New Game +

[wanderon]

Considering the point of P:E is to do a throwback to the IE games, I'm pretty sure they'll have an import/export feature.

 

Likewise, they're going to have a "Heart of Fury"-type mode. That's been confirmed.

 

So whether or not you want a "New Game +" it seems like we're getting at least one.

 

I'm pretty sure the Path of the Damned is still about an original playthrough and not as an NG+ option.

 

Path of the Damned is a spiritual successor to Icewind Dale's Heart of Fury mode. In our encounters, we like to turn individual combatants on and off based on the level of difficulty. If you come into an area on Easy, maybe casters are replaced with weak melee enemies. If you come in on Hard, maybe the casters are augmented by a tough melee enemy or two. With Path of the Damned, that goes out the window. All enemies from all levels of difficulty are enabled and the combat mechanics are amplified to make battles much more brutal for everyone involved.

 

AFAIK nothing has been confirmed or even mentioned about import/export being a planned option.

[ogrezilla]

Or they could just allow it and NOT balance it (like BG1 & 2) - after all I'm pretty sure the folks who play NG+ are not looking for a challenge anyway right?

not all of us. I like the Diablo style NG+ where you start over with all of your levels and items, but the game is harder to match it. Instead of being a cakewalk through the game, its a different feel to playing the game because both your party and the enemies have higher level abilities from start to finish.

 

I don't see PE going in this direction - it may have a mega dungeon but it is a story driven game not a dungeon crawl/combat simulation.

I'm not disagreeing. But that's the kind of NG+ I would enjoy. Not so much as diablo as far as gear and everything mind you. Or more leveling. I really don't care about the extra progression. But I would enjoy playing through where you and the enemies are high level from the start. Instead of clearing rats out of the basement with a club you are clearing hellspawn demons with high level spells and magic swords.

 

I don't expect it at all though and its certainly not necessary, but I would enjoy a mode like that.

 

I don't feel the devs should waste resources on what is essentially an implementation of cheating. If you want to break the game, that's fine -but please do it on your own clock.

 

NG+ doesn't have to be cheating. It can even be harder than the normal game.

Edited November 6, 2012 by ogrezilla

[Hassat Hunter]

NG+ doesn't have to be cheating. It can even be harder than the normal game.

I don't like unlockable difficuly settings.

Examples; Mass Effect 1.

 

Worst case ever: Diablo III (not that I played it, but everyone says the first run is casual and only the second better. That has to be the worst design ever I heard about...)

[Osvir]

NG+ doesn't have to be cheating. It can even be harder than the normal game.

I don't like unlockable difficuly settings.

Examples; Mass Effect 1.

 

Worst case ever: Diablo III (not that I played it, but everyone says the first run is casual and only the second better. That has to be the worst design ever I heard about...)

 

It's because enemies start dropping better loot on the second playthrough (Diablo 1, 2 and 3 are all difficulty driven in terms of loot, first time you play the game for the game, the second time to get better loot and do "raids" or "runs" in the third run you want even better loot and the fourth (Inferno difficulty) you play to get the best loot and challenge yourself). In P:E I reckon as the difficulty goes up it might even be more difficult to get better loot as well.

[Juneau]

I like new game + if for whatever reason I did finish the game but ENJOYED playing my character I could play it all again - Cos you know, the story was awesome!

[steelshark]

What is wrong with just playing the game again, from the start, without game+. I've done it in many rpg's, and most didn't offer game+.

Game+ seems to be a console-"receive gameerpoints"-achievement-thing, which i absolutely do not like.

I don't need a pat on the back in the from of an achiement. Not for using a spell 50 times, not for solving a quest, and not for playing through the game.

 

At best, it is just like playing with the same character, just with nicer gear and abilities.

At worst it has a huge impact on balancing.

 

^^game+ = bad option IMHO

 

edit:

The Mass Effect series was a major pain in the a** for me for just that reason.

Play through the game... now you can have an extra skill...what?why? Oh and you can also start with spectre-gear...which you aren't at the start.

Edited November 7, 2012 by steelshark

[ogrezilla]

What is wrong with just playing the game again, from the start, without game+. I've done it in many rpg's, and most didn't offer game+.

Game+ seems to be a console-"receive gameerpoints"-achievement-thing, which i absolutely do not like.

I don't need a pat on the back in the from of an achiement. Not for using a spell 50 times, not for solving a quest, and not for playing through the game.

 

At best, it is just like playing with the same character, just with nicer gear and abilities.

At worst it has a huge impact on balancing.

 

^^game+ = bad option IMHO

 

edit:

The Mass Effect series was a major pain in the a** for me for just that reason.

Play through the game... now you can have an extra skill...what?why? Oh and you can also start with spectre-gear...which you aren't at the start.

you're right, there is nothing wrong with just playing a game again without a ng+. Obviously nobody is suggesting that option be taken away. But playing through the game with a twist can be fun too. If it takes too much work, then fine don't include it. That's completely understandable. But it doesn't have to be an achievement grind mode. At best, it is a vastly different experience than the original playthrough. The issue is that to make it such a different experience would likely take way more work and money than it would be worth considering the constraints of this project. And honestly, I don't expect the game to be combat-oriented enough to be worth including such a mode. It would be a better feature in an Icewind Dale game. That doesn't mean its a bad mode or a gamerscore console mode; just that is might not fit the style or scope of this game.

Edited November 8, 2012 by ogrezilla

[RoughOne]

I'm one to save often and replay from a set point. I rarely replay a game, I rarely finish them either. Quite often I will get lost in a game and come back to it again months and sometimes years later. Frankly, few games hold my interest all that long. I DO however play several characters simultaneously in a game different parties, characters, etc. part of why I prefer RPG's. So this feature would add no benefit to my style or play.

[wanderon]

I'm one to save often and replay from a set point. I rarely replay a game, I rarely finish them either. Quite often I will get lost in a game and come back to it again months and sometimes years later. Frankly, few games hold my interest all that long. I DO however play several characters simultaneously in a game different parties, characters, etc. part of why I prefer RPG's. So this feature would add no benefit to my style or play.

 

I play somewhat similar to this - I do usually end up finishing a game but for NWN2 for instance my first character to finish did so about 18 months after I got it and there were probably 15-20 other characters scattered about at different points in the game - some of which I would go back and pick up some of which are still waiting - or would be if a HD crash had not wiped them out a couple years ago...

 

Same with BG series - there was always a point somewhere along the way when I would think - oh wait what if I rolled up a _______ and used ________ in my party? and off I would go to character creation to see what I could whip up....

 

I am really all about the journey and it doesn't bother me to put off finishing becuase that means when I finally got around to finishing NWN2 or BG2 the first time there was still stuff that I had not yet seen and was thus fresh and new to me in spite of the fact I had played the game for over a year.

 

Then there were all those "no reload" games that ended prematurely becuase I died...

[Sylvius the Mad]

No. No. No.

 

Under no circumstances should any part of the game I just bought be unavailable to me. If NewGame+ exists in any capacity, then all of those features should be accessible the first time we play.

[skiesbleed]

I would probably say no. Personally, I'd rather play through with a different character build and concept.

 

On top of that, though, New Game+ requires proper rebalancing to keep the game challenging and interesting, and I'd rather the resources go into making the core game better. Also, how would you handle rebalancing non-combat skills? It seems to me that a pacifist-type character would have little challenge, unless there were significant changes made.