Small suggestions. Easily implemented ideas, quickfire thoughts.

[cdude2k4]

Hi, I'm new to this forum so please don't burn me if it's already been said:
I would like the game to be complete open-world with no loading times. I think this would increase immersion greatly and its always nice to go in and out of an area without having to go through a loading screen.

[rjshae]

Seeing day/night cycle presented in today's update, I'd love to see impairing effect of darkness on PC skills/stats. And maybe something quite opposite for supposedly nocturnal monsters/beasts. Seems almost obvious right? Still neither of IE games had it and atm I can only think of Fallout 1&2 and Arcanum pulling that off.

 

Perhaps they could illustrate the penalties from lighting effects using the character portraits? When a character is in darkness, their portrait could go to a dark gray near-silhouette with a monochrome background. Characters with night vision could transition to a reddish hue. When a torch (or light spell) is active, the player portrait can light up with a flame hue and the background go darker.

[Ningaubel]

A simple to use inventory with nice items and decent descriptions that adds a lot of flavour!

[Ffordesoon]

Numerous autosave options, from an option that saves like every two minutes to one that saves every time you open your inventory to one that saves after every dialogue to no autosaving whatsoever. Also allow us to decide how many autosaves we want to keep at any given time, from (say) 30 to a single one. Let us change both of these options whenever we want. This would be restricted to the normal game, and wouldn't affect Trial Of Iron or that other mode that I can't remember the name of at the moment.

 

I am aware that there are people who will find this idea lame and "casual" and blah. To those people, I say this: you are entitled to that opinion, and I have made it a point to mention options and restrictions that I believe will placate you adequately.

 

If you still have a problem with the idea because someone else whom you have never met and in all likelihood will never meet might make use of different options than your own, it is with the greatest possible respect I can muster that I advise you to get over yourself and/or grow up. Those of us who have ever experienced a crash to desktop or a random power outage that erased like six hours of game time because we were too busy, you know, enjoying ourselves to remember to save will thank you.

[milczyciel]

Numerous autosave options, from an option that saves like every two minutes to one that saves every time you open your inventory to one that saves after every dialogue to no autosaving whatsoever. Also allow us to decide how many autosaves we want to keep at any given time, from (say) 30 to a single one. Let us change both of these options whenever we want. This would be restricted to the normal game, and wouldn't affect Trial Of Iron or that other mode that I can't remember the name of at the moment.

 

I am aware that there are people who will find this idea lame and "casual" and blah. To those people, I say this: you are entitled to that opinion, and I have made it a point to mention options and restrictions that I believe will placate you adequately.

 

If you still have a problem with the idea because someone else whom you have never met and in all likelihood will never meet might make use of different options than your own, it is with the greatest possible respect I can muster that I advise you to get over yourself and/or grow up. Those of us who have ever experienced a crash to desktop or a random power outage that erased like six hours of game time because we were too busy, you know, enjoying ourselves to remember to save will thank you.

I propose autosave BEFORE starting dialogue. That way you won't be forced to reload older file or make a specific quick save in case you want to fool around with dialogue possibilities / wish to explore them all out of curiosity / whatever other reason.

Edited April 14, 2013 by milczyciel

[The Wise Alaundo]

Every now and then, for specific events, being able to recount tales of your exploits in taverns. You get options of how to tell your tale as you tell it, maybe unlocking certain options depending on your stats.

 

Intelligence but low charisma will be really matter-of-fact and bore the pants off everyone, until there's only the old drunk left in the corner snoozing.

 

Charisma - Full of wit and exaggeration, a bard might come in and start taking notes.

 

Strength - Lots of hand gestures and thrown objects

 

Wisdom - Contains words of caution, advice and insight.

 

Dexterity - Act out certain scenes

 

And so on! You could have your companions chipping in as you tell it if they think you're being boring, call you out for lying etc...

[Draxyle]

I've been playing Neverwinter Nights 2 and Icewind Dale 2 for the first time, and it's got me thinking about a whole lot of things I like and dislike about the UI in general

 

One of my biggest pet peeves with those two titles in particular are the spell icons; they're way too overly elaborate and excessively colorful to the point where they're difficult to understand; I always have to wait for the tool tip to be sure of what I'm casting.

 

 

 

Just to illustrate my point: :

 

 

The Baldur's Gate icons on the left are simple, elegant, and color-coded; I can understand what they are at first glance, while with the NWN2 icon's I can only guess maybe one or two of them off hand. It looks like a messy mish-mash of artwork when bundled up like that. Basically, I'd prefer it if Project Eternity leaned more towards the simpler iconography for the UI in general.

