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curryinahurry

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Everything posted by curryinahurry

  1. curryinahurry
    Nice update, thanks. The conversation UI looks nice, I hope the full UI has a similar feel....with vertical portraits as an option I need to take some time and read through everything else, but at this point, what I really would like to start seeing is more in-game images. It may be a bit early, but it really helps give a frame of reference. Cheers
  2. curryinahurry
    Honestly, indoors shadows shouldn't be a big deal. To do them accurately in dungeons and caverns where most light sources will be from torches, sconces, and player equipped items, would make for long, diffuse and complex shadow patterns. It might be better to do blobby shadows and make sure the characters are lit from the proper sides; which seemed to be a bigger problem in the screenshot for update 61. One issue about outdoor shadows I noticed is that they seem to be cast in the wrong direction (up-screen) if the Dyrwood is in the Southern Hemisphere of the planet.
  3. curryinahurry
    ^ Actually that brings up a good point about whether spell effects (and items as well) will have a toggle or a transparency slider. I wonder if they could create a pointer radius of transparency with regards to effects so that scrolling over characters would clear our the spell/item effects on them? Food for thought
  4. curryinahurry
    No, a single mouse movement doesn't matter. But when you're in combat with six characters, the character panels located on side, and the actions along the bottom... you can end up with a lot of screen traverses per combat round. You move to select a character, move down to switch to bow, move up to select the target, move to select another character, move down to pick a spell, move up to choose the target... It all adds up to lower efficiency and greater tedium. I never really clicked on portraits in games where I could directly click on the character on the screen unless it was to check inventory or go to the character sheet to get information/ check status effects. So, for my personal usage, clicking on portraits then clicking on actions makes no real sense. I do realize that is personal and doesn't apply across every user. truth be told, the only games I ever click on portraits are in the more recent 3d games where one has to manipulate the camera at times to get a clear view of the character in the midst of melee. We won't have that problem in PE. I honestly feel that the efficiency argument being made by some of the developers is quite simply a rationalization for a graphical preference. Which is ok..but then they should aknowledge that other players may have preferences and try to accommodate them within reason. I personally would prefer vertical character portraits, as would many others if the posts on this thread are any indication of overall player sentiment. I hope they accommodate this. I have no real opinion on the whole minimalism debate other than most of the examples shown aren't truly minimal or particularly more efficient at saving space over the UI originally posted by the devs
  5. curryinahurry
    Hard to tell, but it looks like a step, then a threshold, then about a 3 cm (1 1/4"+ -) gap. That wouldn't be uncommon for that type of construction. It isn't a manor house. Anyway...that is more than I ever planned to discuss door framing tolerances on a gaming forum. Cheers
  6. curryinahurry
    I don't think that is a gap. It looks to be a step/threshold that is the same material as the floor of the room beyond.
  7. curryinahurry
    Looks great. Any critiques I might have would be nit-picky and likely not noticeable during an actual run-through of the game. I really like the colors (the guns that 2(?) of the characters are holding could have a bit more metallic contrast in order to stand out) being tuned towards the understated. Cheers
  8. curryinahurry
    I would hope that this is is something that can work both ways. The reason I brought up the points with what Motorizer wrote was actually to give the party a reason to leave the dungeon. I am expecting Obsidian to give us reasons to explore the Old Paths, and as you stated, the more the better. I think that if Obsidian provides roadblocks to progress that are narrative driven in such a manner to make us leave the dungeon and the return with the correct solution to the problem of moving forward, it works better than a simple impassable lock or portal to elsewhere type solution. The funny thing about the 15 level dungeon, is that we know how many levels down we need to go to reach the end. If that wasn't the case, then leaving and coming back with some new information that extended the dungeon (like there is a path down behind a particular statue if you have a particular rune stone) would be less of an issue. Of course this could be handled with a "fake bottom" of sorts; you go down 15 levels and beat the big bad only to fine out that this was only a portion of the total dungeon and there is an entirely different area that is accessible from the 8th level that takes you to the real mega boss.
  9. curryinahurry
    @ Motorizer While I sympathize with your position; I too would love to try and take on the whole dungeon in one shot, I don't see how Obsidian can allow a straight run without either completely screwing up game balance or watering down the experience (both in terms on xp points and exploration). One question for you is would you be okay with choke points ( a trap or a puzzle) that were only passable with items that had to be sought out in the outside world? This might mean that the party would have to leave the dungeon in order to find the object or research the puzzle (maybe it's in a dead language). Or possibly there is a type of energy trap that teleports you out of the dungeon, so to get past the trap, yocu have to find an expert in that type of energy or soul magic who is only available by freeing him or her from a prison that is also part of the main quest. I ask because, I'm curious how Obsidian is going to make the dungeon plot-involved and how they plan to break it up so that people who want to do it in one pass can enjoy it that way. Of course, the easiest way to implement this is to make the entire dungeon part of the end-game with levels that can be entirely or mostly skipped, (as I pointed out in the post I made about the dungeon having branching levels in vertical section), but I'm not sure that is the way Obsidian will approach the problem.
