Update #12: Reddit Q&A with Tim Cain

[rjshae]

2) The one thing that Tim discussed about wanting to control the entire party's actions and such seems to support the concept of creating a mode where you can make more than one party member in your party ala Icewind Dale. Another request is to please allow this, even if you could only make up to 4/6 party members yourself. It would give you that control you want to feel while still allowing for story. Heck even if you could only make 3/6 characters yourself that would be awesome.

 

The drawback of build-your-own party is that you can't build sophisticated interactions based upon character background. That's one of the elements I really missed in the IWD releases.

 

OTOH, it might be a nice option to start the game with a sidekick that you've known since early childhood, and for which you have some customization choices. (Like a limited selection of classes that complement your own.) The game could always kill off the sidekick later if he is getting in the way of the story.

[Homo_erectus]

AtheistBots asks...

Class vs. Classless systems You're most famous for classless systems involved in Fallout and Arcanum. It sounds as if Obsidian will be using a class based system. What do you see as being the advantages of a class based system that you're hoping to leverage in Project Eternity?

 

Answer: We are designing a class-based system because we want the different characters in your party to fill different roles, and classes are the best way to achieve this goal. In a skill-based game, it's harder to tell if a companion gives you the skills you are looking for, especially before you recruit them. In a class-based game, you know what each class can do, so you can decide that you want a particular class even before a potential companion offers to join you. And when you have a lot of companions and can choose which ones you want to take on a particular adventure, classes make it easier to form the group and be assured that you have your skillsets covered.

 

Bonus question: Are you considering multiclassing?

 

Answer: Bonus questions are cheating…but yes, we are considering adding multi-classing to the game. A better way to put this answer is that we are not ruling them out at this time. If they work well with our final system, we will offer them.

 

*Sigh*

So they are making it safe for the "Creatively and cognitively challenged"..

I can't beleive they'd settle for that after MCA's wonderful blog-post: http://forums.obsidi...l-set-symphony/

 

but oh well, One can only hope that multi-classing will be intelligently designed.

 

You've summed up my feelings exactly.

[Elthosian]

2) The one thing that Tim discussed about wanting to control the entire party's actions and such seems to support the concept of creating a mode where you can make more than one party member in your party ala Icewind Dale. Another request is to please allow this, even if you could only make up to 4/6 party members yourself. It would give you that control you want to feel while still allowing for story. Heck even if you could only make 3/6 characters yourself that would be awesome.

 

The drawback of build-your-own party is that you can't build sophisticated interactions based upon character background. That's one of the elements I really missed in the IWD releases.

 

OTOH, it might be a nice option to start the game with a sidekick that you've known since early childhood, and for which you have some customization choices. (Like a limited selection of classes that complement your own.) The game could always kill off the sidekick later if he is getting in the way of the story.

 

But is it really that hard to implement both things? Detailed companions and the possibility of creating five extra characters, as someone said in another thread, just loop the character creation screen and make the chars occupy their own slot, if you make 3 extra characters you can only two of the Obsidian-made companions.

 

Also, Tim answered my question, YAYZ! Cannot wait to see how much detail they are going to put in that race trait stuff :D

Edited October 1, 2012 by Elthosian

[Monte Carlo]

Regarding RTwP vs. TB. Why don't you just add a stretch goal with the purpose of allowing the player to choose between RTwP and TB? So that each player can have his/her prefered game gameplay style.

 

(a) it would require work (b) Turn-Based is as dead as disco (it really is) and (c ) they said they wanted to recapture the spirit of the IE games which were RTwP.

 

I hope to partially accomodate TB fans they can put in enough autopause options as possible, but creating two parallel systems doesn't make much sense to me.

[jarpie]

Regarding RTwP vs. TB. Why don't you just add a stretch goal with the purpose of allowing the player to choose between RTwP and TB? So that each player can have his/her prefered game gameplay style.

 

(a) it would require work (b) Turn-Based is as dead as disco (it really is) and (c ) they said they wanted to recapture the spirit of the IE games which were RTwP.

 

I hope to partially accomodate TB fans they can put in enough autopause options as possible, but creating two parallel systems doesn't make much sense to me.

 

Turn-based isn't dead, there are several (more and less) indie games coming which are turn-based like Wasteland 2. That said, I won't mind RTwP.

[vv221]

I love turn-based system in strategy games...

 

But I think in RPGs it's nothing more than an heritage from their P&P ancestors, and has no sense for a non-P&P-based game.

That's clearly not turn-based fights that make Fallout great, and Arcanum does not become dull when you turn its fights real-time !

[Patuti]

In a skill-based game, it's harder to tell if a companion gives you the skills you are looking for, especially before you recruit them.

This looks like an advantage to me, not the opposite. Share the work of explaining about the role/skills of a companion to the narrative elements, a guy with a scarred face with a 2h battle axe can be as informative as a class "Berseker". And that could hide some not-so-obvious skills so we can have a bit of a surprise later, while with the class system we have direct access to all that information, not a lot of immersion here.

[Auxilius]

I prefer classless systems because it gives a lot of freedom to the way I build up my PC, without going over thirty screens to check if multiclassing my druid with a rogue or a barbarian will be worth the loss of spells I'll go through. I've nothing against class systems but I found myself less interested and always go for a full-on unique class.

No, if classes permit to get unique answers and dialogues and build up quests, I'm all in. It would be fun to get roped in quests because the PC is a dreaded

engineer wandering on wood dwarf territory. Not the most imaginative example though.

[rjshae]

I prefer classless systems because it gives a lot of freedom to the way I build up my PC, without going over thirty screens to check if multiclassing my druid with a rogue or a barbarian will be worth the loss of spells I'll go through. I've nothing against class systems but I found myself less interested and always go for a full-on unique class.

No, if classes permit to get unique answers and dialogues and build up quests, I'm all in. It would be fun to get roped in quests because the PC is a dreaded

engineer wandering on wood dwarf territory. Not the most imaginative example though.

 

Perhaps they should call them careers, rather than classes? Like they did in the old WFRP game. Multiclass characters would then be interdisciplinary careers. What would be a nice feature of multiclass characters is if they had some unique options available only to those with specific class combos. Like the prestige class paths, but less blatant. Might be more trouble than it's worth though.

[Vampero]

I liked the Q&A a lot !!! Keep them coming...

Edited October 1, 2012 by Vampero

[ImRhoven]

Liked the Q&A, loved the answers!

 

As to the party members each having unique roles: Well, I hope there will be at least some overlap and enough different party members to provide you with a choice as to who you're taking with you for a certain role. Annoying when you're 'forced' into either taking along a party member you dislike, or gimping your party because you only take along those you like.