Falkon Swiftblade

They must not know how to optimise images when they're trying to save out the files. If it's a matter of making sure the image is below a file size there's a few different ways to do so. One way is changing the ppi or dpi. In Photoshop you can choose the actual output file size by changing the dpi to 72-96 or the canvas size to a fixed resolution. You can typically reduce a file size by 65-70% before it get's gross looking. Also using starting with a 16 bit or 32 bit image and saving it out to 8 bit will reduce it a lot. The biggest issue is the images they're using has a ton of information in it. It would be better to just use 1 image that's standard for loading every time that is like a logo, or a black and white sketch, concept art, or an animated gif file that would likely be much less than 1 meg and still convey the scene. It could even be a movie file of smoke or any number of effect's you want to use that was transparent on a black background, and it would free up a ton of space or memory.

As far as the transparency of the log goes Kaz, I think all ya need is to do a gradient overlay so the bottom part in the log remains black for the distance of the border and fades into transparent like it is now, just maybe 10-20% darker. And for the portrait's it actually might fit the context to emboss or bevel them like a picture frame. Also as far as darker characters names, that needs to change - the color of the names, not the bg color. I'd probably only use 3 classes of colors for names. Hero's or main NPC's, Neutral NPC's, and minor NPC's.

my only issue with either too slow a level progression or too fast, is having to use the same skills OVER and over and over... I don't like spamming the same attack the whole game. But at the same time, if you have all the skills to use and not enough chances to use them, then it sucks since you spent 40 hours with like 6 skills, and only have like 8 hours to use 20.

ok, its still good enough.

will there be a 1080p version? watching now.

Is this really the last patch before live? I wonder how their white board looks like. Are you guys making a dent in the bug reports? Do you give your staff a day to ever work on one thing in game they want to vs stuff they are told to do? I almost got a job at 38 studios right before they went bankrupt and that was one of the things they did there that was really great everyone was talking about. Great work so far, and really thanks for staying in the loop with us and listening to feedback and we can tell you're working hard. Here's wishing everyone many productive days.

just out of curiosity, why not go with a spherical hud similar to temple of elemental evil? I think one of the issues that people are facing is the shear amount of choices, and the fact that you have to keep clicking all over the map on targets and on your player or portrait or enemies for micromanagement. To me, it would make a lot more sense to keep everything centered around the battlefield. If I click on my hero, it should pop up a semi transparent circle of choices to buff myself or whatever skill that would be a passive non combative skill for example. This may have a second or 3rd tier associated based upon small tabs, such as level one or level three for example. Then for attacking it might work similarly, if I'm going to cast fireball for example, since it's a combat related skill, when I right click on the target it brings up a combat related ui to choose what spell I want to use. When I finally left click the mouse it activates the spell and I can quickly move my mouse to choose a new target instead of moving it all over the screen. The ui I'm mentioning shouldn't be any more obtrusive because it's case sensitive, when I need it it pops up, when I click off the character or monster it goes away. I don't have access to the game files to create a decent mock up of what I'm saying, but I suspect it would look something like this, except it wouldn't need text descriptions, it would use the icon's that are already present, and the icon's might not need to be as large. On topic though, overall, Adam brought up almost everything I was thinking, but I do think of the one's shared so far aesthetically I think your's is very nice.

Justin, I'm confused by the work on the video vs the kickstarter goal to have a developers commentary. Is the commentary like an audio file that we can play as we go through the game, sort of like a dvd commentary by the director? Are there unlockables in the game such as audio or art, or how is the extra goodies being handled? I mean I know the soundtrack is separate, but wasn't sure how you guys are planning on implementing the dev stuff.

Off Topic, but Bobby, no one has mentioned anything about the crafting or mechanic's of the stronghold. Are you guys actively working on it? I feel like because it is completely optional, it may not have been tested as much as the rest of the game. Can you tell us if the items we craft are the same things that drop in the world, or why we would want to use crafted items vs loot drops?

that 150 was interior and exterior maps based upon joshes input. He also mentioned the total for BG2 but I can't recall, I wanna say he said 180 to 220 range.

are there companion themes like some jrpgs have? And I've tried asking the next question about 7 times and I can't get it out without involving mentioning story elements that are gonna be spoilers, so I'll just pass. But you asked the fella above if we wanted to know more about it in detail and I would when you have time. I had a few thing's if you have time to put in for sound design I'd like to have in game. Can we have minor and major impact hit's for enemy's, or some kind of critical attack sound such as a victory yell such as ROAAAR or "uh oh, you shouldn't have done that! or 'That was a mistake!'" Or maybe it could be as simple as a laugh or devious laugh for example. Does the trunk sound in the pax sound like that the whole game? It was a bit too loud. I love the idea of that sound, but it was a tad too much. I don't know who handles that stuff between you and the programmers. Sometimes there's a audio programmer on these things and sometimes it's just one audio guy. Do items like the leather sound like leather when you pick them up and set them down in the inventory and chain sound like chain, or is it a general sound for everything?

not the final version, he just submitted a new version that is richer and fuller sounding yesterday internally.