  10. curryinahurry
    +1 for rope! Also, oils, poles, lamps, etc. ... in our packs, not stash. If consumables are in the game as anticipated, they should factor into exploration so that running out of a resource could present a danger when contemplating moving deeper. Also, skills like metallurgy, stonecraft, herbalism, could all be put to good use during exploration if they are in the game. As could knowledge of certain languages , lore, or arcane knowledge while trying to decipher runes, way-points, or even pictograms/ cave graffiti.
  11. curryinahurry
    Content and level design isn't a big concern for me considering that these are essentially the ‘same guys that designed IWD and IWD 2. Also from what we’ve seen of the concept art, I think they will get the feel right. Mostly, I want the design of the levels to make sense; upper levels should be the most heavily trafficked and populated, and there should be a transition from those areas to the deeper reaches. Levels should reflect this transition and give hints as to what may lay ahead for the party. I also want the lowest levels of the Old Paths to feel really alien and to encounter creatures that are not to be encountered anywhere else in the game. The things mentioned by other posters in this thread regarding cults, adventuring parties, etc. are all great. I would prefer not to encounter another “civilization” or army, as I prefer the idea of descending into a subterranean wilderness. Maybe small communities (or cults having communities) or the ruins of attempted settlements would be fine. One thing I would like in terms of level design is for the Old Paths to be vertically sectioned as well as the traditional horizontal sectioning we typically see in games. That is, we may descend to the 7th level and discover a cave-in, but no access to what lies beyond. Our party then goes down a few more levels and finds a passage that then opens up to a new section that then allows us to go back up to the cave-in point, but on the other side. This would be a great way to control areas for access and give the sense of non-linear exploration.
  12. curryinahurry
    As others have mentioned in this thread, I would be fine with having certain background traits reflecting my characters ancestry, childhood, education, and possibly, birthplace. All of these could affect starting stats in some mild way. They could also give you access to certain areas at the beginning of the game that are somewhat exclusive. As an example; let's say you choose to be from an Aedyran mercantile background, which would open up an encounter with an npc in the commercial center of the starting location; or someone from a lower class, thiefing background might get access to a thieve's guild in the same town. Since I think multiple starting points are unlikely, there are still ways, as the above, where backgrounds can have fairly significant influences on game-playing experience.
  13. curryinahurry
    You forgot to explain why. Because! Duh! u_u He did actually explain why just in a strange way. I still find it odd people think on a 16x9 display ratio that a vertical ui is best. It isn't. In fact.... it sucks. It isn't ergonomic, there is 1.7 times more horizontal space than vertical so no a vertical ui DOES take up more space, it isn't even good to look at as it results in lots of screen scanning and potentially looking farther away from the action. Even if you put the ui in a corner at least then it is still grouped with everything in one spot and the corner moving left or right will still put your eyes and mouse closer on average to the actual on screen action than having it on the far left or right side of the screen. In a 3d game with panning and zooming your analysis might make sense, but in a 2d, isometric game, the most valuable real estate (as has been stated countless times in this thread) will be at the center of the screen. Regardless of percentages, the central part of the screen is where most of the action will take place, especially if the screen centers on selected characters (or has the option) so the loss of screen space at that location is more deleterious than losing space at the sides. With regards to your other comments; that is more a matter of preference, there are as many people on this thread who have agitated for vertical orientation as horizontal. It seems to be more a matter of preference. Personally I think the whole mouse travel issue in nonsense in a game with a pause feature and hotkeys, as is the narrative of clicking on the portraits to select characters.
  14. curryinahurry
    Reputation with mercantile factions should be fairly granular. Many of these factions could be restricted to 1 small town, a district, or even an individual shop depending on how Obsidian envisions trades, guilds, and politics functioning from one region to another. Larger merchant guilds might be limited to the Valian Republics, Defiance Bay, and only now making inroads into Dyrwood. Obtaining some level of reputation with these larger groups should also only bring so much benefit moving from region to region. Just because you did a merchant of the XYZ Trading Coster a solid in Defiance Bay shouldn't mean much to the head of the New Heomar Chapter; after all, these guys are in the business of making money.
  15. curryinahurry
    Will play at Expert level; which I am assuming is the same as IWD 2's "Core" (Hardcore?) setting since that is the comparative difficulty level P:E is balance for as of now.
  16. curryinahurry
    Actually, I would prefer if the player could only do temporary enhancements to their weapons & armor; fire buffs, cold, etc. Permanent enhance could be done only by obtaining both a mastery of the requisite skill (say, 15 points in metallurgy), and certain rare reagents/ materials (or going to a master smith). I'm not one for beating the drum of realism in games, but the whole; Sword + Diamond + Flame Strike = Sword of Flame +2 has always struck me a bit goofy. Its why I liked the alchemy system in Darklands, It was of limited use, materials were tough to get at times, it required time & skill, it was expensive, and there was a good chance that you could fail or even blow yourself up.