 

It might be a very minor detail, but I feel it's still a very important part of the overall aesthetic and functionality of a game. I studied in graphic design, so I'm a little sensitive to that sort of thing.

[Tamerlane]

Huh. I've played a fair bit of NWN2, and I just noticed that the circle around the question mark in the identification spell is a magnifying glass.

[Ffordesoon]

It's a very minor part of some games, but it's a major part of a game like this.

 

Good catch.

[Ffordesoon]

 

 

Numerous autosave options, from an option that saves like every two minutes to one that saves every time you open your inventory to one that saves after every dialogue to no autosaving whatsoever. Also allow us to decide how many autosaves we want to keep at any given time, from (say) 30 to a single one. Let us change both of these options whenever we want. This would be restricted to the normal game, and wouldn't affect Trial Of Iron or that other mode that I can't remember the name of at the moment.

 

I am aware that there are people who will find this idea lame and "casual" and blah. To those people, I say this: you are entitled to that opinion, and I have made it a point to mention options and restrictions that I believe will placate you adequately.

 

If you still have a problem with the idea because someone else whom you have never met and in all likelihood will never meet might make use of different options than your own, it is with the greatest possible respect I can muster that I advise you to get over yourself and/or grow up. Those of us who have ever experienced a crash to desktop or a random power outage that erased like six hours of game time because we were too busy, you know, enjoying ourselves to remember to save will thank you.

I propose autosave BEFORE starting dialogue. That way you won't be forced to reload older file or make a specific quick save in case you want to fool around with dialogue possibilities / wish to explore them all out of curiosity / whatever other reason.

I think it's funny that even though most of that post was kind of a really long and politely worded version of "COME AT ME BRO," it was the word "after" - a word I did not think about at all - that someone seized on.

 

For the record, I don't care if it's before or after.

[milczyciel]

@Ffordesoon

 

If I somehow insulted or annoyed you, then rest assured that it was not my intention. I just think that it's very important not to autosave after, but before the conversation because having tried both options (don't remember where though) I found the first one quite tedious and "user unfriendly" because it forced me to make quicksaves before every conversation, just in case. At the same time autosaving before, helped me a lot with checking out various dialogue options, but also crafting, shopping, re-rolling some bad results of luck-based checks (like hazard), exploits etc. That was the sole reason for making it BIG

 

Sorry if I unintentionally made it sound otherwise. Cheers.

Edited April 17, 2013 by milczyciel

[Ffordesoon]

@milczyciel:

 

Oh, no, you didn't insult me at all. I was just making an idle observation. No offense intended.

[Lephys]

I've been playing Neverwinter Nights 2 and Icewind Dale 2 for the first time, and it's got me thinking about a whole lot of things I like and dislike about the UI in general

 

One of my biggest pet peeves with those two titles in particular are the spell icons; they're way too overly elaborate and excessively colorful to the point where they're difficult to understand; I always have to wait for the tool tip to be sure of what I'm casting.

 

...

 

It might be a very minor detail, but I feel it's still a very important part of the overall aesthetic and functionality of a game. I studied in graphic design, so I'm a little sensitive to that sort of thing.

 

Hear hear!

 

They really should be treated more like logos than pretty works of art.

[Rozkurwiciel]

About icons - I have always considered Dota's (which ever u take; first for smaller ones and second for bigger ones) icons ideal.

Edited April 17, 2013 by Rozkurwiciel

[Chippy]

About loading screen tips (which were really immersion breaking for me in BG2, but got used to them) I'd prefer not to have them because I'd rather stare slack jawed at the art, or if they must be in, have the option to be there for at least 5 seconds before the area loads on a fast hard drive - because it's really immersion breaking to get 1/2 way through the tip, the area loads and the OCD kicks in while I'm racking my brain to remember what chapter of the manual the tip was related to, which means I'm not concentrating and get an arrow to the face, which is probably what the tip was all about anyway and likely related to a rule I knew about already.

 

Just saying.  Because, you know, that stuff is important.

[JFSOCC]

The ability to deny people to join your party. Screw you G0-T0.

A pre-cognisant ability which allows you to retry any dialogue response 1/charge. or any combat encounter 1/5 charges. (as if the first time didn't happen) Charges slowly load up based on success in gameplay. Maybe a Cipher ability, seems this is kind of in their ballpark.

