SpaceHamsterBoo

There were some spells in the IE games where a mage summoned a magical weapon. However, such spells never seemed viable or as effective as the traditional fireball or chain lightning spells, mainly due to dismal THACO and armor class on mages. While more viable for a multi/dual class fighter/mage, then the spell would be dwarfed by awesome enchanted weapons. I'd like to see some kind of skills which would make such spells more fun/viable to use when compared to the traditional fireball/lightning-mass-damage spells.

I'm not sure if this subject has been talked about yet on the forums (or if this should go in Engine and Technology section) as I am quite new, but I wonder about the following: What would like/or not like to see in the game interface of Project Eternity? Also, do you have any critics about the interfaces of the old Infinity Engine games? Personally, I've been replaying Baldur's Gate 2 recently, and I'm finding that the interface was pretty well done, even if it may take many clicks on certain occasions to access an item or spell. In order to speed up my gameplay, I have been trying to use the hotkeys implemented in the game to select party members, items, spells, and whatnot. I'm also finding that I'd love to rebind certain hotkeys to make it easier for my left hand (e.g.: hitting ` intead of = to select the entire party group). So for Project Eternity, how about having the option to rebind hotkeys in order to access inventory, character profile, party formations, and all the stuff I just mentioned as well? Obviously, if you have any other points about your ideal game interface, I'd be happy to hear.

^ Then you'd have to do: C18 + C28 + C38 + C48 + C58 +1 = Total number of possible parties with 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 companions, plus the option of going solo which can also be interpreted as C08. This would give : 8!/[(8-1)! *1!] + 8!/[(8-2)!*2!] + 8!/(5!*3!) + 8!/(4!*4!) + 8!/(3!*5!) + 1 = 8+28+56+70+56 +1 = 219 which is still far from 2 016! I've just looked it up in my stats book this is how it should be computed. However, 219 possible party formations is still quite high and offers good replay value. Whether all possible party formations are interesting is another question and is most probably up to the player

I think this is wrong. If you are to chose 5 companions out of 8 companions, without assigning importance to the order in which they are chosen, then I believe you should use a combination C58 = 8!/[(8-5)! * 5!] = 8!!/(3! * 5!) = 1*2*3*4*5*6*7*8/(1*2*3*1*2*3*4*5) = 4*5*6*7*8/(1*2*3*4*5) = 6*7*8/(1*2*3) = 56 This is quite different, but still, playing the game 56 times is quite a feat! Correct me if I'm wrong, but I do believe this is how you're supposed to see the stats. So there would be 56 possible parties of 6 people including the player character. If you want to add possibilities of soloing or using less party members, then I'll redo the stats a little later.

I don't like the idea of classifying the types of abilities. I see the ciphers similarly to the sorcerers of Baldur's Gate 2. Each cipher would have his own personal background, and reasons for developping specific abilities. This would mean that a cipher would have his own "school" which could not be reproduced, even by other ciphers. As in Baldur's Gate 2, the player had to chose most of the sorcerer's spells before the game. In a roleplaying context, this could reveal part of the sorcerer's own personal background and natural talents.

What if ciphers were in an "awakened" state of mind when compared to mages? I see the typical mage as a book rat, someone who studies formulas and incantations and just reproduces them without any knowledge of how their soul is providing energy to be transformed in a way that it perform the effect the spell is tasked for. I view a cipher as someone who "feels" the connexion, or the flow of energy from his soul and mind and manages to shape that energy to do his/her bidding. This could lead up to many different types of ciphers! For example, a cipher who, through concentration and focus, becomes sensitive to surrounding minds and souls. He could even feel their "flow" and thus predict the movement of an oponent in combat, allowing the cipher to plunge a blade through a weak point of his foe. Another type of cipher could specialize in using his mind as a weapon (leading to many abilities mentioned in previous posts) And maybe some ciphers would use their minds to spend time in an alternate reality, shifting fate and manipulating events to come by influencing other people through their subconscience.

At third question: Other comment: I don't care, just make the best game ever! On a more serious note, all of these options may add interesting variants to the game, but moderation is the key. I would be sad if it were possible to smash everything and get full rewards for being a full brute.