Silent Winter

^ could still be 'more challenging' though than a more varied party. All viable doesn't mean all equally difficult/easy

AFAIK, the only deadlines were for backer content (NPCs/tombstones/inns, etc).

*has a thought* a custom-made pen - instead of a round nib, or a fountain pen nib, it has a nib in the exact shape of your name - way easier than needing to move the pen.

Great update - love those Xaurips and the Vitrack and the lore in general They'd just get vengeful ... You'd have to skin the dragon and have your party wear it ... then practise your booming voice. ...poor little dragons

^graphites aren't boring - they're atmospheric

^ a brilliant idea, sir, with just 2 minor flaws. 1) We don't know how to build an android and 2) we don't know how to build an android. But other than that, it's superlative! I was thinking they could just hire an intern, legally change his name to J.E.Sawyer and then have the Obsidian employee of that name sign the boxes

^very good

Well, it's not down as "Update 84: Beta" so that makes it seem like an 'extra' announcement. Hopefully there'll be something up on Wednesday (so tomorrow, my time)

^you'll be able to tell where in the pile your box was depending on how much like a flat line the signature looks (first hundred - beautiful, flourishing signatures complete with smiley faces; next hundred - no smiley faces; next hundred - lose some flourishes; ...; last hundred - just the 'X')

Well, Obsidian, Steam and GOG are all accessible from here - I guess it depends on where they upload it to, but both the likely candidates (obsidian.net and steam) shouldn't have a dl problem Just make sure you bring your laptop over Whereabouts you headed? (Big cities have places with free wifi ) (Youtube on the other hand is not so easy)

I think the real tricky issue would be that it would be an entirely different game from the first two. Deities play on a different level than even epic level adventurers, and fight for different stakes. How would you design combat? The only thing that could seriously threaten you is another deity. Things like armor class and hit points and spellbooks would almost certainly be but a quaint memory for a PC who is literally a god. What about party members? Would the player travel with the more powerful of his/her new worshippers? Other deities? Or would the game be played solo, since realistically there isn't anything but another deity who could add much to combat when fighting alongside you? Typical RPG gameplay would change from finding cool new loot and gaining levels to finding worshippers and a portfolio which you can embody. Slashing your way through hordes of enemies would still be possible, I suppose, but almost certainly absurdly easy and pointless for a divinity. All of the above could be an epic and awesome game, and I'd be only to happy to try it if it were made, but it sounds more like Populous than Baldur's Gate. ^ I think part of the idea was that you would create avatars and go adventuring to get followers - the more followers you got, the stronger the avatars you could create. So for much of the game, you couldn't die permanently but your avatar could be destroyed. You'd be a level (x) (class of choice) while in avatar form. There would be some later battles on deity level, I think. (They may have to add in a reason that cyric doesn't just come and fight you right away - maybe it's forbidden to attack a new deity for 3 months or so, *shrug*, or the other deities come to your aid at first)

Can't load up the page (even copying and pasting the link) but if it's the same as the one he described here: http://www.gamebanshee.com/news/110494-george-ziets-describes-how-hed-approach-baldurs-gate-iii.html then yeah - that'd be a cool game. Having said that - I think the story ended when it should have.

I think he meant house windows in game, rather than UI windows But yeah, that'd be cool too

^Didn't use it myself but one of the BG2 Tweaks was to remove the helmets - and BG was less detailed than PoE will be. Some people just like it that way (or dislike the helmets themselves).

yes - I think we all agree on that. The difference is in implementation - can you kill them and have their inventory disappear? Or is killing them (at any worthwhile stage - i.e. before you have the money to buy whatever you want) made too difficult (by the presence of guards), or the store-cupboard trapped with a deadly trap beyond a level-10 thief with maxed out mechanics (for example).

It's a good slogan but I think you're only supposed to use the feathers, and then sewn into a sheet. Using the whole duck could get messy. .... ... .. . Lephys, how'd you miss that one?

