StreetBushido

I really liked the portraits in the Baldur's Gate games, both Icewind Dale games and the first Neverwinter Nights. Basically, I'd like to see something similar in Project Eternity. It would be nice with a decent selection of portraits for each race, gender and class combination so that we don't end up with just one or two portraits for female orlan warriors, or male godlike monks for example. I realize that many portraits will most likely be class neutral, but still. Most importantly, I'd prefer it if the NPC portraits were kept separate from the PC portraits, and unselectable (or at least with some kind of warning). As Jarmo here above mentions, I too found it annoying that you could end up with a party member that shared your portrait.

Sweden!

I agree with the general sentiment of this post, and the idea of characters carrying headgear under their arm. Once again, it's a question of minor details. But then, the devil is in the details. Yes, these are small things and many may not even notice them, but for those that do notice these little things, it'll help to make the world that much more alive and interesting.

Please, folks, let's always remember for this game that cosmetic issues are going to be a LOT more minor because your character will be ONE. INCH. HIGH. You really won't be able to see details like this for 90% of the stuff. This has been a public service message. This is very true, and so it is quite easy to fix this "issue" (it's such a small matter). Simply show the characters not holding a weapon when in a peaceful area. Also, with the technical progress that has been made, I am sure that such details can be implemented without too much of a headache, even if the results will not be all that obvious. One of the games that really annoyed me with this was Knights of the Old Republic (1 & 2 actually). Characters would sometimes hold their weapons in (non-hostile) cutscenes and even when fiddling with locked boxes or computers. How do you type on a keyboard while holding two blasters at the same time?

This is a very minor matter that is purely cosmetic, but still something that I would like to see. In the old IE games, and even in many newer games, characters always grip their equipped weapons. To me this was slightly jarring when the characters were moving in an obviously peaceful area. It was especially funny when a character had a flaming weapon and were toting it about town, and nobody batted an eye at it. I'm guessing this was due to technical limitations, as the added animations for drawing and sheathing would have taken too much time and energy to include. It would be nice if characters could put away their weapons. Maybe they'd only do it in "safe" areas, such as cities and towns. Or maybe they could do as they do in Dragon Age and put them away between fights. From a mechanical perspective the drawing of weapons could be ignored as a delay, as I think DA does.

I usually make some kind of melee character since I've never liked vancian magic, or in general not wanting my character to be the support. If the magic system in this game is more interesting than usual, I might break out of my mold and make some kind of spellcaster. Otherwise I'll probably go for some suave, agility-based fighter. Godlike Fighter or Rogue, maybe. Or monk, because they are awesome.

I haven't read the whole thread, but I'd like to add my opinion to this discussion anyway, based soley on the OP. I agree that it shouldn't be too easy, but at the same time it would be nice to be able to retreat if you find a need to, for whatever reason. Perhaps this megadungeon will contain various amenities (traders, temples, some form of inns, etc.), but some other reason may cause the player to to just want to leave. After a few levels maybe the player wants to engage some more in the story rather than just dungeoncrawl (some other story than that of the dungeon, then). Perhaps an exit every second level? I'd actually prefer an exit each level, but that may be seen as "too easy". I don't quite remember how Watcher's Keep in Throne of Bhaal worked, but it had an exit about every level or so, I think. I appreciate the freedom of choice: I could leave if I wanted to, but I could also keep going. I think that's the most important bit: give players the freedom of choice. The megadungeon will be one more thing to enjoy in the game. It's not about proving anything to anybody, it's about playing a game you enjoy to play. And giving me choices on how I can engage with the game helps me enjoy it. For those that want it to be more challenging or difficult, throw in an achievement for never exiting the dungeon on the way down, and maybe an achievement for only having left every 5 levels. Or something similar. After having crawled through four levels maybe I'm going "Gah, I don't even remember how the sun looks anymore. Let's get outta here!" and it would be nice if I could, after exploration, find a way out. When I'm ready for more dungoneering, I could come back to that exit/entrance and continue where I left off.

