JFSOCC

Cookie tin (of decay) Anything stored inside ages drastically, as if weeks have passed in minutes. Metal rusts, bread get mould, meat gets maggots, paper fades. Great for making forgeries look old, or disposing of evidence and letting it decay naturally until it's unrecognisable. Not so great for storing items. Has no effect on magical items. Child's delight: A rare drug, completely removes anxiety and understanding of social norms. Hilarity ensues. Retriever spider: Metallic automaton will find nearest item and pick it up, then return to its owner. Does not trigger pressure traps.

Status effects were what made Guild Wars combat interesting and tactical. having them in P:E wuld not be remiss, but then, I don't doubt we'll have them.

My hopes for expansion. 1. subtropical or tropical setting 2. Can use imported character from vanilla game 3. Character data saved some decisions you've made in that game. 4. Can be linked such that you can return to original game content. (not a great priority, but would be nice) 5. Empty map which allows for a ton of locations from the modding community.

alright fair enough

if you have 1k submissions and 10 are actually good, that's enough.

ok guys I've seen enough plate and chain, now on to something else.

how can you stand the bugs! it itches just watching it!

Ideally, levelling up should make you only marginally stronger, but offer you more ways to solve problems. So fighter level 1: 10 Awesomepoints and can fight an enemy in fair melee Fighter level 2: 10.5 awesomepoints and can fight an enemy in fair melee, or alternatively can kick at his shins, dealing less damage, but affecting his opponent's running speed. He's marginally stronger, but he's gotten another way to solve problems. The challenge is only marginally easier to overcome for an unskilled player, but a skilled player will make the best of his new options.

I have mentioned it in several other places, but I guess it belongs in this thread more than anywhere else: I believe the solution is to gamify resting. Making resting part of the game, picking a spot, setting up camp (campfire, tents/bedrolls, traps, fences, gong pit) setting a watch schedule. This way, resting takes some time, but it does not become boring and repetitive. You can make camp fast if you feel safe (no watch, big campfire, no tents, just bedrolls, no traps) You can make camp fast if you just want to reactivate an ability (watch schedule excludes mage, big campfire, tent for one, bedrolls for others, no traps) Or slow if you expect trouble you can handle: (2 watchmembers per 2 hour period, campfire, tents, traps, caltrops) Or if you expect trouble you may need to run away from: (2 watchmembers per 2 hour period, no campfire to draw attention, no tents to pack up again, no traps, but some caltrops, and an extra alarm spell further out, camouflage netting) Different environments and situations would call for different approaches to setting up camp. A camp set up would need to be torn down again (or abandoned if you can afford to waste the resources) Between days, you can keep the camp and schedule set up, in case you wish to rest several times. The problems this solves: 1. Time frustration -it's easier to restock full health in safe areas, it will require less resting. But you do have to make the effort of spending time setting up a bigger camp. (so not one click back to full) 2. Rest scumming: You're not going to set up camp to heal a scratch. You can set up camp faster to heal minor injuries, but this is a calculated risk which the player has control over. 3. Resting as immersion breaking reset button: No more one click resting, resting becomes an experience part of the game. Different areas will dynamically influence the decision on how to build your camp. A cold location may require a campfire irrespective of the number of enemies roaming the region, a secluded spot may not require a watch, caltrops and an alarm spell may be all that is required to keep those goblins at bay. This way you can Rest anywhere; (and make informed choices to deal with risks) Spend as much or as little time as you want on resting. (and make informed choices to deal with risks) While the game can be balanced on the fact that: Not everywhere is suitable for resting Rest scumming is going to be at the player's own risk. Camp can also make for cool content. You can have some exposition of the area or lore, or one of your companions motivations, through campfire tales. You can have interesting things happen at camp during the night. (based on the location, situation and camp set-up) And personally, I think it's much more immersive because you'll be experiencing something rather than using a button for a game mechanic. You'll be that adventurer, camping in odd places.

If they ever need voice-sets for PC's for things like command and control and combat. They could ask the community to send in their "For the Horde"'s" and "At once my liege"'s All the would need to do is give the lines people need to act, I imagine they'd have 10k submissions within a week.

I think a good ending means that the topics discussed in the story must come to some sort of conclusion. That's the purpose of having an Arc. An arc has a person or setting begin in a certain position/mindset, then challenge that position and mindset, and at the end they will have either changed and/or know more about why they have their position. Knights of the Old republic II, while not properly finished, managed to do this by discussing the nature of the force, its purpose, the way it is affected by the user, and how much the user is affected by it. At the end, although everyone could have a different answer, most people will have thought about it and likely have evolved and nuanced their view. This is what Obsidian is very good at, in my experience. I think we don't have to worry about seeing proper character arcs and story arcs. And once that is set up properly, I'm sure the ending will write itself.

My favourite colour, of course I want some exclusivity

I hope that every class can be played in different ways. I for one prefer the charismatic rogue. I hope you can make choices what to do for each class both in role-playing and in combat. One player might play his or her rogue as a counterer, using lockdown skills to prevent an enemy from using abilities. (disarm, disable, stun, shock, etc) Another player might play his or her rogue as a debuffer, AKA dirty fighting (weakness, bleeding, poison, slow, blindness, etc.) And yet another likes the classic evasive, skilled positioner critical damage rogue. (Sneak attack criticals, evasion, mobility, flanking.) Or perhaps a player has ideas for his rogue which are different still.

I got to say, with 11 classes and 9 companions, I'm curious which 2 classes (or more if some companions share classes) will miss out.

