronicles of Riddick but she was badass on many levels. When she got out of prison and you are chasing her down, that was epic on so many levels. I think I found the presentation of the companions in Mass Effect most enjoyable really, but when they were on my team I didn't pay too much attention. I hardly remember their names~ Neverwinter Nights...... why did I vote for that? I didn't invest too much time into that after all. Hmm... oh well, I'll let it stand. Final Fantasy, now you might think this is weird, but I am a huge Final Fantasy fan. I've played all of them and finished all of them. Final Fantasy 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12... okay not all of them but I've invested a lot of time into this series since my childhood. The companions of Final Fantasy VI is by far some of the best companions I've ever dealt with and played with in any game (Apart of Tales of Destiny, which I classify on my own personal list as the best game I have ever played. I love Tales of Destiny's story, characters, lore, history, world-catastrophe, gameplay, but that's not what I intended to write here). Final Fantasy 4: Kain, Edward, Tellas Final Fantasy 5: Faris Final Fantasy 6: Mog, Umaro, Celes, Edgar, Terra, Locke, Cyan, Shadow, Sabin, Gau, SETZER(!), Strago, Relm, Gogo, honestly, so many great companions... no one is really a main character although (I think) we could say Celes and Terra are two strong female protagonists. Final Fantasy 7: Barret, Vincent Final Fantasy 8: ..... can I just skip this Highschool story plx? Okay thanks bye... though... I did like Laguna, Ward and Kiros a lot. They should make Final Fantasy X-2 with that team ONLY. Final Fantasy 9: All of them. I loved all of them. Though Adelbert Steiner was kind of kindergarten in many ways, I did find him enjoyable and loveable. The game wouldn't have been the same with him. A lot of Final Fantasy 9 feels like a sort of blend between a romantic western and a romantic japanese love-story I suppose. We have Amarant who is the mysterious japanese emo, we have the sisterhood of the Garnet/Dagger and Eiko (I love Eiko!!! She reminds me of Pino from Ergo Proxy). And of course, I can't forget the amazing Master Vivi Final Fantasy 10: Wakka and Lulu. These two. Auron is a badass too, but Wakka and Lulu is such a nice blend. Final Fantasy 12: Balthier. That's it really. One of the best written companions I know of. But the point is, the Final Fantasy series as a whole has so many memorable characters in my heart. Which is why I voted for Final Fantasy on the second one, because of the large roster of companions partially, but also because they have a lot of their own unique flair, innovation and depth. I often say that "Quantity is not Quality", but in case of Final Fantasy as a whole and companions, I do think it is. I've also been around Final Fantasy for a very long time and been colored by it a lot. I was weighing this against Planescape: Torment, but the reason why I didn't pick Planescape: Torment should be evident in my explanation above. Planescape: Torment is that good that I can't pick out the companions being "better" than the rest of any of the games. Planescape: Torment is a good game, good story, good characters, good interaction, great experience, great writing through and through. But what really sticks out in Final Fantasy, in my opinion, is many of its brilliant, funny and many memorable, companions. I'm a fanboi, sue me TL;DR: Vote 1: * Ultima * Baldur's Gate * Fallout * Planescape: Torment * Knights of the Old Republic * Dragon Age: Origins (Only Origins) * Mass Effect * Neverwinter Nights (For some reason) * Final Fantasy Vote 2: * Final Fantasy

Getting the modding community behind the Sorcerer's Place, PocketPlane and Spellhold Studios sounds like something that could be very, very beneficial for Project: Eternity. Why? Because they have engaged themselves for over 10 years into Baldur's Gate. That speaks for itself. Getting those sites on-board with Project: Eternity is in fact, I believe, nothing but beneficial. Spellhold and Sorcerer's specifically, as PocketPlane is kind of focused on Baldur's Gate (as a site). The Nexus and Moddb is big, but that isn't necessarily (in my opinion) as "niche" as I believe the modding community would benefit most from. Getting that "niche" audience is what I believe should be the focus from Obsidian. The audience that is willing to support them the most. Similarly, Spellhold, Sorcerer and PocketPlane has most experience and holds most love for the Infinity Engine no doubt, as they are the creative people who have worked with it the most (or at the very least, the longest). PE gets a new engine, but it builds upon (to my understanding) what the Infinity Engine stood for. So I would suggest Obsidian to flirt a little with the guys and girls over at the links

