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Considering the limited resources that the developers will have for Project Eternity, I'd rather have them focus all of their time and money on polishing the core gameplay and avoiding unnecessary features. Implementing sitting/hand washing animations would be a waste of time and money. That said, I actually liked the various misc activities that the player perform do in the Gothic series, but this is a different kind of game.

I don't mind having guns in the game, if they are properly implemented and balanced. Introducing steampunk elements into a fantasy world can be refreshing, as Arcanum has already proven.

While she does join your party immediately after the introductory cutscene, you can dismiss her with just two clicks. She doesn't have to stay in the party in order for the game to progress. This is different from truly forced companions that were present in NWN2, where you had to take someone along in order to finish a certain (often plot critical) quest.

It worked just fine for Fallout 1&2. Although you could recruit (multiple) companions in those games, it was possible to finish them solo as well. Also, as others have noted, it is entirely possible to solo the Infinity Engine games. It might even be easier since you reach higher levels more quickly due to not having to share XP with other party members.

Kill it with fire. Level scaling ruins any feeling of progression in a game.

Same here. It would be great if Obsidian could utilize at least a portion of the story, similar to what they did with Fallout: New Vegas and Van Buren.

This project is Obsidian's baby, their first home grown IP. There's no need to involve Bioware (and especially EA) in any way.

Riddles are fine, as long as they are not mandatory. Putting them in optional side quests is great fun, but if players are forced to solve a puzzle/riddle in order to advance the main plot, it may lead to frustration.

^This. A lot of crap passes for DLC nowadays, and even worse, people are actually buying it. While I'd gladly pay good money for a full scale expansion pack (something like Tales of the Sword Coast for BG1), I have absolutely no interest in "horse armor" and similar nonsense.

IIRC, it was mostly Josh and Jessica?

I'm a bit surprised that people cannot imagine other ways to store valuables besides carrying them in their inventory all the time. If anything, that's unrealistic. Wouldn't it make more sense to roleplay that the character keeps the majority of his gold and items in a stronghold/storage facility or a bank? In my view, inventory tetris and gold weight don't add anything except tediousness to the gameplay.

That would be technically impossible. Multiplayer isn't something that can be "modded-in". You'd need access to the game's source code and know the inner workings of the engine by heart.

Guys, keep in mind that if Eternity is going the be a franchise, the first game will probably focus on lower levels (1-10). It's not realistic to expect dragons in the very first installment.

Considering the amount of time and resources necessary for a proper multiplayer implementation, I'd rather leave that for the sequel, assuming the first game does well.

I don't really get the obsession over owning a house in a computer game. OTOH, a well developed, functional stronghold similar to the Crossroad Keep in NWN2, would be nice. That said, proper localization is important if Obsidian wants the game to succeed in the EU. I definitively suggest looking into it.

Personally, I'd much rather have a smaller number of distinctive and properly developed classes than a huge number of unbalanced kits/prestige classes. Take BG2 as an example. While the kits did bring a lot of flavor to the game most of them were not balanced properly, both against each other and against the core classes. Ideally, I'd like a small number of classes, but have several distinctive specialization paths for each one, i.e. similar to Diablo 2, but more complex. Over the years, I've come to appreciate this design approach. Although it does require a bit of suspension of disbelief, it basically saves players the trouble of mindless grinding just to level up a rarely used companion.

^ This. Having random loot is fine to a certain degree, but please avoid nonsense like having a huge, armored warrior wielding a magical Greataxe dropping a Staff of Fireballs and a Robe of Arcane Prowess. If possible, loot tables should be semi-randomized so that opponents drop items that are appropriate for their class/race i.e. equipment they would realistically possess. Also, if possible, limit the randomness to non-unique items.

A modding toolkit sounds like a good idea for a stretch goal. Considering the huge modding community that was built around the Infinity Engine games, I'm sure that there would be a lot of interest for that. As a modder, I would certainly welcome it. However, I'd like for the developers to focus on making the best game they can first and foremost. If time and resources permit it, releasing the toolkit a few months after the game is finished would be nice bonus.

I still remember the day when it became known that Project Jefferson/The Black Hound/Baldur's Gate 3 got canceled. You guys seemed really passionate about that game and it was very sad to see so many great ideas remain unrealized. Now, after almost 10 years, I get the feeling that you'll finally get to show off your full potential with Eternity. I'm confident that it will be an exceptional game and I'm happy to throw my support behind the project.

Another vote for Mark Morgan here. Though Jeremy Soule's work on the Icewind Dale soundtrack was pretty amazing too. I still fondly remember the Kuldahar theme.

Implementing a toggle-able TB/RTwP system (as in Arcanum) would be a bad idea. It would stretch the resources thin (money, working hours) and ultimately create a mediocre experience that would not satisfy either camp. While turn-based combat is my personal preference, I'd much rather have a well crafted RTwP system that was specifically built for this game and its ruleset, than a half-baked hybrid attempt.

Heh, that's pretty much what I was thinking too. BTW, there's a cool interview here which sheds some light on the use of social augs:

That pretty much sums up my experience too. Chapters 1&2 (which take up about two thirds of the game) are simply awesome. Unfortunately, the rest gets very tedious very fast, especially those endless dungeons in chapter 4 where you search for the ancient armor pieces. Also, PB should probably pay some royalties to the Zelda developers for borrowing Ganon for the final boss battle. On topic, I've recently discovered OpenTTD. It's basically an open source clone of Transport Tycoon Deluxe which features a modern graphic engine as well as several gameplay enhancements.

Glad you liked it. aTweaks is my second mod though, i.e. separate from Rogue Rebalancing. It's basically a tiny tweak pack which aims to bring various aspects of BG2 closer to PnP.

Cool. Try aTweaks too if you want to spice up the other demons a bit.