Non-human races such as The Elder Scrolls' Khajit and Argonians could be interesting. On the other hand, fully animal characters with human level intelligence and sentience would be quite strange, and perhaps not fit the setting very well. As shape for a shapeshifter, yes. As a complete playable race? I don't think it would work all that well. But then, the number of playable races has been set now and I'm afraid that further discussion at this point will probably not budge that. Not that I mind: I think it is preferable to have a few well defined races than a huge pile of shoddily written ones. I agree that every weapon type should be useful. Including a type of weapon that is universally crap would be a bummer for players who want to specialize in that type of weapon. To me, an important part of these games is getting better equipment. In a fantasy setting, that most often means magical weapons. I agree with that, and feel that is what works best. A lot of fantasy literature follows this trope as well. If you are a good swordsman and your sword also helps you fight, you are going to beat a good swordsman with a regular sword. If you are a crappy swordsman with a helpful sword, you will at least level the field against the good swordsman. I think the best impementation of drugs of any kind is that used in the Fallout series: it gives you a temporary boost, but comes at a cost as you crash after a time. The Baldur's Gate games also handled drinking in an interesting way: every time (or every few times, maybe) you bought a drink you also heard a rumor. If drinking only means losing money and getting drunk, with no further interaction than that, I don't see why anybody would do it.

I agree with the OP's initial statement, with the additions that have been made throughout this thread. A levelheaded exchange of opinions backed up with a bit of an explanation for said opinion is, in my opinion (heh), the preferable mode of discussion here (or anywhere, for that matter). At the same time I am inclined to at least partially agree with those that ideas that are completely "out there" and in general do not fit the scope and spirit of the project should be treated as such, if not with agression and hostility. In short, be cool. One love.

That's just the thing. We're so used with first level characters being quite weak. As they should be, sure, but it's about the scale of the overarching conflict and the feel of the setting in general. Basically, we've already seen quite a few games where a low level character is killing puny creatures. It's more seldom that we see low level characters take on more impressive/interesting foes.

It has been stated and confirmed that the game will have three different hardcore modes and I'm pretty sure that there will be the usual difficulty scale of Easy to Hard aside from that. I think the best method is to allow players to play the game as they want to. It's about enjoying the experience, not proving anything to anybody. While some may want to play the game in a certain way for the challenge, and perhaps the bragging rights, others may not. Having these readily available extra difficulty levels should be sufficient to satisfy most players, I think. This talk about "hardcore gaming" etc. is just another layer of exclusionary behaviour. Us against them. The tag "gamer" is bad enough as it already works to separate people (ineffectually at that, the word lacks a proper definition). Within that we then have people who want to go further with the "us vs. them" mentality by self-identifying as "hardcore". "I am hardcore, you are not". What purpose does that serve but to further separate people? Am I making too much of this? Yes, but it is an issue that is occasionally on my mind, and this seemed like a decent place to let it out a bit. Back on topic: http://www.kickstart...ty/posts/316398 this update discusses the extra game modes.

While it would be funny to see some kind of subversion of the usual "newbie adventurer having to work their way up from fighting rats in a basement to sickly goblins with rusty forks" I would actually prefer a more serious subversion of that trope. Pit us against something that makes us feel like the protagonist of the story, and not the stablehand or errand boy! Maybe the basement is full of wererats that are currently in rat form? Nasty surprise that!

140$ + 20$ for transport. Give me the box, man! Daddy needs that box!

Things are looking good in regards to that second city! This is gonna be great. It feels good to be a part of this phenomena, actually. I'm sure there will be some form of cool interconnections between the two cities. I hope the player's actions will be able to affect their relationship towards each other.

