crackwise

Sorry if it was asked before, couldn't see it anywhere else. Why is there a strange parabola in the game text connecting the letters s and t (when they are next to each other)? It distracts me from reading the text. Initially I thought it was a glitch or something, but it is an intentional thing it seems. What is the reason to have such a thing?

I am not a beta backer myself, but from the gameplay videos I have seen so far a couple of things bother me a lot in terms of visual aspects: 1. The characters in the game blend rather too much with the background and don't strike out properly. They look as if they are somehow transparent and blurry. Character shadows don't help much in this case either. The characters look so transparent as if they have all somehow casted shadow door or are in the etheral plane etc. 2. It seems there is only one type of attack animation for each weapon at the moment, e.g. the dwarf keeps swinging his axe from right to left all the time, the paladin thrusts at the same location with her rapier. I hope they make better animations with more variation. (BG2 and IWD2 had different attack animations for instance) 3. The ogre fight: I would expect such a huge creature would knock you back and send you flying when it hit you. It is rather bland at the moment how it just keeps hitting you. I am an nfinity engine era RPG guy, but still this is year 2014. Even though the roleplaying elements are more important to me, I would expect to see decent animations in such a game. Dragon Age (yes, it was 3-D, not the same thing) which came out in 2009 had pretty cool fighting animations, with knock-down and knock-back included. (Remember the epic Ogre and Dragon fights in that game!)

This is a great idea. I especially would like some of these treasures to lead to some potential quests. Some with individual items, and some when the set is completed itself. For example the modron doll you bought in PS: Torment which led you to some strange place is a good example of this : )

I think to balance things and also make ranged attacks more realistic, there should be a penalty incurred to the ranged attacker, proportionate to the movement speed of the target (if it has moved while archer has taken aim). This makes sense, since in reality shooting moving targets are harder. Perhaps a good player tactic to overcome this could be to lock the enemy in one position at a specific orientation (e.g. by spells or attacking from a specific direction with melee) leaving their flanks without the shields open to bombarding them with arrows. Another thing to consider is the size of the target. It should not be the same difficulty to shoot a fast moving little rat (like those in PS Torment : P ) and some slow moving ogre. Additional note: Just remembered that Jagged Alliance 2 actually imposes such a penalty to the shooter if the target has moved. So I think it can be possible to implement such a thing.

Here is a screenshot from Ultima Online inventory. It is an inventory without any grids, thus not treating the sword and a pebble the same way. But the volume is not considered and the only thing considered was the weight. It was quite tedious though, trying to arrange your items in the backpack. I strongly agree that both the volume and weight of items should be taken into account when designing an inventory system. Again, for an inventory system which already does this thing successfully, see my previous post in this thread about Jagged Alliance 2 1.13 mod.

I like the inventory system of the 1.13 mod for Jagged Alliance 2 a lot. Basically the equipment you can carry on you depends on the bags, pouches, vests you wear/carry. For instance you can stash ammo magazines in the pouches of your vest, carry a med-kit if you have backpack, stash your additional SMG if you have a SMG holster etc. Some similar system could be implemented perhaps in PE. The equipment also has weight and if you exceed your character's carry limit, your character is slowed drastically. Some may find such a system kind of tedious and annoying, but I find it very realistic and fun, but of course I am not sure how well it can be implemented to the PE gameplay, just an idea. Anyway, here is a screenshot:

I like the concept art of the civilizations a lot. They don't appear other worldly and have a realistic look about them. Especially the Ixamitl people resemble some local traditions from Turkey. For some brainstorming how Ixamitl warriors could look like, I present you a couple of photos of Turkish Zeybek warriors. Zeybeks were irregular milita from Western Anatolia being active from late 17th until 20th centuries. They were sometimes seen as outlaws by the central government but they were usually supported by the local populace because they fought against the people who oppressed them. They usually had their camps in the mountains. Zeybeks used to carry yatagans and pistols on their waist, stuffing them in their sash. They also carried muskets. A Zeybek clothing from more modern times. On the right handside, a dancer performing Zeybek folk dance. Zeybek dance is one of the most famous folk dances in Turkey. The origin of this dance is that when they celebrated and danced, the Zeybek warriors used to imitate eagles and other natural forces to which they were accustommed to due to their harsh living conditions in the mountains. Anyway, It would be cool to see such local militia protecting Ixamitl people from expansion of the republic etc. in the game.

