9 months ago you stated that P:E's attributes (as opposed to speech skills) would affect conversation responses and that they weren't insta-win options but rather allowed improved player choices. Can you speak more to this; have you made any adjustments?
No speech skill... ten years ago I'd be annoyed that there isn't one, but eventually I realized that I always maxed out Speech (or its equivilant), so all having the skill really did was drain points from other things.
If you make the system check other attributes, so your character can speak well about things he or she actually knows about, then it works out in the end. One thing I really liked about NWN2: Storm of Zehir is that it checked all sorts of attributes in every conversation, not just Diplomacy/Intimidate/Bluff. That and you could always choose which party member is talking based on what bonus options they have available.
That sounds like a good system, yeah. A quality of life improvement would be it just used the highest party member/you could pick in conversation and didn't have to actually use X character. Hopefully they do stuff like this.
That sounds like a good system, yeah. A quality of life improvement would be it just used the highest party member/you could pick in conversation and didn't have to actually use X character. Hopefully they do stuff like this.
Well, to be fair, you don't always want to be making all the "best" conversation choices. It shouldn't always be obvious what the "best" option is. If you have one guy with high Blacksmithing and one gal with high Arcane Lore, they could both have a conversation option in an interaction that doesn't have time to circle back around to bring up other topics. Or you have one designated talker who you let respond despite not having the best stats for this particular discussion.
The reason I like the Storm of Zehir system is that you can really set the tone of the party conversation by who you let answer each question.
That sounds like a good system, yeah. A quality of life improvement would be it just used the highest party member/you could pick in conversation and didn't have to actually use X character. Hopefully they do stuff like this.
Well, to be fair, you don't always want to be making all the "best" conversation choices. It shouldn't always be obvious what the "best" option is. If you have one guy with high Blacksmithing and one gal with high Arcane Lore, they could both have a conversation option in an interaction that doesn't have time to circle back around to bring up other topics. Or you have one designated talker who you let respond despite not having the best stats for this particular discussion.
The reason I like the Storm of Zehir system is that you can really set the tone of the party conversation by who you let answer each question.
if you have 5 people in a group with you and are taking on a job together, there could be 2 approaches. Either you speak for everyone or everyone is part of the conversation. I think it would be very neat if you could play either way. Maybe your character has a hardon for authority and does all conversation with merchants, quest givers etc... by him/herself. Npcs new to the party chime in and are told to "shut up Donny, you are out of your element". Some are rubbed the wrong way and leave the party soon (or immediately), others dont care and stay (and keep out of conversations).
Alternatively, you welcome the chiming in, which means that npc partymember blacksmith might say something in the middle of the conversation if his skill is relevant. To make it balanced, there could be good and bad consequences to this, such as the party paladin interjecting a "no reward needed maam, have a good day". In other words, depending on the situation, powergamers would want to go one way or another (bit cannot in one playthrough because the way is based on interaction history).
I doubt we will get something that complex, but doesn't it sound sweet?
Have they talked about what kind of presentation dialog will take? We're not going to get Mass Effect presentation but it would be awesome if they did.
Have they talked about what kind of presentation dialog will take? We're not going to get Mass Effect presentation but it would be awesome if they did.
What exactly do you mean by Mass Effect presentation? The dialogue UI is pretty terrible for a PC only title.
It's going to be a dialogue window with narrative text accompyning.
Have they talked about what kind of presentation dialog will take? We're not going to get Mass Effect presentation but it would be awesome if they did.
What exactly do you mean by Mass Effect presentation? The dialogue UI is pretty terrible for a PC only title.
It's going to be a dialogue window with narrative text accompyning.
I wish they went with a BG2-esque and PST-like dialogue, with stuff like:
(charisma 15) "Heeeyyyy, baby..."
*snicker* "Whatchuu want Dwarf?"
"Where might I find some supplies around here?"
Etc. etc. Spice up the options with whatever skill/ability based stuff for some, and maybe add emotes or something. Also in the writing, since it does liven up the dialogue quite a bit.
I mean, the camera angles and voiced dialog. Then the different actions you occasionally have the ability to make. I like that over the fixed isometric view. It's more engaging.
My 2 cents: Camera angles are probably out due to the fact it is isometric, but even if it wasn't, no big loss. Voice acting limits the dialogue, and don't we know we're not getting it anyway? In a perfect world we'd get lots of dialogue and it be voice acted, but I'm willing to drop voice first.
