How much information should be revealed before release?

[Lephys]

Mechanics: I kind of think of it like Magic: The Gathering. I want to know about how all the different things work, but I still want to have to play the game to see what cards are available.

 

In other words, they can tell us almost everything about the actual mechanics without revealing all abilities, weapons, ore types, etc. So that, much like in Magic, when you get a given card, and read it, you'll know what it does and how you can use it.

[Kjaamor]

I find that interesting. Do you just experiment with character building? Or do you read the manual in advance? I used to enjoy reading manuals, however I really dislike digital manuals and I often find it difficult to sit down and read them.

 

Well, firstly my stance is based upon a decent documentation within the game system itself (something the IE games were great for) which makes the manual an optional extra rather than a necessity. In terms of character creation, I tend towards the two extremes. On one hand, I shall probably make (as I did with Arcanum) many, many characters before starting the game. On the other, as I do with most rpgs, I shall probably dust off the avatar Kjaamor; a neutral good, chatty, dual wielding melee dps type.

 

I have very little willpower in this regard, of course. If you gave me the P:E manual today, I would probably read it several times a day and plan out several parties - provided that it was, as you say, a non-digital manual.

[nikolokolus]

Definitely the nuts and bolts of the mechanics, but coming from more of an OSR mentality (OD&D, Swords and Wizardry, DCC RPG, etc.) I don't want to be bogged down with a lot of 3.x or 4th ed. style character planning and min/maxing right from the start, so learning the mechanics should sort of be built-in to progressing through the game and learning by experimentation.

 

As for the lore, It'd be nice to at least have a little bit of history, politics and the basic cultural beats that a character would be likely to know, but I don't want to know anything at all about the story; that should be a complete surprise.

[Walsingham]

They are already doing it.

 

The kickstarter was based upon certain key functions and qualities being in the game. Support was mobilised on those points. So these are the points being updated.

 

[Zitchiock]

Mechanics, features, and well-known lore and history, sure. But, I would prefer that they kept anything intrinsically plot related quiet. Spoiling story elements in an RPG really can sap out some of the fun.

[Quadrone]

Yes, like so many already said:

 

Mechanics: As much as possible. Every skill, talent, spell and at what level each one is unlocked. Every class, race and weapon including their stats.

Lore: Only common world knowledge or general regional info.

Story: Only the basic plot hook.

[mcmanusaur]

I'd say that anywhere between 14 and 36 units of information is a comfortable amount. Below 8 is far too little, and above 47 is out of the question.

[Mazhlekov]

Absolutely agree with you dude! 
I would like to see as little as possible (excluding metrics and some game development stuff like Update #67)

[Sedrefilos]

I'd like a small dungeon full with combat and a simple quest.

Some wandering around, buyg/selling, talking to villagers of a small village.

Travel to a destination on the world map.

A dialogue with a person showing me how can I role play it.

Inventory/equiping/using stuff.

Character sheet and a level up.

[hollowcrown]

I'd like to know some of the spells and mechanics but not enough so that people can exploit the game before it's even out.

 

I'd like to have seen some gameplay, and maybe something about the key characters like we knew about Wynn and the King before Dragon Age was out.

 

Maybe a little bit of background lore and a general overview of the land we will be adventuring in.

 

I like a blurb like this as well:

 

 The game is set in Ferelden, one of several countries that makes up the mythical continent of Thedas. The game opens with an animation which details the origins of demonic creatures called the darkspawn, that dwell within the Deep Roads, an underground highway system created by the dwarves long ago, deep beneath the surface of Thedas. Every few hundred years, the darkspawn swarm the surface world in a movement known as a Blight. Beginning with the first Blight, Thedas relied on the legendary order of warriors known as the Grey Wardens to drive the darkspawn back.

 

 

 

Basically some information for those who want to find it.

Edited December 2, 2013 by hollowcrown

[Wolfenbarg]

I'd like to know as much as possible about how the game plays. Nothing spoilery like certain methods to beat a difficult encounter, but it would be cool to really know the engine in updates. A bit of lore would be fine, maybe some backstory. I don't want to know anything too detailed about the plot, though. Like if there's some big event that sets the game in motion, I want it to be a surprise. I already knew about how New Vegas started from the press info, and that was a pretty big buzzkill when actually playing the game.

 

I think Torment made a pretty big mistake by revealing as much as they have so far. I mean if we were comparing to Planescape, they would have basically given away all of the mystery in the synopsis. If they were willing to say that much, it's probably just a starting point, but another of those buzzkills.

Edited December 3, 2013 by Wolfenbarg

[ambrusynev]

I would like to know a reasonable amount of game mechanics, and general lore, but nothing which may ruin the plot or

would weaken the exploration experience. Sometimes I enjoy exploring the world by my party than solving

quests if the world is really well crafted.

Keeping fingers crossed

[Hiro Protagonist II]

I'd like to know the lore and history of the setting that a normal traveller would know. Just enough so I'd know the difference between the races and some basic history.