Not necessarily a computer game or anything but... it's a crepe thing in New Orleans. A friend I met in Michigan is setting this up, so I am a little bit biased here but just felt like throwing it out here. It is the Kickstarter Thread right? http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/20336424/flat-jacques-creperie-on-wheels They do a pretty good job with the presentation in my opinion.. but I am biased

Lol, I thought slacker backer was hilarious when it first came. Mostly because *gasp* I didn't back Project: Eternity until about 2~2 1/2 months or so ago (Late April). I was a slacker about it (I.E. "I am going to back this project in some way or another, but not right now"). ^In that context, I do believe I wasn't the only one who lurked these forums and enjoyed these forums discussing the game without having backed it. How many of us slackers were around these forums that didn't back the project originally? in that reference, I think "Slacker Backer" is hilarious, and it reflected on myself and what I was doing at the time. I was slacking with the backing~ although for legit economical reasons that I don't feel I need to get into atm or ever. I don't personally mind "Slacker Backer" being "Slacker Backer", but some of the posts in this thread got a point that it isn't very "inviting". Say, imagine if us here in this community market the game by "word-by-mouth" to friends or whatnot (mentioning it in another forum~promoting etc. etc.) who might not even have known this game was Kickstarted or that it is in development, they haven't shared the journey thus far. "Slacker Backer" doesn't reflect well to those who are new to the information on this forum or about the game altogether. It is like Obsidian (in a sense) would say to people they've never met before "You are a slacker for not knowing about us!". So yeah, might be good to change it. Not a very good first impression if you want to hold hands no?

*skim skim* 2 things I have thought about when it comes to Ranged combat is: 1. Being able to create a firing "arc" akin to how Grenades are used in FPS games nowadays (GUI-wise, you get this arc showing you how the Grenade will be thrown). Perhaps you can manipulate it somehow. A way to avoid "Friendly Fire" or shoot over a tank who is guarding a Wizard or other squishy character. 2. Not kiting, but just having some mobility between shots. - Shoot - Move - Shoot - Move - Shoot A penalty for moving between shots could be longer Aim time (Bows) and longer reload time (Guns). Additionally, a number 3 I came up with mid-post: 3. Aim getting better and better the more you focus on a target (Stationary). First shot might be 25% chance to hit, second shot 35% to hit, third shot 45% to hit etc. etc. a stacking "To Hit" chance. If you switch targets or move it could go down to "0%" again. This could actually work as a Trait or a Perk now that I think about it: "Focus Aim: The more you shoot towards a single target opponent you gain +5% chance to hit for each shot" or something. Now that I think about it even further, why isn't that^ a mechanic to begin with? (For both Melee and Ranged) It makes sense to me that you would get better and better as time goes on when actively doing something. For instance, if I play a Dart throwing game I might be horrible the first two throws, but I also get better at it as I feel the weight of the darts and also see the trajectory of the darts I threw (if I stay focused and concentrated). The 3rd Dart might be a 100% hit because I adjust and try to learn. That goes for bowling, Poi, Staff-play etc. etc. and I believe it would be something that would be realistic in a close-combat as well. I might hit the enemy's shield the first 2 times when I swing my sword, thus when I swing my sword the 3rd time I can adjust my swing to fool my opponent and then get a hit. This is something I actively do on League of Legends, I throw some "false" attacks to fool my opponent that I am horrible at what I am doing, but when it really matters I switch my tactic to "Hit" rather than "Miss" <- If that makes sense. 1. I intentionally miss twice to see how my opponents are moving (I.E I get intelligence on the opponent movements). 2. Thus I heighten my chances To Hit with my 3rd Attack. Darts: 1st Dart might be a 25% hit. I adjust. 2nd Dart might be a 30%-40% hit. I adjust 3rd Dart might be a 40%-50% hit. I adjust etc. etc.

