Silent Winter

I thought we were having friendly banter I guess tone is hard to convey - will try harder. So, Bonteru - rogue - equip with stilleto(s) or hammer? Does he have a sharp wit or is he rather more blunt? He likes poison so I'm thinking something sharp and stabby - but I'm also looking forward to reverse pick-pocketing - I can just imagine the insane giggle while waiting for a noxious burst to explode in someone's back pocket. ... ... yes, I have too much free time today.

You can say her main occupation wasn't explorer, but if you admit she explores then that covers her being an explorer. I'm a gamer. My main occupation isn't gaming though. I can't argue with madness either - Pallegina was good but I can't claim great enjoyment from reading about her nictating membranes. Her quest was also a bit unsatisfying. Basically take her to see the ambassador and then the Anamenfath. Tell her which trade agreement to reach. I guess if you just want 'different' then okay.

Unless you're a famous slave or have the aforementioned mark on your face, you probably just won't be recognised as one. It'd be cool if your former master's land was part of the setting (you can screw over a generic slave owner in one playthrough where you weren't a slave or realise it's the same guy if you're playing that background).

ah, okay. It did seem a bit fiddly at times. The PoE one was a bit more consistent. Not sure how often the check was done in PoE though.

That rings a bell, although I couldn't give a source. I remember Josh mentioning it in the latest Twitch stream.https://www.reddit.com/r/projecteternity/comments/5ye510/pillars_of_eternity_ii_deadfire_qa_stream_5/ <- transcript - it's near the end (do a 'find' for 'Perception') So I'm guessing it'll be Perception to spot traps (and hidden objects) but still Mechanics to disarm. They also said that this time traps will be visible in-world before they're discovered by the characters (so the player can spot them and move around if they're careful, even if the characters don't have high perception). Not sure how I feel about that. On the one hand it'll be visually cool, but on the other it revolves around my own perception more than the characters'. In practice, I'll probably have a high PER character in the front-lines anyway so I guess it won't make a difference. I like it. One of my big problems with BGT(never played BG proper, always used the BGT mod) was that at 100+ detect traps or whatever it was called I would still trigger the damn things despite having waited for over 12 seconds right next to one. Didn't armour reduce the detect traps score? (At least in BGT it did). I think you really needed much higher than 100 to get 100% detect. But yeah, sometimes I'd wait, step and the trap would be 'detected' just as it went off.

That rings a bell, although I couldn't give a source. I remember Josh mentioning it in the latest Twitch stream. https://www.reddit.com/r/projecteternity/comments/5ye510/pillars_of_eternity_ii_deadfire_qa_stream_5/ <- transcript - it's near the end (do a 'find' for 'Perception') So I'm guessing it'll be Perception to spot traps (and hidden objects) but still Mechanics to disarm. They also said that this time traps will be visible in-world before they're discovered by the characters (so the player can spot them and move around if they're careful, even if the characters don't have high perception). Not sure how I feel about that. On the one hand it'll be visually cool, but on the other it revolves around my own perception more than the characters'. In practice, I'll probably have a high PER character in the front-lines anyway so I guess it won't make a difference.

I've mentioned before: Cassowarie or Honey-Badger. I'd also be interested in reptile / insectoid (stone-beetle, etc) companions.

Well, there was only one priest in PoE1 - I usually made my own Adventurer's Hall NPC after the first run with Durance. Pallegina can do healing too. And anyone can be multi-classed to Priest (AFAIK - last I heard anyway)

I'm not asking for it to zoom in beyond the default 'close' - I'm wanting to be able to zoom in closer than max 'zoom out' distance when in conversation. Like I said, I often play zoomed out for battles/scouting in order to see more, but then I'm in conversation and locked to that distance. My current playthrough I'm doing it zoomed in a lot more, and I notice a lot more of the gorgeous details that are on the maps. I've never played an isometric rpg that let you zoom the camera while in conversation. Obviously the IE games had no zoom anyway (not counting EE, which I haven't played). Am I imagining BG2 letting me still pan the camera? I seem to recall NWN(1/2) let you control the camera except in scripted cut-scenes. So no, sudden uncontrolled jump and zoom beyond maximum is not what I'm asking for. Just an unlocked camera - how could that not work well?

