Most Important Features

[OLD SKOOL WHEELMAN]

me included, until Episode III comes out...

[EnderAndrew]

To those unfamiliar with all the Star Wars novels and EU, I highly recommend simply giving the Timothy Zahn trilogy a try. If you liked Empire Strikes Back, then I think you'll like the Timothy Zahn trilogy. It is Star Wars at it's finest.

[OLD SKOOL WHEELMAN]

the only star wars EU that I have read is that jedi knight with obi wan and qui gonn before Ep. I, but I can't recall the name, and the Han Solo Trilogy which I thought was pretty good...

[EnderAndrew]

Let me reveal my geekdom here.

 

There are two Han Solo trilogies.

 

One was published by Del Rey ages ago, and is often sold as the entire trilogy in one book. The newer trilogy was published by Bantam, and written by A. C. Crispin. Both were decent, but I preferred the original Han Solo trilogy.

 

Then there was the Corellian trilogy, which was alright, but a little wierd.

[OLD SKOOL WHEELMAN]

Weird, I read the one by A.C. Crispin, btw...

[Nameless One]

There are millions of us who think there are several great stories in Star Wars.

on the other hand there are millions who like to make fun of starwars (you don't have to know anything about sw to be part of that group...okay, maybe not nothing, but "luke i am your father" should be enough...)

[EnderAndrew]

You proudly make fun of that which you don't understand while posting in the forums for a Star Wars product.

 

Good for you.

[Nameless One]

...fun...

...

 

i just wanted to make you smile

 

omg, right at that moment another starwars word comes to my mind...something with "m"...medi...nono...midi...yeah...midichlorian...man i have no idea where this came from...maybe you...

[daemonicus]

I voted for sidequests solely because I was interested in seeing more class/alignment specific quests. Doing them could unlock something like a feat/power that only that class can have. Or giving you a class specific item that can't be found anywhere else. Also, I'm sure this has come up at some point, started reading through the boards today, that there should be more things for the dark side.

 

Hack and slash my opinion to pieces.

[EnderAndrew]

I too would like to see more sidequests.

 

As far as sidequests unlocking certain feats/powers, I think this is a good idea.

 

I'm picturing learning magic in P:T.

 

I am also relieved to hear FU say that they wouldn't just add sidequests to add sidequests. Perhaps this means we won't see a lot of silly "fetch" quests, but rather see a series of cleverly woven together sidequests that enhance the main story.

[Leferd]

1) Compelling NPCs with more interjections and perhaps debate

2) Good storytelling

3) When playing a darksider--make the evil options worthy of Vader. Nothing trivial or petty.

[Fardragon]

1. Story

 

2. Story

 

3. Story

 

etc....

[Bantha Fodder]

The Most important thing is story, but KOTOR NEEDS BIGGER WORLDS. eg Morrowind. <_<

[Bantha Fodder]

As far as sidequests go they were pretty fun to play in KOTOR. They could be improved by being more random so players don't get bored the first few times of completing the game.

[EnderAndrew]

I doubt we'll see Morrowind size. But the latest interview and dev comments have me expected we might see slightly larger areas.

 

Frankly, I think a Star Wars Morrowind Total Conversion would be great. However, it would probably only be one huge planet. Or you'd have to code/script "transportation" between planets.

[EnderAndrew]

Now that we've had a few votes, I'd like to break down some of the numbers.

 

Three options received zero votes.

 

Improving the sidegames [ 0 ] [0.00%]

More cutscenes [ 0 ] [0.00%]

New Feats [ 0 ] [0.00%]

 

Yet sidegame improvements and more feats are in the works.

Combat tweaks and Force Powers had only one vote apiece. Force Powers are in the works despite not being very popular. Combat tweaks will probably be minimal in KOTOR:TSL

 

Combat System Tweaks [ 1 ] [1.75%]

New Force Powers [ 1 ] [1.75%]

 

Another feature in the pipes with very limited popularity in the poll was animations.

 

New Animations [ 4 ] [7.02%]

 

Out of the ten options, only four seemed to be popular.

