Suggestions for post-1.03 patches

[Kenji]

Hi,

 

Please post whatever is on your mind that may further balance the mechanics and gameplay. You don't have to agree with mine, and a objective discussion is always welcomed.

 

Here are 4 I can think of:

 

1. Remove pet collision (Quality of Life improvement)

- Pets can still block the way from time to time; when the party is out-of-combat it is possible for the characters to trigger traps due to pets. Taking off pets and then putting it back on kind of defeats the purpose of having something that "passively" observes your progress.

 

2. Buff Constitution (Mechanics Balancing)

- Right now, I believe the consensus is that constitution is the most effective "dump" stat out of all the other stats due to its low negative/positive effect on character health. This drastically makes the joinable companions weaker than hired adventurers even though they have the early advantage of higher exp (2k exp or higher, depends on how fast the player hires the adventurers)

 

Punish the player even further for having low constitution characters, and award those that commit points into it.

 

3. Allow minimal customization on post-hired Adventurers (Character Portraits, voice sets, perhaps even biography)

- I loved the Icewind Dale series, and I dare say the series are held in higher regard to other IE games (for me) due to the fact that I get to fully customize all 6 characters to my heart's fullest extent. Though if I made a mistake on or disliked the character portrait or voice set, I can always change it via character sheet in IWD. Of course, the choices I made on the classes and leveling will still be stuck.

 

4. "Annoyed" Voice-overs (Quality of Life improvement, not urgent)

- Icewind Dale had the best player character voice-overs out of all the IE games, I dare say. And as of now only 5 selection of voices for each gender is simply not enough! I really missed how if you click the characters enough times, it will voice its annoyance over the player's selection.

 

"I know a druid who can hook you up with some good stuff" - Unknown male rogue

[Ekaros]

Add the limerick back. Or censor the rest of the game to decent standards containing absolutely nothing offensive.

[Mansen]

3. Allow minimal customization on post-hired Adventurers

 

Make that all companions (NPC ones included) and I'm all aboard. As long as I'll have to get a hold of a ___keeper tool to make cosmetic changes to my NPC companions, I'd see no point in doing it half-assed with just PC companions.

[Caerdon]

The most important issue of them all.

[Envy]

I'm going to advocate making armor penalties scale depending on constitution for the rest of my life if I have to because it is such a brilliant solution. 

[evensong]

Add the limerick back. Or censor the rest of the game to decent standards containing absolutely nothing offensive.

 

This is the hill you choose to die on?

[iLurk]

Stronghold Improvements:

- Combine all the resting bonuses

- Extend the time for some of the special events, they are easily missable

- Change the turn system to something else, its really bad

 

Exploration:

- Hidden stuff other than traps should be separated from sneak mode

- Highlighting needs some toning.

 

Shops:

- Please let shops change their items frequently like every 1 or 2 days, I bought all the ingredients from Curio shop and she restocked the same items all over again.

- Maybe make trade agreements with various shopkeepers at various places to expand the shops at the Stronghold's inventory.

 

Items:

- Unique items, all items feel the same, nothing too special like some of the items you get from IE games that put a smile on your face.

- More Enchanting and Crafting recipes.

 

Enemies:

- More variant of enemies please to spice up the encounters.

- Do something about the Adra Dragon.

 

Combat:

- Allow pre-buffing and outside combat abilities and spells.

- More per-encounter, some of the per rest don't seem all that great.

- Make the selection circles of the characters more recognizable, I keep losing track of my party members during fights.

 

Others:

- Game saves and loading takes longer at the later parts of the game, disarming traps causes stutter.

- Naming Saves.

Edited April 7, 2015 by iLurk

[Ekaros]

 

Add the limerick back. Or censor the rest of the game to decent standards containing absolutely nothing offensive.

 

This is the hill you choose to die on?

 

 

Yes. For greater good of gaming!

[Shadenuat]

Ui:

I want to see all options on level up, ones that can't be picked yet as grayed out maybe. It's very hard to plan your character without that. And it's wrong when player picks a talent and doesn't know that there are no interesting upgrades for that talent later unlike some other talent on the same level.

