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Grape_You_In_The_Mouth

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Everything posted by Grape_You_In_The_Mouth

  1. Just read Sensuki's post on marketing to MOBA players and the discussion of perfect sales timing. How do we think Pillars of Eternity can best market the game? What comes to mind instantly for me is Guardians of the Galaxy - it had a really catchy aesthetic to the images, included sexy elements, and seemed really fun. My immediate second thought is PoE is going for classy, and they might hurt themselves even if they try to sell it as something different. But why can't they sell it with bright colors, catchy heroism, and sexiness? I'm still debating in my mind. Let's give them your wisdom, hardcore RPG fans!
  2. Completely agree that story and C&C are what make a masterpiece, especially in an RPG. I regularly see games that have been completely trumped by graphics and gameplay still be played 15 years later because the story is good. Every once in a while there is a game that had a great mix of a combat system or other gameplay mechanics but everyone focuses on those so much they are improved all the time. What do I expect from Obsidian? Pretty good to great. Some favorites of mine are New Vegas, Planescape, Aracanum, and MCA likes FFVI so it should be a home run. At the very least I expect it will be the start of a good series.
  3. Yeah I'm tired of hearing hamsters say it's a different subgenre---do you think most people who bought Skyrim even know what isometric or turn-based means? They see a picture of a game on Steam, and they click on it. No AAA dev makes games hoping to sell to the .1% of the population that want a new Baldur's Gate.
  4. The trailer is perfect. Excellent job. Love the use of horns and the last bits of strings at the end. I knew you guys would do it this good and I'm so glad you did.
  5. I think it would be a good investment, and great for us too, if some more official wallpapers were released. The current ones aren't so hot except for the group fight. Maybe crowdsource it by making it a contest in the next update, and they select which ones are goonies. (Note: The Goonies 'R' Good Enough) Devs if you're out there it's looking awwwwwesome
  6. If Arcanum's combat system was holding you guys back, I recommend the only good mod for it, which rebalances the game nicely but will make you have to die/retry (just use the virgil debug menu for cheats if problems). I used melee and real-time melee/casting a lot and enjoyed it, which is directly contrary to the modder's turn-based design. All the other mods are completely ridiculous, unfortunately. Direct Link Description on GoG As for Chris Avellone, I don't think we should just brush away that he stopped playing it. He did put in a lot of time already, but he just finally made it to Tarant. He probably hates the game because it's like so many games he's made and played, but it was a stretch goal. We're like a girl who finally decides to get fuc*ed, and half-way through, the guy doesn't want to anymore. Do we demand he deliver, even if his heart isn't in it? I would be in favor of a review of the game's story after he uses cheats to beat it quickly, to give some closure, but I also found Chris' videos hilarious. Another issue is that he probably doesn't want to spend a bunch of time trashing Tim Cain's masterpiece, but I think Tim can take it.
  7. Ditto on the chainmail bikini. I really want more stretch goals just to be able to back the project for the first time, and hopefully make the game as big as BG2 with some of my money used to patch issues that have jumped into production. Stretch Goals -Chris Avellone really plays Arcanum whilst reading a walkthrough and cursing Tim Cain -More Outdoor areas -Chainmail bikini -Better enemy AI -Extra balancing (i.e. Obsidian plays their game before we do)
  8. YEAHHH Negative Reactions -Combat in the video looked incredibly still. I was shocked by how this affected my immediate reaction. Maybe some more combat stancing lean-ery. -The fog/vapor effects falling down the door during the bridge crossing looked like ****. I'm only saying this because I don't care about aesthetics, and this bad VFX is one thing I know you would be better to invest your own personal income in changing if necessary. -The portraits in the beginning looked still as well. Glam it up with some more action in the glowy intro VFX to settle into the portrait. -"The Watcher", if a large part of the story, may pack less of an impact as it sounds so close to the Witcher. A name change (Seer, etc.) might be a good change just because of the way people's brains work. Positive Reactions -Dragon was badass -Love seeing the spells -Logo is good -Music is fitting -Love you guyz 4 ever super coolies
  9. I didn't notice a good story, soundtrack, or atmosphere in BG2, but I noticed a good system with a lot of content. It's basically a great action movie that makes pen and paper D&D look slow and unnecessary. Everything about the game is good enough, but it actually implemented a great RPG system and allowed you to create up to 6 of your own characters and act freely in the large world of the game. Almost no other games have anything close to that combination.
