Sensuki
Arcane
I'm more about the core systems myself. Story and atmosphere are nice, but I'd rather play Knights of the Chalice than Planescape Torment most of the time.
The longer answer (Because let's not go all Roguey in here)
A lot of the problems I had with BG2 had more to do with specific design choices than with the overall style of the game. Avoiding (or ignoring) the problems I had with it while still having a similar style of game is pretty easy, IMO. Taking the specific things I listed a long time ago:
.........
Even though I had those problems with BG2, my job as a lead designer and project director is not to create content that appeals specifically to my tastes. Obviously I would have a difficult time making a game that I *disliked*, but I have (and continue to) push for elements I feel that players will ultimately enjoy even if I'm not super thrilled about it. That's my job.
I started putting together a VD style post showing all the amusing changes in tone from his earlier outspoken "loathe" and "dislike" stuff... but I just realised I can't face discussing Sawyer any more, just ran out of steam . God knows how Roguey manages it.Not really, thats what Sawyer always does. If you engage him on something questionable he says you get a much bigger answer.
So I'll just leave it there.
J.E. Sawyer said:Making them NOT cost money would give a bigger advantage to people who don't use the OEI-written companions, since you could make a six-character party in the first town. You could also freely use them as fodder with no consequence. The adventurers aren't going to be outrageously expensive to hire, but we do want there to be some cost to them.
Maybe instead there should be some trade off involving per-combat experience points.Josh doing the rounds again
Firstly a no-brainer answer regarding why companions cost money
J.E. Sawyer said:Making them NOT cost money would give a bigger advantage to people who don't use the OEI-written companions, since you could make a six-character party in the first town. You could also freely use them as fodder with no consequence. The adventurers aren't going to be outrageously expensive to hire, but we do want there to be some cost to them.
I like the main NWN theme. The only one I remember from that game.I only like his IWD1 Soundtrack (which his brother also worked on) and some of the NWN tracks. The rest is completely banal stuff.
J.E. Sawyer said:Making them NOT cost money would give a bigger advantage to people who don't use the OEI-written companions, since you could make a six-character party in the first town. You could also freely use them as fodder with no consequence. The adventurers aren't going to be outrageously expensive to hire, but we do want there to be some cost to them.
What your wizard learns and puts in his or her grimoires is completely up to you. It's pretty common in A/D&D to include minor variations on existing spells that have different targeting rules, different AoEs, different damage types, etc. Nothing forces a player into learning Magic Missile and Mordenkainen's Force Missiles, for example.
And from a purely practical perspective, we can't have every spell in a wizard's arsenal contain unique mechanics. There's always going to be some overlap between various effects.
Selective invisibility in combat usually leads to a huge number of bugs, but I'll talk to Tim about it. The more likely outcome would be an ability for rogues that allows them, specifically, to turn invisible once combat starts.
Damn he used "You didn't give me enough money" card. I have nothing.
learn to actually comprehend what you read, volly.WAIT. Did you just called someone who wants combat xp NEXT GEN? Combat xp which has been a part of RPGs since it was originally created is fukkin' NEXT GEN? ARE YOU ON FUKKIN' CRACK? Combat xp is as old skool as it gets. FFS
QUESTION: Why is WL2 - a game I'm gonna be able to play for 'free' (through PE) looking to be better than PE.
It's hilarious I spent $250 on PE and the best thing I'm getting out of it ANOTHER game. Oh, and dwarves. LMAO
the actual meaning is that combat xp (especially the way they are done in computer rpgs) are essentially a form of instant gratification, just like shitty nextgen achievements. just because something is oldschool, doesn't mean it's automatically good or viable. you know what's even more oldschool rpg than combat xp? using gold to upgrade your char and not having any xp at all.The accusation was prefering combat xp was a next gen loser yet combat xp is as old skool as it gets. I comprehended just fine. Comprende?
Seems to me that he is DEFINITELY not the right man for the job (or he was, in that he pulled a successful kickstarter with the BG2 nods).
Also I want to address two specific arguments.
* Saving Imoen is actually not an imposition.
He probably doesn't even remember since he dislkes the game and didn't replay it dozens of times like the actual fans did.
Basically you can ignore the whole Imoen issue and just follow the lead to Irenicus. Plenty of dialog choices along those lines.
Also, this could justify different approaches, RP-wise: if you really were interested in the rescue, you would hurry no matter what, if you were "only" after Irenicus, you'd feel justified taking your sweet time to prepare.
* The "Quest density" argument again shows that he can only reason in schematic terms and utterly fails to understand the very things that made the game GREAT.
Even its "unevenness" in quests' distribution contributed in making the setting and the story feel more alive and real.
Once you arrive in the city everything is new, you can go anywhere because it's designed as a CITY more than a Game-Chapter-Hub, you're FREE to explore it, and it's only reasonable that you can meet people and do a lot of stuff from there.
Later the plot focuses, and things tend to converge towards the climax.
(that said, you could still do like I often did, that is: save Imoen almost immediately, and have more "quest density later". Yes, Spellhold was harder)
Actually this reminds me of the old Lord of the Rings argument.
The clueless "technicians" and scholars of narrative structure insisted that as a novel it was horribly structured and incredibly uneven.
And possibly they were even right: the starting chapters are very slow and long (they might even seem pointless to some but they're not*), then you often lose sights of key characters for hundreds of pages... the book didn't basically follow any of the established rules a "good" novel was expected to adhere to.
Yeah, you get it: LotR was not "balanced"!
Yet, well, you know how that one turned out.
*They're NOT pointless because the very detailed "uneventful, pleasant, comfortable if slightly boring" feeling of the domestic life will resonate in the mind of the reader in a very real sense when the characters long for home while facing the dangers of their adventures.
Combat itself is much more readable and a little bit more responsive now - still not readable responsive enough, though, which makes me suck at combat much more than I should; Obsidian could learn a thing or two from Beamdog here (I cannot believe I wrote that)
I just played BG2 with SCS. Literally finished it two days ago. The number of times I used spells below 6th level after getting half-way through the game is abysmal. Only spells I used somewhat often were:
Mirror Image is literally useless.
All damagespells except the missiles are as well
Scaling or no scaling, the usage of low level spells in high level IE-combat was incredibly restricted.
Sawyer's idea to convert restricted-use spells to being less restricted (Daily -> Encounter -> At will) is one of his few really great ideas.
Characters' circles in IE games changed colors based on their status, but in a very limited way, Beamdog improved on this a bit (more colors for more statuses). They also added a 'current action' icon that is displayed on character's portrait (no icon character idle), which is a pretty useful feature.Out of interest, what did Beamdog do to improve readability in the BGEEs? I only played BGEE, once, back at release when the only enhancements were a blurry UI and THAC0 displayed in the inventory and don't remember any changes from stock BG2.