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forgottenlor

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Everything posted by forgottenlor

  1. forgottenlor
    From what I understand they are very relevant. Developers with no projects have to lay people off. Salaries normally come from money forwarded by a publisher for a specific project. When that money dries up there is trouble. The kickstarter was like forwarding money for this project, which in turn guarenteed salaries for its duration. While salaries may be the same regardless of the project, if Obsidian is only working on one game, then they will not be able to afford as many employees as when they have two. Also consider that they have overhead for office space, cleaning, et. This all has to be paid regardless of how many projects they have and is subject to inflation. Consider the makers of Titan Quest. Though they had just finished a very successful project they could not get a new one funded and they had to let everyone go, which meant the end of that studio. I can also guarentee you as a former Californian native with family still there, that the cost of living in California is very high, and the salaries as well.
  2. forgottenlor
    I agree with you on the licence and experience. I'm not sure I'd count the publisher in the costs of making a game, because normally the publisher gives the funds to make the game and in return takes the profits. The developers who are working under a publisher probably don't count the publisher under their costs. While not having a publisher means in the long run that Obsidian will profit immensely once the game in finished, it doesn't help them pay out salaries before development is finished. As far as technology goes, I think this might be overrated. First, I think that Obsidian is not using the same technology as 15 years ago (they are using a different engine for example) and by using some older methods they might be actually spending more money than if using new technology. The Elder Scroll games (at least Oblivion onwards) for example do not include hand drawn scenery but randomly places scenery within certain parameters, meaning that hand painting landscapes are actually more work intensive and require more man hours. Also I think improvements in graphics and sound over the past 15 year will be incorporated into this game, so that no costs are saved there. The costs of employing 15 people over 2 years (what it looks like the game will now take) seems like the main cost of the game to me.
  3. forgottenlor
    Possibly, but the impression I got was that these are requests that have come up a lot, but aren't really reflected in Obsidian's game build so far. It seems more an acknowledgement that these things can be added, but aren't within the current budget. Indeed. There was a long thread with people expressing dissapointment with having "only" 8 companions.
  4. forgottenlor
    Why would you think that? One of the main costs in making a computer game is paying out salaries for labour and those costs have increased with inflation. In fact I expect a computer programmer would make close to double what he would have made 15 years ago.
  5. forgottenlor
    I actually thiink your problem IS with nomenclature and you don't realize it. You have a problem with the words "Strength" and "Intellect." and not so much with the attributes. What if they are both renamed? Strength implies physical power, or power in general, while intellect implies knowledge, the ability to learn, and mental capacity. There are many other abstract words which could be used to name carrying capacity and robustness and the abiltiy to inflict damage. I like aptitude, and I think any word which describes either ability or capacity (like aptitude) or someone's strength of personality would be more intuitive for me than the word "intellect." While I also find another word would also work better to describe someone's ability to carry things and sustain permanent damage. The thing is I think its a lot easier to rename a couple of attributes then it is to change the entire system. We don't know how much the mechanics are embedded in both combat and non combat situations and development so far. It could set development back and lead to all sorts of balancing problems to change the system. I also think, from what I have heard that Josh has done a good job creating a set of balanced attributes that all have an effect on combat and may also have important dialogue options. I, like many other here, though find the names a bit unexpected.
  6. forgottenlor
    Happy holidays!
  7. forgottenlor
    I personally think "insight," "power," "force," or "intensity" would convey a damage stat to me more than "intellect." In the end they are just words, and I've got to admit I am sure that I am biased by decades of PNP games and CRPGS, but for me intellect is tied to thinking and knowledge, and while that's fine and good for magical damage, I have a hard time thinking of it as tied to physical damage as well. The way the actual system works suits me fine, and I'll have no problem looking past the terms if they stay how they are. I actually like the mechanics of the attribute system a lot.
  8. forgottenlor
    I'm really hoping this is the case. It would be a great balance if both armour and weapons have strength requirements and both are significant factors in defence and damage. I think it would be cool if this lead to the deadly double wielding dagger character with a high intellect, and the burly great axe wielding brute, who also can dish out due to being able to wield a massive weapon.
  9. forgottenlor
    I like the attribute system a lot, but I'd definately rename intellect.
  10. forgottenlor
    Which is understandable considering they made 4X as much money as originally planned for the April date.
  11. forgottenlor
    Unfortunately this is not true, though its often marketed that way. I can't begin to count the number of games which would have been vastly improved if they had been cut down from 40 to 20 hours. Normally this would simply involve reducing repetitious gameplay which becomes extremely tedious. Off the top of my head is Cyanide's Diablo clone Loki, which has 2-3 maps in each game segment which are more or less identical. If each area had been reduced by a map it would have cut down the gameplay by a third, but made the game much better. New content is only good if its not filler, and if the quality is identical to that of the core game.
  12. forgottenlor
    I'm actually very surprised they mention Skyrim as a model as well for a number of reasons. First, Obsidian will never generate enough revenue from a Kickstarter to produce anything with the budget and development time of a Skyrim, or for that matter any true AAA game. Betheda's games may be lacking in RPG mechanics and good writing, but from voice acting to graphics everything is professionally done and that takes a big investment. Skyrim was in development for like 4-5 years as well. Second they will have to put a real spin on any open world action oriented RPG if they want it kickstarted. Most things that get kickstarted are either retro games or very unusual takes on current genres. On the other hand on all Chris Avelone's interviews on narratives, he has been saying that games with linear narratives are not as memorable as those with lots of freedom (i.e. open world) but with lots of well written npcs.