 

Sidequests [ 9 ] [15.79%]

NPCs more responsive to alignment [ 10 ] [17.54%]

Immersion stuff (hoods, robes, hilts) [ 12 ] [21.05%]

Bigger levels/worlds [ 20 ] [35.09%]

 

FU said sidequests wouldn't be added simply to add sidequests. On one hand, I infer that sidequests will be more meaningful and I'm glad. It could also mean less sidequests.

We haven't heard much from the devs on the NPC issue.

Hilts should be in the pipes, and we've seen some improved robes. How many types of robes will make it into TSL is still unknown.

 

The most popular option by far was bigger worlds. Yet the dev comments so far have largely suggested similiar size to KOTOR. The most recent comments have suggested perhaps a small increase in size, but that's still uncertain.

 

I'm a little disappointed that the project was kept in secrecy so long. Many of the features and improvements that will make KOTOR:TSL will be features people don't care as much about. The features we really want to see may not make the game because of how far they are in the development process. I know LA wanted the game kept secret, however I hope Obsidian tries to incorporate fan suggestions earlier in the development process in the future.

[Bantha Fodder]

I doubt we'll see Morrowind size. But the latest interview and dev comments have me expected we might see slightly larger areas.

 

Frankly, I think a Star Wars Morrowind Total Conversion would be great. However, it would probably only be one huge planet. Or you'd have to code/script "transportation" between planets.

I think your right Morrowind was a little *too big.* The areas could be a little larger though.

[EnderAndrew]

It's funny. I love big worlds to explore.

 

Morrowind just didn't seem fun. If there were more surprises, or better creature AI perhaps.

 

The sound and texture upgrades fan made do help.

[will_990]

1 NPCs more responsive to alignment

2 Sidequests (with subquests on multiple planets/areas)

3 Immersion stuff (hoods, robes, hilts)

 

Story, NPCs and characterization are most important, though.

[sniggy]

Morrowind just didn't seem fun. If there were more surprises, or better creature AI perhaps.

overall presentation of the story sucked. you had no real dialogue control as you couldn't really answer anyone. people's reactions were pretty crude as well.

 

Morrowind was big and detailed, all right... but it just didn't feel cozy.

[nightcleaver]

Why is storyline not in the poll?

With FU and MCA, I assume that storyline is a given.

oh...you've forgotten that it's a starwars game...so its mcas and fus (and the rest of oe) ability of creating a story vs. starwars...

Wow. This is what I call excessive use of abbreviations.

 

FU? MCA? OE? Can you say, W-H-A-T??

Sorry, maybe I'm just too sleepy.

[nightcleaver]

Now that we've had a few votes, I'd like to break down some of the numbers.

 

Three options received zero votes.

 

Improving the sidegames [ 0 ]  [0.00%]

More cutscenes [ 0 ]  [0.00%]

New Feats [ 0 ]  [0.00%]

 

Yet sidegame improvements and more feats are in the works.

Combat tweaks and Force Powers had only one vote apiece.  Force Powers are in the works despite not being very popular.  Combat tweaks will probably be minimal in KOTOR:TSL

 

Combat System Tweaks [ 1 ]  [1.75%]

New Force Powers [ 1 ]  [1.75%]

 

Another feature in the pipes with very limited popularity in the poll was animations.

 

New Animations [ 4 ]  [7.02%]

 

Out of the ten options, only four seemed to be popular.

 

Sidequests [ 9 ]  [15.79%]

NPCs more responsive to alignment [ 10 ]  [17.54%]

Immersion stuff (hoods, robes, hilts) [ 12 ]  [21.05%]

Bigger levels/worlds [ 20 ]  [35.09%]

 

FU said sidequests wouldn't be added simply to add sidequests.  On one hand, I infer that sidequests will be more meaningful and I'm glad.  It could also mean less sidequests.

We haven't heard much from the devs on the NPC issue.

Hilts should be in the pipes, and we've seen some improved robes.  How many types of robes will make it into TSL is still unknown.

