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Remmirath

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Everything posted by Remmirath

  1. Remmirath
    No problem. It doesn't, because I figure that with the isometric style they'll be probably not much larger than the old sprites were, so it'll likely be about the same level of perceivable detail. I could be wrong about that, of course, and then I'd want more options. Skin and hair colour I definitely think should be changeable, and I do think that having at least one or two different options for hair and facial hair would be a plus -- but I'd be fine with just one hairstyle. I suppose my main point is that if there is a portrait, I rely on the portrait to represent what the character looks like, and then I just want the model to not conflict with that in too noticable a fashion. After giving it some more thought, height and build are also things that I think would be nice if they are there, but I probably won't miss them too much if they aren't.
  2. Remmirath
    It's rather easy to not engage in frequent reloading, and I don't see any problem with frequent saving. I often play through both Icewind Dale and Baldur's Gate with a limited number of reloads, or occasionally with none -- but I do keep saving often, because there's always the chance that the power will go off or flicker, or that you'll have to stop playing and do something else. If you haven't saved recently in a case like that, then you have to go back from the last place you could save even though you were doing just fine in the game. Save and quit could work for one of those instances, but not for the other. So, I prefer being able to save anywhere (except for places such as in dialogue or in combat). Basically, you can easily choose not to save or reload if doing so is a possibility, but you can't choose to save or reload if doing so isn't a possibility. If some people want to reload every time something goes minorly wrong, I don't see how that has any effect on how anybody else plays the game. I wouldn't, surely, but they aren't making me do it. Granted, if there is an autosave feature, that will automatically save -- but it's still up to you whether or not you choose to reload from it or from a point farther back if something goes wrong.
  3. Remmirath
    for what its worth, they aren't going to be sprites. Yeah, wrong word there. I know that they are not going to be actual sprites, but the right term for it escaped me at the time (long day) -- thanks for pointing it out, though. I suppose just going with "character models" would've been better. Anyhow, my basic opinion on the matter is still the same.
  4. Remmirath
    Either way can work perfectly well, and I like them both -- but I loved reading all the descriptive bits in edition to the dialogue in Planescape: Torment. It gave a much different feeling. Of course, that feeling might not be appropriate for the game, and so whichever works best for it is in the end what I'd prefer, be it one or the other or somewhere in between. In a vacuum, though, I prefer lots of descriptive text.
  5. Remmirath
    I like a fairly slow level process, and I very definitely prefer the characters not to all level up at the same time -- be this from them acquiring XP at a different rate, or ideally, from having different amounts of XP needed to level up. I would hope to have each character level up no more often than once every two or three sessions spent playing. It should feel like an achievement, not something that you expect to happen every time you play. Also, as much as I love having extremely powerful characters at the end of a long game or series, I also love having very weak characters at the beginning who can get killed very easily, and swift levelling up tends to more or less eliminate that step. Getting to around level ten or so over the course of a fairly long game sounds about right, particularly with the possibility of expansions and sequels and all -- and even without those, I think it would still be fine. Although, I think it would be best if the level or XP cap were about twice that, since if you replay through on the Heart of Fury style mode it would be nice to still level up a few times.
  6. Remmirath
    I strongly prefer rolling, although I'm not averse to a pointbuy such as in Icewind Dale II -- when it's one-for-one, and you can subtract down to three if you like. I don't like it where you have to pay a certain value to get up to a certain stat, and I don't like it when you can't get a stat lower than eight without having a racial penalty. I like occasionally making characters who have a few truly awful stats. I don't usually take the first straight roll of the dice, true, but I do take the first one that works for what I have in mind. Also, sometimes I like to play through and just take the first roll and go with it. I found the pointbuy system in Neverwinter Nights and Knights of the Old Republic to be extremely limiting and aggravating, so I would at least like to have a larger pool than that available if a pointbuy were used. Not that I like having characters with all of their stats being high, but I like to have the option of it, and it tends to screw over some classes and types of characters if you can only have one or two really good stats. The third option is also okay with me, although it can get a bit tedious if you aren't sure what sort of character you want to make and keep restarting (which is something I have a tendency to do, the first time I play any game). Still, I do find that to be interesting method of stat generation.
  7. Remmirath
    I prefer the portrait and fairly generic sprite with changeable colours method still. It's actually only been very recently that I think that face customisation on models has been catching up, and still, there isn't as much possible variation as there is with portraits -- although this does assume that you can add in custom portraits, which is definitely what I'd hope for. I find that it's easier to imagine the not-very-individual sprite as looking like your character in combination with the portrait than it is to imagine a more detailed model to resemble the portrait if it doesn't. It might be nice if there was just a wee bit more customisation to the sprite (hair lengths, beard/no beard, that kind of thing), but just one hairstyle is to me also fine.