I will crank everything up to be as challenging as possible at first, and when I eventually meet my doom I might lower the settings. I don't usually do this (I usually start at Normal, then I work my way upwards), but ever since I joined this community and have explored lots of old-school PC games (Ultima, Lands of Lore, M&M, Wizardry, Dungeon Master, Betrayal at Krondor etc. etc.) and done lots of research and communication on the subject I've developed a somewhat different mindset than I had before. Not to mention I constantly advocate for Hardcore mode as well. These forums have made me develop as a gamer and person Regardless, I also wish to savor Project: Eternity. I usually swish through a game if it is on anything but "Brutal". For once I want to play a game and take my time learning it on the hardest difficulty. With the pressure of having the hardest hardest difficulty on, it would be required of me as a person (and gamer) to research and analyze the game assets to my best ability... and also do something I almost never do..... reading the manual. @Off-Topic, Manual Learning: I recently read the Dungeon Master manual, and gosh what a great manual. It actually starts off like a book, telling the story through the manual instead of through the game itself. Please consider having some story elements in the manual Obsidian! Some of that Eternity Lore Josh Sawyer posts on his Formspring (Great stuff bro!).

Quoted for truth. This is a non issue. There are no healing potions, it is literally impossible to "potspam" in P:E. The concept, I believe, isn't specifically "Health Pots" but general medicine intake. A. Alcohol: Drink too many bottles of beer and you get drunk, you have a fun time whilst the world is a sail boat. Drink some more and you begin to tip over. B. Medicine: Take way too many aspirin and you'll probably find yourself with a worse headache than the one you had before you took em. C. Fiction-Herb Salve: You got Bleed Effects on your left leg and you are now limping? Put on some Coagulation Salve squeezed from some medicinal bush leaves, but if you put on too much you might get a stiff leg and will continue to limp (but the bleed effect is gone at least). D. Chemical Drugs: Take some morphin and you'll ease the pain and make you funny. Take too many and your organs can take permanent damage and in worst case, death. It's a fantasy universe with Magic and hopefully it has alchemy, what kind of "funny"-juice-experimental magic liquids can there be? Not to mention monster blood as an ingredient. What kind of effects does it have on an Aumaua? Human? Orlan? Elf? Etc. etc. Not that I am suggesting that Alchemy should be different effects depending on race, but there is tons of stuff to work with I am sure to make more potions than simply generic "Health Potion" and "Mana Potion"~ which isn't what I think Cultist was going for. I like the idea. But to polish it a little bit I'd like to add in that I feel it needs some incentive to go overboard as well. Drink 1 Potion and you get a normal, controlled effect. Drink 2 Potions and you get a little bit of a boost. Drink 3 Potions and you get a chaotic effect, a temporary boost but lasting consequences. 1 Beer "Potion", Saloon~ Suave 2 Beer "Potions", Tipsy 3 Beer "Potions", "Yaaarr!!" *moments later* "Uuueegh..."

I don't know about you but I've always viewed Project: Eternity as Project: Eternity. No one has led me to believe anything else. I imagine that those who do take all that "spiritual successor" too much to heart and overblowing it into larger-than-is proportions lead themselves into believing these things. It's like conspiracy. Our minds tends to put things into patterns making us see what we want to see, regardless if it is true or false. There was a good article about this about a recent Half-Life 3 conspiracy~ something to do with a release of a Surgeon game and some sort of Korean patch. Some guy went into it deeeep and appearantly came to some sort of conclusion that Half-Life 3 was going to be unveiled September this year, but it was debunked by Valve.

I think we should just outright complain about hands in PE. Hands are OP. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qMHNFOtjYk

What about "Animat" Guns? (Soul Guns pretty much) Weapons powered by the same type of energy that powers the Animat Factories. Need to make a stand-alone topic about this... Soulpunk

This is something I have wondered for quite a while, with PE being a fantasy setting (with magic)+having some psuedo-fantasy-technology that seems rather "advanced" (The animat factory for instance). What other sorts of "powder" could exist in PE? What can you load your arquebus with? Let's play with the fantasy a little bit, what kind of "ammo" could it allow for in this premise? Could you blast a close-ranged static cloud of dust onto an enemy that shocks them? Sparkles of electricity~ (envision a Blunderbuss going off and all that smoke coming out of it actually forms a "cloud" that deals magical damage or inflicts a magical effect). Weaker than actual magic of course, but could it function like some sort of Single-Shot Tech-Magic? (That still requires long reload times) Could other elements be combined with the powder?

I never said that you require a single-sort of spell to stop a Death Spell. I like options too, and different ways to stop things or use things are always fun and tactical. I'll repeat myself: "Death Spells should require a 100% sure hit" - This means that a Level 1 Protect Spell could defend against 25%. - If the enemy weakens me with confuse, silence, stun, poison etc. etc. that would heighten the chances of a sure hit. - Additionally: Some death spells could be conditional or having "requirements". "Cast Honey Poison first to follow up with Demon Killer Hornets".