  17. curryinahurry
    ^ I like the idea of recruiting various talented individuals to the stronghold. It would be interesting to tie that into the faction system; certain NPCs become available based on your standing. Also the idea of different NPC craftsmen having different abilites and the ability to teach those abilities to you or your party; that would make for a great money-sink. Of course this sort of thing can get into minutiae if not properly handled.
  18. curryinahurry
    I would like magic in stores to be as limited as possible. One of the really odd things in alot of these types of games is wandering into some village and the local blacksmith has magic weapons. It's just silly. Someone in the thread for update 58 mentioned having private auction houses (or exclusive), and that got me thinking that the economy for expensive, unique and magical items should really be separate from that of mundane items. Sure, a curiosities dealer or alchemy shop owner in Defiance Bay may have a few magical baubles. Or there could be a legendary smith that forged magical weapons by commission. But other than those rare instances, magical equipment (not components, unless they are rare and of a magical nature themselves) should have its own parallel economy. This can take the form of a black market, special, by appointment shops, a brokerage system, or a bartering system. This is the model for fine art and antiquities, and that is likely the most reasonable form for this economy to take. This model would not mean that there would be no stores to buy and sell such items, just that they would be difficult for the common person to access and likely be run by some syndicate or very powerful trade merchants.
  19. curryinahurry
    @ Bendu Crafting hasn't been removed. If I understand the quote correctly, generic crafting as a skill is being removed, but the subset skills; herbalism, alchemy, etc. are still in the game. That means that they will likely come up with more specific crafting for weapons & armor (smithing?) to fit into this system. You're other point is well made...I'm a bit leery of decisions made in this manner. With so little information about the whole skill system by which we can gauge such mechanisms as durability; it requires both proponents and detractors to make massive assumptions, which is never god policy in design. That stated, durability might have been a tenuous fit in P:E by the developers' perspective to begin with, so this feedback helped push them, "off the fence." I've been thinking about this, and the real measure as to whether durability will be a valuable mechanic lies mostly in how often we might be upgrading/ exchanging weapons and armor. If we are starting the game at level 1 and going to level 10-12, I think it is likely that we may be upgrading with enough frequency that durability becomes essentially moot. P:E isn't a low magic or low-enchantment / resource environment, nor is it looking to have the generic D&D type "Longword +3" so we might expect to find a wide variety of weapons and armor to play around with in game.
  20. curryinahurry
    The whole point of crafting in games is to support combat; armor, weapons, potions, etc. There may be other skills that have an aspect that is oriented towards combat while being classified as a non-combat skill, like running, swimming, arcane lore, who knows. Also, even though I'm pretty neutral to the concept of durability, it's really no different than any other resource management system in the game.
  21. curryinahurry
    I like the the crafting of consumables, but as I stated earlier, I would like something like the system in Darklands, where potions were largely hurled, used as a bonus to skill checks (climbing out of a pit), or treatments to armor or weapons (this could be a part of the crafting weapons system) that would expire after a certain amount of time. I don't like the idea of chugging potions to make a barbarian more rogue-like or a mage more fighter-like. I think those loopholes create the kinds of win-win situations that work against tactical / strategic gameplay. My thinking on weapons, armor and enchantments, is that all enchantments should either be temporary or have their own durability meter. I like the idea of temporary weapon buffs because it offers greater tactical flexibility, and addresses the problem of crafting weapons that are the most powerful in the game. Durability, if its in the game could be applied to enchantments, either as a second level of buffs above temporary, or as replacement (durability of enchantments increases as crafting skills improve). It could be that, if there is a philospher's stone type re-agent a la Darklands, that the only way to make weapons and armor enchantments permanent would be to quest for a legendary stone of highest quality, thereby making it only available to the people in the game that really love crafting.
  22. curryinahurry
    Just to be clear from Tim Cain's post" "Items have lots of units of durability, and they do not suffer any negative effects until those units are completely gone." So it will likely be at 25%, when the item is shown as "worn" status, that one might start getting concerned. I have no horse in this race.
  23. curryinahurry
    ^ It might be, as Semper is implying, the opposite of recipes being a basic stock that is needed for camping purposes. Generic food and drinks might be a given, and that the recipes yield special benefits; like an herbal soup that grants protection from poison for a day.
  24. curryinahurry
    Great Update. I hope that potions are primarily used for hurling at foes or possibly utility purposes (like a potion of stone-tar to climb a cliff face). My concern with imbibing potions for temporary bonuses is that it may lead to a barbarian replicating a fighter's ability to regen stamina or a thief's ability to escape, etc.
  25. curryinahurry
    This is the path I assume Obsidian is taking. It certainly makes the most sense and likely, it wouldn't be hard to implement a mechanism that treats random encounters as quest-type events. With regards to the OP; was there a statement made about the size of area maps at any time? I've been hoping for a system of overland exploration similar to SOZ, but I would like the area maps to be at least the size of the one presented at Rezzed. It begs the question, how many area map sizes will P:E as that will dictate how encounters and potential further exploration of areas might happen.
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