  8. Remmirath
    I might end up choosing the humble Magic Missile. It is something you can rely on at lower levels, and still has at least some utility at higher levels (although significantly less once you stop gaining more missiles). Lightning Bolt and Fireball are also very useful at low levels and keeps their utility longer. Mirror Image is something I almost always end up using, but alone it wouldn't be very useful -- it won't keep you alive all that long if you can't back it up with killing things, after all. Abi-Dalzim's Horrid Wilting, while much higher level, is something I tend to make a lot of use of once I get that high level. One of the best spells for damage, but of course, care must be taken to avoid unfortunate incidents with hitting party members or nearby civilians, so I don't think I'd want it for the only spell. Dragon's Breath + Timestop is my favourite combination in Throne of Bhaal, because damaging and knocking back an area of opponents while not harming your own party members is always nice. I would probably choose one of those, except that being rather high level spells, that could mean I was limited to no spells for most of a game. For clerics, Greater Restoration, for the maximum amount of healing; or Cure Serious Wounds for a lower level but still quite useful one. Wail of the Banshee is also fairly useful, particularly in Icewind Dale II, but as useful as they may sometimes be I'm just not very fond of instant-death sorts of spells, so I wouldn't choose it for the only spell. Finger of Death also helped me scrape through a close battle or two the first time I was playing Baldur's Gate II, but I don't think I'd want it to be the only one. Apparently the answer is that I wouldn't be able to decide, at least not in any remotely timely fashion.
  9. Remmirath
    I think there's something to be said for typing the answer instead of choosing it from a multiple-choice list. It certainly makes for a harder riddle, because often it's fairly easy to figure out what the answer would be from looking at the other options and eliminating them. Now, aside from the math-based ones, I don't recall any of the riddles in either game being particularly difficult to figure out -- it was mostly a matter of finding the right choice down there. On the other hand, typing it in could create some frustration (spelling differences and errors, capitalisation, not precisely the right wording, that sort of thing). So, I think that either one could work, but they both have some drawbacks. Having both available in different situations could be pretty neat. Basing the available answers on intelligence and/or found information would also be a good thing, I think.
  10. Remmirath
    It won't in any way negatively effect playing the game with all the NPC companions along, so why would it be a problem? You don't have to do it. I'm not personally all that fond of enchanting and crafting, but I see no reason to complain about that being there -- a lot of people do like it, and I won't have to use it. And who knows, after a while, I might decide I want to try it out. The full party creation is the single goal that I'm interested in the most, myself. I like to replay games many, many times, and even if I play through once or twice with all of the NPC companions, I think it adds a great deal to the replayability of the game to be able to create your own party. I also just like creating the whole party and roleplaying them (I have actually never finished a playthrough of the Baldur's Gate games taking only NPCs, despite playing through the games at least once a year since they came out and setting out to do so once or twice). The ability to do so is something that I've missed a fair amount in recent games. I've never understood why sometimes people get so upset about optional features. I can see being upset if it were something you would be forced to do, but it isn't.
  11. Remmirath
    Static XP. It evens out in the end anyhow, as while 10 XP means something to begin with, after a few levels it begins to mean very little. I've never really liked the idea that you reach a point where killing, say, a goblin gains you nothing whatsoever -- it may not be a particularly skillful foe, but it does still require some technique and fight to kill, so it makes sense to me that it should gain you at least some experience. That even moreso with tougher opponents that also eventually slide to gaining you nothing with a scaling XP system.
  12. Remmirath
    Hi, I upped my pledge by the $8 yesterday (my username on Kickstarter is the same as it is here) but couldn't think of any title then. Could I be "Obsidian Order's Knight of Chaos"?
  13. Remmirath
    I prefer if the game ends when it ends. Expansions and sequels and all are possible either way, and I find that even in games where I can keep playing after the plot has ended, I don't.
  14. Remmirath
    I'm fairly neutral on whether NPCs have voices or not, really. I'm fine with it if they don't; it doesn't bother me if they do. It's obviously easier and less expensive and all if they don't, so I tend to lean that way. Greetings and the occasional important line is plenty (as in Baldur's Gate or Icewind Dale). Death to the disbeliever! Joking aside, PC voice sets with just the occasional yell and on selects and all are just fine with me, but more than that? No. Having a voiced PC is, in my opinion, the single worst thing that has happened to modern RPGs, even edging out all the other problems I see with them. Obviously some or perhaps even many people like it, and that's great for them and all, but they've got plenty of games to choose from with that now and looking to have more. And, even beyond my (admittedly rather intense) dislike of it, I think it would be completely out of place here.