Guys, I don't know if many of you have played the Myth series in the past. But in my opinion they are one of the greatest 2-D games with physics. As far as I know, in Myth 2 Soulblighter the surroundings are 3-D but the characters are 2-D sprites. But the explosion physics in this game is so cool! Look at this video: Perhaps Project Eternity could have such physics. It would be so fun, having such physics with a game which has gunpowder and magic at the same time! : D http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niLBL44VOxc

JFSOCC, if you ever write a fantasy novel or something like that, just tell us. Awesome monster designs and great stories while explaining them. Your style reminds me of Todd McFarlane's writing style somehow. I like them a lot, keep 'em coming

@AGX-17: So what is clarified in your post regarding my suggestion of taking into account the weapon reach to prevent rock-paper-scissor situation happening?? Let me put it this way again: A mace would definitely have a higher damage output to heavily armored opponents. However, implementing the weapon reach perhaps as a defense bonus, the real situation of keeping the enemies at distance by two-handed weapons might be considered. Therefore, using a two handed sword or a spear might not be a bad idea against heavy armor, although it is more resistant to their damage type. A two handed hammer on the other hand, would have both the high damage against heavy armor and a strong reach (high defense bonus). However, it strongly loses in the speed factor (perhaps means less number of attacks per round). I know it is very hard to come up with a model which is realistic enough, yet fun to play. But to prevent specific type of weapon choices dominating in specific type of encounters, and to make every weapon useful when combined with party tactics, I think lots of factors should be considered.

@Sensuki: Ok, thanks. I could not follow the updates for some time. It seems that the developers have a slightly similar system in their mind at the moment. However, it is argued that the resistance types of armor against weapon types would result in a rock-paper-scissors situation. I agree, but to balance things out and make more variable fighting styles, it is probably necessary that the weapons have attack rating and defense rating, speed and reach as parameters. Hence, you shouldn't be directly able to say against a heavily armored opponent: "I'll switch to mace and beat him up." Using a spear might help you keep the enemy at bay and although you'll be dealing less damage, the enemy won't be able to get close to you and score a hit. I think this can be implemented by considering weapon reach as a factor.

I am not sure if there is some explicit info announced by the developers yet about the armor system and the chance to hit, but I will try to share my views on it. In the previous IE games, what the armor did was to change the armor class of the character. Which means that he would be hit less frequently. As you leveled up, your skill to hit would improve, however your ability to defend was only related with the armor you wore. But in reality, a seasoned warrior would easily parry or dodge an inexperienced warrior's attacks. Hence, a more complex system is necessary. Armor as a means to protect against damage What I propose is that the armor should have resistance values for 3 basic types of physical attacks, namely: Slashing, Crushing, Piercing. For instance a plate mail could have such resistances: 70% slashing, 20% crushing, 40% piercing The proposed system for the chance to defend and the chance to hit As in the D&D system, each character has inherent abilities such as strength, dexterity, etc. But in addition to these they improve their attack and defense skills as they gain experience. This is perhaps rather similar to the Diablo system, but the players could have the chance to allocate some points to attack or defense skills ratings of the characters as they leveled up each time. Thus, it could be possible to make a more offense oriented fighter or a more defensive fighter with good tanking abilities. The points available for this purpose would differ with individual classes. - Defense rating should correspond to the chance of parrying (or keeping the enemy at distance: in the case of polearms, spears. etc.) and every weapon should also have some defense rating in addition to attack rating indicating how good they are at this purpose. Therefore with this logic, the attack and defense rating are defined as such: The character's attack rating = function of [strength or dexterity bonus*** + attack rating bonus per level (allocated by the player) + weapon attack bonus] The character's defense rating = function of [strength or dexterity bonus*** + defense rating bonus per level (allocated by the player) + weapon defense bonus] *** The attack or defense bonuses coming from character abilities change according to weapon. For instance short swords and daggers would use the dexterity bonus, however a two handed axe or polearm would use strength bonus. Some weapons such as longsword, mace, axe etc. could use a combination of the two abilities with different percentages. -The chance of dodging should also be present as a mechanic, and is a function of character dexterity, armor properties and class bonuses. Hence, a leather armor would have a higher dodge percentage, a magical plate armor could allow a higher dodge chance than a normal one and a rogue would have a dodge bonus per level due his training. So these are my ideas at the moment. Feel free to post your suggestions...