In the latest Twitch Q&A they mentioned that the game window would no longer be paused during convos (so you can see the ambient people moving around, grass swaying etc. I'm hoping this also means we can zoom/pan.

We can cast some spells prior to combat already, no? (Priest seals, fireball, etc). I think so long as the game is built around this, then it's fine - We can't prebuff and neither can enemies. This doesn't preclude utility spells (e.g. invisibility/unlock) becoming available if Obsidian decides to implement them - they can flag them for use outside combat. (Though I don't like the idea of a 'knock' spell) Perhaps expand the poll to include: Yes for all spells, Yes for utility spells, Keep it as it is now, No for all spells, I just like to push poll buttons.

click on 'more reply options' next to 'post' in the bottom right - then you can attach files.

I'd far prefer a DOT system that intellect helped by adding duration and not affecting damage per tick. Does X damage a second (or every 3s if you prefer), base length 10s, actual length 13s with 12 INT (or whatever numbers are balanced). Why doesn't it work like that? The current system makes it sound like a low-INT attacker would do better, because the same Damage is applied much faster. (other effects like prone/hobbled would be nerfed though - is that the balance thinking?) So you should have low-INT poisoners and high-INT disablers?)

We can already pan and zoom when the game is paused - just not in dialogue. All this requires is not freezing the game window in dialogue. When the characters are further apart, we'd have the option of zooming out / panning the camera. (Assuming here we're talking about manual control. If it's automatic, it needs the extra work)

That's understandable, which is why I'd prefer as Regggler suggested and just allow us to move/zoom the camera during convos. I prefer to zoom out a little for battles, but then I often end up too zoomed out (for my tastes) when in convos.

Same as when a door is closed between you party an the area you command them to walk to I'd say. You can always try to disarm the trap, and choose to trigger it if you can't. Sure, but the question was how the path finding code should govern traps that completely block your path and my suggestion was that it should treat them the same way it treats closed doors that completely block your path i.e. your party will not pass through. Of course, to make this work you'd need an option to trigger a trap that you can't disarm by clicking on it, since you wouldn't have the option of simply walking through it. Is that currently in PoE? I usually have a high Mechanics character who can disarm any trap so this isn't something I have to deal with. Yes, that is currently how traps are handled if you can't disarm them - it asks if you'd like to trigger it (so you send the one most likely to avoid/reduce the effects of the trap)Only on trapped containers though, currently you have to walk over traps on the floor to trigger them. Ah, I hadn't realised that. In that case the option would need to be added if they wanted to remove the discovered traps from walkable area.

Being a hunter is her profession -she clearly stated that - and I think that the game needed to put her in some class, so ranger is the most logical, but what she did in her village was hunting, not being a ranger, Maia Rua is a ranger, she receive the training to be one, including hunting. Maybe Sagani learned how to be a ranger by herself, that is a possibility, but saying that a hunter = ranger is quite wrong, hunting is just one of the many skill that a ranger has. So, you said that a she's a ranger by rpg standards, so I have to ask, what are the ranger standards in RPG? They are the same of a hunter? And what I'm trying to say is that, she wasn't an explorer like you are trying to label her, she was just a hunter doing her duty, she would have stayed in her village if she didn't got the small stick, Hunter / Ranger are not mutually exclusive - Sagani ranges (weeks at a time) on her hunt, requiring beast-mastery (they hunt with the foxes) and survival skills. She wouldn't have 'stayed in her village' all the time but rather continued to go on the long hunts, returning periodically (and nothing about a ranger says they don't have a home-base). What's her job? She's a hunter. Is she also a ranger? Yes. She was one of those nominated to go after Persoq because she had the skills necessary. Just because her mission was thrust upon her rather than being of her own choosing makes you like her less? Isn't that, like 90% of protagonists? But I've had enough off-topic for one thread - we can agree to disagree on how awesome Sagani was - and look forward to how good Bonteru might be.

