Quetzalcoatl

Are you seriously using tabletop to support your case? Can you really not comprehend that computer RPG's require a completely different approach? So yes, those 'lackluster implementations' are the point of comparison here. I thought we were discussing the value of stats for the purposes of combat? Since you changed the subject, I take it you agree with me in that regard. The problem with skills in computer RPG's is that you usually only need one instance of it. For example, you only need one person capable of picking locks and after that, it would be a waste for any of your remaining 5 partymembers to invest any points in it. So it's not a compelling argument at all. Again, this ain't tabletop. I don't believe so. Rogues have a starting bonus but after that their skills in Mechanics and Stealth don't increase any faster than other classes. That may have been changed though.

You do realize that D&D had multi-classing precisely because the classes had limited flexiblity, right? Especially AD&D. It's not exactly the best argument to support your case. You could take those skills, but their progression was weighted and limited. A thief would always have twice the amount of levels in those skills while investing half the amount of skillpoints. A huge difference in usefulness though. Wisdom (for non-divine spellcasters) only affects will saves, whereas Strength affects melee damage, carry capacity, and a bunch of other stuff (feat requirements, resistance to knockdown, etc.) for all classes. Constitution and Dexterity are obviously even more unequivocally useful for everyone than the mental stats (wisdom, intelligence and especially charisma). Going from 'D&D has a dedicated dump stat and some stats with limited usefulness' to 'D&D is just like PoE' is quite a stretch. And of course, the games that this is a spiritual successor to, used AD&D and didn't even have any of those things.

I was kinda hoping for no attribute points beyond character creation. I've always liked it that way.

It doesn't seem like the setting/lore will support anything 'holy' (which I think is pretty cool).

Well, two out of five of the IE games had a bottom bar. You're also overlooking the fact that the IE games (and their UI's) were designed for a 4:3 aspect ratio and a 640x480 resolution. A U-shaped frame would be overkill with today's higher resolutions and widescreen aspect ratio's. To achieve what you describe, would entail implementing significant reactivity for female characters and would mean a huge amount of additional writing and designing work. It's just not possible. The only way to pull it off would be -paradoxically- by letting you only play as a male character (or only a female one).

Can the barbarian's carnage-type attacks damage nearby allies?

What are we discussing again? I was talking about party-based RPG's, which Fallout is not. Fallout's skill system wouldn't work for this game. By the way, you might want to read this: http://pillarsofeternity.gamepedia.com/Scripted_interaction

Link? http://pillarsofeternity.gamepedia.com/Skill

We haven't been pitched the 4E D&D skill list. So i won't be speculating on possible break down of that list, assuming that breaking it down was necessary at all. However, I am very much looking for new info on the in game mechanics that are tied to those skills (like with stealth sneak mechanics), because without it 5 skills in party of 6 means that we can always max every skill, making scripted interaction skill checks useless (you'll always have access to all the special options) and the choice what skill to level less meaningful then in previous IE games. How were skills meaningful in the IE games? You needed one character with the required thief skills in your party and that was it. Even Baldur's Gate 2 recognized this by turning many of the otherwise inferior thief companions into dual-classed thief/mages (Imoen, Jan Jansen, Nalia). And yes, you'll probably have access to all skills, but that's the case in every party-based RPG where you can learn skills. With PoE the skills are at least designed to give additional benefits even if you have multiple characters with lots of points in the same skill (i.e. Survival increases the duration of consumables, so it's useful to have on every character). It's not a perfect solution, but it's much better than the alternative. We also don't know enough about the skill progression and what the skills do to judge if having access to high levels in all skills will be really viable.

Maybe it's a prestige class.

InXile was not an RPG studio prior to Kickstarter, not even remotely. Sure, there's Brian Fargo, but he's a CEO, not a game designer. It's very different from the dev team behind Pillars, who have made this type of game (realtime with pause narrative-focused party-based RPG) numerous times before, be it at Black Isle or Obsidian. dunno, but we did a quick looksee at the guys working at inxile and many o' them worked on the original wasteland-- is folks who got Loads o' experience in the industry. inxile itself has 'been 'round for a decade and so they got all the basic infrastructure o' an established game developer. these guys is hardly a bunch o' n00bs playing at being game developers. I don't think InXile has much if any real ties to Interplay/Black Isle. And as a matter of fact, they didn't have the infrastructure: Again, Wasteland 2 (or Shadowrun Returns, for that matter) is not a suitable comparison here. Not at all.

