Obsidian: PLEASE PLEASE fix these...

[RaulVic]

Letter to Obsidian Entertainment,

From a loyal Bioware/Black Isle fan.

 

I just read EGM's KOTOR2 feature, and can't describe how excited I am that you guys will bring us another chapter in the great story and great game that KOTOR is for SW fans and non-SW fans alike.

 

I noticed Chief Development Officer Chris Parker say that over time, you get sick of the same "Critical Strike" animation repeating over and over. Like that, there are other nagging details in the game, that the game community would be grateful if you fixed:

 

1) FIND DATAPAD, WASTE 10mins FINDING IT!

When you find a datapad, it likely contains critical quest information. It is a chore to look for it on the inventory screen, the Quest Items screen, and then read all the similarly named "Datapad" items.

 

2) USELESSLY IMPROVE NPC'S FEATS

Add "Master Flurry" to NPC, then watch him use lower "Improved Flurry" over and over. Same with other feats ilke "Rapid Shot". Maybe if NPC's weren't able to select lower feats?

 

3) MORE SCRIPTS!

A common complaint on gamer's forums. Bioware carried over this great feature from Bladur's Gate. But then it left gamer's wanting more.

 

4) RANGED vs MELEE vs SUPPORT NPCs

During combat, it's sometimes a chore to keep ranged NPCs firing from affar, and support NPCs from entering melee fights. Let alone trying to flee from battle... the characters that are not under your control, will simply return to fight.

 

Those are my main gripes with the gameplay system.

They're pretty realistic demands, unfrotunately I don't know how hard it would be to fix them, or to get approval from always-adamant LucasArts.

 

You have my and thousands of other gamer's attention. We surely hope you continue KOTOR's tradition and bring us another great game.

 

-RAUL VICTORIA

[JonIrenicus]

Absolutely agreed! B) Good post RaulVic!

[Akari]

1) FIND DATAPAD, WASTE 10mins FINDING IT!

    When you find a datapad, it likely contains critical quest information. It is a chore to look for it on the inventory screen, the Quest Items screen, and then read all the similarly named "Datapad" items.

 

In KotOR2, there is an inventory filter that lists only datapad items, so that will help cut down the list. Also, whenever you obtain a datapad for the first time, the game will pause and a window will come up displaying the text of the datapad. So you can opt to read it then, or cancel the window and pull it up later in your inventory.

 

Add "Master Flurry" to NPC, then watch him use lower "Improved Flurry" over and over. Same with other feats ilke "Rapid Shot". Maybe if NPC's weren't able to select lower feats?

 

That's interesting. So even though you leveled NPC feats, they would often resort to using lower levels of the same special attacks? I'll put a report into our internal bug tracker to have that investigated.

 

 

A common complaint on gamer's forums. Bioware carried over this great feature from Bladur's Gate. But then it left gamer's wanting more.

 

We are currently planning to include more scripts to chose from, as well as streamlining the process of selecting the scripts for your NPCs.

 

    During combat, it's sometimes a chore to keep ranged NPCs firing from affar, and support NPCs from entering melee fights. Let alone trying to flee from battle... the characters that are not under your control, will simply return to fight.

 

In your opinion, what would be the best way to get NPCs to flee with you when you turn to run? How do you distinguish between running away or just moving back to give yourself some room?

 

Thank you for the thought out post.

 

-Akari

[Quasar]

A few thoughts of my own - the jedi/droid support script was said on the Bioware forums to be the only script giving characters any actual intelligence... And I believe THAT is the only script where they use lower classed attacks. I'm not sure why.

 

And with regard to fleeing, perhaps a "follow closely" command, where all the party will follow you wherever you go and not do anything until you stop the command.

 

Just my input.

[MalaksBane]

    During combat, it's sometimes a chore to keep ranged NPCs firing from affar, and support NPCs from entering melee fights. Let alone trying to flee from battle... the characters that are not under your control, will simply return to fight.

 

In your opinion, what would be the best way to get NPCs to flee with you when you turn to run? How do you distinguish between running away or just moving back to give yourself some room?

 

Have a disengage that is really a disengage - and keeps them disengaged for x seconds or until the leader attacks. Or, if changing the AI that determines when partymembers start/join a fight is too tricky, have a non-combat mode, like there are solo- and stealth modes.

[GeneralCrimson]

The running from a fight option isnt that big of a deal seeing as you never have to run from a fight in the first place. No matter how much you screw up your characters feats and abilities like spending points on a cross class skill u never use your characters can always kick butt and if you find the battle to hard you basically need one character to make it run away alive and let the other two die then return when the enemies are back in their start position

[Darth Sun_Tzu]

Letter to Obsidian Entertainment,

From a loyal Bioware/Black Isle fan.

 

I just read EGM's KOTOR2 feature, and can't describe how excited I am that you guys will bring us another chapter in the great story and great game that KOTOR is for SW fans and non-SW fans alike.

 

I noticed Chief Development Officer Chris Parker say that over time, you get sick of the same "Critical Strike" animation repeating over and over. Like that, there are other nagging details in the game, that the game community would be grateful if you fixed:

 

1) FIND DATAPAD, WASTE 10mins FINDING IT!

When you find a datapad, it likely contains critical quest information. It is a chore to look for it on the inventory screen, the Quest Items screen, and then read all the similarly named "Datapad" items.

 

2) USELESSLY IMPROVE NPC'S FEATS

Add "Master Flurry" to NPC, then watch him use lower "Improved Flurry" over and over. Same with other feats ilke "Rapid Shot". Maybe if NPC's weren't able to select lower feats?

 

3) MORE SCRIPTS!

A common complaint on gamer's forums. Bioware carried over this great feature from Bladur's Gate. But then it left gamer's wanting more.

 

4) RANGED vs MELEE vs SUPPORT NPCs

During combat, it's sometimes a chore to keep ranged NPCs firing from affar, and support NPCs from entering melee fights. Let alone trying to flee from battle... the characters that are not under your control, will simply return to fight.

 

Those are my main gripes with the gameplay system.

They're pretty realistic demands, unfrotunately I don't know how hard it would be to fix them, or to get approval from always-adamant LucasArts.

 

You have my and thousands of other gamer's attention. We surely hope you continue KOTOR's tradition and bring us another great game.

 

-RAUL VICTORIA

Dont you love these newbs that, with their first post, have a big rant about what THEY believe should be in the game!

 

Thats not to say that i didn't agree with your points though.

[MalaksBane]

The running from a fight option isnt that big of a deal seeing as you never have to run from a fight in the first place. No matter how much you screw up your characters feats and abilities like spending points on a cross class skill u never use your characters can always kick butt and if you find the battle to hard you basically need one character to make it run away alive and let the other two die then return when the enemies are back in their start position

Irrelevant, sure I can get through (most of) the game without partymembers at all, but that is not the point, I want to have the choice of how a fight is fought.

 

I was rather annoyed to find that the game forced me to dash through the Star Forge, that was not the way I wanted to fight that battle. It's no big deal, just annoying. And annoyances are bad for fun.