What I am suggesting is leave it up to the Player to "Resist Death" instead of basing it on a "Lucky Dice Roll". That's why what I am trying to continuously suggest is the same as "Resist Meteor Spell" and "Resist Death Spell" in the context of what I am suggesting. I am not suggesting "Hey guys let's bring back the lucky dice rolls Death Spells from the IE games". No. I am trying to suggest something new that the Player can control. Kind of like Dark Souls (this is an extreme example/concept of what I am suggesting): if you don't dodge the Dragon on the bridge, you are most likely dead <- Death-Effect. But you can dodge it, right? The complaints seem to be, in this thread at least, that Death Spells in the IE games were "Hit or Miss" Spells based on lucky rolls. If they hit, you are dead. If they miss, nothing. So what I am suggesting is to remove the chaos of "Luck" and implement "Awareness", "Reaction", "Tactics" and "Skill" elements regarding Death Spells for "Balance's Sake". EDIT: I am suggesting the implementation of "tools" (options) for the Player to defend themselves against Death Spells. 1. Enemy casts "You die"-Spell 2. Player casts "I think not"-Spell

You are talking about going back to the mage combat puzzle that was most of BG2, no thanks. I want my combat to be less about .... "Ok so the mage has these buffs and is chanting this spell... lets get my mages to cast that to counter this and...." It is not fun, it isn't tactical. It is RPG Combat via tic tac toe. I have no issue with mages calling a meteor out of the sky that will kill me if I don't do "something". But that could be taking the mage out, silencing them, moving out of the aoe, buffing myself to survive it, using an ability that cancels out the mages powers, whatever. That's fine. I can counter that in lots of ways, heck... if my party is strong enough it may actually be able to survive even if it gets hit eventually. There is no surviving a death spell though. No spell if not stopped or mitigated should simply "kill you" the end. *scratches head* But that is exactly what I am suggesting for Death Spells. I also want to note that I'm not suggesting Death Spells around every corner. Instead Death Spells (if present in PE) should be something very very rare. I did suggest 2 or 3 spells? Thinking about it I really mean 2 or 3 encounters.

That is not what he said Osvir. He said he was opposed to save or die effects and they would not be in the game because they always came down to "Did I make my save?" or "Did I have my hard counter buff prepared to block the spell in advance?". Power word kill can be defended against if you have more than 50 hp, but if you dont? Save or die. He said there would be no abilities like that in game. In short, there will be no instant death spells or effects. It will never be "Have buff or die" in PE, those are hard counter spells and buffs and he specifically said he was against them and they had no place in the game. The fact that many posters keep overlooking the reality in that PE has no rezzing doesn't help. This isn't BG where "Oh gosh imoen died, well Jaheria cast raise dead....lol". When you die in PE you dead, game over, you aren't coming back. I know, and I didn't even talk about anything you brought up in your post. I am opposed to that sort of thing as well. Let me simplify my post: The IE games = Save-or-Die, Prepare-or-Die, Meta-or-Die What I am suggesting = React-or-Die What this basically mean is that, okay, you forgot to save, your opponent begins to channel a Death Spell. Well ****. What do you do about it? Can you stop it in combat? Can you react to it and turn the tide? That is what I am talking about in my post. "Is there some other way to handle Death Spells that you can counter with 'on the fly' reaction instead of Meta or Preparation?" <- <- <- <- That is what I am trying to bring to light. I am Anti-Save-or-Die Effects as well, but I am not Anti-Death Spells, as long as there are some Anti-"Death Spell"-Spells that fire faster than Death Spells in combat (That got complicated quickly, or did it?). Let's try this instead: Anti-"Save-or-Die" Spells

Uhm... I meant "then the AI should be able to defend against Death Spells". I was tired.

Error on my part. Thanks for spotting it ^^ reading too fast+reacting to it without "consideration" is a bad idea

I'm doing some Project Eternity research on their Official wikia and came across this: http://eternity.gamepedia.com/Class Notice that it says "multi-classing is also under construction" (also note that the last revision was February 2013). Something to simply consider, doesn't mean that Multi-Classing will be in PE but merely that Obsidian might think about ways for a single Class be able to do a "Multitude" of things within their own Class.