Sacred_Path

I'd like to see crafting at a very basic level. Making arrows, repairing armor etc. That would circumvent the "player is a master blacksmith" problem and give you the feeling of self-provisioning. Going with that theme, I'd like to see "gold" being much rarer than in your average CRPG, so it would make sense for your party to provide for themselves.

I like turtles, personally.

Enemies should drop enough gold or items to make up for some of the expenses you had fighting them (potions, scrolls). So a skilled player could go on grinding (that is if grinding will be in the game). Apart from that, even though it's not a low magic setting, I'd like to see few magical items, about the same as BG1. No floods of items/ gold plz.

Critical hits only if there's also a targeting system, otherwise they don't add much. Critical failures shouldn't be as frequent as in Arcanum plz, the only thing you do on Hard mode is stunning yourself.

I want to see adventuring companies with real health problems and severe psychological dysfunctions. A boy can dream, right?

of course they have an agenda for keeping the fat folks out of PE its to avoid rivalry with South Park Stick of Truth

I'm all for dependant, anorectic elves. Throw in some retarded halflings and blind Barbarians and I'm sold.

You might want to watch the pitch video, the name dropping there involved a bit more than just BG.

sounds a bit too fat-alistic to me.

Doesn't work too well in a CRPG, as proven by MegaTraveller 1&2. I could never remember the 'career path' my characters had, they were just old farts with a bunch of numbers assigned.

Apart from the already mentioned Wizardry 8: - TES: Arena. At least that starting dungeon was mercifully short, but filled with more excitement since resting wasn't as easy as in Irenicus' dungeon, you started out naked and alone. Introduction to the story came via (short) dream sequences. I haven't played any TES past Morrowind, so I can't comment on those. - Ultima 7/ Part1: Backstory was told in just one small dialogue, done. Then you had an entire town to explore. - Ultima 6: told all the story you needed in a few cutscenes, then dropped you in medias res. - Dark Sun/ Shattered Lands: the introduction was probably the best part about this. Challenging combat, puzzle solving, a bit of urgency (if you wanted to get some EXP before the really tough monsters came). And that's just what I can remember from the top of my head. While there are worse things on Earth than Irenicus' dungeon, I wouldn't want PE to mimick that part of BG2. Oh, and how could I forget PS:T. Best place to wake up in ever.

Don't implement age, or do it properly (modified attributes and all). On second thought, no, don't implement age at all.

lol. Examples plz?

Are you sure you played the same two games you name cause the Wizardry 8 starting dungeon was pretty meh on all levels and the BG2 one got you some nice items to start you off, introduced the antagonist, and formed a solid foundation for the games plot. It's begging the question what was so 'meh' about Wizardry's starting dungeon? Nice items - in Wiz you actually have starting gear and find more items in the dungeon, items that are basic but appropriate for your level. No difference to BG2 in that regard. You then had to manage these items (ammo, potion) responsibly, because you'd spend some time in the monastery to prepare yourself for the road to Arnika. In Irenicus' dungeon, you're just being flooded with healing items, so much so that you'll thrive on those for quite some time into the game. Do you think it was an advantage to the gameplay to meet the antagonist right away? Whether yes or no, you don't learn much about him except he's deranged and wants to 'unlock' something about you. I could live without that information tbh. Solid foundation to the plot - that you were ambushed and, as per usual, stripped of your old gear? That's pretty meh I'd say.

The problem with Irenicus' dungeon is not that it's too long, it's that it doesn't offer anything to either novice nor experienced players apart from feeding you some backstory. OTOH, I've played through Wiz8's Monastery more often than I can remember, and it never got boring because it is a very solid testing ground for different party setups (I admit it also has to do with the fact that combat is much more satisfying than in an IE game).

A starting dungeon is a good idea, if it's done right. Bad example: BG2 Good example: Wizardry 8 Since the characters in PE will start battle-ready and more able-bodied/minded than your lvl1 DnD clowns, the first dungeon (or other starting location) should be a real testing ground for your party setup and player skills.

Too much foreshadowing is annoying and makes it feel like you're playing an incomplete game. Instead of hinting at the continuation of the main storyline, it's better to be a little vague overall. Will the war between two races be ended in time? Will a powerful artifact recovered by the party have any influence on the world (think the removal of the Codex of Ultimate Wisdom in Ultima)? These are things that tickle your imagination and make me want to play a sequel.

Traditional racial bias. For all its greatness, racial relations in Arcanum were pretty predictable. Which is to say there should be racism, just not in the most established ways. Elves don't like dwarves but hate Orcs even more, orly? Maybe base racial relations more on current political situations, like what races are at war with each other.

But will the children give XP?

Different reactions based on race and subrace, yes. Should be especially interesting for the godkin races. I'm just replaying Lionheart right now and there racial bias is so much fun.

I dislike armor use skill because it's a bit like a shoe use skill. Some other solution would be preferable. If you think weapon skills are viable, armor skill shouldn't be a problem. Second option, put a strength requirement on armor and make attribute points hard to come by, like in Fallout. Should be a fair trade-off.

Easy solution, make armor use skill dependant, and make it an expensive skill. Make the spell casting schools expensive skills as well. But that would probably make the game much more skill oriented than is intended now.

TOEE, that flawed gem of a game. Story and exploration are nice, but character building and combat offer replayability. Also *gasp* Lionheart

I rest assured that I won't see "I like you! Do you like me? We should haz romanx!" farces for party interaction. Thank you.

backgrounds, because I love character building. Unfortunately their impact on gameplay tended to be fairly small, unless you picked one of the intelligence diminishing variety and stuck with your INT score to get that dumb dialogue. One thing I didn't like was how magic and technology were not only at odds but 'allergic' to each other, but as it seems now this wont be the case in PE.