[Kecaw]

Bounty Hunters going for your head (something like in BG1 ) when you anger to much Organization X (naturally im not talking about a invfinite number of BH  but lets say 3-5 groups) plus not just BH but also normal other adveture parties going for you head. (lets face it  i can dispose of a crypt full of vampires and get some money for your head at the same time)

[rjshae]

Demon Raptor--Formulated by a mad wizard (some even speculate by Od Nua) this flying creature combines the physical traits of an imp-like demon with a predatory bird, while assuming the social traits of a pack animal. When not scavenging they usually hunt in groups, chasing down larger prey by constant diving attacks that rip off small pieces of flesh. In the process the prey is steadily worn down and exhausted, leaving them vulnerable to a final, swarming, coup de grace.

 

In some barren lands the Demon Raptor have been domesticated, which has allowed their physical traits to be modified to various degrees and their nasty personality ameliorated. Domesticated Demon Raptors have acquired the temperament of a loyal guard dog, and they can be relentless, cunning, and swift in the attack.

[Tsuga C]

I've been playing Neverwinter Nights 2 and Icewind Dale 2 for the first time, and it's got me thinking about a whole lot of things I like and dislike about the UI in general

 

One of my biggest pet peeves with those two titles in particular are the spell icons; they're way too overly elaborate and excessively colorful to the point where they're difficult to understand; I always have to wait for the tool tip to be sure of what I'm casting.

I've never had any problems with figuring out the meaning of the more elaborate spell icons and prefer them over the simplified ones. Then again, I'm a strongly visual person.

[rjshae]

 

I've been playing Neverwinter Nights 2 and Icewind Dale 2 for the first time, and it's got me thinking about a whole lot of things I like and dislike about the UI in general

 

One of my biggest pet peeves with those two titles in particular are the spell icons; they're way too overly elaborate and excessively colorful to the point where they're difficult to understand; I always have to wait for the tool tip to be sure of what I'm casting.

I've never had any problems with figuring out the meaning of the more elaborate spell icons and prefer them over the simplified ones. Then again, I'm a strongly visual person.

 

I'd agree with you, except I didn't find the spell icons in the IE games much better. Spells I use all the time are easy to remember and I rarely have to change them. On the infrequent occasion that I needed to fine-tune a list, I always, always end up doing mouse-overs to figure out the spells. Then there was the inevitable delay before the tool-tip appeared. It's not the greatest approach.

[Naesh]

Bloody fights, to some customisable extent, going from chopping limbs, incinerating, freezing, electrocuting foes, to no gore at all.

The player does not start with a map, the pc has to buy / obtain one. Different kind of maps using different kind of textures (old, new, burned, etc), covering different areas with different precision. Fake maps. Treasure maps. Buried treasure. Of course, all this could be made compatible with the usual automap feature.

Multi-layered puzzles with *real* *replay* *value* or at least some random element. Some rare, really-really hard puzzles of this kind with fitting rewards.

An optional quest involving a shapeshifter serial-killer and some really-really hard detective work. More optional quests of similar kind.

Dynamic economy. To some reasonable extent, of course.

How about dealing with issues related to the economy system more explicitly?

(  An idea:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malthusian_catastrophe  )

How about dealing with the issues of war more maturely? E.g. it provides jobs, helps dealing with the overpopulation problem.... but i guess the theme of the game might not go well with this....

Maybe.... a multi-layered disease system? A few slowly healing broken bones here and there might force the pc to go with a different party for some time.... or to reload....

A disguise system? It might be a fun challenge to disguise the party as traveling merchants or hunters or something.... maybe a crime-and-disguise-system in bigger cities? 
 

Reactive npc portraits.

The portraits of the party members might display their emotional status / health. This way a poisoned party member looks pale and sick. A wounded party member might have a bloody nose, a few bruises. A party member on the verge of death looks like someone who is about to die.

The portrait of an angry party member should look... angry. The same with scared. Etc.

 

Portrait variety.

The portraits of the party members might change based on a random variable (and time) as well. The same party member might use different portraits depicting the same status. How about party members who shave regularly? (or just in cities / at inns?) They might slowly grow a beard while adventuring and get shaved once the party rests at an inn. The women might look unkempt while on journey for a longer time, sleeping outdoors, etc. and get back to normal once the party rests at an inn.

But maybe this is overdoing it.

Edited April 19, 2013 by Naesh

[Ffordesoon]

@rjshae:

 

Word. The IE games had better icons, but "better" isn't "best."

