Hormalakh

No...I don't think we need a +3 medicine ball flail...

Oh one last question: Why did you guys decide to change over to Maya? Especially, now that the artists have a learning curve to overcome, was there some greater benefit gained by using Maya? If I'm not mistaken Maya is better in building characters/creatures, but it's been a long time since I worked in 3D modeling. Besides, I don't think Prosper works in Maya, so I wasn't sure if that was the reason or....

I guess we can have pretty interesting "in-game cinematics" now. Veryyyy interesting. Loving the details. We are in 2012 afterall.

Crazy artist creative types. Even their updates have to be "creative." Heh. Thanks for the update. Just one question - is that the whole art department right there or are the some unfilled positions/unnamed artists?

And women in Saudi Arabia having acid thrown into their faces for going to school? Would you say that's sexist, or is it just my western perception that makes me think that's horrible? Learn to read.

Oh ok. Then I completely agree We don't need every single one of society's ills hung out for everyone to experience in a single P:E title. We can deal with them when they're relevant.

So in your opinion, PS:T wasn't a fun game? It was just art? It dealt with mature and realistic themes. Some (all?) of those ideas/factions are actual philosophical beliefs that people have.

Well, personally, I want P:E to be a fun video game and not the next champion of the "games are art" crowd; leave that **** to pretentious indie developer douche bags like Jonathan Blow. Off topic here: I seriously dislike that American anti-intellectualism. I see no reason, why Braid was pretentious, just because it tried something different, just because Blow tried to express his views on life the way he did. But that's somehow typical for our time, when everything intellectual is automatically "hipster" or "pretentious". I'm tired of getting labelled as a "hipster" just because I like literature, or because I write poetry and read philosophy for fun or because I'm wearing hipster glasses (that I wear because of poor eye-sight and also because my literay heroes did - it's the same as people wearing their new-era-caps because of some hip hop stars). It seems that in our time, everything that contradicts pure consumerism, everything that actively tries to change conventions or to be different, an alternative tends to get labelled that way. It's the death of progression. Mature games for immature gamers. And I don't know if this anti-intellectualistic vibe comes only from Americans...

These posts make me sad for how much many of them lack depth in detailing disparities in gender among cultures. I don't want a game where just if men =/= women then EVIL. There are more cultural truths out there in the world than what you, the player, are exposed to in your own culture. Sexism is, sometimes, only what you perceive it as, from an outsider looking in. Many times these ideas themselves are by-products of other cultural movements (women's right to vote, WWII women being able to work, feminism) that have ultimately defined certain ideas/actions "sexist." This isn't to say that there aren't evils being done in the world and that some of these run in the "sexist" department. But the point that I'm trying to make is that these ideas/actions/cultures are more complex than a single theme of "sexism." To create cultures that are based on a singular trope, as it were, would be folly and, frankly, an insult to the intelligence of most culturally-aware adults. To further illustrate my point, here is some real-life cultural clashes that are perceived as sexism and oppression to those who look at things from a singular point of view.

^Yes, this is what I'm talking about, except I don't want characters to start getting smaller the further away you are (I don't want the isometric perspective to suddenly disappear. Instead, imagine that the game is isometric when outdoors. Then when you go into a room, the camera becomes bird's eye (as an example! This isn't what I want!) kind of like the rooftop portion shown in the video. The camera angle has moved and it's zoomed outward. It can be used to imply something (for example, whenever you see a bird's eye view room you know that there is a shopkeeper. The 2d background can be pre-rendered at that bird's eye camera and you let your engine know to utilize that same camera to render 3d objects and your party. Argh I don't want to draw this. I'm hoping the devs/artists understand what I'm saying and judge appropriately. If zooming is disabled, I'm hoping they consider zooming in when in a small room. As for depth, I guess we'll have to see what the artists consider good.

The best way to do these kinds of things is to incorporate humor as something that happens in the daily lives of the people living in the world just like it happens in our lives. Comedy sometimes happens even when nobody's expecting it and it's done best when it feels part of the world. Sometimes weird and funny things happen in our lives and they enrich them. It should feel the same way for P:E. It's not a stand-up routine.

Considering the cities and night-time, I do think that it would be fine for there to not require too much dynamic lighting for visualization. The way I see it, the cities would be filled with ambient lighting from all the taverns and housing, etc, so there would be sufficient low-level light to see mostly everything (perhaps a few alleyways can be lit - or hidden in shadows - dynamically. However, dungeons, caves, sewers, any place without any good ambient lighting (the forest night on a new moon) should definitely need "torches." How this is implemented I'm not sure. But a game in 1994 did it, so there has to be a way to do it tastefully since the game will be 2D backgrounds and full 3D rendition is not possible.

I concur. That was how XCOM: UFO Defense did it. The one from 1994. Not the 2012 one. For those trying to be pedantic.

Nah, I just skipped to last page and started writing random stuff like I always do. Just for the record, that's UFO not X-Com. X-Com is a 2012 game. Which I assumed you were talking about, because I hope to God that PE looks nothing like a game from year 1994. Blasphemy! You don't know XCOM? The 2012 game XCOM is a spiritual successor to the 1994 game. XCOM is XCOM. The first one was marketed as X-Com: UFO Defense in North America. [source: ."]http://en.wikipedia....Enemy_Unknown]. In either case, anyone who knows X-COM/UFO whatever, would have known what I'm talking about. In regards to graphics, that stuff changes with technology. The actual implementation is what matters. Obviously this isn't going to look like that graphically, but I would like a similar aesthetic when dealing with light/dark.