Edited April 7, 2015 by Shadenuat

[Serdan]

- Unique items, all items feel the same, nothing too special like some of the items you get from IE games that put a smile on your face.

Wut? There are plenty of unique items with little stories in the description and everything. Could you elaborate on what you think is missing?

 

 

Yes. For greater good of gaming!

You're either dishonest or delusional.

[iLurk]

Wut? There are plenty of unique items with little stories in the description and everything. Could you elaborate on what you think is missing?

 

 

 

 

Great read

Edited April 7, 2015 by Gorth
Spoiler tags added by request of iLurk

[Caerdon]

A few random ideas:

• Cut XP gain by 50%
• No pet name tag when hitting Tab (the key, not the drink)
• Give all enemies significant bonuses to 1-3 defenses and 1-3 DR types (so that players really need to pay attention to them)
• Let me release my pets so they can scamper around within the walls of Caed Nua
• Fix the custom notes section
• Fix INT AOE gain so it matches the description and/or remove the added friendly zone and make the area adjustable instead within limits dictated by INT
• Buff bows
• Nerf the cipher. Nerf it to oblivion! NEEEERRRFFF!!!

[iLurk]

Oh Yeah, Highlight needs some toning.

[Ekaros]

 

Yes. For greater good of gaming!

You're either dishonest or delusional.

 

 

No I just have had enough of BS. If few bad developers have to die, it's a small price to pay for open and free medium.

[Kenji]

Mansen, on 07 Apr 2015 - 03:05 AM, said:

 

Kenji, on 07 Apr 2015 - 02:41 AM, said:

3. Allow minimal customization on post-hired Adventurers

 

Make that all companions (NPC ones included) and I'm all aboard. As long as I'll have to get a hold of a ___keeper tool to make cosmetic changes to my NPC companions, I'd see no point in doing it half-assed with just PC companions.

 

The perks of those joinable NPCs are that they have stories, dialogues, and interjections of their own; even their description the first time the player had met them are fixated. Hired Adventurers don't, therefore changing their voice-sets and portraits won't impact immersion as much as predefined joinable NPCs. I'd still keep it similar to BG multiplayer mode. If it is more in-depth changes such as stats, abilities, and such even after hiring/joining that you're advocating, then those are beyond my original suggestion. Depends on personal preferences, though.

 

 

iLurk, on 07 Apr 2015 - 03:14 AM, said:

Stronghold Improvements:

- Combine all the resting bonuses

 That would make the stronghold resting bonus too OP and turn the other inns around the world obsolete, can't say I agree with this change completely. Some extra buffs to the resting bonus would be welcome though.

 

iLurk, on 07 Apr 2015 - 03:14 AM, said:

Items:

- Unique items, all items feel the same, nothing too special like some of the items you get from IE games that put a smile on your face.

 The B*tch Queen's Envoy from Icewind Dale still echoes in my head to this day... Can't say PoE unique items have done the same.

 

Perhaps something can be done with Magren the Wh*re Goddess, lol

 

iLurk, on 07 Apr 2015 - 03:14 AM, said:

Combat:

- Allow pre-buffing and outside combat abilities and spells.

 I somewhat like how they disallowed pre-buffing, it discourages meta-gaming (still possible, but even less so) as well as forcing the players to make efficient decisions through battles.

 

Caerdon, on 07 Apr 2015 - 03:30 AM, said:

 

A few random ideas:

• No pet name tag when hitting Tab (the key, not the drink)
• Let me release my pets so they can scamper around within the walls of Caed Nua

I like these suggestions, too many pets, not enough slots!

 

iLurk, on 07 Apr 2015 - 03:34 AM, said:

Oh Yeah, Highlight needs some toning.

 Yea, I think it was mentioned somewhere but the highlighting can be similar to the Diablo series.

[Serdan]

 

1. That image is a spoiler.

2. 'Marking' is an excellent property.