Josh had said in some video the total map count was around 110 vs icewind dale was about 80 i think he said. Also in their internal play through in a week only about half of the dev's made it to the first big city defiance bay, so it sounds like there's a lot of stuff to do! EDIT: as far as traversal goes, as you transition from one zone map to another that is sort of like most games allow you to move from one to another, but each map could take anywhere from 10 min to an hour to get through because initially they use fog of war and you can't see more than a few feet in front of you. Once you see the explored area you can use a fast travel mode which makes you run much faster.

Awww MAN. That dual wielding pistols sounds SO fun! Like, I actually got giddy for a second. Maybe that could be a high level mastery skill or something. Please keep it in game The problem with the pistols is that you need two hands to reload them and they have a long reload time, so it doesn't make a huge amount of sense (though cool) and is considered a bug. The result being if you equip a melee weapon with them you run up attack the enemy with the sword, then attack them with the pistol, then attack them with the sword again. At this point things get a bit broken because when you go to attack with the pistol it needs to be reloaded so you spend the next 3 or so seconds standing around reloading your gun before attacking again with it then attacking with the sword then starting the reload cycle again (which is rather boring). For the Implements though it would be less of an issue as there is no reload stage so you never pause to reload and keep up a constant stream of attacks. So while I see why the pistol is treated as a bug unfortunately the implements are also considered to be a bug even though there description says they are one handed and they don't have the reload problem. aww buggar, I was under the impression pistols had fantasy ammo and didn't require reloading like usually sceptre's typically can be fired as a range weapon indefinitely. So Am I understanding they are designed to be one handed, but not intended to really be one handed and should be treated as a 2 handed weapon that can be equippable from either hand? Also, how is ranged weapons handled in the game like bows/crossbows etc? Do you have to buy ammo or quivers, etc?

how much music is in game vs what what will be on the soundtrack? How large was the orchestra for the biggest piece you wrote? you did a pretty good job combining the sections. I can't tell what was ensemble vs solo sessions.

Great! So are ya saying the stuff linked is not the current version you have created? I don't know if you're already doing it, but one of the thing's I had heard through a live stream that I think would benefit the mixes for the combat music is if you ease in and out of the music more gradually to assist in transitioning to other music. Also, I hope there's a section in the dev commentary you were able to discuss your process for that section or something along those lines. I hope you get a chance to spend in game and hear it all coming together now! hi5

Awww MAN. That dual wielding pistols sounds SO fun! Like, I actually got giddy for a second. Maybe that could be a high level mastery skill or something. Please keep it in game

that's because voices are recorded in mono using the left channel. It shouldn't matter where on screen they are, but the mix should be adjusted for stereo or 5.1 set ups.

there's several brilliant measures in this! I feel like the strings are a bit thin, maybe it was the cello, but overall this is probably very well done for the tone and environment they've created. actually, after listening to it on proper headphones it's much better.

finally I can build my build. actually i kind of agree. My favorite part of one of my favorite books was in the halfling's gem, where Drizzt was surrounded by a bunch of creatures and he managed to hit the baddie 15 times before they knew what hit them! It should probably be a temp effect, or a high level ability, but def something i'd like to have.

is the combat music the old music, or the stuff we heard at pax?

if its the last one, make it a good one! I hope they fix the green and yellow and red cone tie fighter fx graphics. I'm really hoping that's placeholder for now. Some things in game are like a ten, some thing's not sure if serious that's in there.

I thought this was Kevin Smith of Comic and Clerk's fame! That would be cool too!

You'd think they could at least have default ones for the classes, such as attack the closest enemy, or attack with ranged weapons, or attack the wizards, or search for traps. I'm not a programmer, but I do design websites, and I would think it's a few lines of code to add something like that... a bit of a let down.

Well Constantine brought up a good question regarding magical items and crafting. In the IE games, magical items were so few and far in between you had to sacrifice who got what until the very end of the trilogy. Especially if we're going to make a party of wizards for example. I'm sure it's 100% optional to craft, but it would make a big difference on how you spend your time playing, and it would suck to spend a lot of time and money in game only to barely if ever use the items. I hope that the items we craft are not the same one's in the world though. Also, I hope visually magical items don't look like random drops of the common type.