CaptainMace

I would have agreed if I didn't play Skyrim. A lot of 'em are actually really good in Skyrim, and there is more dynamical events as well, the whole game feels way more alive than Oblivion (though, you're right for a lot of 'em i think).

You really shouldn't stop to that. Afterwards, I can assure you that the game isn't difficult at all. I could come up with a sh*t ton amount of games from all types (including, especially, infinity engine crpg) that, either on normal or harder difficulty setting, are way harder than Dark Souls. I'm actually kind of tired to hear that again and again. I would have enjoyed Dark Souls just as much, maybe even more, if death wasn't so quick to occur and, to be honest, people who see it as an overhyped elitist game should really (really) consider playing it further. The thing is, the experience you win in the game is way less important than the experience you get behind your pad, as a proof you can check numerous Soul Level 1 run of Dark Souls on the internet. And allow me to retort, it is way deeper than most of games actually, for reasons already mentioned. EDIT : How could a game that has checkpoints every 50 feet considered over difficult ? I'll always wonder.

Dark Souls (like every other From Software RPG) has a codex too. It is just hidden in item descriptions, signs/writing on walls/statues around the levels, and multiple conversations with various npcs. Also in the case of King's Field in the manual That said From Software RPG's aren't about the stories, they are about atmosphere and exploration. Do you only realize that i've killed myself trying to tell you that ! It doesn't need to explain anything, there's not even a map in Dark Souls game, and still the lore is amazing. And it's amazing precisely because it doesn't bother trying to set its universe in people's minds, it just throws all of its brutality and fatefulness at their face (well, it's especially effective for dark fantasy tbh, but it's still, as the wise said, a new fresh and welcome approach of narration for video games). Now, as I said, Dark Souls has its own universe, and I know PE is gonna have a more literary narration (which I have nothing against). But that doesn't mean it isn't still whatsoever, imo, way more immersive when the narration takes different forms (From the screens and arts we already saw, I can bet the visual will take a great place in building the universe in our minds for example).

Which was my point. Every living person in the forgotten realms should know the basics of the faith based around say Lathander. So.... you should never have to click on the statue in the first place, your "codex" for lack of a better current term should literally have this basic info in it outright. If it is something anyone with a decent education would know then the PC should know it right out of character creation. The reason game developers do it the way you apparently hate so much is simple. The player gets told about information relevant to what they are doing "right now" as opposed to just knowing it in advance but it being in some massive info dump. Dev's know most players won't know their original unique world lore going in and and won't bother looking it up unless something prompts them to in other words. While I understand that approach, I hope Obsidian just says "to heck with them" and lets the players have that info outright and the ones who read it better understand the world and the ones who don't... Well they just don't really know what the hell is going on. However like I said, if you come across something that is new data through whatever means you should get an update message letting you know new data was added. Well it's my whole point, I don't consider an encyclopedia a good way to make people "better understand the lore". I'm absolutely able to understand what npc's are talking about, I don't need to take a class about it. The Developers of Dark Souls didn't care to know if people would bother try to understand its lore, they decided to adopt a full video game narration, where the level design and game mechanics actually tell the story. There are still a majority of people today that still think Dark Souls story is a basic "go kill some dudes" quest and have no idea of how deep it actually is. Now of course, I realize that Dark Souls narration is something really hard to elaborate, and that some developpers decide to use traditional kind of narration (literacy here, cinematic for most AAA games and so forth). All i'm saying is : there are alternatives to literary and/or cinematic narrations, From Software proved it pretty well.

Do you remember the library in Irenicus dungeon? shelves full of books with background info? What a waste! does anyone expected us to hold on our prison break, so we can pause the game for a couple of hours and read history books? or drag that stack of books around in our limited inventory, since there is no way to revisit it. Why simply not to add it as codex info, so we can revisit at our own time during our adventure? I read : "Why simply not to add it as codex info, so we can never ever read it at all during our adventure?" More seriously, I have nothing against compiling the documents read by the PC in a book of any form. I'm more concerned by the fact that "touching" a statue will let you know tons of stuff about religion. Kind of immersion breaking imo, especially when the info is abundant like "oh you thought it was a simple statue, didn't you"

Yes, but which aspect of it is "overload in information". Well basically any codex entry that tend to overexplain a phenomenon. For example, you can learn a lot on the Fade in the DAO codex. Because it's from the DAO codex, it's immediatly considered canonical to its universe. So, from then, you either can't add anything new in a second episode, or if you do then i'll legitimately ask why it wasn't in the codex in the first place. Right now, I don't have any dream or fantasy about the Fade in DAO, for i just have to read an entry in the codex to know everything about it. Although, these long entries are another way to say "hey, we worked really really hard to explain everything on our universe but failed miserably in putting all of that in the game so, here, have a random encyclopedia that explain stuff that is not in the game anyway". In a word, i don't mind simple infos like a bestiary or the specs of a city "xxx is a merchant city, ruled by an oligarchy"... but reading a true encyclopedia about its history and such, what a terrible way to make a universe believable. But I can understand that people would rather have extra infos on stuff, I just don't. EDIT : BTW, I totally agree with whoever said the codex was a good idea in Mass Effect. It was indeed, because it gives legitimate info that Shepard should know as an Alliance vet but shouldn't ask randomly to npcs AND it's for a SCI-FI universe, so I really don't mind fictional scientific explanation on stuff (it's kind of the goal amirite?).