For me, a good example of a game that was too big was GTA: San Andreas. I liked the game, sure. It had a ton of content and loads of stuff to do, but I think the problem was that the sheer amount of stuff in the game started to dilute the experience. As has been stated in this thread: filler is no fun. I'd rather eat a really tasty little sandwich than a bland and boring footlong. However, if the game manages to be engaging and interesting all the way, regardless of its length (or amount of content) then there is really no upper limit, I think. A strange comparison perhaps, but look at Portal 1. It's a short game, yet it is really good and engages throughout: it never overstays its welcome. EDIT: Grammar.

I agree with most of you on this. Good jargon that fits the setting and the situation is nice. Strange and "unecessary jargon" is not. The jargon in PST really worked, but then the whole world there was very alien and it was expected that things would be a bit different linguistically as well as in other ways. And in a way, it made a certain amount of sense, even the jargon that wasn't just old slang, but actually made up for the Planescape setting. Once you knew what a plane was, it was obvious what a planewalker was. And I strongly agree with the statement that new jargon should not replace existing words that sufficiently describe the thing in question. Don't call old people "the oldlings", just go with "elders" or whatever. I'm probably making too big a thing of this and it's obvious from the replies that the people here have the right idea! Oh, and a bit of a pet peeve is made up curses. Sometimes they really do work, other times it's painfully obvious that it's just a rewrite of the good old f-bomb. Maybe it's due the voice acting, or maybe it's due to the writing, but quite often it comes out without sounding very believable. In a stressed situation when somebody explodes in anger or fear or something else that elicits a curse, it quickly becomes a bit silly when somebody goes "By the seventh seal of the Maker!" or something similar. Maybe it's a question of syllables. And in closing I would like to clarify that I in no way wanted to imply that people new to a certain genre of games would be less able to absorb jargon. My main issue was really just that the more exotic jargon in the game is perhaps best presented evenly, rather than in a few big cunks. The idea of a Dragon Age-style Codex allowing you to look things up whenever you want is really good. EDIT: Oh dear. After having read some posts that dropped in as I was writing this post I feel that should add another clarification and perhaps an apology. To clarify: I made some generalisations that, in hindsight, seem to have been incorrect and more accurately been a reflection of my own experiences and thoughts. I in now way wanted to insult or in any way imply an insult to any person or group of people. If I did bring offence due to the statement of my opinions, and (potentially half-baked) musings, I do greatly and sincerely apologize. I did not come to this forum to cause unrest and be a nuisance. Once again, I am sorry if my original post came across as agressive, hostile or insulting. I guess things can go awry when speaking from the heart about things related to our passions.

A thought that struck me was that jargon can be seriously overdone. A good example is Skyrim. Having played Morrowind and Oblivion, I recognized the names and phrases spoken by the characters in the intro of Skyrim. A new player, however, would be completely lost. What are the Nine? A Nord? An Imperial? Who is Akatosh? Sure, you can figure some things out from the sound of the word, and just the right amount of jargon (or setting specific words and phrases, if you prefer) adds a touch of mystery. What are the Nine? I don't know, but I look forward to finding out. Thing is, if the game just pours jargon over you, it turns into noise. It's no longer interesting, it's just a bunch of silly made up words. Particularly if it is just made up words. If a group functions like the Spanish Inquisition (or something like that), then it's better to call them The Inquisition, or perhaps The Seekers, or Eyes of the Lord, etc., rather than calling them the Hringzorps of the Ingth Fling'T'Rusks. Obsidian seems to be hard at work making their own world and filling it with rich lore, and that is awesome. However, I do hope that they don't go overboard on the jargon, and in turn make things all silly. Names can be funky and fantastic, sure, but I think it's best to avoid using too many strange new words. Especially if there already are words that sufficiently express what the new one does. Judging from the glimpses of lore that have been made available to us, things seem to be OK. And of course they would be, these guys are industry veterans and experts! However, I got a bit worried when I saw "biamhac" which is some evil, soul eating wind phenomena. I'm sure the name fits the tone of the place wherein it is found, but at the same time, it's another strange thing that the player needs to keep in the back of their minds. "Whatch out for the biamhac!" "Right... that thing... it's... bad, right?" How about "Watch out for the devil wind/soul render/blightwind!" "That sounds really bad! I'm outta here!" Sure, this is overreacting a bit. I still think it's a valid thing to keep in mind, though. If Obsidian wants us to engage with their new, wonderful and fantastic world I think they should take it easy on the jargon. They can build it up as the player explores the world, but I think they should avoid front loading the game with it. What are your thoughts on this?