  15. Remmirath
    I think a variety of undead is good. Mindless undead, I believe, have their place; but intelligent undead are more fearsome and interesting. I do find it more satisfying to finally face down the powerful lich or vampire or other such creature if it was difficult to track it down in the first place as well.
  16. Remmirath
    I've nothing against entirely optional dog companions, but when they aren't optional, I am against them -- for the same reason many people would rather not have a spider, which is to say that I have a phobia of dogs and ending up with one following my character around whether I like it or not tends to put me on edge. It's not so bad in isometric games as it was in the Dragon Age games (I cringed a bit every time my character was interracting with a mabari), but it's still definitely not something I'd want. Something different might be kind of neat, though. Maybe a large reptile of some sort.
  17. Remmirath
    I'm already at my limit, so that probably won't happen. Full party creation was what I would've said before that was announced as a goal, and that was part of what got me to up it to where I am now, so I can't really think of anything -- other than myself being wealthier than I am -- that would get me to break that limit.
  18. Remmirath
    I prefer the Baldur's Gate map to the Baldur's Gate II map. It took me a few times playing through Baldur's Gate to encounter all of the areas, and I like that. It's nice exploring all the smaller areas, especially the ones with something particularly odd or interesting hidden in them; it also makes it quite easy to play the game differently every time.
  19. Remmirath
    The moveable camp idea sounds good to me. That would make it a reasonable challenge to get back to the camp from whatever dungeon or battle you're in, and would eliminate the oddity of resting in the middle of a monster-infested cave (although that is a good way to get attacked anyhow). I think it would be best if you could only have one campsite active at a time, since unless the party was quite large having more than one campsite at a time would seem to be spreading things a bit thin. It would also mean that you'd have to think carefully about where you wanted to place the campsite, or which predetermined one you wanted to use at the time. I like the idea of a potentially fairly punishing injury system as well, especially if PC/companion death isn't in (although I think it would also be cool if it is). Although, if it took realistic amounts of time to heal from some injuries, that would probably be a little too much -- for example, I doubt most people want to wait several months in the camp if their character winds up with a badly broken leg and doesn't have access to healing magic. I do also agree that being able to rest frequently and anywhere doesn't necessarily mean that people will. I typically go as long as possible without resting in Icewind Dale or Baldur's Gate, sometimes deciding that I'll only rest in certain areas and towns.
  20. Remmirath
    I quite agree. It's an interesting idea, and I can see that some people would like it. As an extra option I would not mind it, since I wouldn't have to use it. However, for me at least, it would defeat the entire point of creating your own party -- that being, to create a whole party of your own characters, and roleplay them how you like. If I want NPCs, I'll take the ones that are already there. I see absolutely nothing wrong with how Icewind Dale does it.
  21. Remmirath
    That sort of level scaling is all right, in my opinion, so long as it's done as discretely as it was in Baldur's Gate II. Anything beyond that -- I say kill it with fire. I find it to be rather annoying to wander into an area that should be very difficult at low level and not have any more trouble with it than one would have at high level (I like the sense of the party getting in over their heads in some areas), and it's certainly frustrating for the same things to be just as difficult still at tenth level to kill as they were at first.
  22. Remmirath
    It's my impression that the beginning area of any game will drag eventually, just because it tends to be the part that changes the least with each new playthrough -- and probably also the part you play the most often, if you (like me) sometimes start characters and don't finish playing them all the way through. Characters tend to be the least different at level one, and there isn't really time to branch out and do different things in the story - or at least, that's been so in all the introductory areas I can recall. I've fairly happily played through both Candlekeep and Irenicus' dungeon every time, as well as the Mortuary and Easthaven (although with all there's usually that brief moment of 'ah, now this again'). Targos tends to really get to me, for some reason, though not so much as the Academy in Neverwinter. West Harbor wore on me the most, but that's probably because NWN 2's camera does not agree well with me, and fighting the camera every step of the way makes everything feel more tedious than it otherwise would. Peragus was pretty okay, too. I like all of the first four I mentioned a fair amount, actually, and none of them feel very tedious to me. I think Candlekeep is the shortest of all of those, though, especially since most of the things you can do in it are entirely optional (I usually wind up doing them anyhow, though not always if it doesn't seem in character that time).
  23. Remmirath
    All of the options, really, to some extent. Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale are overall my favourites of those -- although I am also extremely fond of Planescape: Torment, character creation is very important to me (it says quite a lot, for me, that Torment is one of my all-time favourite games even without complete ground-up character creation; it's just that awesome in other ways). Mostly, though, it was the overall style of the earlier games in the list. There have been some newer RPGs that I've liked, certainly, but the isometric style is by far and away my favourite. I've been missing them (well, missing new ones, since it's not as if I stopped playing all of those) for years now.
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