JFSOCC

relentless rats, get +1+1 for each other creature named relentless rats ingame. (and then have it so that after every 30 seconds, another one of them appears for each one still alive, doesn't seem like much as a challenge at first...)

this brings back memories The only time music broke immersion completely in that game. though the whole running on a treadmill was ridiculous enough But I wanted my stamina at 500. I do think the QFG games had it right on many levels. what little magic there was mattered, and no ability was useless, since you could often use multiple routes to the solution. but more on-topic, yes, their health and stamina system was pretty good, except that you could stock up on so many health potions so cheaply that it didn't matter anyway.

An oasis city, surrounded by desert, on this desert magical sand ships sail too and fro with trade goods from lands even further beyond. Legend speaks that once this land was lush and fertile, what has happened since? could life spring up once more? meh, I need to be more creative.

It's a portal to another world.

I too, am totally hyped. I spent last night watching a DnD campaign till 5am in the morning. the last time I was looking forward to something so much must have been over a decade ago. and it's true, everything I hear from Obsidian is only making me more confident they are the right people for the job. I say this without any hint of doubt or trace of irony.

I would be perfectly happy if after the game is complete they spend the extra money on candy and just keep streaming live DnD campaigns. was fun to watch.

When I learned about the AMA I actually planned out 2 questions straight there. I'd seen reddit AMA's before and most of the time only the first few questions would be answered (as opposed to what happened, which is really cool. I Immediately posted after constantly pressing f5 waiting for the AMA to load, my question was the second post in the topic. and it was conspicuously absent in the list above. I think it's relevant because it discusses fan-input, like ours. [–]JFSOCC You have invited feedback from fans, on here, on your own forums and elsewhere. No doubt you get quite a bit of E-mails with unsolicited suggestions as well. Have you ever copied an idea or suggestion from a fan directly? Or do you use feedback more as a means of inspiration to develop your own ideas off of? Second question, Funding by fans, using kickstarter, having no publisher oversight, Do you feel like you're free to take more risks on this project, or do you feel an obligation to the fans to stay as true to their nostalgia and perhaps being more conservative? (or anything in between)? [–]Obsidian_Ent[ Chris Avellone ponders: Never copied an idea from a fan directly, although we have collaborated with fans that we feel did a much better system than we did - I believe we collaborated with one fan's AI scripting system for Neverwinter 2 and credited them. That's another reason we love mods, because there's plenty of fans out there with waaaaay better ideas than we do. We tend to use it as feedback. As mentioned in another comment, we noticed that for New Vegas, people were making a lot of homebase mods, so we examined those to see what things people were looking for from a base along with some elements we knew we should fix (one-load access, means of dumping gear, little happy appliances that gave boosts). SECOND QUESTION: Definitely feel freer to develop ideas for this project, yes. I don't feel constrained, I feel like I know what we're doing from the outset, personally, mostly because we've all played or developed this style of game before and we know what goes into it. JESawyer: No, I don't think we've (I've) ever copied anything directly. Often fans come up with a lot of ideas at the same time or in a similar vein. Fan opinions can influence the flavor or direction of a particular feature though, definitely. 2nd part: I think we can take certain risks when we believe it will genuinely improve the gameplay, but we did promise people a certain type of experience. We can't account for every individual detail that a person may consider sacred in those experiences, but we try to stay within the same feeling/realm as the IE games.

I'm happy. I think there were so terrible problems with xp for killing enemies, such as it not being a smart option to use stealth or social options, because it would yield less reward. By making it based on the end-result (goal achievement) they've given the player free choice on how they will deal with their problems without being penalized for choosing one over the other. Players can keep to the playstyle they prefer this way.

I'm really impressed by how many questions they've answered, even from latecomers. That is most unusual, especially since it can be a bit of a chore to go through the avalanche of questions coming down on them. I'm especially impressed with Chris Avellone, who goes out of his way to answer all the questions he can.

Unfortunately, sometimes, yes.but smaller subreddits have more likeminded peolpe, and niche subreddits might be better in quality.

I'm trying to avoid the 'really' stupid ones. Thanks. what is it that makes you the judge of what is a good and bad question? I'd say any question answered by the team was clearly good enough to warrant an answer.

this is a sub-page of a bigger site. the concept of reddit is as a news site where everyone can comment on whatever article is posted. All articles also can be up or downvoted. the general idea is that the best/most popular news items or comments make it to the top.

On the right sidebar there's a button where you can register (only takes a few seconds, doesn't even need an e-mail). After that you can post, or up/downvote questions you like or dislike. just please learn reddiquette. the downvote button is not for what you disagree with, but rather that which does not add to the discussion.

Yes, those console loving dirty casuals

random options that come to mind: Thief "gather information" challenges Short range teleport (higher level, allows you to manoeuvre better) faster walking and running speeds (optional) to balance for being less of a fighter. (becomes more of a force multiplier character, get in, manoeuvre behind picked target, gank till stamina is about to run out, dart out to safety while recharging stamina. This would also make them more useful as scouts since you don't have to wait an hour before they get back to the team. silent takedown, risky option that can remove a patrolling lower challenge guard without the alarm immediately being sounded. comes in lethal and non-lethal variants. mission results that note that no evidence was left on some of the more intricate quests. planting evidence or (I was especially pleased to see you could do this in fallout 3) planting a grenade. (well maybe not a grenade, but something harmful. switching a famous scepter with a fake one. (so I guess some class specific quest content?) at higher levels: beguiling: letting enemies think you pose no threat, or even are supposed to be there. Imagine a few antagonist being utterly surprised as it turns out you were working for their opponents all along. Why did they bring you? who are you? You could use this creatively, for instance allowing you to lure smaller groups into traps. "I need help! Follow me!"