3. The speed multiplier awesome too.

4. The uniques in BG/BG2 aren't really all that interesting comparatively. They mostly just have extra damage of various types and bonus THAC0. Some of them have per rest abilities and/or immunities, neither of which I need on a weapon. There are a few ridiculously powerful weapons such as Crom Faeyr, but they are kinda cheesy.

 

I do think it's a shame that you can't add a Lash to that blade, but I'll still be using it.

[Maydawn]

I think the whole UI / QoL aspect of this game needs a ton of work, just several things off the top of my head:

 

1. Tooltips for items that grand a spell effect. Spell Striking, Spell Holding, that sort of stuff. It's great that Shod-in-Faith boots have Spell Holding: Consecrated Ground, but I have no idea what it means or what does it do.

2. Sneak / Scout is annoying as hell. Why do I need to walk in slow motion AND with the whole group just to scout for hidden items / traps ?

3. Hotkeys for abilities. So my paladin has 4 abilities. I'd love it if I didn't have to mouse click them, and I could bind them to QWERTY or something like that. Same for spells, click a spell level.

4. Sticky spell levels. I don't want the spell level I chose to change if I accidentally hovered over 2 on my way to the spell list if I wanted level 3.

5. Action queue list. So I queued 3 spells / actions, and progressed the fight and paused again. How am I supposed to remember all action queues I given for 6 party members ?

6. Proper filters on vendors / inventory. When I press the Armor icon, I don't want other items greyed out, I want them GONE.

7. Different buy-back tab for items you sold to a vendor. When I sell a ton of items to a vendor, I don't want them to bother me while I search for another item to buy :|

 

[NEXT PART MIGHT CONTAIN SPOILERS]

 

And one last thing, it's not really related to quality of life or UI, but still:

Continuity. After I finish up Gilded Vale and choose either of them to stay on the "throne", I atleast expect some response from townsfolk at Gilded Vale. And that's just one example out of many, but I have a bad memory and haven't played today

[Irrevenant]

7. Different buy-back tab for items you sold to a vendor. When I sell a ton of items to a vendor, I don't want them to bother me while I search for another item to buy :|

 

Something like this would be great. I pick up everything enemies drop, no matter how little money I'll get for selling it. The Black Hound girl's inventory is just loaded with stuff.

[Kenji]

It would also be nice if Statistics can store more information:

 

Crowd Controls: How many times a character has caused knocked down, stunned, whatever status effect there is.

Defenses: How many attacks have the character dodged/deflected or saved against. (Perfect for front-line statistics)

 

Maydawn, on 07 Apr 2015 - 05:04 AM, said:

I think the whole UI / QoL aspect of this game needs a ton of work, just several things off the top of my head:

 

1. Tooltips for items that grand a spell effect. Spell Striking, Spell Holding, that sort of stuff. It's great that Shod-in-Faith boots have Spell Holding: Consecrated Ground, but I have no idea what it means or what does it do.

2. Sneak / Scout is annoying as hell. Why do I need to walk in slow motion AND with the whole group just to scout for hidden items / traps ?

3. Hotkeys for abilities. So my paladin has 4 abilities. I'd love it if I didn't have to mouse click them, and I could bind them to QWERTY or something like that. Same for spells, click a spell level.

4. Sticky spell levels. I don't want the spell level I chose to change if I accidentally hovered over 2 on my way to the spell list if I wanted level 3.

5. Action queue list. So I queued 3 spells / actions, and progressed the fight and paused again. How am I supposed to remember all action queues I given for 6 party members ?

6. Proper filters on vendors / inventory. When I press the Armor icon, I don't want other items greyed out, I want them GONE.

7. Different buy-back tab for items you sold to a vendor. When I sell a ton of items to a vendor, I don't want them to bother me while I search for another item to buy :|

 

[NEXT PART MIGHT CONTAIN SPOILERS]

 

And one last thing, it's not really related to quality of life or UI, but still:

Continuity. After I finish up Gilded Vale and choose either of them to stay on the "throne", I atleast expect some response from townsfolk at Gilded Vale. And that's just one example out of many, but I have a bad memory and haven't played today

For #1, it might confuse players the most since it grants the actual ability to the character without specifying the details. You can still check the granted ability and what it does through character sheet by clicking on it.. in most cases, anyways. It's somewhat of a clutch and can be improved, but the information is still there.

