Cantousent

I think the way to make drinking in game more realistic is to slam a shot every time your character drinks anything in game. That way you'll naturally replicate real world drunkness in game by indulging in real world drunkness. I myself will play in a special super hard core setting I call "real world drinking" throughout the campaign.

On my second or third run, I'm using every hardcore option there is. So I can come here and brag? Of course not. I'd never do that. So I can come here and brag while pretending I'm above such things? :Cant's shifty-eyed grin icon:

Enoch's plan is actually pretty damned good. It manages a delicate balance between the jarring notion that every felled combatant simply hops up as long as one of the party survives and the 'reloading is frustrating' or 'raise dead sucks' crowd. In Pen and Paper, I never even give access to raise dead for many levels and it's always associated with not only hefty expenditures but also questing. On the other hand, having someone wave a hand to instantly heal someone of grave wounds instantly isn't that much less jarring than having someone wave a hand and rez someone. At some point, folks will have to suspend disbelief. EDIT: my usual of typos, forgetting to put in words, and other nonsense.

Words are all we have on a message board, my gifted friend. :Cant's guffawing icon: Anyhow, I'm soooo stoked that we're going forward. As I understand it, the paypal funds aren't counted on the kickstarter PE frontpage. Is there any way to see the aggregate number?

I don't know. I guess I understand that folks aren't huge Bioware fans. I'm not one myself, really. I approach most stuff on a game by game basis. ...But I will say that Obsidian got a couple of huge breaks from Bioware, and so I can't entirely hate them. I wasn't exactly a tremendous fan of the NWN franchise, but Obsidian got three releases that I can count out of NWN2. KotOR 2 was another break. I thought, although I'm not sure, that Bioware was helpful in getting those gigs for Obsidian. I guess my point about Bioware is this: the things we hate about Bioware games, and I will concede that I tend to agree with the grognards about the specific things they hate, are things we'd hate if anyone else made them. It doesn't matter that Bioware had aspects of design philosophy that so many of us hate. What matters is that Obsidian doesn't buy into those philosophies. I've been, since day one of the kickstarter, one of those Obsidz fanboys who trusts in their judgment. Sometimes I haven't liked some specific new thing I've heard, particularly incidental XP gains, but I've always remained optimistic about the end product. For that reason, I suppose my tastes fall under the feature category, but my attitude falls under the game category.

Hot damn, I thought you were just giving me a hard time, Gfted. That's awesome news. I think the ability to create the look I want will really help me enjoy the game. I'm usually not so picky, but I've always viewed my mages as looking more like Star Wars style jedi. Don't get me wrong, Gandalf beats beats Darth Vader hands down, but Vader is much more stylin'. I don't mind loose robes a little, but full length heavy robes adorned with stars and moons and clovers and other crap just doesn't make sense for someone traveling long dusty roads. EDIT: If we get away from level inflation, then it's easy to conceive of a legendary sword for a level five character. Low level adventures can still be fun and quite epic.

No worries, you will be able to craft/enchant anything up to legendary levels. I say they give us the option to craft conical tin foil caps. Let the farce come full circle. I want to have 'Cant's Conical Tin Foil Hat of Cerebral Powah.'

Those are some suspiciously specific generalizations there. I agree, those are suprisingly specific generalizations. I don't know if I'm so unique that I break the mold or not, but I just don't think I'm that special. In particular, I think the whole thread, including MReed's generalizations, shows a certain fixation on Bioware. The OP introduces them as a faction and elevates their status in the first place. I guess you could bring them up as regards the Infinity Engine, but most of the ire associated with Bioware on these boards regards later games. I'm not a Bioware hater or defender. I've bought far fewer Bioware games than a lot of the Bioware haters I see here. For example, although I found DA:O not so bad, I didn't buy any dlc or DA2. I never bought any of the ME games in the first place. I didn't pick up the NWN xpacs. I didn't pick up Jade Empire. I tried TOR, which was surprisingly good, but I canceled my subscription after the first month. ...But, like I said, Bioware isn't the real issue anyway and bringing them into the mix mucks up the water. In regards the other bullet points, I'm mixed between the two. I could technically afford to pledge more, but there has to be some sort of reason and I don't have a money tree in the back yard. On the other hand, I'm pledging as much as I can reasonably defend spending on the project and trying to think of other ways that I could pledge more. All of those increases are earmarked as gifts for friends and relatives so far, which kind of screws up the whole idea of how the two groups buy into the project, at least from my perspective. I think there are so many different ways to categorize folks who've pledged that you could create all sorts of opposing motivations. Frankly, I see a gross appeal to vanity as one of the overarching themes in differentiating the tiers. Some folks go for the cheap swag like patches and whatnot. Some folks feel a personal tie to the devs and want things like the autographed swag. I'm not placing a value judgment on any of those motives, I'm just saying that some of them seem less cluttered than the Bioware/anti-Bioware angle. I only skimmed the thread, so if I have restated someone else's argument, please take it as an affirmation instead of a slight.

