Isamael

Just so, just so!

I don't really see where this statement fits into the rest of your post which seemed to root for taking the game in mature and unexpected directions. I for one, and the same goes for my players - prefer moral ambiguities, hard choices and adventures where their path is not laid out for them. Like yours, however, they enjoy political themes and intrigue - even opportunities to betray or trick each other. Personally, I would like to see PE step away from arbitrary notions of what is right and wrong. Do the unexpected, play with the player's assumptions and expectations. Have far-reaching consequences that aren't immediately clear to the player. Maybe that slave you freed takes revenge on his old master, who just happens to be an important quest NPC much later in the game. Surprise the player.

Much as I enjoy scheming wizard organisations and the like, the Harpers are a fictional organization native to the Forgotten Realms, this isn't a FR game. I think what you are advocating is to have the player be confronted with/by a group and their schemes, possibly at semi-regular intervals throughout the story - without understanding the ramifications of their actions until, (either through a big reveal, or simply when you figure it out yourself) there is a - pardon the expression - brick-sh*tting experience as the pieces fall into place? Or do you really simply want the harpers or a clone thereof in the game? In case of the latter, put me down for "Not very tempting."

I too, must confess I'd much, much rather see a return (perhaps refined) of BG2's excellent inventory management. Inventory tetris or no, I'd focus on fixing the few issues BG2's system had - such as the frustratingly cumbersome step-by-step approach you had to take to moving items between characters sometimes. When opening a container, I would be much relieved if I could choose what character picks up what. Furthermore, taking size as well as weight into account is an idea I would like to see expanded upon. A suit of chain mail, while heavy, is easily collapsible and not hard to fit down even a full backpack or sack - whereas a helmet or, god forbid, a breastplate - is an immense and rigid construction that would take up a lot of space. I also subscribe to the notion of more piecemeal armour and/or an expanded paperdoll. If one wants to elaborate upon this - what about equippable items that increase the size of your inventory? Backpacks and pocketbelts are one thing, but what of the pockets of regular clothes? A cloak with pockets sewn into it? There are no pockets on a full suit of armour - but a more lightly armoured character, like a mage - might well have access to a plethora of clever containers and (more importantly) could actually reach his hand into his trouser pocket without having two squires undress him for an hour first. Oh, and one last thing...? Hand drawn items and descriptions. To this day I still giggle when I read the description of the Ring of Energy.

There was a comment on the youtube video that, while crudely put, deserves some recognition - if we can at all avoid a zombie-ish apocalypse as a looming threat in the Eternity storyline, I would be very pleased and doubly grateful. What is it about the undead that make them restless every time there's an adventure to be had? That said, I expect good things from the story, and truth be told I can put up with any number of tropes if we can but have player choices that relate to their character's (perceived) personality instead of subscribing to the tired and arbitrary "good / evil / neutral" trinity. The Witcher games, for instance, did a great job of creating a world of moral ambiguities - but the dialogue and story suffered because you were tied to this rather apersonal and boring character. In Dragon Age (the first) most dialogue choices would lead to largely the same results (as does, indeed, most any branching dialogue trees - they are immensely difficult to write) but there were a plethora of different...spins or moods. I had envisioned my character as sassy and disorderly to the outside, a character who loathed authority, but ultimately had a good heart - and found to my surprise that the game would let me play the character just so. The outcomes were, perhaps, identical to the ones a two-dimensional goody-two-shoes would have gotten - but I got to experience them with my vision of my character intact. This is something I found immensely rewarding and would like to see again. Furthermore.... Wait. Oh dear, did I just start arguing dialogue construction in a story post? I did, didn't I... My apologies. Consider then my standpoint this: LONG TERM NON-APPARENT CONSEQUENCES PLZ!1