 

You are probably aware of this, but for #3, you can hover your cursor over the ability and press F1 through F11 to hotkey it. The hotkey is automatically disabled if those are keybound to other purposes such as Quick Save/Load. (I have mine the same as the good ol' IE games, Q for quicksave and L for quickload) I prefer it this way as it is far similar to the IE games as opposed to other sandbox RPGs.

 

The rest on your list is comprehensive and agreeable.

Edited April 7, 2015 by Kenji

[GrandWazoo]

I'd like the option to hide helmet and cloak added. Also better filters on vendors.

[Maydawn]

For #1, it might confuse players the most since it grants the actual ability to the character without specifying the details. You can still check the granted ability and what it does through character sheet by clicking on it.. in most cases, anyways. It's somewhat of a clutch and can be improved, but the information is still there.

 

You are probably aware of this, but for #3, you can hover your cursor over the ability and press F1 through F11 to hotkey it. The hotkey is automatically disabled if those are keybound to other purposes such as Quick Save/Load. (I have mine the same as the good ol' IE games, Q for quicksave and L for quickload) I prefer it this way as it is far similar to the IE games as opposed to other sandbox RPGs.

 

The rest on your list is comprehensive and agreeable.

 

I had no idea I can bind stuff to F1-F11, thanks for letting me know

Still, I'd rather use something more comfortable, QWERT keys for example. Anyhow, those abilities slots should be on the controls keybinds menu.

 

I guess I didn't explain myself properly for #1. I want the marked with green things on item descriptions to be clickable, so it opens a tooltip for said spell / effect. The only thing you see on the character sheet it Grant Spell, which gives you the ability to use said spell X times per rest. But for spell striking, it doesn't show anything, neither for spell holding.

I actually opened a separate topic about this specific issue, almost no one replied and it sunk, so I guess it doesn't bother many people <.<

[Kenji]

Maydawn, on 07 Apr 2015 - 06:17 AM, said:

I had no idea I can bind stuff to F1-F11, thanks for letting me know

Still, I'd rather use something more comfortable, QWERT keys for example. Anyhow, those abilities slots should be on the controls keybinds menu.

 

I guess I didn't explain myself properly for #1. I want the marked with green things on item descriptions to be clickable, so it opens a tooltip for said spell / effect. The only thing you see on the character sheet it Grant Spell, which gives you the ability to use said spell X times per rest. But for spell striking, it doesn't show anything, neither for spell holding.

I actually opened a separate topic about this specific issue, almost no one replied and it sunk, so I guess it doesn't bother many people <.<

 

There are times when we as players are required to use our own intuition and figure things out the good ol' fashioned way: trial and error. People have perfected the art of throwing fireballs without harming teammates in BG even without those AoE indicators, afterall.. But yes, it would be nice if more info is given without such hassle.

[Caerdon]

Any key can be used as a hotkey, as long as it's not already bound to other stuff.

[kat7ra]

 

Mansen, on 07 Apr 2015 - 03:05 AM, said:

 

Kenji, on 07 Apr 2015 - 02:41 AM, said:

3. Allow minimal customization on post-hired Adventurers

 

Make that all companions (NPC ones included) and I'm all aboard. As long as I'll have to get a hold of a ___keeper tool to make cosmetic changes to my NPC companions, I'd see no point in doing it half-assed with just PC companions.

 

The perks of those joinable NPCs are that they have stories, dialogues, and interjections of their own; even their description the first time the player had met them are fixated. Hired Adventurers don't, therefore changing their voice-sets and portraits won't impact immersion as much as predefined joinable NPCs. I'd still keep it similar to BG multiplayer mode. If it is more in-depth changes such as stats, abilities, and such even after hiring/joining that you're advocating, then those are beyond my original suggestion. Depends on personal preferences, though.