My gut instinct is that Bell is hungry for the project... that he's seriously jonesin' to compose the score. Like our ol' school friend up there says, he's in house, he wants to do it, and this could be a way to establish a true video game legacy. If they do bring in other composers, I think Bell should still direct the process. After all, if he creates a central theme, I want him to be able to guide any other talent Obsidz bring on if he's not directly exploring that theme himself. Frankly, I would rather he compose the score, not because I know he's the best. After hearing some of his music and listening to the initial pitch tracks, he strikes me as up to the job. He comes on the board and interacts with the fans beyond the call of duty. He truly seems affable. ...But that doesn't mean he's the best. However, since he does appear to be up to the job and he's in house, he should have the first call as long as the project director has confidence in his ability. ...And, assuming he's the choice, he deserves to have the lattitude to create the whole score in the image of his own personal vision as established by the project needs. Just my two cents. I hope you don't take this as rude, Justin, since I know you read these threads. I don't mean to offend, but I do prefer to be entirely frank. I'm not a huge fan yet, but if you make good on this, you'll have at least one fan singing your praises... and I'll sing them to the music of your score.

*Cough* Google tells me the word I was looking for was "Guava", which is apparently something slightly different. No, I've tried it. You were right the first time.

I'd be happy if my mage isn't forced to wear some goofy assed robe. ...And that means I don't want all of the good mage gear to be robes and conical hats. I hate them with a passion unknown by mortal men.

Well.... but goofy humor is also part of the glory of the old Infinity Engine games. lol

I agree, Gorth, but I'm just as worried by folks' good intentions half the time as I am their bad. hehe ...But I think anyone shelling out that kind of cash will probably be open to gentle prodding in terms of design.

I'm actually a bit uneasy about it, but that fear is mitigated by the fact that I don't believe the design team would allow anything toooooo crazy. If something's a little off-kilter, they can probably work in some humor around it to sort it. If it's too serious, then they can work around it. Really, the most numerous things are weapons and items. The party worries me just a tad, but the inn has the most room for mistakes and yet I think it's the easiest thing to fix.

I know I'm going to regret this, especially since I suspect the drama is kind of driven by the OP's sensationalism, but I want to get this off my chest. A few hours, and glasses, past and I would not have posted this, but I will now. I actually worked on Mask of the Betrayer. I was a tester. Technically, I was quality assurance, but I wasn't really all that good. Some of the other QA guys earned the title. I never thought I did. Hell, I shared an office with the head Obsidian QA guy who also did some of the design work in the game. He did the quest line with the legalistic devil and the quest where you had to submerge yourself in ice cold water. I thought he could be a real pain sometimes, but I respected that he had drive and talent. ...And that was the head QA guy. The design team was top notch. You might know that Sawyer wasn't one of the designers on that project, but he was intimately involved in the process. I will disclaim that I'm a huge Sawyer fan, not just because he was willing to go out on a limb and give me a chance to experience some of the industry first hand, but also because he was so gracious after I clearly let him down. Once I arrived and realized how hungry and talented the devs were, from the lowliest QA Atari employee to Feargus, I knew that I was out of my depth. I'm a hack without the drive and skills to compete. ...But these guys... these guys are the real deal. Take Alvin, for example. Here's someone who is excited by his job and wants to make a something of himself in the industry. He wants a name and so he's spending the time here, listening to what the fans have to say and learning his trade. I've never met Tim Cain, but I was impressed and sometimes even awed by the people I met at Obsidian. My initial faith was somewhat vindicated by KotOR 2, but New Vegas truly shines. Even with the constraints of the engine and the vision imposed on the team by Bethsoft, they managed to create something I firmly believe is a work of art. I have all sorts of problems with so many of the parts, and yet the whole confirmed what I knew all along. Obsidian has that certain something that puts them in their own category. Even MotB, using the NWN engine I hate, building on the NWN franchise I despise, was a product of real genius. I've gone on too long already, and I *know* I'll rightfully feel foolish when I sober up, but these are the guys. If we want to return to the things we loved, whether it's Monte's tactical combat or Jaesun's epic grandeur or even my personal story about the nature of a man, then this is our best bet. This project, defying as it does the craven publishing houses, is our chance to break out of the mold and start fresh. Let them have barbarians and tactical combat. That was part of the ol' Infinity Engine games also, after all. It doesn't mean the writing will suffer or that the story will be less personal or that any of those things you loved about Torment must be diminished.

