Also, if we do use 5e rules I believe that you can only have 3 magic items attuned to you at a time. Like 5e is really pushing the limited magic item thing, focusing more on race and class mechanics (which I'm super ok with).
@prairiechicken Being good at killing stuff doesn't make you good at making tools that kills stuff. Unless your character is essentially Siegfried or Wieland, who first where smiths and then became heroes, it is very unlikely that you character would be good at making weapons. The only feasable professions I could see are alchemy and magical item crafting for wizard-type characters.
Keep the crafting like it was in BG2. Have a few special items that you can bring to another guy who does the crafting for you Cromwell style. Also, please no Undercroft DA:I style. The gear feels so much more special if it has a story behind it. Gives it personality (sometimes literally ...). Not to mention that the Undercroft got pretty annoying pretty fast.
I don't want a nameless sword I put together myself. I want the stuff of legends! Right, Boo?
I would also like unique weapons and items but with opportunity to "unlock" their awesomeness. As you gain knowledge of the weapon's legacy and the legend behind it, it get's better. Whether it gains additional effect or a buff. Similar concept is soulbound weapon in Pillars of eternity.
-low level dnd campaign which means no dragons ffs
-Interesting characters that fit the setting. Make the world believably dirty, interesting and flawed with a touch of humour. (Stop listening to Coldplay and start listening to The Doors and The Smashing Pumpkins. Thats a good fellow.)
-Make non-combat actions not only possible but meaningful in how you resolve quests and situations aka Divinity Original Sin.
I would also like unique weapons and items but with opportunity to "unlock" their awesomeness. As you gain knowledge of the weapon's legacy and the legend behind it, it get's better. Whether it gains additional effect or a buff. Similar concept is soulbound weapon in Pillars of eternity.
Dak'kon's blade comes to mind actually. Also, didn't Dragon Age 2 also do this with all companions or was it just Bianca? Anyway, having a deep connection to your weapon always feels nice, or at least better than thinking of it just as a "sword of the week".
Hi, here is what I would like to see in Beamdog's next RPG.
1. Resource management (and rest restrictions if Vancian magic system is employed). See Swordflight for a peerless D&D exemplar. 2. Reactivity - BG2 and Siege feature only token reactivity. Gaider's Origins is far superior here. 3. Fixed isometric perspective with rotation and zoom. 4. A hardcore mode that disallows save-scumming and reload-based gameplay (parodied with "Bondari reloads..") 5. Turn-based tactical combat. RtWP is imprecise. See ToEE for how to make a good combat system. 6. Solid pathfinding routines. 7. Modability and toolset (see NWN for how to balance power, flexibility and ease-of-use). 8. Grid-based inventory, not list-based (see NWN for my ideal). 9. Replayability. 10. Non-linear quest-dense urban hub (Athkatla).
Meh, lrn2abstract? But don't worry. You are likely to get RTwP in Beamdog's next RPG.
For me, it's not a deal-breaker if Gaider once again eschews TB in favor of RTwP: I just prefer the former for its precision. Here are two other things I would like to see:
The ability to measure out movement and see what attacks of opportunity are provoked before committing to the movement (see image on the right).
The image on the left is a visual aid for AoE placement. Two other examples.
5. Turn-based tactical combat. RtWP is imprecise. See ToEE for how to make a good combat system.
Noooooooo!!
That would be such a huge step backward. BG's RTwP is like nothing else in the world, why give it up?
"Sir, I intend to stab you." "Ha! Very well, I shall stand here as you approach, do your worst. Oh! You have indeed stabbed me! Oh, the pain! Villain, for that I shall stab you in turn!" "Very well; here is my belly. Oh! You have stabbed me, just as you said you would! Oh my! Wait, I just got a snack. Whose turn is it?" "Your turn." "Ah! Wonderful. Then I will stab you." "As I expected. Here, let me just lean my head toward you. I wouldn't want you to strain anything."
Well, if they could add in the beginning-of-round (aura-cleared) pause then it would simulate turn based like you said before?
5. Turn-based tactical combat. RtWP is imprecise. See ToEE for how to make a good combat system.
There are several reason why it shouldn't have turn-based tactical gameplay. TB is abbrevieted for Turn-based (Turn-based tactical combat).
Timestop spell (presumably it will be in the next game because it makes all battles so much fun and liches are easier to deal with Timestop) Supposedly we have TB mechanics with only one action per character. Timestop looses it's meaning completely 'cause you loose control over your current character and have to wait for next turn. Unnecessary.