  13. forgottenlor
    I would prefer a polished game to more companions, and more companions to more wilderness, but I'd be happy with anything if the quality of the game remains the same or improves.
  14. forgottenlor
    They are at 82% funded now in plan B. Just a few more pledgers can make Deathfire happen. I'm crossing my fingers for them as well. Anyways here is their web page: http://deathfiregame.com/
  15. forgottenlor
    I'm surprised about the six stats, but confident that they will be well balanced. I'm interested to see what unknown factors they may include.
  16. forgottenlor
    While I would like to see something completely unsual (No cyberpunk, scifi, high fantasy, or post apocalyptic), I fear that Obsidian will play it safe. I'd even bet on something similar to Fallout. The most succesful Kickstarters have been those that have appealed to old classics and not those doing something revolutionary.
  17. forgottenlor
    On the other hand the "Stength" or "Accuracy" attribute as you currently visualize them seem much more powerful than say the reflex or psyche attribute. Since Mr. Sawyer seems to value balance greatly, I'm guessing he'd try to make all attributes rival "strenght" and "accuracy" in usefulness.
  18. forgottenlor
    Great outline there. I'd actually assume that there are not 6 attributes. If all attributes are combat related, and the factors you listed all are tied to attributes, it seems that the bonuses are spread to thin. Let's not forget even in D&D 3.5, of all the mental skills, only wisdom is tied to combat for all characters. Thus I'd guess that there will be either 4 (or more likely 5 attributes). For example I could see either reflex or deflection sharing the same attribute as accuracy.
  19. forgottenlor
    I find that interesting. Do you just experiment with character building? Or do you read the manual in advance? I used to enjoy reading manuals, however I really dislike digital manuals and I often find it difficult to sit down and read them.
  20. forgottenlor
    I hadn't thought about monsters, tbh. Here I'd like to see a small sample of very common creatures, perhaps. I also hadn't thought about lore tied to mechanics, like the choice of diety, or specialty schools of magic in Icewind Dale 2. That would also be something cool to know in advance (for me at least). I also would agree that if some mechanics are introduced later in the game (maybe a sort of story ability like in Mask of the Betrayer) then I also don't need to know that in advance either.
  21. forgottenlor
    Obviously I am not talking about the main story line or quests here. How much of the mechanics would you like to know about each class/race? Or abilities? How many screen shots would you like to see? How much lore would you like to know? Do you want to "really be surprised?" or "do you want to know a lot." Personally I would really like to see a lot of mechanics information (the thread on traps just got me thinking about skill mechanics) before I get the game in my hands. Before I start any RPG, I try to take a good deal of time to think about how I want to make my character, and if its a party based RPG, than about how to organize my party. I guess that has been the case since I started play pen and paper RPGS when I was young. Where I'd really like to be surprised is with everything else. Story, setting, lore, et. I'd prefer than remain a surprise. If its well done, I find that the most enjoyable part of an RPG. What do you think?
  22. forgottenlor
    In Neverwinter Nights 2 you could also go without a rogue. I did two playthroughs without. The first I simply bashed all chests, and my main character had a good enough search to notice traps. In the 2nd I beefed up Grobnar (the bard) with skills, items, and feats so that he was able to get through almost all traps and locks. So you could get around traps without a rogue if you were creative, or willing to lose resources. I'm guessing P:E will be like this. Having a mechanics bonus will be convenient. Having none will be doable, though will require some planning or extra resources.
  23. forgottenlor
    I also voted turn based. The vote looks like it is so evenly split at the moment though, that Inexile will probably feel justified with whatever approach they take. I can't imagine real-time-with-a-pause will be so hard for them to do, especially since they've been sharing resources with P:E. If they were hoping the backers would decide for them, then they've failed. In the end they are going to make some people unhappy.
  24. forgottenlor
    If each class gets two skill bonuses, would it safe to assume another class also gets a bonus in mechanics?
  25. forgottenlor
    This is a REALLLY good point. I bought the just out Baldur's Gate Enhanced Edition from Beamdog and wanted my main character (fighter) to go a different route than normal. I thought, hey I bet bastard sword and off hand short sword or shield might be cool? I am not dumb though and did my due diligence. Come to find out there are hardly any bastard swords in the game and the best bastard sword is a joke compared to even the second or third best long sword or top two great swords. If I went that route I literally gimped myself simply because the game did not have a great end game bastard sword... period. this is one of the reasons why I wanted crafting so badly. If you can make your own damn Bastard sword, you don't have to worry about what the game provides, you can provide it yourself. This was one thing I liked about Temple of Elemental Evil. I did one play through where 4 out of my 5 characters were equipped with pole arms. (Fighter/Cleric, Paladin, Fighter/Thief, Barbarian). I really wanted to try to make a phalanx, and it functioned pretty well, because I could craft my own polearms.
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