I wish it were earlier in the evening and my thoughts were more coherant. Now, I will tell you, first of all, that I agree with Indira. MotB was an excellent game. ...But there were areas of BG that were great at the things that I loved about PS:T. PS:T was about the perfect game, but I don't need a game to cater solely to my rarified and narrow tastes. I can live with a nod to other tastes as long as there's enough in the game to appeal to my personal desires. I firmly believe they can get this all straight. Sure, they might not, but I think they can do it and I'm willing to man up and put my money where my mouth is. Sure, don't use the rent money to pledge, but if you have some extra cash, look at the team and the breadth of experience all of the devs bring to the table. I think it's a good bet, but that's just me. I've already pledged more than I can justify.

bastard! However, I want some non-combat/utility/role playing spells at my disposal.

I'm getting ready to do some of the dlcs. I'm level... ten I think. Anyhow, I'm enjoying my new run quite a bit. It was a little bit tedious at first, but now I'm getting back into the groove. I never did much with Caravan before, but I've found it's a way to make a lot of money. So far, I've gone through Novak and all the associated side quests from there. I did everything in Good Springs and Primm. I've even made it out to start some of the quests from Camp Good Hope or HOpe or whatever it's called. Fun times!

I would be happy if I don't have to wear idiotic looking robes and dunce caps and I can cast massive damage dealing spells. Specialization could be fun, but not necessary as long as the breadth of spells is sufficiently deep.

I love Greek Mythology, of course. I have somewhat of a history with them, and not just because I'm old enough to have been around at the time. lol I think the way they manage to build up the world's mythology, philosophy, and political organizations will be fascinating.

Yeah, that's the biggest complaint about alignment in DnD, Chaos. Like I said, I have my own beefs, but the fact that motivations don't factor into the mix is a major deficiency.

New Vegas had Karma because it is part and parcel of the Fallout universe. I don't think it's necessary, but it was probably easier to put it in than take it out in terms of dealing with the fanbase.

I chuckled when I saw this. I'm a Catholic, but I like to play sober fast talking mages. lol When I was in junior high and high school, one of my friends' parents (a hard charging holy roller) told me I'd go to hell if I played DnD. I don't think that attitude is prevalent today, but it sure as hell was a lot more common back in the day.

See, to me it just sounds like a mechanic to limit priests power. Kinda like a mages different schools. Keeps the player from having every single spell by making them choose.Yeah, I get ya, bro. The thing is that the way PE does it, which is to say the Pirest's deity keeps track of his followers and then prohibits or even prevents the use of some spells, works on more than one level. Functionally, it balances the class nicely. From a logical perspective, it doesn't require any more suspension of the player's disbelief than does the backstory in general. From an RP perspective, it gives a bennie to the player. To use Avellone's terms, it strokes his ego. ...But it doesn't answer what is actually good or evil as universal conditions. It's not like someone can detect your alignment in Eternity.

Now I feel guilty for mocking paladins twice in the thread. Regarding alignment: since I'm holding forth quite a bit tonight, I'd like to point out something about alignment. I hate it. Some folks see it as confining, and it undoubtedly is confining, but I see it as odious in and of itself. The questions of right and wrong, let alone good and evil, are central to philosophy and religion throughout our entire history. These are tough, often ugly, and contentious issues that have defied definition in any society. Large issues tend to find universal or near universal agreement, but fine points break down under scrutiny every time. To have such hard fast rules that are pervasive and abiding as concrete conditions in the game world is offensive at its very core. Forget about the fact that they box in the player. They render his own personal judgment moot. I say we bury alignment and celebrate by breaking open a bottle of wine. :Cant's passing around glasses of Burgundy icon: