I also don't get it. But hey, tons of people prefer Apple devices or WP8 to Android. Same thing.
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Pillars of Eternity by Obsidian Entertainment (Kickstarter) [Up: Teaser]
- Thread starter duckroll
- Start date
Minsc
Gold Member
I agree. I think these stretch goals would have been much better if Linux + Mac was combined in to the first one (cause it's happening anyway, might as well get their support behind all the future goals), and they wrote everything up with a bit more of the level of writing we saw in the countdown.
They should be saying how reaching the first goal to port to OSX/Linux secures not only this, but also gets you any/all the future sequels (which may be obvious, but makes it a little better).
Each stretch goal about the race/companion/class should spell out exactly what that race is that we're funding. Let us know what's so great about it (it can even be done in a way some questions are left), why we can't live without it, and what amazing stuff the new class will do. And then a few sentences on the new companion, what strength they have and what trouble they'll bring. Then you'd have stretch goals that get people attached to them at least, and give the world a little flavor. Not the "we'll make more game with more money!". Well duhhh" as you say.
And each tier should have pictures to go along with the explanation, perhaps just concert art for the class/companion/race if that's all there is (sorta like this update). And the grouping of stretch goals should have a nice little graphic, like in Planetary Annihilation, but maybe arranged in the middle of the ouroboros like a pie chart.
So you guys really aren't kidding, huh? I'm playing MotB right now and part of me wishes it was a visual novel (or better yet, a BG2 mod).
I got it working to my liking after a bit of fiddling. I used exploration mode and third person mode. In the exploration mode changed the key bindings to rotate and zoom the camera with WASD, and mouse to pan and move the characters. I had a mod to reduce the size of the icons and shortcut bars, and keyed and arranged all the useful functions. Done.
People also prefer Window 7 to Linux for gaming.
EternalGamer
Banned
I obviously disagree that text only dialog is so clutch to the project that it "defeats the whole purpose of the kickstarter" to argue against it, but you are correct that the conversation has gone on long enough. I'll abstain from future comment on the topic regardless of how tempting.
Visual novel, I guess, but BG2 mod? The shortcomings of MotB were due to the D&D ruleset. Like the
Spirit Eater
I miss reactivity to your choices in games so much.
I don't hate VA, but it does really cut down on that. Which is why I am glad they decided to not go for full VA. Though I doubt it would even be an option even if they wanted it. This being a Kickstater and all. Even if it gets say 3 million like Wasteland 2 did I doubt that will be enough money and still aim for all their other goals. Something will have to be cut.
Not having to worry about VA cost for every line will allow them to do what Feargus mentioned push those boundaries. Hopefully make it so when you pick to play a different race for example it is more then just a simple skin change. That the world around you will react differently to you depending on your race. It's things like that this need to have every line voiced for a game to be considered modern have made impossible.
I'm merely speaking about the UI. The D&D ruleset and its flaws, I can deal with!
Glad to see things went on pretty much as expected after I went to bed. The point was never to have zero text or dialogue, that's a stupid goal. It's that there's a lot of exposition and description in video games that is a less effective way of getting information across than other manners which would either take advantage of interactivity, visual medium, or even just being better written so as to eliminate the need for that much exposition to begin with. But hey, enjoy your bonding moment.
Probably we will get something useful like UI in BG2/ID was
Now that was a terrible UI (PST as well btw). I'd almost rather have DA:O.
Brown never looked so good. We must all recognize the great achievement that is DA:O or be damned.
Except of course that it was magnificent.
Brown never looked so good. We must all recognize the great achievement that is DA:O or be damned.
Maybe I would recognize those environments if the game wasn't so boring I've never made it more than 5 hours in.
If only. Hopefully we don't get another UI with colossal waste of space like DA:O.
Actually DA:O UI reminds me a lot of the new Steam hub discussions -- somewhere along the line, the fad to use only a tiny portion of your screen real estate became prevalent.
Nope, nope, nope. Maybe I shouldn't have gone to Elfland first but oh god was I bored with those guys. And the miserable Fade! I stopped playing after that.
I'm still impressed at how they took reasonably compelling lore and sucked the life out of it. And it didn't help that the game structure was less BG2-style open world and more like KOTOR/ME1.
The actual engine was impressive though and it had a lot of potential!
WanderingWind
Mecklemore Is My Favorite Wrapper
Well, yeah. Players often want to see the game and not just a clutter of icons and widgets. It's a game, not a a phone desktop.
I like being able to play the game without having to mouse over every tiny icon to figure out what it means.
huh?
Look at the screenshots above. See that? Thats the game environment taking up most of the screen with only small and unobtrusive HUD elements.
Perfect.
I appreciate your diligence in explaining this to us over the last several hours/days, but I also want to point out you're in a thread about a kickstarter project started by the creators of planescape torment, which aims to make a game in the style of the classic infinity engine games, which are in large part composed of meaty gameplay known as "dialog trees."