Long as we don't get a 'summary' of what are replies are, though, that's the main thing. It worked, but there was no reason for it to every once in awhile not. Which, again, I think we know we're not so overall things are looking up.
I like how thy are not showing special dialog options until after you select your dialog. Cause, like I'm sure most people, I'll pick special dialog above non-special if it's broadcast before hand.
Battlenet ID: MildC#11186 - If I'm in the game, send me an invite at anytime and I'll play.
I mean, the camera angles and voiced dialog. Then the different actions you occasionally have the ability to make. I like that over the fixed isometric view. It's more engaging.
Voiced dialog is the worst thing that happened with RPGs in recent history. Camera angles you can have any level of zoom you desire with this engine!
+3
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Sir CarcassI have been shown the end of my worldRound Rock, TXRegistered Userregular
I mean, the camera angles and voiced dialog. Then the different actions you occasionally have the ability to make. I like that over the fixed isometric view. It's more engaging.
Voiced dialog is the worst thing that happened with RPGs in recent history. Camera angles you can have any level of zoom you desire with this engine!
Except the character models aren't super-detailed, so I don't think they would look too good up close.
I mean, the camera angles and voiced dialog. Then the different actions you occasionally have the ability to make. I like that over the fixed isometric view. It's more engaging.
Voiced dialog is the worst thing that happened with RPGs in recent history. Camera angles you can have any level of zoom you desire with this engine!
Hey man.... that just like... your opinion. Mass Effect and TOR were awesome with the voiced dialog. I think it's a very old school idea that you need dialog options made up of the exact phrase you're about to say. When it doesn't really matter. I know people hated on the fact that you picked the general mood of the statement and Shepard said something. But really it was refreshing and cool. In a traditional RPG the choices aren't always something you would or want to say either. It doesn't even matter because the conversation mechanic is only going to register that you picked option 2 of 4. In ME and TOR if you picked your option at the right time, the conversation never missed a beat and was a fluid chat between parties. In games like that they have mostly defined the character's personality and you're. role-playing as that person. It makes it harder for the player to project themselves on the character but once you let go and realize that it's not "you," you can enjoy Commander Shepherd for who he is, good or bad. It's like reading a book or watching a movie. You can still get very invested in the characters.
I mean, the camera angles and voiced dialog. Then the different actions you occasionally have the ability to make. I like that over the fixed isometric view. It's more engaging.
Voiced dialog is the worst thing that happened with RPGs in recent history. Camera angles you can have any level of zoom you desire with this engine!
Except the character models aren't super-detailed, so I don't think they would look too good up close.
Probably not, but you could zoom all you want. Can't rotate though.
I mean, the camera angles and voiced dialog. Then the different actions you occasionally have the ability to make. I like that over the fixed isometric view. It's more engaging.
Voiced dialog is the worst thing that happened with RPGs in recent history. Camera angles you can have any level of zoom you desire with this engine!
Hey man.... that just like... your opinion. Mass Effect and TOR were awesome with the voiced dialog. I think it's a very old school idea that you need dialog options made up of the exact phrase you're about to say. When it doesn't really matter. I know people hated on the fact that you picked the general mood of the statement and Shepard said something. But really it was refreshing and cool. In a traditional RPG the choices aren't always something you would or want to say either. It doesn't even matter because the conversation mechanic is only going to register that you picked option 2 of 4. In ME and TOR if you picked your option at the right time, the conversation never missed a beat and was a fluid chat between parties. In games like that they have mostly defined the character's personality and you're. role-playing as that person. It makes it harder for the player to project themselves on the character but once you let go and realize that it's not "you," you can enjoy Commander Shepherd for who he is, good or bad. It's like reading a book or watching a movie. You can still get very invested in the characters.
It is much cheaper man hour wise to write unvoiced dialogue. You can still have character voices, just not for every line of text. You can still get very invested.
I mean, the camera angles and voiced dialog. Then the different actions you occasionally have the ability to make. I like that over the fixed isometric view. It's more engaging.
Voiced dialog is the worst thing that happened with RPGs in recent history. Camera angles you can have any level of zoom you desire with this engine!
Except the character models aren't super-detailed, so I don't think they would look too good up close.
Probably not, but you could zoom all you want. Can't rotate though.
I mean, the camera angles and voiced dialog. Then the different actions you occasionally have the ability to make. I like that over the fixed isometric view. It's more engaging.