What exactly is a ranger? You have to be more specific. Are you asking the difference between hunter and ranger as a noun or as a class in a RPG? so we're into a semantic argument? A ranger is a hunter who ranges far and wide in the wilderness - with added survival skills in general (so Sagani IS a ranger). If you use a different definition to exclude her then that's your choice. Are you thinking of 'Park Ranger'? or Aragorn? Edit: Compare simple 'hunter' as one who goes into the forest out back and shoots rabbits / deer and is home before dark. She's a ranger by RPG standards - and we're playing an RPG.

Same as when a door is closed between you party an the area you command them to walk to I'd say. You can always try to disarm the trap, and choose to trigger it if you can't. Sure, but the question was how the path finding code should govern traps that completely block your path and my suggestion was that it should treat them the same way it treats closed doors that completely block your path i.e. your party will not pass through. Of course, to make this work you'd need an option to trigger a trap that you can't disarm by clicking on it, since you wouldn't have the option of simply walking through it. Is that currently in PoE? I usually have a high Mechanics character who can disarm any trap so this isn't something I have to deal with. Yes, that is currently how traps are handled if you can't disarm them - it asks if you'd like to trigger it (so you send the one most likely to avoid/reduce the effects of the trap)

I'd prefer it to be automatic in combat (and possibly with an option in certain dialogues: [Draw weapons] "Think carefully before your next move." ) If I have to tell them to draw their weapons, I'll get to the stage with: "Why is Eder punching that troll? ... Ohhhh, I forgot to tell him to draw his sword."

Sagani was a hunter from her village, not a ranger. In her entire dialogue she didn't said that she liked to explore, she said that it was her duty. When you are exploring some place and stop to talk with Kana he will explain some of the lore to you and will, likely, say at the end "shall we investigate?", what Sagani does when you talk to her in a new place? Nothing. I don't think that she liked to explore, she didn't show that in her dialogue and her personality was more of a "duty first" than anything else, she really liked her family and is afraid that they will forget - or already forgot - about her, in her dialogues she explain her entire village for you, but she says very little about her adventures, her mind is focused towards her mission and village. So... I really don't know where you got that from. Actually, she talks about how she enjoys going on the 'long hunt' and tracking for long periods of time with the animal companions (arctic foxes, of which Itumaak is her favourite as he doesn't back down from a challenge) - sounds like an explorer/ranger to me. She shares the first cut of caribou with her sister-hunters, etc, but still looks forward to taking the (moose-)bacon home to the family. Oh no, she has more than one drive. Her view of her current quest changed as time went on - at first it was exciting and an honour, though she had some reservations about leaving the family for too long. As time wore on, she lost confidence in the likelihood of completing her mission but continued on out of a sense of duty. She worries about her family, her village and over what to do if/when meeting Persoq. All of those things you can play on in conversation and influence how her quest ends up. So...Sagani is interesting, at least to me. And she's tough and loyal. And I wanna pet Itumaak...

They should hide a single, awesome, xaurip spear (+30% attack speed, +5DR bypass, etc etc) somewhere in the game that would be dropped amid one of the many trash mobs. I wonder how many people would notice it vs. 'click' to mop up all them spears.

You could carry a baby kraken round in a fish-bowl - gives a fear mallus to enemies

A dungeon / area doesn't need trash mobs to not feel empty. A few more carefully crafted encounters combined with non-combat points of interest can do that. I agree that having some trash-mobs is a good idea - I thought PoE was mostly OK there, but some areas got a bit full (like laguefath central). So I'd vote for slightly less than PoE trash mobs, replacing some of those with more meaningful / non-trash encounters, but not eliminating them completely.

Am I the only one who read "Fishing and sea-monsters" to mean two separate things? I think the fishing mini-game is for recipes and resting bonuses. The sea-monsters were already in game as possible encounters and this just adds more of them.