  10. There once were some elves condescending, Upon Dwarves and their pitiful "meddling," But when the Dwarves saw their daughters, They broke in with a slaughter, And it was no longer steel they were bending!
  11. The awesome ****ing story. The reactivity and open-ness to the game is great, but I have no interest in games with all the RPG traits and a bad story. There were some points during the game when I read books necessary for the plot and thought "Good God this is a great ****ing game." Same deal with Fallout 1 for me. Fallout 3? ****in' blows.
  12. By plot I mean X did this, then Y did that, then Z happened. Character development to me is just a more character focused version of this, being the way characters react to events and what plot choices they choose to make, and how they act with other characters over the storyline. I think the real argument is what's the definition of "great." What would make someone pay extra money for a game is a lot different than what this or that developer wants players to get out of their game.
  13. If they asked me, I'd say an open RPG for Battle Angel Alita. She already has amnesia, there would be tons of possible quest arcs/factions, it has the deepest story (surprisingly) I've ever read, and James Cameron could use a larger base of BAA fans before he finally gets around to making the movie. Cameron of course is focused on the action aspects of the manga, so he probably won't feel threatened by any other interpretations of the story.
  14. FFordesoon, I would disagree with you for a few reasons, but I'm honored to receive a reply that took days to complete. Doom 1 may be playable now to people who grew up with it, but there are so many games that have everything I liked about Doom and more, so there is absolutely no reason for me to go back to it. If you play RPGs for their gameplay then you could say the same about almost all the old RPG games. However, while playing an RPG the elements of character development and plot can have a surprising and life-long effect on the player even if the player doesn't play games for plot and character development. What I am constantly surprised by is how often this makes an RPG a classic, but when people actually describe why the RPG is great, they mention almost everything but the plot and characters. For instance, many people say things like "atmosphere." Would there be any doubt a great atmosphere will replace that game within the next 5 years? Would you ever buy a game purely because your friend told you it had the best atmosphere? Would you ever say a game had a lasting impression on the way you think about life because of its atmosphere? Atmosphere is a great package to wrap around gameplay and plot, but is quickly outdone compared to certain other aspects, and it is essentially a dependent sub-characteristic. Games have the same potential as books, movies, and songs to become an eternal part of someone's life, even outside of just enjoying games, and that is what makes an RPG made 15 years ago better than the latest RPG graphics fighting orgy that will be made 15 years from now. I would argue that games have an even better potential for this as they are interactive. Soon in our future there will be a Final Fantasy 20: Hair vs. Swords and a Call of Warfare: Gears of Black Ops XXIV where you can make epic headshots while double backflipping off an exploding building. And that will feel cool, but it will be replaced, and that's partly why it will not have a lasting effect on your life. Some games open your eyes and move your emotions and they do it in a way that can't be easily reproduced, and the combination of those two components is what makes a game a classic. Even Baldur's Gate 2 was just a great system. If someone said "we need to make another game that has a really great combat system" they could end up with another game like Baldur's Gate 2. No matter how much you pay 100 writers, a great story is a function of inspiration. TL;DR - The reason a new gamer could enjoy Fallout 1 today is because of its plot, and the effect a plot (or character development) has on a person outlasts and outweighs all the other aspects of a game. I agree the Fallout 1 plot is not lengthy, but it's still amazing, and that's literally the only reason a new gamer should play it, and it's the reason the game will affect people for the rest of their life. It also had C&C, but C&C without a good plot can be easily replaced (add a faction, allow you to help or hurt it), so a deep C&C is completely dependent on a good plot. If it had great character development, that would make it a classic for the same reasons.
  15. Arcanum had an awesome story although it loosely centered around a typical high fantasy plot, and I support all efforts to bring back any elements from that game. When I first heard about the intro to P:E, I thought "they're remaking Arcanum....my life has peaked."