Voiced dialog is the worst thing that happened with RPGs in recent history. Camera angles you can have any level of zoom you desire with this engine!
Hey man.... that just like... your opinion. Mass Effect and TOR were awesome with the voiced dialog. I think it's a very old school idea that you need dialog options made up of the exact phrase you're about to say. When it doesn't really matter. I know people hated on the fact that you picked the general mood of the statement and Shepard said something. But really it was refreshing and cool. In a traditional RPG the choices aren't always something you would or want to say either. It doesn't even matter because the conversation mechanic is only going to register that you picked option 2 of 4. In ME and TOR if you picked your option at the right time, the conversation never missed a beat and was a fluid chat between parties. In games like that they have mostly defined the character's personality and you're. role-playing as that person. It makes it harder for the player to project themselves on the character but once you let go and realize that it's not "you," you can enjoy Commander Shepherd for who he is, good or bad. It's like reading a book or watching a movie. You can still get very invested in the characters.
It is much cheaper man hour wise to write unvoiced dialogue. You can still have character voices, just not for every line of text. You can still get very invested.
Not to mention it can be easily edited. Which is very important for patches and expansions.
Have they talked about what kind of presentation dialog will take? We're not going to get Mass Effect presentation but it would be awesome if they did.
What exactly do you mean by Mass Effect presentation? The dialogue UI is pretty terrible for a PC only title.
It's going to be a dialogue window with narrative text accompyning.
I wish they went with a BG2-esque and PST-like dialogue, with stuff like:
(charisma 15) "Heeeyyyy, baby..."
*snicker* "Whatchuu want Dwarf?"
"Where might I find some supplies around here?"
Etc. etc. Spice up the options with whatever skill/ability based stuff for some, and maybe add emotes or something. Also in the writing, since it does liven up the dialogue quite a bit.
That will still be the case.
They just won't show you the check and there's no specific speech skill.
I mean, the camera angles and voiced dialog. Then the different actions you occasionally have the ability to make. I like that over the fixed isometric view. It's more engaging.
Voiced dialog is the worst thing that happened with RPGs in recent history. Camera angles you can have any level of zoom you desire with this engine!
Hey man.... that just like... your opinion. Mass Effect and TOR were awesome with the voiced dialog. I think it's a very old school idea that you need dialog options made up of the exact phrase you're about to say. When it doesn't really matter. I know people hated on the fact that you picked the general mood of the statement and Shepard said something. But really it was refreshing and cool. In a traditional RPG the choices aren't always something you would or want to say either. It doesn't even matter because the conversation mechanic is only going to register that you picked option 2 of 4. In ME and TOR if you picked your option at the right time, the conversation never missed a beat and was a fluid chat between parties. In games like that they have mostly defined the character's personality and you're. role-playing as that person. It makes it harder for the player to project themselves on the character but once you let go and realize that it's not "you," you can enjoy Commander Shepherd for who he is, good or bad. It's like reading a book or watching a movie. You can still get very invested in the characters.
I can't get invested in the same way when it's "Shepard's Story" or "Hawke's Story". And when it's no longer my character, it's no longer roleplaying. It's just playing.
I mean, the camera angles and voiced dialog. Then the different actions you occasionally have the ability to make. I like that over the fixed isometric view. It's more engaging.
Voiced dialog is the worst thing that happened with RPGs in recent history. Camera angles you can have any level of zoom you desire with this engine!
Hey man.... that just like... your opinion. Mass Effect and TOR were awesome with the voiced dialog. I think it's a very old school idea that you need dialog options made up of the exact phrase you're about to say. When it doesn't really matter. I know people hated on the fact that you picked the general mood of the statement and Shepard said something. But really it was refreshing and cool. In a traditional RPG the choices aren't always something you would or want to say either. It doesn't even matter because the conversation mechanic is only going to register that you picked option 2 of 4. In ME and TOR if you picked your option at the right time, the conversation never missed a beat and was a fluid chat between parties. In games like that they have mostly defined the character's personality and you're. role-playing as that person. It makes it harder for the player to project themselves on the character but once you let go and realize that it's not "you," you can enjoy Commander Shepherd for who he is, good or bad. It's like reading a book or watching a movie. You can still get very invested in the characters.
I can't get invested in the same way when it's "Shepard's Story" or "Hawke's Story". And when it's no longer my character, it's no longer roleplaying. It's just playing.