 

The most popular option by far was bigger worlds.  Yet the dev comments so far have largely suggested similiar size to KOTOR.  The most recent comments have suggested perhaps a small increase in size, but that's still uncertain.

 

I'm a little disappointed that the project was kept in secrecy so long.  Many of the features and improvements that will make KOTOR:TSL will be features people don't care as much about.  The features we really want to see may not make the game because of how far they are in the development process.  I know LA wanted the game kept secret, however I hope Obsidian tries to incorporate fan suggestions earlier in the development process in the future.

Ummm... I hope you aren't saying, by this poll, where 57 people voted. Total.

 

The more obvious problems with the first KotOR are as follows:

 

Force power combat was very shallow, unstrategic, even at the highest of difficulty settings. Dialogue was a bit sparse, and the graphics had a few problems.

 

Animations got terribly tedious throughout the game, though computer games tend to have that problem. Despite this not being the most important thing to people, it's important to everyone. You'd notice it, even if you didn't think you did.

They're probably trying to get to a wider audience here, so improving combat (cite examples above) is probably a good thing. I haven't played KotOR nearly as much as I have BG II, but KotOR was a better story for me. Bg II, however, had far better combat. Many BG II fans feel the same way, and probably would've bought it except for this.

 

Did the fan base like KotOR anyway? Would most of them probably still buy the new game even if they didn't have all these things, but it still got reviews similarly good to KotOR I? Yes. They would. A few wouldn't. Add to the amount of people who didn't buy the first game, and would more likely buy the second, you gain a broader fan base and more money.

 

also, a lot of the people on these boards aren't like the Biowarian's - their BIS type people, fans of fallout and PS: T, not BG I and II and NWN. (Bioware developed the BG series)

 

Now, keep in mind all these things at the bottom of the votes WERE, after all, "already in the works" by common knowledge. People aren't going to ask for things they know are getting done for them. Add this to the... oh.... 57 people who voted, and you have a very slim chance that this poll is unbiased or accurate in any way. I'd love to hear a mathematician give the actual error range, approximately.

Suffice to say, saying that this PROVES that people don't care about these things is crap. You have no evidence, it's just a hunch. A perfectly reasonable hunch, I'm sure, and you're welcome to feel that way.

My point is: face it. This can't be proven, and your hunch isn't based on "proof" in the sense you tried to prove just now; it's based on what it's based on.

[Adria Teksuni]

I did not vote, as the question is Most Important Features, not Most Important Features You Think Might Already Be In the Game.

 

To me, as well, Story is King. Without a good storyline for an RPG, nothing else really matters for me.

 

Immersion, yes, is very, very important to me as well, otherwise it's not as much fun getting caught up in that great story. Immersion to me isn't tidbits, that's more along the lines of good prop useage. To me, immersion is believable backgrounds and settings, dialogue, and character interaction.

 

Good NPC Character Development is a must, but it kind of falls into immersiveness and character interaction.

 

*shrug*

[alanschu]

Earlier you defined immersion stuff as "hoods, robes, [and] hilts." Is that what you're still referring to when you talk about Ultima 7?

 

As far as clothing goes, I'm rather indifferent to it. If I wanted to dress something in 500 different outfits then I'd break out my dolls.

Ultima 7 was immersive due to many great factors, such as music, dialouge, NPC schedules, and interactivity of items.

 

For instance, you could go into a farmer's house, kill him if you so desired, rip open a bag of flour, take a bucket to a well, get water, put water on the flour, knead the dough, and bake bread. If you left the dough on the oven too long, the bread would burn. You could mix honey, and make a sweet pie, or use meat for a meat pie if you so desired.

 

Fans have clammored for flowing capes, hoods, customizable hilts, etc. These things don't greatly change gameplay, but they add a level of immersion.

I never burned the bread in Ultima 7.

 

But I did find out that you didn't need to knead the dough in order to bake it. I just put the flower in the oven and voila

[Synaesthesia]

More lightsaber colours.