Sword Defense Assuming you are just going to hit someone with a sword. You will have a harder time trying to hit someone who has a sword in his hand than a person with empty hands. That's because he will force you to keep your distance and has a chance to parry your attacks! What was missing in so many RPG systems so far is the ability of a weapon to parry and have some defense rating. I think it shouldn't be so hard to implement such a thing in a game. And its usefulness will surely shine in the cases mentioned below... Engaging Multiple Enemies Imagine you are back in the Baldur's Gate series, hacking away at multiple enemies. What do you usually do with your fighters? You order all your fighters to focus on one guy to bring him down quickly. But thinking realistically this doesn't make sense. You should be facing someone who is trying to hit you! Therefore, I propose that there should be some kind of a penalty when you don't attack an enemy who is attacking you but you prefer to hit someone else. This can be implemented as letting go of the sword defense bonuses which I have explained above and perhaps resulting in some additional defense penalties (due to combatant trying to fight multiple enemies) because you are not facing your enemies. The extent how high these penalties might be is subjective, but it makes sense to make them cumulative. This would surely make it a real challange even for a single level 16 fighter to face 10 goblins at the same time. This will also be an incentive for the players to use disabling spells, use summons, trying to lead the numerously superior enemy to choke points etc. Backpedaling When you are trying to separate from your enemy and try to withdraw, it is highly risky that you turn your back and start running. Your enemy might score a hit of opportunity at the moment your back is turned to him. Therefore, it makes sense to implement a withdrawal mechanic in the game. Basically, if your character is fighting an enemy and you order your character to fall back by the walk command, he does so by slowly falling back as he continues fighting. If you order him to run back, he turns his back to his enemy and starts running away. As soon as he turns his back to the enemy, his defense is lowered and his chance of getting stabbed is higher.

Ok, this is my first post actually. And since I didn't know that such a thread existed, I had posted it to the wrong place. So now here I am posting it again. In most CRPGs, the weapons are too fantastic and don't have any real life counterpart, or they are very common types of weapons and mostly derived from Medieval - Renaissance European weapons. I think there are plenty of exotic weapons from real life which can be included in the game. My first suggestion would be the "Yatagan" sword. It is a short sabre which was extensively used in the Ottoman Empire territory between 16th - 19th centuries. It was the trademark sword of Jannissaries. The originality of this sword comes from the fact that it is curved towards the front and has no hand guards at the hilt. It was ideal for carrying as a side arm next to the musket, due to its small size and strong slashing momentum because of having its center of weight towards the tip. Some Yatagans: The yatagan was worn on the waist inside the sash, slightly similar how the samurai used to wear the wakizashi. (On this photo M. Kemal Ataturk posing as a Janissary) While scimitars and sabres have found much place in the games, they are usually depicted as having rather broad blades. I believe this may be a slight exageration while the real turkish "Kilic" (sword in Turkish) is like this: Indonesia and the region surrounding have very peculiar looking weapons indeed. They definitely look as if they are from a fantasy role playing game. For instance the "Kris", a type of dagger, which is distinguished by its wavy pattern. Kris can be worn in different ways: Another very original weapon from Indonesia is the "Kujang" which is a sickle shaped short weapon. The "Kampilan" sword from the Phillipines also looks as if it was created in a fantasy setting, but it is real. It is around 100 cm long and is mainly used with two hands.

It looks great!! Amazing art work, wow! One question though: It seems that as the sun goes down the shadows of the plants don't get longer and they don't eventually disappear at night time. Is dynamic shadows going to be implemented as well? Or is it only possible in a 3D game? Again, thanks for the wonderful work. Good luck with everything!

In most CRPGs, the weapons are too fantastic and don't have any real life counterpart, or they are very common types of weapons and mostly derived from Medieval - Renaissance European weapons. In this thread I would recommend posting some suggestions regarding exotic weapons from real life which can be included in the game. My first suggestion would be the "Yatagan" sword. It is a short sabre which was extensively used in the Ottoman Empire territory between 16th - 19th centuries. It was the trademark sword of Jannissaries. The originality of this sword comes from the fact that it is curved towards the front and has no hand guards at the hilt. It was ideal for carrying as a side arm next to the musket, due to its small size and strong slashing momentum because of having its center of weight towards the tip. Some Yatagans: The yatagan was worn on the waist inside the sash, slightly similar how the samurai used to wear the wakizashi. (On this photo M. Kemal Ataturk posing as a Janissary) While scimitars and sabres have found much place in the games, they are usually depicted as having rather broad blades. I believe this may be a slight exageration while the real turkish "Kilic" (sword in Turkish) is like this: Indonesia and the region surrounding have very peculiar looking weapons indeed. They definitely look as if they are from a fantasy role playing game. For instance the "Kris", a type of dagger, which is distinguished by its wavy pattern. Kris can be worn in different ways: Another very original weapon from Indonesia is the "Kujang" which is a sickle shaped short weapon. The "Kampilan" sword from the Phillipines also looks as if it was created in a fantasy setting, but it is real. It is around 100 cm long and is mainly used with two hands. I am sure the developers are going to do a fantastic game, but it would still be cool to see some of these suggestions included in the game Let's keep posting your suggestions!