Maybe it'll be more like - do a quest for the weapons-master and he'll teach you how to do it. Or help the druid save the forest and he'll teach you how to 'call animals' to your aid (or whatever talents we have).

^yep - and why is the lever to open the door on the other side of the mansion? It makes some sense in a tomb that's trying to discourage thieves, not so much in a house. Unless the bad-guys just set up a trap because they feared intruders, then it's ok. Puzzles I enjoyed - ones like finding the helm and cloak of balduran in BG, needed to talk to some people, kill a few things, work out the destination (or just talk to everyone everywhere). Some of the spellhold puzzles, first time (I like riddles) Temple of Aumanautor, or whatever his name was, north of Imnesvale - needed to find the clues by adventuring, then go back and get the light-gems. At least first time. Extended illithium quest from Unfinished Business - again, first time. Problem with many of these is that they become tedious on 4th or 5th playthrough - you already know where to go and what to do so it becomes like an elongated fed-ex quest with killing. But I can't think of any puzzles that don't become repetitious after long. In an action game maybe because it's a test of skill too, but not an rpg. Suggestions before to have some semi-random elements to quests (location and even identity of item/npc etc varied, given different riddles from a pool) is a good one but probably outside the budget.

ideally, yes - I'd like the situation where I'm really torn between adding might and adding resolve, or whatever, because they'd both be a real benefit.

Cheese - protection from undead scroll and send in a single party member. ... of course that's also boring and not taking on the challenge. Can't remember but I think I always left Athkatla liches until I returned from spellhold. Or if my character was in no hurry to get there, then at least after a fair few quests. As others have said, if you meta-game, you can buff-up before the fight and go in (assuming you have the right spells). If not (and first time play), you walk through the newly discovered door and come face to face with the lich/beholder/mindflayer - then beat a hasty retreat to buff up. Some of them don't follow you through the door, so exploiting that part of the engine is possible. I wonder if PoE enemies will know how to open doors / chase you through an area transition...

Good to know. Been following the game diligently but didn't remember this particular tidbit. Josh mentioned it in a thread some time ago but I don't think we have anything more specific than 'rare' I honestly liked the BG way - mostly static but finding tomes could raise it. 3rd ed. had the point raise every few levels and that was ok too but it mostly meant just raising your key-stat and ignoring the others. In PoE, with more stats being useful for each build, we'd have to see if it's better to raise one stat or balance it out (or whether both would be good but different options).

To be fair - the wizard police weren't really there to stop you casting spells - that was a minor early-game inconvenience - they were there to arrest Imoen and then had to stay there for consistency. Getting a license was pretty easy. Having said that, I agree that a simple and elegant solution to this problem would be better than being artificially incapable of robbing the merchant. Guards / Traps / etc that overpower a low-level party would be fine. But let's not make it impossible to steal from ALL merchants (since my subsequent thieving party need their focus ) - only those with high-level equipment and loadsamoney would hire a dragon to guard their horde (or whatever), but nicking a few arrows from Winthrop should be doable early on.

There's a class idea right there: The Dumb: Incapable of original thought, this character is only capable of repeating the last action they saw - careful timing is necessary to ensure 'fireball' doesn't become 'flee in terror'

I now have a bizarre mental image of Thor+Zeus meets the Care-Bears

I like to immerse myself in video games but LARPing while playing video games may be going a little too far for me. That, and "my character grew up as a slave in a noble's house, but can never tell anyone about that, ever, OR do anything that ever has anything to do with that past, ever ever ever in the whole game" kind of puts a damper on the whole roleplaying thing. How do you play a role if you don't get to play that role? I guess it depends on how specific you get and also how in/out of the world you make it. It can be used to inform your choices, even if nobody outside your head can see the reasoning. Your example above could lead to your PC treating all interactions with nobles with hostility and/or suspicion. Equally, all slavers would quickly feel your wrath and be ignored when it's their turn to beg for mercy. [see also my slightly-tongue-in-cheek example in this thread: http://forums.obsidian.net/topic/66391-the-eternity-showcase-character-enrichment-thread/?p=1462587 re: druid and bears]