Maybe we better need to define what role-playing is. Video games won't ever be role-playing the way a table top game is role playing where you can say anything you want and take almost any action you want while a DM adapts to your choices and responds to them. Why is DA:O different than DA:2? Assuming you could invest in the Warden and not in Hawke. When you play Shepard or Hawke and you have direct control over their actions including things like their conversations and their tones that is exact what role-playing is. You're assuming the role of those characters just like you assume the role of the warden. All the choices you make are all the same. Character backstory, how you treat people you encounter along the way.
I'm willing to bet that there are plenty of characters you've had a chance to role-play in video games that you weren't a fan of that didn't have voiced dialog. Maybe because their allowable actions didn't appeal to you, or the setting, or the choices in dialog, etc.
Imagine the game was silent? The only difference would be you'd be reading the dialog instead. I don't think it's voice acting that ruined the role-playing in those games. Maybe they just aren't RPGs the way people think of RPGs. I mean the Witcher 2 is voiced and it's considered one of the best RPGs of all time, isn't it?
I guess my only argument is, if it wasn't voiced and every choice was written out word for word instead of an emote style would you have like the game more? Why do you think that?
Maybe we better need to define what role-playing is. Video games won't ever be role-playing the way a table top game is role playing where you can say anything you want and take almost any action you want while a DM adapts to your choices and responds to them.
Well, yes. (Though, I would reconsider saying *ever*)
But, this is far away from a black and white situation. Just because that is the case doesn't mean you can't provide as many role-playing options as possible. If you employ mechanics correctly to create passive reactivity in your game, you can get quite far already.
My own opinion on the whole thing is live and let live. There's place for both type of games.
THAT SAID
I wish rpg-devs who employ charachter-driven narrative would be more creative to still allow extensive role-play.
PS:T and Mask of the Betrayer stand out here in how they deal with the situation.
Tim went on a tear and got most of the backend systems for the player stronghold in place. There are a ton of really fun things you can do with your stronghold like sending companions on missions, buying rare loot off of merchants, building upgrades, and even purchasing hirelings to defend your keep from attack. Watching Tim's stronghold get robbed blind because he has low security and high prestige never gets old.
This might be one of the things I'm most excited for.
Hey, everyone. As you know, over the past six weeks we have been working on our first production milestone - the cleverly titled Production 01 milestone. Our first target has been Defiance Bay (our first BIG city) and the team has been busting their collective butts to get as much fantasy roleplaying goodness as possible into the city.
In George Ziets' own words, "Defiance Bay is the capital and largest city in the Dyrwood, gateway to the riches of Glanfath, teeming with adventurers and explorers from all over the region. Defiance Bay is a city of the common people, where the most prominent and respected citizens are self-made men. It stands at the forefront of experimentation in soul magic and exemplifies the age of discovery."
A ton has been accomplished in a pretty short amount of time and we would like to share some of it with you.
New Hires
April Giron
April is our new Art Intern. She has been doing an amazing job in creating the interiors that populate Defiance Bay.
Holly Prado
Holly is an Environment Artist that joined us about a week ago. She has already made a large contribution in filling out the existing areas with new props.
Matt Perez
Matt is a new Design Intern. Along with creating NPCs, quests, and blockouts, he also does maintenance work on areas (hooking up transitions, loot passes, encounters, etc.).
Ryan Torres
Like Matt, Ryan is one of our new Design Interns. He also creates dialogues, quests, and blockouts.
Brian Macintosh
Brian is Project Eternity's Programming Intern. While he has been implementing many features, he most closely works with the Concept Artists to get our UI to Alpha.
Areas
Art
The Environment Artists have wasted no time in constructing an expansive Defiance Bay. For this first milestone our target was to get three of Defiance Bay's districts to Alpha level quality. It was a little ambitious, but the team did really well. The city feels full of life and character. I am pretty impressed with the speed that the team is able to get all of this together.
Design
While the Environment Art team is busy filling out the visuals, the Area Design team is meticulously planning and executing quests, NPC dialogs, and other goodies throughout the city. They were able to get three of the city's districts completely blocked out in under a week. Considering the size of the city, it is a pretty good accomplishment.
Two of those districts are now at an Alpha level and even at an early stage, are a lot of fun to play. In addition to that, our two new Design Interns - Matt and Ryan - have been filling in the areas with smaller quests and NPCs. It is really starting to make the city feel alive.