Good example of something that is not overload in information, Tamerlane.

Is it not possible that they simply "invented" the idea without the knowledge of the idea's prior (and superior) existence? Anywho, in line with what Sophos said, with the whole soul thing at play, I hope the cosmology is kept relatively simple, overall. It is possible indeed, especially for some really vague concept like this one.

I'm referring to the probable existence in the game of any kind of "bioware games codex-like" menu where the player can read everything about anything. Though, if it's not too overload in information, i might actually like it. But I'll always prefer to see the lore though the game than through some encyclopedia entries.

This "Cyclopedia" button makes me a sad panda.

Well I don't mind what kind of parrallel universe (let's call it that way) they put or not in the game, I just hope it doesn't feel too overthought. This kind of stuff either has to be mysterious or shouldn't be at all.

Come on dude, we all know what's important for a Torment reboot is definetely the combat system...

I have absolutely no problem with reading, or I'd probably have nothing to do here ^^

Man, this comment pleases me so much, 'cause i couldn't agree more with you. Indeed, i found the codex of Mass Effect 1 really useful and interesting. But i think it's just a matter of universe, i have nothing against a Sci-Fi story that explains in details how mankind managed to explore new systems, it's actually important for the lore to be solid. (The problem i have with ME is that 95% of the lore is in the first one, the two other kind of didn't bring anything new to ME lore, but that's another subject). Concerning Med-Fan universes, i think a codex or anything like this breaks immersion, for it's like "here, i didn't manage to put that in the game, so i put it there, in the menu". Concerning Dark Souls, I couldn't agree more. I actually think Dark souls belongs to a rare kind of video games that manage, these days, to avoid both the cinematic AND the literary narration to give the player an actual video game narration. Baldur's Gate, for example, is way closer to the literary narration (which is kinda normal for an adaptation of D&D of the 90's).

@Sophos, I realize now that Dishonored wasn't that good of an example. What I meant is : when i'm asked to save X in Y location, i'm always tired of seeing dialog options as "where is Y" "what was X doing there" and stuff that the quest is gonna tell me anyway while i complete it. It works the same for the lore, in my opinion, as I shouldn't have to ask a npc, in a really "rpg-ish" way, what he can tell me about the history of a place/god/man, because it throws the player back in his player condition and breaks immersion. I think you can still, in a game such as what PE looks like, dodges these easy ways of unfolding the universe for something more dynamic. I didn't have to ask Anomen how the most radiant heart recruits its knights in BG2, because his personal story shows it on its own, in a really dynamic way. That's what i mean. And, well, i really disagree with you about optional classic dialog options asking about lore, i myself consider it the opposite because it really breaks my immersion in the game. Though, I understand the most hardcore PC players are used to this system, and I know it's not systematically a bad thing.

Hi folks, I apologize first for the mistakes you're gonna witness in this message, for english isn't my native language. As Project Eternity will take set in a whole new universe created for it, I couldn't help but think of those games, especially the story-telling ones, who feature brand new worlds and backgrounds. When it comes to these games, I have a problem : I often find them too "plentiful" of information about lore, deities and beliefs, legends and history etc... or should i say, the information we get about the lore is often too specific, as if to make a good and credible background, it had to be the clearest possible, where everything is explained or has an explanation of some sorts. To clarify what I mean, i'll take two examples from strictly different kind of story-telling games : the RPG Dragon Age : Origins and the Infiltration game Dishonored. They both featured brand new universes (in other words, they both presented new universes) though in DA:O, it looks like the developpers wanted the players to acknowedge the work they've done on the background, resulting in an overflow of information about its lore (a codex with looong entries and almost always 2-3 dialogs options with NPCs that had no purpose but to reveal stuff about the world). On the other hand, Dishonored features a world that reveals itself only through the perception of it's main character, from peaceful to chaotic as the story goes forth, without any long talk about how the government works and stuff. The problem i have with games like DA:O is that the overflow of informations (especially when thrown at the player without any particular reason other than some ridiculous dialog options like "who leads here ?") and the over-explanation of everything makes its universe "cartoonish", barely credible. When Dishonored universe, though mostly misty and unknown, seems way more credible and realistic to me. Long story short, I find that RPGs featuring exclusive worlds/backgrounds and such often fall in the trap of the over-explanation/overflow of information, for they want hard to make their universe the most clean possible and don't realize that they're actually, ironically, turning it into a weird puppet show. Unknown and mystery is what makes a fantasy universe exciting, and i post there, finally, to see what people think about story-telling in VG and RPGs most specifically. Do you agree with that or do you actually prefer long chitchat about "how the god of thunder lost his arm and how this is why the holy order of storm recruit only left-armed people and..." How would you like the universe to be narrated in PE ?