My problem with companions is that I like them really fast, or even if I don't I just don't want to let go of them. it feels like a betrayal to someone who's shed blood with you to leave them hanging while I replace them with some guy I just picked up in the copper coronet. So I end up doing the game with the party that first joined me. Not always a good idea, especially when some characters don't seem to enjoy each others company. When I say goodbye to a companion for a new one, I want to feel safe in the knowledge that it is "goodbye for now" not, "fare thee well"

Can you give an example of what you consider to be a good reason for saving? If you had reason to believe that nearly every battle in the game was going to be challenging enough to kill half your party on your first attempt would it change your position at all? I'll offer a few: A good reason for saving is if your gaming session is at an end, nobody plays a game that last 60 hours or more in one go (well, maybe some people do) so when you are done and want to go do something else, that's an excellent reason to save. I believe since this game won;t be one constant encounter that this is easily doable between encounters. Another good place to save is before an encounter you know is going to be tough, (yes) but before you've entered combat. Because the challenge as a whole wouldn't change before saving. If you save long enough before an encounter the debuff would wear off before the encounter takes place. Which means that it is a minor inconvenience if you play the way most people (I expect) play. However, if you save every time you enter combat, just to be sure, you'll quickly be discouraged to do so. So it would only discourage extremes. No tactical or gameplay options will be removed. And if you do decide to save scum, challenges don't become stale because they are too easy, because you've effectively increased your own difficulty. Another good reason to save is after you've made significant progress which you do not want to lose. I don't want to play something over and over again because I couldn't save. So, directly after an encounter is also an excellent time to save. Well I have misformulated my question: this drawback for saving anywhere anytime, do you want it to be: 1) an option that can be toggled off (thus making save scumming drawback free if the player deactivates the feature) ? 2) or a feature that cannot be toggled off ? I responded the way I did because I fear it presented a false choice. I would have be a feature that can be toggled off, perhaps based on difficulty settings, but I want to make clear that even if this feature is toggled on, it doesn't limit saving, just offers momentary drawbacks. also, upon load, not upon save. so, option 1) comes closest, but more nuanced that than.

What would be your views on separate inventories for different item types? (whether or not that includes a pane for quest items I'll leave up to you)

1)Drawbacks to save scumming (but still be able to save anywhere) Ironman mode is for hardcore players who think there is NEVER a good reason for saving during inopportune times in the game, I don't want to go that far. it shouldn't be one extreme or the other.

What I'm looking for in a stronghold is several things. 1. I want a project that I can call completely mine. I want to customize *MY* stronghold to fit MY aesthetic preferences and my strategic preferences. 2. The stronghold should flatter my Ego. as such it should be hard enough to get that it feels like an accomplishment. it should also mean that I can do powerful things here. in order not to break the game, perhaps they should only be possible here, or come at a significant enough cost that while worthwhile, it's a tactical decision. 3. My stronghold should matter in the game world, I would enjoy some quests that open up upon completion of certain upgrades of the stronghold. different strongholds get different quests. So I could mix in politics, become the benevolent (or not so benevolent) dictator of my fiefdom, build a centre of learning or a successful business mini city (with whorehouses, or warehouses, whatever I choose) 4. going back to #1, I want a project, that means that I don't mind that it requires some quests to add or alter and grow the power of my stronghold. 5. I want my stronghold to remain relevant to me throughout my game, not a thing to do and then cast away after it is finished. I'd have some suggestions on how to do it, but I trust the team is capable enough to figure out good ways themselves.

I don't think you will get a constructive discussion as long as your argument boils down to "anyone who disagrees with me obviously doesn't know what's good for them." (And, seriously, can we drop the 'saving your game is cheating' argument? It's not doing anyone any favours.) I'm still waiting for anyone to explain how saving anywhere will inherently ruin the game, the game design, and everyone's enjoyment of the game. Last time we asked, the response was something like "oh, you can't explain how, but it does". Sorry, but that's not good enough. I'm sorry if I come across as arrogant, that is certainly not my intent. I do feel frustrated as I fear my argument is not coming across; I am after all, using arguments, despite being told that I'm not. Must be bad communication on my part. The argument that saving anywhere will ruin the game is a simple one: You kill the challenge of the game if you can retry every encounter, whether combat or dialogue, because you are certain to always overcome every obstacle, without having to change your behaviour. You don't have to get better at tactics, you don't have to moderate your words to get the best result. You just have to brute force all the possibilities and then pick the one that yields the desired results the best way. Rewards will lose all meaning, since you will always have the best of the best, challenges will lose all meaning, because you will always overcome them so exceptionally well. everything will go your way. always. all.the.time. I suppose that in the information age which is upon us this is the case anyway, where everyone can look up solutions online. In the end I can't prevent anyone from playing how they choose, and I wouldn't seek to. I would however like to find a way to encourage players to enjoy the challenge, rather than seek to breeze through. perhaps coupling mechanics like summoning sickness to difficulty settings is an idea?

If they make it past 3.5 million (which I already think is terribly impressive) I'd rather they save the extra money into a pot to be used for polishing, or parts of the project that need more help. a buffer to prevent problems from forming up.

in the end it's delivery that counts. I wasn't seeing a deep character, and if I have to specifically play through all the DLC to get it when he's the main.game.antagonist. seems silly to me.

TIL domain knowledge, thanks!

"He didn't bleed overly"