Characters
Creatures
The Concept Artists, Animators, and Character Artists have been burning through our creatures. We are taking a different approach in Project Eternity than we have on other projects. Instead of taking a creature from concept to a final, polished product, we have been taking creatures to a blockout stage before moving to the next.
This allows us to get creatures into the game much more quickly. It also lets us be more flexible with how we spend our polish time. Overall, we think it will lead to a better experience.
Even with this short amount of time, we have been able to get about eight different creatures into the game.
Since it would be pretty mean of me to talk about the creatures without showing one, here is a small taste of one of my "favorites" - the wicht.
I think Josh's description says it best: "Wichts are the bodies of children that were born without souls, grew to adolescence, and were then possessed by a malevolent lost soul or soul fragment that has been artificially inserted through animancy. This process arrests their physical development and transforms their outward appearance, leaving no doubt as to what they are."
Items
In addition to the creatures, our Character Artists have been filling out the remaining armor sets that are left. We have all of our basic armors in place for all of our races. This is a pretty significant feat this early in the project. Now that we are done with the base item and armor sets, we can focus on making magic and unique variants.
Features
Journal
We now have a fully functional quest journal in place that allows players to see their quest progress. The UI is currently being implemented, but it is looking great.
Conversations
While we have been getting more and more Alpha UI into the game, I was particularly happy with how the conversation UI came out. Take a look for yourself, though. Even though this is still a work in progress, I think everyone did a great job. Let us know what you think of the conversation UI in our forums.
Stronghold
Tim went on a tear and got most of the backend systems for the player stronghold in place. There are a ton of really fun things you can do with your stronghold like sending companions on missions, buying rare loot off of merchants, building upgrades, and even purchasing hirelings to defend your keep from attack. Watching Tim's stronghold get robbed blind because he has low security and high prestige never gets old.
World Map
Eternity now has a fully functional world map. When the party enters a qualifying transition, the world map appears. Players can then select to travel to a location by selecting that icon on the map.
Fog of War
One focus for this milestone was to get our Fog of War system in place. Beyond a few tweaks, Adam is pretty close to slaying that beast. It's a really robust system he created that takes some inspiration from rogue-like games. Using Adam's tool, designers can quickly create a fog map, edit it, and set locations that should only be revealed at specific times.
AI
Steve, our AI Programmer, has been putting work into spellcasting AI this milestone and it is coming out nicely. Enemies are more crafty than they were now that they are casting spells intelligently. There's going to be even more AI work - roles for our enemy AIs, for example - put into our next milestone.
10k Backer
We had our first $10,000 backer, Timothy, come for a visit. We all had a blast and it was great to meet one of our fans and show him the game. We even have a picture of Timothy preparing for Josh Sawyer's inevitable betrayal.
Josh Sawyer on Game Design
Lastly, I will leave you with a video that Josh put together about the importance of real-world knowledge in game design. Take a look.
Well, that's it for now. See you guys again in a couple of weeks.
One question: how's the documentary going?
Going well. The crew stops by every few weeks to capture more footage. I think it is going to be a cool insight into how the game is being developed.
Josh
So, people can be born without souls and no-one really notices, eh. What is the difference between a person with a soul and a person without a soul?
It's immediately noticeable. A person without a soul (born that way or made that way) is in a persistent vegetative state. They have no awareness or volition. It is ultrabad and most people in this condition die unless they are cared for constantly.
I feel the name 'Defiance Bay' seems to clash with the pseudo-linguistic trend presented so far? I would've thought that, being a colonial town that it'd would've been named after someone 'great' from the homeland? Basically, why Defiance Bay?
Because that's where the revolution happened. It was originally named New Dunryd.
Yeah, I was pretty much imagining a kind of anti-hospital, wards full of soulless bodies being attended by "nurses" (possibly mentally deranged people who think of them as their actual children) at the command of some monstrous asshole who is preparing to convert them to his (or her!) slaves once they reach an appropriate age.
Most children who reach adolescence without souls do so because they are cared for by extremely patient parents who a) hope that someday it can be fixed or b) just can't bear to let one of their children die. Not all parents choose to do so.
In this picture, the symbol on the orlan's chest is for Defiance Bay, a hand grasping the Ine Gyrd, the sceptre that symbolizes the power of the Aedyran emperor, over the waters of the bay.
