Are they going to do more text-based encounters?

[RosingBull]

I thought the choose-your-own-adventure style text adventure parts were a lot of fun in the first game, if a little uneven. I really hope they bring them back, though. And hopefully include even more.

[Strange_Trees]

They've been saying around interviews and such that they plan to use the scripted encounters more. Even adding some new features like being able to see a characters skill score before selecting them, and having characters be able to assist others. Hopefully that means Aloth will stop twisting his ankle every single athletics check >.>

[RoboticWater]

I hope so. They're quite possibly the best incarnation of CRPG "cutscene" I've ever seen. They can more accurately depict the drama of a moment all while maintaining a distinctively tabletop sort of feel. In fact, I hope they're used far more extensively during the main quest. Nothing kills a mood quicker than a bunch of NPCs passionately throwing words at each other while they stand perfectly rigid in the center of the screen, or when they toy-soldier about with generic animations and wimpy visual effects. I remember my first reaction to reaching Cilant Lis or the end of the animancy hearings wasn't shock or horror so much as it was amusement at how awkward everything was.
 
On the flip side, one of the more affecting moments in the first game is the CYOA-style flashback you get as you approach Twin Elms where 

Iovara gets tortured. Seeing her twisted visage really got to me in a way that the game really hadn't before.

The ending to White March Pt.II was a standout moment as well.

The drawings really did justice to thee scale and emotion of the Eyeless.

The style is visually and aurally engaging without being too overbearing and, presumably, financially taxing.

 

If there was one thing Obsidian could improve about them, it might be to include a few animated movies sprinkled about the game like the one we saw in the Deadfire trailer. They obviously can't involve the player, but blowing up buildings and soul flashbacks? Those are fair game.

Edited February 12, 2017 by RoboticWater

[Gaidin]

This thread just gave me a flashback to Radical Dreamers and I just realized how awesome that would be with a few tweaks and mixups.

[Mygaffer]

Basically they like them a lot, they know we like them a lot, the only limiting factor is that because they are so branching they are be very time consuming to author. They've been working on tools to make them easier to author but haven't really released any specific information on how.

 

So expect more of them, but probably not a ton more.

 

 

This thread just gave me a flashback to Radical Dreamers and I just realized how awesome that would be with a few tweaks and mixups.

It's very interesting how many design problems were solved in the past but those designs have been forgotten about.

Edited February 13, 2017 by Mygaffer