I think they can obviously play with the mechanic to make it fun and not too "grindy." We aren't going for realism here. We're going for a mechanic that would make certain aspects of the game more interesting (IMMERSHUN). A simple "light orb" spell or a set of torches that don't run out (since it would just be annoying to have to keep carrying loads of torches). Or maybe carrying a set of "flint and timber" would be sufficient to always start a light. You could imagine that there would be lots of wood (from barrels, crates, chests, etc) to burn, but the only issue is starting the fire. The point isn't to make this realistic. It's to add depth to gameplay, and to increase dramatic tension. Figuring out the exact gameplay mechanics would be up to the devs. But the idea isn't inherently too "grindy" or immersion-breaking. Another game that hasn't come out yet that is doing this is Sui Generis. Here is a video of what I'm talking about. This might not work for PE because of the engine, but the idea still stands.

^Umm look at page 2 or 1...I put two videos there. Did you not read the rest of the thread? Edit: Here it is. http://forums.obsidian.net/topic/62578-torches/page__st__20#entry1285433

^Unfortunately, that's not what they pitched and not what most players expect. The crafting system has never been done too well IMO for a SP RPG but perhaps they can get it right this time. If not, I'll just ignore it. I'm hoping they don't screw it up though, as having to ignore a big part of the game would suck. Bottom-line, outside of Arcanum's partially-well done (it is missing a certain je-ne-sais-quoi) mechanic, I haven't seen any crafting mechanics that I've particularly enjoyed or felt fit the rest of the game in a SP RPG.

Other counterpoint: XCOM.

Well it's worth considering and testing. They are in pre-production anyway: now would be the time to try these sorts of things out. It might not be at disconcerting as you think, but I do agree that if it is too jarring, it would be counter-productive. I'm not sure everyone actually understands my idea. It's a little difficult to convey. Basically, the camera for the outside areas and in the city would be at one certain angle and zoom/focal-length. Then in certain rooms, where it can convey another mood, you have different angles and zoom lengths. But that probably still doesn't help clarify....oh well.

No. You misunderstand. The whole room would be "drawn" at a different perspective. And it isn't consuming. Everything is already done from a camera anyway. The 3d modeling of the landscape is already prerendered. You set your camera at the direction you want, the zoom value, and the angle at which it is projecting and whatever your background renders, you just set your 3D models to render at that same camera angle. The monsters are 3D models, so you can see different angles. Your party is at a different angle automatically. and any 3d models also render at that new camera zoom and angle. It should be pretty easy to do. The question is, does it make for a better and more engaging narrative if you do mess with camera angles and zooming? I think it can be effective in certain situations and locations, like small rooms.

It isn't the darkness that one is afraid of in games like X-Com, it's the feeling of not knowing what lies behind the shadows that could completely destroy your party. It's the trepidation that if you venture too deep into the darkness, you'll be faced with an enemy that would be too tough for your party to handle and that you would be too deep in to merely run away. If you know what you're facing much earlier than before you have to face it, preparing yourself and making tactical choices becomes easier and less immediate - your fear of loss of party members decreases. This isn't just a matter of "mommy, I'm scared of the dark"

Here's another image that was epic in BG2. Imagine just zooming in and changing the angle slightly oculd have totally changed the atmosphere. It could've made the dragon seem even more amazing.

Man I really love this idea. There is so much that can be done to enhance the atmosphere just with this. The whole unease that so many of you feel with darkness in a dungeon is the whole point. Imagine how freaking cool it would be! You stumble into a cave. You see the flickering of a light. You get a bit closer and the light has eyes. You get closer and you see a big huge ass dragon. Imagine Fiirkaag and how crazy it would be if you stumbled into his cave and suddenly you see this huge dragon as you get closer. That's epic.

I'm not sure if there is going to be zooming or not, but I had an idea that sort of involved that. As we know, the backgrounds in PE are going to be prerendered and our models are going to be 3D. However, the prerendered backgrounds are going to be first modeled in 3D. That allows the artists to play with changing the perspectives whenever we are in "smaller rooms." I believe JSawyer talked about changing the angles shown whenever the party would be in a building, but I think this can be taken further. Imagine this tomb (and many similar "small rooms" in BG2.) Now imagine if the camera was changed, and the room was zoomed in. The room would feel a lot bigger, and more could be done within the room. Imagine that you could search a corner of the room. You could change the feel of the experience, by just changing the angling and the zooming of the camera.You can see the tomb and the lich that comes out of it a little better. That can make for a more terrifying experience. It's more up-close and personal. Of course, it would still be isometric and not 1st person. Now, perhaps the narrative sequence requires a more "close" feel. Perhaps, an NPC is sharing a secret with you in this room. But now you can see the room a little better. Imagine how the atmosphere of this room could be changed just by zooming in a little and changing the angle of the camera. Imagine meeting in a small room, lit only by a singular candle. Your party shifting in their gear and a singular individual talking to you by that candle-light. "Coo! Changes the atmosphere quick as ye blink!"

I do need the money. But my reputation is built around the username Prosper. There are people who like to steal from me or claim I stole from them. Some even stole from me then claimed I stole from them. There is one more type of person: those that deny my work is mine at all. People really get under my skin. They won't respect me if I make a game, they will torrent it for the lulz and suing isn't worth the time or money. Sure you may point out KS gives me enough money anyway right? Wrong. A) Transfer fees. B) Taxes C) When I was talking with people on BGS forums they seem to be under the impression you are not supposed to put the money you get from KS into paying living expenses. I live on the tax payer's money with deep personal issues and I feel the best I can do is contribute screenshots of the models I make in sculptris to Obsidian's Project Eternity forum. You should've read my Piracy and DRM thread.