You know I'd love to see the devs on the forums a little more, I've been missing you guys over there. I'm sure I'm not the only one.

I'd like a Shaed, but Rothfuss is working on a T:ToN.

Ah so you suggested it as a method to deal with rest-spamming. I don't think forcing a player to watch a 30 second animation will make them particularly happy with the game, especially when they feel they need to rest, but, it does get the point across that it is not something to do on the fly. Perhaps there are other methods to make this something you cannot spam. I've suggested before to gamify resting. With that I mean, make it a part of the game itself. (Set up camp, campfire, place traps, alarms, set watch schedule, etc) this would serve the same purpose without taking control away from the player or forcing him or her to deal with something unenjoyable.

wouldn't you then have a repetetive cinematic?

So the best gear will likely be Vailian in make?

TL;DR below. Great levels have multiple points of ingress and egress, they offer different challenges based on which path you take, they reward exploration but don't punish you for missing areas, and can be done at your own pace. How to design such a map? I don't know. I suspect I would build it not as a level designer but as a narrative designer (stick to your strengths ) IE: I'd build the Satrapal palace first, and then worry about how to create a challenge. So, what does a Satrapal palace need? Well, there is the impressive main entrance, well guarded of course Then because the satrap loves his dalliances there is the secret entrance for his lovers, this is hidden, and unguarded but trapped. Interrogating one of his lovers may tip you off on it's location, and perhaps even the traps. The Satrap loves to hunt, there is a gated entrance near the stables, it allows commoner traffic, but is some distance from where you wish to be. It requires bluffing to get past the gate, or sneaking, and then you'll have to find your own way into the Palace. (maybe you can tail a servant) You can try and get a contract and be invited in, deliveries to the kitchen have a different entrance, it's not well guarded, but everyone there will immediately recognise that you don't belong there. You can wait for an invitation for a party by the satrap, which would allow you to pass through the main gate, but poorly armed. You can scout out a sewer entrance, the sewers may seem like a smart option at first but will lead you past lots of enemies (monsters), lead you out into a high-security area once you leave them, and you'll be smelling awful, cancelling out any bluffs you may have while being found on the premises. An acrobatic character may find that you can climb to the roof of a neighbouring building, jump to the roof of a small building next to the satrap's romantic garden, climb up to the balcony, and from there into his personal chambers, requiring the bypassing of a single trap. A player can choose to scout out the palace on a day that the satrap is away and security is light, this will allow a player to know the lay-out, but should the player be discovered, will lead to extra security measures on the day of the grand party. Each player can take any entrance, with or without preparation. Prepared players can make educated decisions on what entrance is best, what egress is best, and base it on their playstyle. Sure you can fight your way through the main door, but it will be more difficult than fighting through the sewers, and the Satrap may flee. You can sneak through the kitchen, but it will be harder than sneaking through the stables. And you could bluff your way past the guards at the front gate, but most likely they'll ask for your invitation papers anyway. It becomes about skill, but also about your playstyle. And all players would have the same map, the same level to deal with, yet everyone's experience will be different. So now I know I need A main entrance (with guards) A secret entrance (with traps) A stables area (lightly guarded; connected to the palace but not directly) A Kitchen/deliveries area (lightly guarded; connected to the palace) A sewers (populated by monsters, lots of fake exits leading you away from your goal, one or two which open to inconvenient locations) A balcony and door directly leading into the Satrap's bedchamber. I now have 6 points of ingress/egress, not all of them will be available or useful to everyone, but anyone can find them and attempt to use them. Based on how the player is playing, he or she will be allowed to make educated decisions on their approach. (allowing for a change of plans) I have different challenges set for different sections, which can be avoided (no bonus XP, thank god, so no incentive to do everything) No entrance will be the best option, all paths will create challenge. - I think this method creates organic maps rich in potential, moves away from what I like to call "Corridor Hell" maps and helps deliver the setting vs it being "just another dungeon". And you can expand on this too, because once you have a map, you can elaborate on what would be possible there. Just thinking of this scenario gives us several options for content. We must cause a scandal discrediting the satrap, what better time than the day he holds a large feast. We may want to loot his palace or we must crash the party in order to save the Satrap from Assassination Perhaps we must assassinate the Satrap, and do it at the day of the party to send a message. The Satrap is holding someone prisoner, we must rescue the prisoner. The Satrap wants to test security for a grand feast he is preparing, he's hiring you to test the defences. A secret organisation you work for wants to get word to the satrap, you must deliver a message without being spotted. The Satrap is holding a large feast, at the party is a man I wish to contact, I must talk with him about business. And peripherally, in preparation, ahead of time: We can find out about the satrap's jilted lover, or sabotage his current one. We can manipulate this knowledge and cause a scandal if we're invited into the party. We can learn about the dungeon under the sewers (just off the top of my head) We can scout the palace ahead of time, maybe pick up a quest from those found there The Satrap has the best warhorses in the land, we could steal his finest. We can forge invitation papers, forge an invitation list and plant it. We can forge a delivery request. We can pressure a local nobleman to get us in as his +1 The local crime syndicate can ask us to look for a specific piece of loot thought to be on the premises. - TL;DR: If a place has a purpose the maps will draw themselves.

And the discussion should leave the player with greater self-knowledge. This is what made games like KOTORII great.

Well I don't think your thread is going to get much discussion, I think everyone is on the same side here.

so you'llfind other content, or approaching a place from a different direction gives you a tactical advantage. there are plenty of other ways to encourage exploration.

the term you're looking for is telegraphing, and yes, I agree.