New PC Gamer interview with Josh.

[nipsen]

Not sure why I didn't notice how quotable Josh is before now:

 

"It's unlikely to be ultra-complicated, but should make you think".

 

(Also, didn't actually know Somethingawful still existed, so I'll be heading over there for a while now. Until later).

[Sedrefilos]

What I like most with Obsidian is that they are evolving the rpgs in the roleplay part. Not many teams do that. They showed it with FA:NV and now they're taking it even further. Super great stuff!

[Mannock]

Anyways, if you wanna have a taste of dialogue quality, dispositions & dialogue options check this post: http://forums.obsidian.net/topic/64979-josh-sawyer-talks-about-stealth-mechanics/?hl=stealth

 

-read Josh's posts on the external link our friendly backer provides

 

 

(note: you will have to scroll through many pages to get to the part about dialogue, but every other post you may read is absolutely delicious !)

 

I need to pay for an account to read that forum.

 

Can't you copy the interesting bits and paste them here?

[Bryy]

 

Dear lordy.

 

 

Bioware ? Hah what did you think to mention those utter failure of people. 

... making a product you dislike says nothing about the individuals that made it.

[nonfactor]

Great article, and yep, that dragon looks pretty airborne - true flight mechanics would kick serious a-hole if they're implemented.

[Prometheus]

Can't you copy the interesting bits and paste them here?

about the disposition system or about what?

 

for the disposition system, that's the made up conversation from Something awful forums and there is also a wiki article about disposition with all the other information from Josh Sawyer's posts.

Here are some completely made-up convo scenarios (BTW, all of these tags can be disabled as an option and are off by default in Expert):

 

NPC: "I can't believe she rejected me! My family bloodline will be broken! What am I supposed to do now?"

 

1. "I will find someone else for you, a more suitable match. I'll spare no expense and scour all the Dyrwood if I have to!" [benevolent - Average]

2. "You are clearly suited to bigger and better things. The duc is looking for an ambassador to Rauatai. I'm sure you could easily take the position." [Diplomatic - Minor]

3. "Well, you could weep into your beer about it like every other heartbroken would-be lover. If you give up this easily your bloodline deserves to die." [Cruel - Average]

4. [shrug] [stoic - Minor]

 

NPC: "What are you doing in here without an escort? Wait - damn you, how did you get in here in the first place?!"

 

1. [intellect 14] [Lie] "Through... the side door. It was ajar and when I knocked I thought I heard someone say to come in. I apologize if I was mistaken." [Diplomatic - Minor]

2. "Charm, guile, maybe a little force. I find one of those three is always the key to opening any door." [Clever - Minor]

3. "Try asking again, this time with a kinder tone, or I'll bury you. Understand?" [Aggressive - Average]

4. "I won't deny I broke in through the side door. I know the thayn is hiding evidence in his study and I'm not leaving without it." [Honest - Average]

 

In those scenarios, your reputation doesn't have anything to do with being able to select the responses. In the second scenario, only your Intellect is used to gate the first option. How people react to you IS based on your reputation. So, for example, if you picked 1. in the second response, the dude might be swayed and say, "Hmm. Well, you are mistaken. The thayn isn't here today and I'm afraid we aren't taking visitors. Please follow me to the front..."

 

But let's say you have a well-established reputation for being Deceptive. His response may be, [Deceptive] "Hmm. Well, you are mist- Wait a minute, aren't you <CHARNAME>?" His momentarily confused face twists into an angry sneer. "Well, it looks like your poison tongue has finally caught up with you. You'll regret breaking into the thayn's home!"

 

These scenarios are completely fabricated, but I hope they illustrate the basics of how the system works.

 

There was also an interesting conversation about aumaua, technology and godlike in the same thread:

Also, unsurprisingly, the pictured OP is wrong. Vailians aren't "the most civilized" or "advanced" "race". Most Vailians are Calbandra/Ocean Folk (black-skinned), but not all are. Vailians are the masters of seafaring and trade and have developed a number of ingenious inventions, but Defiance Bay (in the Dyrwood) is the heart of animancy study (the Vailian Republics are close allies and potential competitors). Dyrwoodans developed the Godhammer, which is the most advanced explosive ever known (though some suspect the inventors were divinely-inspired). The philosophers of Ixamitl are generally considered to be the wisest around and have the longest philosophical tradition. And despite all of those cultures' achievements, the Glanfathans still outpaced them all in astronomy. Glanfathan astronomy (which some believe was developed even earlier by their predecessors, the Engwithans) is what allowed the Vailians to develop the Iroccian calendar.

