Hormalakh

It was a good system, but it wasn't PnP so we can't say it's Classical RPG. It's one way of doing speech. It's not the only way. We're too stuck in one mindset that we're not willing to look at other possibilities and see how they play out. There may be better ways of doing speech. I hope that OEI iterates on the design idea and comes up with something that's intuitive. Edit: As for FONV, I haven't played that game, but from the Let's Plays that I saw, it was always so obvious which dialogue choice you should pick and everything else was just "filler" for the hard-core RPGers/LARPers. Edit 2: One place where I really liked the way this was implemented was in Arcanum, specifically in two places. One of them was with the dwarf king and learning about the philosophy of dwarves. The dialogue became something that allowed you to learn about the details of dwarven philosophy and later on you were able to utilize that information, if you learned it, to your benefit. Arcanum did it in several places and they felt more alive. (Obviously I can't remember the second palce). Instead of a science check, I'd like to learn that "science" in-game from another NPC and then if I have learned it, to utilize that knowledge later on. Not just have a "dice-roll" telling me I know "science." I'm a science (biology/chemistry) student. That doesn't mean I know physics, it also doesn't mean all biologists know all of biology. Now I'm rambling...

This is just basically insulting Chris Avellone and saying that he doesn't have enough creative talent to do one better than Minsc. That's shameful... I'm kind of tired of the "idiot with hamster" trope anyway...Minsc made this cliche.

You only have 10 options per question. The polling option is designed that way, I had to work around it. Otherwise, yes it would be 1 poll not 2.

I've never liked this whole idea that speech is a skill and you should pick the best answer to win the scenario. That's what these skill checks ultimately do. Usually, the skill check answer doesn't really fit the character I'm playing anyway. In PnP you'd first make your dialogue line, and then the DM would ask for a skill check. It didn't work the other way around. I'm glad Sawyer is "getting rid of it" and rethinking these games for the PC and not rehashing straight from PnP. Edit in regards to stamina/resting, I have some ideas that I wrote up in a new thread for those interested. http://forums.obsidian.net/topic/62931-an-idea-regarding-restingstaminahealth/

Good point, perhaps you can still be random encountered in a city, but the chances are lower (perhaps 20-30%). There are usually city guards protecting the streets afterall. I guess my point is that I don't want "railroading" type mechanics in this sort of game. You should be allowed to do whatever you wish. If you want to rest anywhere, then you can. But there are risks to this and it becomes a legitimate reason why you shouldn't rest. Not just "don't do it because I said so." This should be true with most things in the game. You should be able to do many things, the question is whether the risks are worth the rewards of doing any certain act.

And thus it makes it your decision - and I would think most people would like that. It's a fuzzy scenario and it allows for actual decision making. It allows players more flexibility for those who wish it, and also doesn't lock certain mechanics (resting anywhere) for unknown reasons. As for quieting the masses, I never really care much for that anyway. Different people are different. You can't please everyone. However, it does make any certain action more deliberate and thus more fun, in my opinion.

I do not envy Avellone's job when it comes to interviewing... Some of these people have obviously done no research on the topic before doing these interviews... He's repeating himself. I'm surprised he hasn't torn his hair out by now having to repeat the same answers over and over and over and over and over

Grok crosh menny head toodey. Grok put pees of brain in jernol to remembuh gloreeus dai. I'd rather it be specific to intelligence.

Good luck with that (convincing people games should be tough and sometimes frustrating by design). In any case, the ideas I brought forth do increase tactical decision making when it comes to combat, I believe and still adds to the flavor of the combat within the game. Wouldn't you agree?

So by now most people have read the interview with Mr. Sawyer and I've seen a bit of people griping about how the health/stamina system would be worked and why we're being forced to not rest and other things Josh Sawyer didn't actually come out and say. Anyway, it got me to thinking about the topic(s) and I had two ideas I wanted to share with the developers. I'd also be interested in hearing others' opinions on the ideas. Rest: I would like the resting mechanic to be fairly punishing since Josh is trying to dissuade from degenerate gaming (resting everywhere)... that is to say that you are allowed to rest wherever you wish, but it's a heavily-risky thing to do. You could try to rest in a dungeon, but the chances are very high (90%) that you will be ambushed/attacked while resting. So, this allows for that 10% chance (if you really need to risk it) to rest, but perhaps it allows you to also regain a little bit of health so that when you are ambushed, you can fight back. It's sort of a decision you'd have to make in each scenario. You'd look at the setting (dungeon-type) and the enemies you're likely to see (dragon dungeon would have lots of dragons, for example) and the health that you have and you make an executive decision to either risk the rest or actually hike it back to town. There is no actual "game mechanic" that says you can't rest here. It would just either be suicide or an actual player decision. Now, this whole thing can be made even more complicated if the devs wish (add an outdoorsman/quiet resting skill to reduce ambushes and random encounters, etc) but I've stuck with the main concept for now. Health/stamina: Many people are complaining that the whole health/stamina doesn't work when your health is at extermely low numbers because at that point, you're automatically health-limited by what you can and can't do. Now, I would say that the point is to play well enough to only lose minimal health, but that's another point... Perhaps there could be certain skills/abilities which allow stamina/health ratio losses to change during battle so as to, once again, make this a more deliberate decision. For example, if your wizard casts "magic armor" on you, that will change your health:stamina loss from 2:8 to 1:16. Therefore, while maximizing stamina loss, it limits your losses on health. (Imagine a big giant magic shield that covers you, but everytime you get hit, it knocks you around (and you can have your breath knocked out of you - kind of like how kevlar protects from a bullet, but that doesn't mean you won't get thrown back). Once again the point is to make players who have low health think about risking that next battle or resting (which is also risky) or hiking back to town. It becomes more of a tactical and strategic decision. If you know the next battle will be the last one before you're home free, perhaps your bloodied party would be willing to risk higher stamina loses (and the chance to knock everyone unconscious) instead of resting there (which would just increase the number of battles) or hiking back (which would just take up time). What do you guys think?