Maybe this point you're trying to get across would be more pertinent in a thread about a game where the designers actually throw a bunch of non-interactive text at you before you get to the good (and probably visual) interactive parts? Because what you're saying is truly a bizarre fit for the thread you're saying it in. You'd likely be more on-target posting in another thread chosen at random. Getting a game full of complex, interactive text, which is well-written from a game design perspective, is one thing nearly everyone in this thread is excited about, and one big reason why this project raised a million bucks in 24 hours.
WanderingWind
Mecklemore Is My Favorite Wrapper
And I like to actually see the game. If I wanted to look at icons, I'd stare at my desktop.
Difference of opinions. Glad mine is currently en vogue though.
What do you expect? The whole kickstarter seems half assed, too me. Minimal effort. I honestly think this isn't a game or barely even an idea. "We're making a BG-style rpg! Give us monies!" They've put no effort to set this up...at least the other major kickstarters had actually made some in-roads to creating a game.
Seeing a major developer do something like this makes me faintly ill. I hope this doesn't catch on once others see how gullible the fan-base is. And before people cry and whine, I'm not saying this won't be made or it will be bad or whatever, just that they seem to have put no thought or effort whatsoever into this kickstarter or the game itself, even. I think it sets a poor precedent.
Unless you were only playing the game an hour at a time, once a week, it didn't take long to memorize the pictures/positions of all the icons in DAO anyhow.
I don't remember the Double Fine or Wasteland 2 kickstarters offering much more than vague concepts of the game they wanted to create either.
I was about to post this. The $20 tiers are about to sell out. It's funny, when the kickstarter was going up I was doing some local coop with a friend and we were unsure whether the limit wasn't too high. (We thought it would work out well after checking back to the Wasteland 2 and Shadowrun kickstarters though). In retrospect, I think they did a really good job selecting the limit, small enough to make a difference but large enough to give them a huge day 1 boost -- which in turn gets people talking about the project.
Yes, thank you.
Except for every RTS.
Each Kickstarter will be different.
Obsidian knew that with their strong reputation they could Kickstart a game very early in the process and have the luxury of not developing much before getting a clear indication of the size of their eventual budget.
Other developers will have to approach Kickstarter differently.
Brown never looked so good. We must all recognize the great achievement that is DA:O or be damned.
That looks good. Maybe i will give it one more chance ? Maybe over the shoulder view wasn't created for that game.
It's a structure they have used in pretty much all of their games since. Exept maybe DA2 but i haven't played that.
HP_Wuvcraft
Banned
Man, I wish that 14k projection was at all accurate.
WanderingWind
Mecklemore Is My Favorite Wrapper
Yeah, of all the good things DA:O did, having an overabundance of skills to use wasn't one of them.
Or music games! Hell, those are all icons!
We're talking about RPGs here.
Isometric is best for gameplay while over the shoulder makes for some nice screenshots.
The early game drags a little with the Fade though the hate is excessive.
firehawk12
Subete no aware
Which is basically what they did with KoTOR2. They basically made cutscenes to warn you if a character was on the verge of hating you.
I didn't mind the Fade itself, so much as the bleary visual effect. Now that got old fast.
So is DOTA. And are you implying that there's no strategic combat involved in these isometric games?
The only difference is that the combat aspect isn't the focus like it is in DOTA, so it's understandable that they didn't give much thought as to usability.
WanderingWind
Mecklemore Is My Favorite Wrapper
DOTA is an RPG now?
Is it an action RPG, yes.
It's not that i didn't play it. I already finished it when game came out. I know pretty much all of the game. Thing is i played it OTS cam and i didn't know there is isometric view.
Maybe this will change things a bit. As of Fade i remember there was one mission in fade which involved shapeshifting into different forms which was my favorite moment in whole game.
Does it have dialogue trees?
HP_Wuvcraft
Banned
Brown never looked so good. We must all recognize the great achievement that is DA:O or be damned.
In some areas, DA was getting there.
But it wasn't there completely.
The graphics were very mid-90s, but I guess that's why so many people think that it is going to be a classic like Baldur's Gate.
Dragon Age tried. It really did.
And take into mind that I'm a guy that loves Dragon Age with every inch of my dong. I love it like I love Halloween.
But come on. It's not a classic.
It was too mired in making everything traditional and old school that it didn't leave any room to be its own game. Even the most memorable characters, Shale and Oghren, pale in comparison to Dak'kon and Minsc.
It being a MOBA and it being an action RPG are not mutually exclusive. One tag focuses on the character progression and gearing aspect, the other focuses on the strategy multiplayer aspect.
It's not a classic, but it also isn't bad. And at that time, even now, being "good enough" is all it takes for me in a party-based tactical RPG. We aren't spoiled for choice just yet.
Too bad DA2 missed the "good enough" mark by a country mile.
water_wendi
Water is not wet!
DA:O had some big problems but at it held great promise for refinement. Although it didnt light my world on fire i have no regrets with the game. The biggest issues i can remember atm are the lack of enemy/combat variety and lack of skill use outside of combat (magic in AD&D used in the world also vs DA:Os magic as a weapon only).
i put DA:O on about the same level as NWN 2 OC. They are good games with some problems that are worth playing.
i put DA:O on about the same level as NWN 2 OC. They are good games with some problems that are worth playing.