I think Josh's description says it best: "Wichts are the bodies of children that were born without souls, grew to adolescence, and were then possessed by a malevolent lost soul ... This process arrests their physical development and transforms their outward appearance, leaving no doubt as to what they are.
So I get to slaughter perfectly normal teenagers in this game? Sweeeeet!
I'm so glad I supported this.
lowlylowlycook on
(Please do not gift. My game bank is already full.)
Animancers and ciphers don't know a ton about souls in plants, but at least some large, old trees in Eir Glanfath have them. Dyrwoodans found this out the hard way during the War of Black Trees.
Off-Topic
The hiring process on the Skyforge MMO has pretty much exploded
Jim Rivers, the hiring manager at Obsidian, has fallen ill and got admitted to the ICU last friday. He's been a big asset to the industry as a whole and the response has been nothing short of fantastic.
Jim Rivers has been and will always be the friend of the friendless, the inspiration for personal growth, and a good man.
Not only does he set the example for recruiting and networking in the Game Industry, but he is truly compassionate and caring to his loved ones in his personal life. He has worked very hard to help everyone around him, and would never leave anyone behind.
Jim was admitted to the ICU on Friday, August 2nd, and currently remains there. He is well taken care of by his family, girlfriend Stephanie, and a tight-knit circle of friends who visit him every day.
This is a place where you can show your thanks to Jim, whether it's a lot, or a little.
Let's give back to the man who gave us all so much.
Posts
Edit: Forgot Question
If you make the system check other attributes, so your character can speak well about things he or she actually knows about, then it works out in the end. One thing I really liked about NWN2: Storm of Zehir is that it checked all sorts of attributes in every conversation, not just Diplomacy/Intimidate/Bluff. That and you could always choose which party member is talking based on what bonus options they have available.
Well, to be fair, you don't always want to be making all the "best" conversation choices. It shouldn't always be obvious what the "best" option is. If you have one guy with high Blacksmithing and one gal with high Arcane Lore, they could both have a conversation option in an interaction that doesn't have time to circle back around to bring up other topics. Or you have one designated talker who you let respond despite not having the best stats for this particular discussion.
The reason I like the Storm of Zehir system is that you can really set the tone of the party conversation by who you let answer each question.
if you have 5 people in a group with you and are taking on a job together, there could be 2 approaches. Either you speak for everyone or everyone is part of the conversation. I think it would be very neat if you could play either way. Maybe your character has a hardon for authority and does all conversation with merchants, quest givers etc... by him/herself. Npcs new to the party chime in and are told to "shut up Donny, you are out of your element". Some are rubbed the wrong way and leave the party soon (or immediately), others dont care and stay (and keep out of conversations).
Alternatively, you welcome the chiming in, which means that npc partymember blacksmith might say something in the middle of the conversation if his skill is relevant. To make it balanced, there could be good and bad consequences to this, such as the party paladin interjecting a "no reward needed maam, have a good day". In other words, depending on the situation, powergamers would want to go one way or another (bit cannot in one playthrough because the way is based on interaction history).
I doubt we will get something that complex, but doesn't it sound sweet?
The option to pimpslap a paladin would make this a certain GOTY for me.
3DS FC: 5086-1134-6451
Shiny Code: 3837
"We have years of struggle ahead, mostly within ourselves." - Made in USA
What exactly do you mean by Mass Effect presentation? The dialogue UI is pretty terrible for a PC only title.
It's going to be a dialogue window with narrative text accompyning.
Edit: How does Josh eat chilli?
I wish they went with a BG2-esque and PST-like dialogue, with stuff like:
(charisma 15) "Heeeyyyy, baby..."
*snicker* "Whatchuu want Dwarf?"
"Where might I find some supplies around here?"
Etc. etc. Spice up the options with whatever skill/ability based stuff for some, and maybe add emotes or something. Also in the writing, since it does liven up the dialogue quite a bit.
3DS FC: 5086-1134-6451
Shiny Code: 3837
Long as we don't get a 'summary' of what are replies are, though, that's the main thing. It worked, but there was no reason for it to every once in awhile not. Which, again, I think we know we're not so overall things are looking up.
Battlenet ID: MildC#11186 - If I'm in the game, send me an invite at anytime and I'll play.
Voiced dialog is the worst thing that happened with RPGs in recent history. Camera angles you can have any level of zoom you desire with this engine!