You're welcome I was also thinking...this is probably Josh's department or Avellones, but whatever. What would it be like if there were actually orcs in the universe? Perhaps they are non-intelligent monsters/animals and for anyone to be called an "orc" could be an insult. For an Aumaua to be called an "orc" would be extremely insulting in-game. Or perhaps, orcs are known as peaceful creatures. They are dumb and everything, but to be called an orc would be to pay that person respect. "truly you are an orc amongst the Aumaua." This is all because people want/hate/love/don't want orcs in the game.

It looks more like lamellar armor than leather armor. I don't know all the armor names, but I saw another armor type that looked like that and it wasn't called leather. I could be wrong though. Edit: It looks more like a gambeson.

I don't think you're giving yourself enough credit here, friend. You may not be the obvious choice, but rather a diamond in the rough for the observant suitor. You may not realize it but you are growing every day, exceeding all others' expectations. It saddens me to think that someone so inspirational to the rest of us could see their admirable life in such a negative light. You should be as proud of your own accomplishments as we are; alas, even thy modesty doth impress, yon noblest of hearts. The fact of the matter is that you already have all the credentials that you will ever need; it's only a matter of you finding them within yourself. We believe in you, and know that you will be successful in doing so. lol the troll has feelings!!

It's not leather armor.

At the same time, I don't want too beastial.... I DUNNO WHAT I WANT! Polina .... just fix it.

It is a WIP afterall. I do see the fish influence, but I don' tlike hair on my fishes. Get rid of the hair, add some webbed fins (a la Dr. zoidberg) to her head and we may be getting somewhere...

One concern I have is whether dialogue and action will work together in determining things like reputation. You could say you'd like to save all the orphans from the orphanage to the mayor, but actually going about doing it should be more impressive. Similarly, people should be "rewarded" with acting on the things they say. If my player threatens someone, and then acts on it, even that should instill some amount of respect to those around him. Actions speak louder than words and all that...

Overall a very solid interview that made me much more excited about this project. I've never played Josh's games but I've been reading his interviews -like this one- and with him and Tim Cain at the helm, I'm pretty confident this game will turn out pretty good.

And dwarves are short humans. Elves are tall humans.

Would definitely appreciate sacrificing some choices in facial customization for other kinds of customization. If we can have less eye/nose/mouth shapes and more body/hair-shapes/colors that would be better.

Personally, I don't like what the Aumaua look like currently - if that is truly the Aumaua concept sketch. They need to be less like orcs and more like Aumaua. If they're orcish, then just call them Orcs. Don't play this name game without good reason.

I know Prosper was being all polite to you by liking your comment, but I must say your modelling is lacking the raw realism and depth that Prosper's work provides. Do keep trying though. Someday you might evoke that certain feeling that Prosper's work evokes in me.

No I don't reel fatigue then. I just played Arcanum last month, loved it and want to play again in a couple of months. Finished playing BG2 a couple of months before that. Playing Fallout 1, PS:T, Might and Magic 4 and 5 now. Beat Might and Magic 3 four months prior. Haven't played BG1 in a long time, but I might pick it up after my exams. Never played ToEE, but will probably get around to it someday. Played TES:Arena but stopped half-way through. So no fatigue from me. All the games you mentioned are fairly recent. People like me only have games from the 90's to fall back on. Yes, of course we're testy.

The point is though, that older cRPGs are the "new kind of cheese." Gouda and Cheddar? That's all the newer, more modern games.

Disagree with OP. If you're looking for mindless cRPGs there are plenty of those out there currently. Check out the console games. Skyrim, Oblivion, Fallout 3, etc etc etc. We don't have anymore old-school, hardcore, you-get-what-you-put-in type games anymore. I feel that this is a shame. It's like comparing "Harry Potter" to "Crime and Punishment." One is a light read and easy to get through, while the other might take some getting into, but the book ultimately rewards you with thoughtprovoking ideas and an interesting perspective. If you're fatigued with old-school cRPGs, then I'd have to say that this game isn't for you and that a lot of us have been hoping for this kind of game for a long time and will get nasty at those who we perceive to be taking this away from us. The modern cRPGs already have a huge market. This niche game is meant for a niche market and many of us don't take kindly to "let's make this game for the unwashed masses."