InXile was not an RPG studio prior to Kickstarter, not even remotely. Sure, there's Brian Fargo, but he's a CEO, not a game designer. It's very different from the dev team behind Pillars, who have made this type of game (realtime with pause narrative-focused party-based RPG) numerous times before, be it at Black Isle or Obsidian.

It should obviously have an elevator.

Obsidian's reputation system is much more sophisticated than Baldur's Gate reputation system (which contrary to its name, was actually more of an aligment system, and a flawed one at that).

The Tides sound like an alignment system to me, and a rather arbitrary one at that. Everything else sounds cool though. I don't think T:ToN would have gotten a fraction of the funding it did without the name and nostalgia of PS:T. For example, its premise is identical to PS:T: a blank slate immortal seeking his identity in a strange world.

I didn't have a problem with saving and loading in BG2 either. The game also gives you plenty of information in the battle log and visual feedback so that you can turn the tide around even when you get a nasty status effect or the enemy puts up protection spells. I doubt you will. The Modron Cube was a parody dungeon, the in-game explanation being that it was made by modrons to investigate why people like repetitive dungeon crawlers. You can get through it without doing combat by the way, just immediately run for the exit as you enter a room and you'll be gone before the Constructs initiate their dialogue.

There's a moratorium on anything to do with the narrative, so they can't talk about it in-depth. If you've been following the updates however (or if you've ever played any Obsidian game), you should know there will be stuff like non-combat solutions, factions you can join, PS:T-style role-playing through attributes, etc.

The issue with kiting has more to do with cheesing the enemy A.I. which stays stuck on the kiter while the rest of the party pelts the enemy with ranged attacks.

Icewind Dale 2 was developed using a pre-existing engine. It also had a limited scope compared to the Baldur's Gate games, being more focused on combat. RPG's take a lot more time to develop than other genres (Dragon Age Origins was apparently revealed at E3 2004 and didn't come out until 2009). Are you saying Unity isn't a pre-existing engine? I am aware of the scope downgrade and the fact that they were familiar with Infinity Engine and not Unity. That's why I said December is enough time, again, that is a near two year dev cycle. Two years is plenty of time for a team of their size with their experience level. They aren't indy devs making a game for the first time or working in a genre they have never touched and unlike Dragon Age: Origins they aren't trying to make a AAA budget game with motion actors and all dialog spoken etc etc. For as big a scope difference Icewind Dale 2 has to Eternity, Dragon Age: Origins has the same scope difference as well. Unity isn't a pre-existing engine in the same way that the Infinity Engine was. You still have to build a game from scratch using Unity's tools, whereas the Infinity Engine basically provided a skeleton for games to be built upon, hence why all the IE games are so similar and could be made in such a short amount of time. There's a reason why InXile licensed the Pillars of Eternity technology rather than develop that stuff themselves. As for Dragon Age: Origins, it was also made with a much bigger team, a team of hundreds perhaps (and no, it didn't have motion capture). Pillars has a team of maybe two dozen people. By the way, they started in september 2012, so it will be more like 2 years and a quarter.

Icewind Dale 2 was developed using a pre-existing engine. It also had a limited scope compared to the Baldur's Gate games, being more focused on combat. RPG's take a lot more time to develop than other genres (Dragon Age Origins was apparently revealed at E3 2004 and didn't come out until 2009).

I believe they said the skills are being designed so that you get benefits from having multiple characters with a lot of points in the same skill. I think Stealth even takes the total of your party's skill in it to determine the 'stealth radius'.

Did I miss something? Why is their credibility wavering in your eyes? i didn't say their credibility is destroyed; how they do on this game when all the chips are in their favor is how i'll judge them moving forward. no excuses accepted. not one to be a fanboy. if they pull off what they set out to do when they promised it in the kickstarter, then i'll continue to support them in future kickstarters. if they fail, they join the multitude others who already have done so. They're still working with a (relatively) small budget for a large-scale RPG, so 'all the chips' are certainly not in their favor. Also, you didn't answer the question about why you think their credibility is wavering.

The effect of going against your faith seems to be pretty minimal. Which I guess is pretty understandable to keep role-playing your character viable. This sounds like a very cool idea.

I didn't even notice the glow around the characters from the Dire Blessing. It also seems to have a pattern drawn in the circle, but it's not distinctive enough to make out. I too am partial to the Infinity-Engine style method of spell animations (which looked very 2d/hand-drawn), but it seems to be a bit of a lost art.

Didn't the gameplay teaser show a female character wearing that scale armor? It didn't look over-exaggerated or out of place to me.