 

The real problem with both examples is that most D&D spells are well-suited to tabletop play only. Not conceptually, necessarily, but there are far too many spells suited for insanely specific purposes, and far too few general-purpose ones. For every Magic Missile, there are ten Animate Ropes and Petulengro's Validations, if you catch my drift.

[pipboy2000]

Reactive npc portraits.

The portraits of the party members might display their emotional status / health. This way a poisoned party member looks pale and sick. A wounded party member might have a bloody nose, a few bruises. A party member on the verge of death looks like someone who is about to die.

The portrait of an angry party member should look... angry. The same with scared. Etc.

 

Portrait variety.

The portraits of the party members might change based on a random variable (and time) as well. The same party member might use different portraits depicting the same status. How about party members who shave regularly? (or just in cities / at inns?) They might slowly grow a beard while adventuring and get shaved once the party rests at an inn. The women might look unkempt while on journey for a longer time, sleeping outdoors, etc. and get back to normal once the party rests at an inn.

But maybe this is overdoing it.

 

I really like those two, especially the last one! This would be one of those tiny features where you would just think: "How cool is THAT?!" when you notice for the first time, that your party gets dirty/messed up in the wilds, and clean, when they have the means to wash/bath etc.

 

- You could even make barbarians (for example), who won't care about their looks (and odors) and would not wash (unless you order them to do so, maybe).

 

- If you would walk through an "upper class area", coming directly from the wilds, people could even react with tiny texts over their heads like: "Oh my! What a horrid smell!" or "Look at those... creatures carefully, my dear! This is the reason why you should study VERY hard!" or "Someone should call the guards, a bunch of wildlings somehow made their way into the city!" or "If I would not have been warned by your smell, your looks really would have shocked me!" etc.

 

- The valet of a noble could suggest that you go wash yourself before talking to his lord.

 

- The lord could react to your looks, if you ignored the valets advice ("Who do you think you are, strolling into my palace, looking like common rubble?!", "Do you want to insult me by your sheer looks?!" etc.)

 

- Some niminy-piminy (?) party member could comment on his/her decreasing levels of cleanness: "I would do everything for a hot bath right now!", "I really miss the amenities of a city!", "If my hair gets messed up just a little more, you would need an axe to cut it!", "Where is the sense in wandering aimlessly in the swamp?!", mumbling to him/herself: "I wonder if this dirt would make a good beauty face mask!" etc.)

 

- and so on

 

I really think that would be a cool, immersive feature to have! But, of course, you are right, maybe this would be overdoing it...

[GrumpyOldschooler]

I'm not sure if these have already been suggested, but anyway:

-Variety of ammunition for bows and muskets

-Ability to use small stones as musket balls (in case you run out of lead balls)

-Blunderbusses (medieval shotguns, should use multiple balls)

-Archery/musket ballistics (on long range attacks)

-Poisonable weapons/ammunition

-Grenades of gunpowder and greek fire type

-Armor specific damage resistances (ie. leather protects from fire, plate/chain mail from slashing)

-Ability to perform multiple types of attacks with weapons (ie. thrusting, slashing)

-Hand to Hand combat with multiple different styles

-Meaningful blocking (shields are actually used for blocking rather than just raising AC)

-Cripplable limbs (ala Fallout)

-Dismemberment (possibly optional for player/followers, since losing an arm makes things hard)

-Funny combat descriptions of criticals etc. (ala Fallout)

-Visible dice rolls

-More interesting magic weapons (talking swords, unique effects)

-Upgrading and creating your own weapons (this is already in I think?)

-Epic magic effects for higher level spells (ala PS:T)

-Bash chest etc. as alternative to lockpicking

 

Not so easy to implement:

-Drunk and dumb dialog

-No more attack on sight monsters, unless they're animals or something you should be able to talk them

-Related to previous, full pacifist run compatibility

-Text descriptions enchanging scenery (ala Fallout and PS:T)

-Mounts & mounted combat

-Destructable environment (burn a forest, collapse caves, wreck houses etc.)

[Chippy]

Apologies for not knowing/remembering how many party members there are, but it always seems that I don't replay games enough to get all the interactions and banter, so what if (story allowing) we could gather them all at an inn or the stronghold and sit them down for a chin wag?  Maybe in designated chairs or something (hopefully it wont start to resmble an AA meeting).  It usually seems as though there's a trigger of some kind anayway and various reasons for missing it, so maybe for banters and interactions missed this could be done?.