Yeah, the whole story arc with the Circle of Zerthimon was some of the best writing I've seen, regardless of media. It was a very powerful moment when you shared that knowledge with Dak'kon. I look forward to more of that kind of stuff in PE!

I've seen that quote before, yet never ingame! Yes, Fallout: New Vegas hit a lot of the the right spots with its combination of things that were really good in older games and improvements that have been made in later games. Considering that the same developers are working on PE, I think things are going to be just fine.

I think the player house, if it is similar to The Sink in Fallout: New Vegas - Old World Blues, pretty much satisfies all my needs for a home base. However, a Stronghold could be a really cool source of sidequests. As the OP writes, perhaps some quests can be about upgrading and improving the Stronghold. Your various companions may want certain things to be added. Occasionally some messenger could rush up to you while you're out in the world and inform you that something is going down at your stronghold. Difficult decisions about how to rule the area around the stronghold (if there is anybody to rule around there). Reactions to those decisions. The list goes on, really. To me, the stronghold is more important as something that connects the player to the world (with amenities, quests and everything else) than a mere base of operations.

I may be late to the party, but as a big fan of Justin Sweet's artwork, I'd like to throw in another wish for his involvement. The current art for Project Eternity is really good, but I would still like to see Sweet involved in some way!

Interesting thread, but I feel that a Poll is a lacking format since I wanted to choose more than one alternative. I went with "The sheer scope of the dialogue possibilities and subjects.". Arcanum made a real effort to show that we, the players, were actually having some kind of impact on the world we were interacting with.

First things first: this is my first post on this forum so: Hello folks! Now to the issue at hand. One of my favorite things about Planescape: Torment was how you could learn abilities that you could use in many different ways. The Nameless One could learn a forgotten language which he could deciphre a journal with, and later also talk to a previous incarnation with. He could learn to speak with the dead, and this became useful in quite a few places as well. He was immortal, which presented interesting solutions. He could raise the dead, which also became useful here and there. Furthermore, your stats affected how things played out in the story. Persuasion, threats, figuring things out, even killing people (outside of combat). The choices you made also came back to affect you later. The information you had gathered could be used at later points, and not just for the first situation that you had gathered the information for. This to me made it all feel very interconnected. My gameplay choices: the way I spent my character points, the places I had been, the items I had bought (or the loot I had acquired), the characters I had talked to, the thing I had done felt connected to, and interwoven with, the story. Now, as a fan of Planescape: Torment I feel that I can say that while it is one of the best stories in gaming, it is perhaps not the best game. In truth, it's more of a visual/interactive novel with some other stuff around it. That is what I would like to see Project Eternity move away from. Yes, I love the story presented in Planescape: Torment, I love the way my actions affect how that story becomes presented. What I would like to see, though, is a better marriage between gameplay and story. As a counter-example, let's look at the Mass Effect series. Now, I really like those games, but after many playthroughs i started to get the feeling that I was playing two games: shooter and a visual novel. The action and the conversations were usually very separate. On a few occasions the fights did feel well connected to the story, but a lot of the time it felt like I was shooting my way between cutscenes that I poked at (conversations). I don't kow if I'm properly getting across what I want to say, but I hope the general gist of it survives the translation from my mind to text. I think a more concrete way of saying what I want to get across is: let the game acknowledge that we're playing it. Our actions must have consequences, in some way. Let us know that the game knows that we're actually playing it, if that makes any sense. Interconnect the gameplay with the story. Games have come so far and we have learned so much. Let's put all that experience to use and move away from the mistakes of the past. Check out the guys over at Extra Credits, they present this much better than I: http://extra-credits.net/