  16. I would have to agree with Pipyui's first post that multiple currencies haven't been good contributions to the games I've played (I just bought FO:NV, so can't comment there). However I do see some real potential with faction development, because your faction choices then determine what types of currencies you get, and your actions can help or hurt a faction and then even have an effect on the strength of your currencies. The idea that allegiance grants you one type of riches and limits you from others is still a part of typical RPG design in the form of loot, though. Multiple currencies would be different only in that they'd be a faction achievement that changes as the faction's prosperity changes (dollar goes up/down), and a direct symbol of the trade-offs you've made (some faction money not exchangeable/devalued elsewhere). I would think this would be real easy for modders to mod out if they don't like it also.
  17. The Soul Travellers -World Overview The enigmatic and silent soul travellers are what seems to be a race that appear at strange places and strange times. Their appearance is somewhat otherworldly and strained, as if they're living through a long and heavy burden. Their souls cause them to enter and exit existence in episodes, but alleged sightings are so rare that they are more often seen in dreams. Alleged contact with the travellers is followed by visions that always seem to have impacts on how their listeners make a decision, or how they make decisions in general. Are they manipulative demons? Eternal wanderers? What are they really up to? Can others become them or live like they do? I think in general this a typical "deus-ex-machina" race that could be developed to achieve any plot goal, but the most interesting thing I can think of is for them to be "purgatory angels" of sorts that try to protect the entire system of souls from being destroyed by "mortals" (although travellers can also die). - Plot Possibilities (Two mutually exclusive possibilities) 1. An enemy leader is trying to destroy the Soul Travellers, because he does not see them as pacifiers or bringers of balance. He sees their interventions as the largest disruptive force in the world, amplifying or creating the ripples and echoes in time that have caused enormous suffering for mortals. This view may be rooted in a combination of hard feelings from past tragedies as well as a fear that the faction may try to "equalize" the villain out of the picture. The villain has a right hand man that is much more scheming and purely evil, and when the Travellers are finally killed, he betrays and kills the head villain, and begins his ambition to destroy the very existence of souls (for reasons which aren't dependent on this faction). 2. A traveller is giving the hero (and others) visions to help them acheive their full potential, because the traveller is jealous of a mortal's free will and ability for moral choice. Helping the hero allows the traveller to vicariously enjoy this aspect of living which the traveller is forced to monitor but never have.
  18. What I think is so interesting is how few people think Choice & Consequence, Character Development, and Plot are the most important factor, while I think those are what make games/movies/books turn into long-lasting classics. I think people still play Fallout 1 today because it had these elements, whereas Doom 1 can be replaced easily by 100 games with a better graphics, gameplay, and a better complete package in every respect. Fallout 1's story is only Fallout 1's story--the only way you can enjoy that plot and character development again is if someone remakes the game.
  19. The Republic of Keller Historical Rip-off: Republic of Basque Inherent dilemma: Practical limits of governance, Rights of governance In the middle of a kingdom is a city that is small but disproportionately powerful for it's size. Their citizens are known to be disproportionately skilled also, and emigrants have become people in somewhat high places throughout many different societies. The citizens there have had a different system of government since their advancement in the last 5 generations and they believe their system of government is better than the kingdom's. The republic has been secluded from other societies because of their mountainous location, which has kept inter-city travel slow and their military defense easy. Time and again the republic has repelled invading societies, and now the kingdom is finally "asking" the republic to pay taxes, like all the other cities have done for decades if not centuries. The republic strongly believes in their own sovereignty (and superiority) and refuses the crown. The republic beats every invading platoon, even the special guard that is eventually brought in. Finally the kingdom gives up, or perhaps resorts to other/desperate measures as the King's fiscal position becomes dire. The Army of Keller(Replace with obligatory powerful name that isn't a huge cliche yet) Historical Spin-off from: Army of Flanders In a war between Kingdoms is a non-political mercenary army that has never lost a battle, but grows increasingly expensive and starts becoming an unbearable burden for any kingdom, but an unstoppable force that can't be left to the opponents. Eventually the costs become 1/4 of a wealthy kingdom's budget and the army doesn't receive the enormous