I think the uncertainty really suits the game, pulling off a close one feels great and doing something that generates a feeling of intuition adds immersion.
Well, i asked the same in another thread. My opinion is: if it doesnt require a lot of work to be implemented why not to do it ? You can alwyas make it optional for the ones who didn't want it.
It's something that should be there. Because in D&D with pen and paper, you play with a visible grid and it's easy to tell. So if you're looking at it from a D&D point of view you should be able to see the area of effect.
When I played for my first time BG 1 I did not use fireball spell because I was afraid to not kill my companions. I learnt a little how to use it in Icewind Dale. New players will be very confused. And again it is not tactical.
I'm not sure it would be possible, but how about giving some sort of visual representation of an area of effect of a spell. As in, you click fireball and when you're selecting the target there's 30 ft. radius circle around your cursor or the targets that will be affected are highlighted or something.
This was requested in the early days and, to my recollection, there was quite a fierce arguement discussion about it. Can't bother looking for the link, now. IIRC, @Aosaw was the OP and may have the link handy. Or was it @Kore?
When all else fails, @Tanthalas might know and even go moderator-fu on both threads to merge them.
I'm really on the fence with this one. I've toasted my party countless times with a slightly misplaced Fireball. At the same time, I think of the mage casting the spell thinking, "yeah, about there. This works, I'm a hero, if I'm off a bit, well at least some of us survive". I also think BG is a pretty tough game to learn and while making it easier to pick up is a good concept I also believe there is a large market of people who are tired of games that hand-hold. We won't look at this until after ship.
to attract new players i say yes for this but but after around 60-100 playthroughs i dont personally need it. for me its fun to blow minsc to pieces with poorly placed skulltrap.
to attract new players i say yes for this but but after around 60-100 playthroughs i dont personally need it. for me its fun to blow Khalid to pieces with poorly placed skulltrap.
I just don't understand the anger and pointless insulting of differing points of view. It's a game feature that somebody would like and isn't game-breaking at all, so let them state their case. I'm fine with saying why another might not see it as necessary, but to go further than that is unnecessary and does no good. Nothing is more frustrating than being dismissed out of hand by self-appointed know-it-alls.
D&D started with a grid and was a geometrically-based construct. They had overlays for Dragon Breath, fireballs and other things since the blue box (mine had these), so it's part of the legacy. Saying that 'it wasn't in Baldur's Gate and therefore should never have been' (summarizing one of the rebuttals) does not mean that it wasn't something that maybe would be worthwhile. Otherwise, restoring cut content should never happen and, by similar reasoning, the new characters should never be added.
I guess I'm saying 1) be civil and 2) just because you don't like an idea, it doesn't make it wrong and it certainly doesn't make the provider of that idea wrong.
*remembers to cast flame arrow on the downed troll this time...*
As much as I liked being able to use the area of effect of fireballs, etc. to their fullest efficiency in Temple of Elemental Evil, it was just too precise for what should be a spontaneous situation.
I personally like casting a fireball into the middle of a party of hostiles and watching them burn as my party members run in, some getting hit. Especially the annoying ones.
I would not like to see this game "Assisted" unless this was reserved for the easiest difficulty.
@Ken Thank you! I couldn't have said it better myself. I have never gotten through this game without cheating, I play for the story, not the strategic challenge! I can totally see why people would want it to remain challenging however, so putting it in as an option for those who want it (sort of like auto-pause when you locate a trap in BG2) would be just perfect.
Add it and let it be selectable, that way everyone wins!
I'm going to have to agree with this as it solves both sides of this matter. Those who think it is too immersion breaking/handholding can turn it off, while others who want it can leave it on. I find it interesting that it isn't mentioned that a large amount of spells directed at hostiles (and even some friendly spells) have an AoE. So unless you have the AoEs for spells memorized, targeting can be a bit tricky. I myself always just aim in the middle of whichever group I am casting on, but I would love to see a toggle-able marker for AoE. Here's hoping this does make it in at some point.
I really miss not having a visible circle when casting an area spell. This must have been incorporated into later games. A friendly fire toggle would have been a nice feature as well.
A friendly fire toggle I don't miss. But I always missed an area of effect circle option. In Pen & Paper we didn't have to guesstimate AoE spells and we still had our fun and challenges.
This has been discussed previously, I'll try to find the thread. Regardless, it's not something that game needs or the engine will allow. The main problem being that there are only two levels of sprite transparency available in the engine: on and off. The lay over for the area of effect would have to cover up parts of the action, and therefore would look rather unappealing.
In PnP you're likely playing on a grid, so there is no guesswork. I don't see any reason why an indicator shouldn't be incorporated, other than gimping yourself on purpose with the faux sense of "challenge".
I can do it too, it's easy. It's basically the edge of your range of vision with the fog of war minus a little bit. Even though I almost never fry my own party members with a fireball anymore I still want the indicator.
I'm better at guessing what a fireball is going to do than a lightning bolt, I hardly use the latter, even from wands, as often end up zapping my own party...
Comments
When all else fails, @Tanthalas might know and even go moderator-fu on both threads to merge them.
It should be merged since this thread is just starting.
On topic, I don't really like more UI elements.
btw Trent adressed this topic:
D&D started with a grid and was a geometrically-based construct. They had overlays for Dragon Breath, fireballs and other things since the blue box (mine had these), so it's part of the legacy. Saying that 'it wasn't in Baldur's Gate and therefore should never have been' (summarizing one of the rebuttals) does not mean that it wasn't something that maybe would be worthwhile. Otherwise, restoring cut content should never happen and, by similar reasoning, the new characters should never be added.
I guess I'm saying 1) be civil and 2) just because you don't like an idea, it doesn't make it wrong and it certainly doesn't make the provider of that idea wrong.
*remembers to cast flame arrow on the downed troll this time...*
I would not like to see this game "Assisted" unless this was reserved for the easiest difficulty.
Not mentioning that this wouldn't make any sense.