Except the character models aren't super-detailed, so I don't think they would look too good up close.
Hey man.... that just like... your opinion. Mass Effect and TOR were awesome with the voiced dialog. I think it's a very old school idea that you need dialog options made up of the exact phrase you're about to say. When it doesn't really matter. I know people hated on the fact that you picked the general mood of the statement and Shepard said something. But really it was refreshing and cool. In a traditional RPG the choices aren't always something you would or want to say either. It doesn't even matter because the conversation mechanic is only going to register that you picked option 2 of 4. In ME and TOR if you picked your option at the right time, the conversation never missed a beat and was a fluid chat between parties. In games like that they have mostly defined the character's personality and you're. role-playing as that person. It makes it harder for the player to project themselves on the character but once you let go and realize that it's not "you," you can enjoy Commander Shepherd for who he is, good or bad. It's like reading a book or watching a movie. You can still get very invested in the characters.
3DS FC: 5086-1134-6451
Shiny Code: 3837
Probably not, but you could zoom all you want. Can't rotate though.
It is much cheaper man hour wise to write unvoiced dialogue. You can still have character voices, just not for every line of text. You can still get very invested.
I prefer this one.
"We have years of struggle ahead, mostly within ourselves." - Made in USA
Not to mention it can be easily edited. Which is very important for patches and expansions.
That will still be the case.
They just won't show you the check and there's no specific speech skill.
The crew playing "Betrayal at House on the Hill"
More people were hired (Up to 126 on Linkedin now)
And Obsidian's unnaounced project seems to pick up steam, as more employees are joining it.
Penny Arcade Rockstar Social Club / This is why I despise cyclists
Steam: Elvenshae // PSN: Elvenshae // WotC: Elvenshae
Wilds of Aladrion: [https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/comment/43159014/#Comment_43159014]Ellandryn[/url]
Maybe we better need to define what role-playing is. Video games won't ever be role-playing the way a table top game is role playing where you can say anything you want and take almost any action you want while a DM adapts to your choices and responds to them. Why is DA:O different than DA:2? Assuming you could invest in the Warden and not in Hawke. When you play Shepard or Hawke and you have direct control over their actions including things like their conversations and their tones that is exact what role-playing is. You're assuming the role of those characters just like you assume the role of the warden. All the choices you make are all the same. Character backstory, how you treat people you encounter along the way.
I'm willing to bet that there are plenty of characters you've had a chance to role-play in video games that you weren't a fan of that didn't have voiced dialog. Maybe because their allowable actions didn't appeal to you, or the setting, or the choices in dialog, etc.
Imagine the game was silent? The only difference would be you'd be reading the dialog instead. I don't think it's voice acting that ruined the role-playing in those games. Maybe they just aren't RPGs the way people think of RPGs. I mean the Witcher 2 is voiced and it's considered one of the best RPGs of all time, isn't it?
I guess my only argument is, if it wasn't voiced and every choice was written out word for word instead of an emote style would you have like the game more? Why do you think that?
3DS FC: 5086-1134-6451
Shiny Code: 3837
Well, yes. (Though, I would reconsider saying *ever*)
But, this is far away from a black and white situation. Just because that is the case doesn't mean you can't provide as many role-playing options as possible. If you employ mechanics correctly to create passive reactivity in your game, you can get quite far already.
My own opinion on the whole thing is live and let live. There's place for both type of games.
THAT SAID
I wish rpg-devs who employ charachter-driven narrative would be more creative to still allow extensive role-play.
PS:T and Mask of the Betrayer stand out here in how they deal with the situation.
C2B can post the full thing later.
"We have years of struggle ahead, mostly within ourselves." - Made in USA
This might be one of the things I'm most excited for.
"We have years of struggle ahead, mostly within ourselves." - Made in USA
Brandon
Josh
So I get to slaughter perfectly normal teenagers in this game? Sweeeeet!
I'm so glad I supported this.
(Please do not gift. My game bank is already full.)
Off-Topic
The hiring process on the Skyforge MMO has pretty much exploded
Visual FX Artist
Concept Artist
Charachter Artist
Animator
Senior Class Designer
And finally
Jim Rivers, the hiring manager at Obsidian, has fallen ill and got admitted to the ICU last friday. He's been a big asset to the industry as a whole and the response has been nothing short of fantastic.
http://www.donationto.com/Big-Jim-s-Get-Well-Fund