 

 

We've only done the coastal aumaua portraits so far (the ones typically from near Rauatai) and they don't have much/any Polynesian flavor. The island aumaua are supposed to have more Polynesian and Japanese elements to their clothing but we haven't done their portraits yet. I have a little bit of familiarity with various Pacific Islander cultures and Kaz (our artist who made the Sagani, Eder, and Pallegina concepts) grew up in Japan, so hopefully they will have a nice blend of elements.

 

You know, we've had discussions about guns and such, but what about other technological items? Are there pocket watches, or calculators, or the like? Is there such a thing as a fusion of technology and magic? I'd love to see how such a world would develop.

There are some clocks and a very small number of early watches. Animancers tend to be mechanical inventors and tinkerers since so much of animancy is only possible through technology. Animancy itself is not so much a fusion of technology and magic as it is a field of study that uses machines to examine essence, i.e. soul energy.

 

Are tattoos going to get any exposure in-game? Either as a little character customization or portraits or magic, etc?

I think the only character who currently has any tattoos is Sagani. It's not a big part of any of the cultures that are highly present in the Eastern Reach (this part of the world).

 

So, how do people who worship one god react to a Godlike of that deity? Do they get really excited about it or just go, "Eh, just another dude"?

It depends on local attitudes and personal beliefs. Devout people who truly believe that godlike are blessed may be extremely reverent around godlike characters. Some people think that godlike are cursed or may be hostile toward godlike "of" a faith they don't like. E.g. godlike associated with Eothas are treated badly in the Dyrwood due to the Saint's War. Godlike associated with Magran are received much more positively for the same reason. The godlike themselves have varying attitudes about it.

 

 

No one actually knows for certain that godlike are created by divine intervention. Their appearances suggest strong alignment with certain deities -- e.g. there are godlike who exhibit physical properties associating them with the moon and water, which are both aspects of Ondra -- but there is no direct proof or divine confirmation.

 

(all quotes(except the questions) are from Josh Sawyer from this thread in SA forums(behind a paywall))

[constantine]

 

Anyways, if you wanna have a taste of dialogue quality, dispositions & dialogue options check this post: http://forums.obsidian.net/topic/64979-josh-sawyer-talks-about-stealth-mechanics/?hl=stealth

 

-read Josh's posts on the external link our friendly backer provides

 

 

(note: you will have to scroll through many pages to get to the part about dialogue, but every other post you may read is absolutely delicious !)

 

I need to pay for an account to read that forum.

 

Can't you copy the interesting bits and paste them here?

 

 

 

The post opens for me and I can directly read the comments. Follow the link from within the forum I tagged.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bioware ? Hah what did you think to mention those utter failure of people. 

... making a product you dislike says nothing about the individuals that made it.

 

 

 

No, it's not disliking. Far from it. It's that they betrayed me: Dragon Age 2, Mass Effect 3.

 

They have sold their souls to the enemy and I don't expect anything worth my time anymore coming from BIOWARE, even the so much anticipated DA 3

[Frenetic Pony]

 

PC Gamer: How would you compare the combat system to the Infinity Engine games, both in terms of similarities and differences?

Josh Sawyer: ... (i skipped 1st paragraph)

 

Some of the things I focused on eliminating are things that felt like really repetitive actions that didn’t necessarily make the game more fun. The older games, including the games I worked on, relied heavily on something called pre-buffing. So in a lot of cases you’d have, say, three casters spending four to six rounds before every fight dumping a bunch of spells on your characters to get them into combat shape. Not super interesting. We wanted buffs to stay in the game and still feel powerful, but now there’s an opportunity cost for them, meaning they can only be cast in combat. So you can cast your crazy haste spells or blessings or prayers or whatever, but you have to do it in the context of the combat, because instead of them becoming a sort of no-brainer thing you do just out of habit, it should be something you choose to do in the context of a battle. If you choose to cast that buff spell, you’re choosing to cast it instead of a fireball or a lightning bolt. Ideally we want the choices you make to be tactical decisions made in the moment.

 

Now that is very interesting. Congratz to Mr Josh.

 

 

He listens! Or at least has similar ideas. There was a thread about this a few months back, and this exact problem of "the pre-fight routine" was mentioned. Good to see it's not going to be in there. I get reaallly tired of casting the same what feels like a hundred or so buffs on all my party just before entering every difficult combat scenario.

Edited April 24, 2014 by Frenetic Pony

[Sarex]

He listens! Or at least has similar ideas. There was a thread about this a few months back, and this exact problem of "the pre-fight routine" was mentioned. Good to see it's not going to be in there. I get reaallly tired of casting the same what feels like a hundred or so buffs on all my party just before entering every difficult combat scenario.

 

Now you get to cast them during the fight, happy days.