 

 

iLurk, on 07 Apr 2015 - 03:14 AM, said:

Stronghold Improvements:

- Combine all the resting bonuses

 That would make the stronghold resting bonus too OP and turn the other inns around the world obsolete, can't say I agree with this change completely. Some extra buffs to the resting bonus would be welcome though.

 

iLurk, on 07 Apr 2015 - 03:14 AM, said:

Items:

- Unique items, all items feel the same, nothing too special like some of the items you get from IE games that put a smile on your face.

 The B*tch Queen's Envoy from Icewind Dale still echoes in my head to this day... Can't say PoE unique items have done the same.

 

Perhaps something can be done with Magren the Wh*re Goddess, lol

 

iLurk, on 07 Apr 2015 - 03:14 AM, said:

Combat:

- Allow pre-buffing and outside combat abilities and spells.

 I somewhat like how they disallowed pre-buffing, it discourages meta-gaming (still possible, but even less so) as well as forcing the players to make efficient decisions through battles.

 

Caerdon, on 07 Apr 2015 - 03:30 AM, said:

 

A few random ideas:

• No pet name tag when hitting Tab (the key, not the drink)
• Let me release my pets so they can scamper around within the walls of Caed Nua

I like these suggestions, too many pets, not enough slots!

 

iLurk, on 07 Apr 2015 - 03:34 AM, said:

Oh Yeah, Highlight needs some toning.

 Yea, I think it was mentioned somewhere but the highlighting can be similar to the Diablo series.

 

I agree with your agreements and agree with your disagreements.

 

And a couple of more interesting items would be nice, but I believe that is also a problem introduced with the whole enchanting mechanic anyhow, making most of the items bland since you can almost reproduce them anyhow.

Unless an item has unique features it's crap, which makes me sad, and how the hell do someone who knows nothing about enchanting IMPROVE a magical ancient artifact by crushing some gems and adding a dragons eye to it, with no equipment in the middle of the jungle!

Edited April 7, 2015 by kat7ra

[Gotcha!]

Add the limerick back. Or censor the rest of the game to decent standards containing absolutely nothing offensive.

I agree, although I don't see them reversing the terrible choice they made. It's a shame we apparently live in a world nowadays where people with gigantic big mouths are listened to, regardless of what crap they're spouting.

Anyway, I'd love to see an option at least to hide every tombstone in the game. There are exceptions but overall it's just a giant mess of out-of-character quotes.

 

I'm going to advocate making armor penalties scale depending on constitution for the rest of my life if I have to because it is such a brilliant solution. 

 

<3

 

Exploration:

- Hidden stuff other than traps should be separated from sneak mode

 

Enemies:

- Do something about the Adra Dragon.

 

Combat:

- Allow pre-buffing and outside combat abilities and spells.

- More per-encounter, some of the per rest don't seem all that great.

 

Others:

- Game saves and loading takes longer at the later parts of the game.

- Naming Saves.

 

I completely agree with these.

 

 

A few random ideas:

• Let me release my pets so they can scamper around within the walls of Caed Nua

 

I absolutely love your idea to let all those pets loose in the world. After I finished the game I had enough pets to start a zoo, but they were all choking in my backpack.

 

 

 

I've not much to add myself, except:

- that party members should be able to stealth and leave stealth individually. Rogues should be able to sneak around an enemy that's already under attack by one of your own so she can go for a nice vigorous backstab without the danger of getting agro from every enemy in the room.

 

- that PC's should not be leveled up when they join you. Skill and talent points are an absolute rarity. Players shouldn't be punished by pointless skill/talent picks just because they decided to pick up a PC a little later than usual.

I'd also accept if the dev team would get their heads together and plan each PC character's auto-levels so that they're decent enough to keep around.

When you meet Sagani @level 12 for example, she threw most of her skillpoints in, I think, Survival. Absolutely useless. Meanwhile her Athletics had a big 0 points in it. Stuff like that is killing me.