money they promise. The army lets the opponents run through the Kingdom until the King promises unbelievable favoritism to the army, even special laws for when the army retires from the war. However, the army's hubris has grown so much that the leader doesn't accept, instead demanding the throne. The leader is physically given the crown in a desperate bargaining meeting. Your involvement can protect the king or help the army, either of which determines the wealth of the kingdom's cities (item availability and costs in shops). An outcome that might be too complicated would be to have special side-effects to the plot based on the resulting leadership, such as other groups/people available in the kingdom. The Pythinonicus Historical Rip-off: Pythagoreans (I was so clever at renaming these guys, I know) Historical Rip-off: Harris v. Jones Inherent dilemma: Institutional Corruption (small scale), Individuality vs. Paternalism There is a "cult" of fanatics that believe they have found a great discovery of the relationship of souls with the universe, and the new leader has developed the cult's beliefs while leading them into an increasingly precarious situation. The new recruits have become skeptical as their cult moves deeper into desolate territory with a decreasing chance of returning to the safe proximities of nearby civilization. One of them is a beautiful, academically bright daughter to a fairly wealthy relative of another NPC in the nearby city, and her parents have hired you to "rescue" her from the cult and bring her back to a normal life. As she barely reached adulthood the cult has used incremental social pressures to increase her social dependency to the cult and restrict outside influence, and she is in love with the charismatic leader. You have multiple ways of bringing back the daughter, but can ultimately find out that the leader's developments of the religion are the incorrect visions of an outcast who found an obsession to comfort his exile. He has been with the cult ever since he was officially ostracized from a far away city 15 years ago for taking the blame of his wife's mistake. He and his wife were both professional architects and when an unusually strong year for weather caused a noble's house to collapse, the normal death sentence was expected as the noble's favored son had been killed. If you bring back the beautiful cult daughter to her parents without convincing her that the leader or the cult is wrong, she will scream for days and resist with everything but lethal violence, including calling the police and accusing you of kidnapping when she is finally allowed a few hours outside of her room. Depending on your reputation, you may actually go to jail for this crime, as she is a legal adult, or you may be released, based on the "insanity" of the daughter. The Empiricists Historical Rip-off: Atheists, Aristotelians Inherent dilemma: Faith vs. Science -World Overview Scattered throughout the societies are people who have seen the races improve their self-awareness, and have therefore grown up to favor demonstrable evidence rather than explanations which have notions of forces at work beyond our "normal" senses. While this is usually just a frame of mind, the people who ascribe to it are usually looking for others like them and may even be forming political networks of their own. Openly discussing it proves to be very difficult as it is heavily in contrast to common "wisdom" and can make someone a social outcast, officially exiled citizen, or worse (scapegoating, mass persecution) depending on the society. Thoughout conversations on this topic, some people hate empiricists for the wrong reasons ("I met a stupid one", "everyone knows that's wrong"), and some people have great arguments against it ("Their complicated 'expiriments' can only result in no discomfirmation of the evidence, which is different than an absolute proof, and doesn't directly disprove conventional belief). -Plot Possibilities One empiricist makes a great innovation/discovery as a result of his empirical thinking, but the discovery is contrary to a widespread understanding of souls in his society (for consistency, this understanding might need to be only believed in his society). What's worse, it means the miracle recovery of his King was not due to the help of the shamans, who gained significant influence since that event. Does he fearlessly present it as a triumph of his ideology? Does he try to get political support beforehand, maybe requiring someone else to take the credit? Does he attempt to mesh the explanation with the current understanding of souls, impuning the methodology that led to his discovery? Your help or rejection determine if the society starts changing from magic-based to a more technologically oriented society. Previously Mentioned Factions I Like That "Mosaics" faction is incredible. I love the way it parallels an aspect of human interrelation but because it's from a basic soul mechanic, it creates interesting moral vices to those involved. Dragoling Trader Empire by JFSOCC (basically the Dutch East India Company)
  20. I've been reading a lot of gaming reviews out of curiosity lately, and I'm absolutely shocked at what people say, including when on these forums, so I thought I'd add a poll to make things easier for anyone else interested.
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