If we have TB mechanics with more actions per character, again it looses it's meaning 'cause in turn based everything already is timestoped. So, it's better to use another skill/spell/innate ability than timestop spell.
TB and it's UI design with one or more action points would, IMO, hurt the game's fantasy athmosphere and natural flow of the gameplay. Plus, you don't get to control all the characters.
It is BG saga spiritual successor.
RtWP round based combat already has idle animations per character in the round.
Well, turn based is just real time where actions of one side or shown before the other...in theory. Trying to reconstruct it in real time always leads to oddities. Still, turn based has many merits like making it easier to program the AI.
But how about a compromise? Simultaneously executed turns like in Frozen Synapse...or...or...or Dominions? We'd (and by we I mean game developers obviously) just have to brainstorm how to make it work in that system we want. Frozen Synapse and Dominions get away with these things because they have quite simple basic systems.
But really, this being BG's successor, I think RtWP is the way to go. SCS has shown that making it challenging without making it insane is possible.
1) Faithful representation of PnP rules; 2) elaborate character creation, with lots of choices; 3) Interesting companion characters; 4) Compelling story, not to linear, with plenty of choices with regards to how to solve quests; 5) No multiplayer.
Things that would be nice, but not essential:
1) Dark Sun campaign setting; 2) Toolset and modding tools. 3) Less emphasis on romance. I'm busy saving the world.
Why do you think so? MP in BG is so, so fun. If there were no MP in BG, I wouldn't be able to go through the game with my wife and friends, I wouldn't be able to get probably the strongest emotions I've got during playing BG. I think a new game should have it as well.
Why do you think so? MP in BG is so, so fun. If there were no MP in BG, I wouldn't be able to go through the game with my wife and friends, I wouldn't be able to get probably the strongest emotions I've got during playing BG. I think a new game should have it as well.
It's a resource sink. In order to get it to work properly (unlike BG) it takes a huge amount of "zots", sucking up resources that could be spent on other aspects of the game.
About 90% of my Infinity Engine gaming is multiplayer with my brother, so a lack of multiplayer would be perhaps a fatal flaw for me.
If there is a sensible way to do a multiplayer then there should be one. Actually, there shouldn't be a multyplayer only if there reasonably couldn't be another character(s) for other people to control...and Witcher is only such games that comes to mind at the moment. Even in Fallouts your partner could take up Ian or Sulik or someone without breaking the narrative. Other reason might be the games intense focus on roleplaying aspects of the main character and a lack of combat, and now I mean Planescape: Torment
Oh, I could throw another pet peeve of mine to the mix, too:
Put some major effort to that stronghold, for there is always a stronghold. Make it essential to the plot, true home for your character and base of operations for pro_hisher adventures. And gid please no, do not make it a simple money sink where the amount of money poured in affects the ending.
1. That's not how it would be at all. Let's say we view the same scenario play out twice, wherein the second one a character opened with casting a Time Stop-esque spell. Scenario without timestop: Turn A1 The Wizard takes his actions. The Fighter takes his actions. The Orc takes his actions. End turn.
Turn A2 The Wizard takes his actions The Fighter takes his actions. The Orc takes his actions. End turn.
Turn A3 The Wizard takes his actions. The Fighter takes his actions. The Orc takes his actions End turn.
And so on. But if the wizard opened with casting Time Stop it would look like so:
Turn B1 Wizard casts Time Stop. F and O gets no actions because time is frozen for 1d4+1 (2) turns . End Turn
Turn B2.1 (special turn granted by Time Stop) Wizard takes his actions End turn
Turn B2.2 (special turn granted by Time Stop) Wizard takes his actions End turn, time returns to normal.
Turn B3 Wizard takes his actions Fighter takes his actions Orc takes his actions End turn
And then it continues. You seem to be forgetting that the system BG is based on is turn based, and the Time Stop spell exists in at least all three of 2nd, 3rd, and 5th editions of it. Turn based combat is definitely not a hindrance for some Time Stop hijinks.
2. While I can't argue against your feelings, I myself certainly didn't feel like ToEE's UI was any kind of out of place in a fantasy setting. I don't think displaying actions left would be any more an impediment to atmosphere than displaying HP, or status effects, or any other information.
And what's that about not getting to control all the characters? TB does in no way prevent you from deciding over the actions of more characters than one. See ToEE or Jagged Alliance 2 for example.
3. A valid point, but in the choice between being "truer to BG" and having what I consider a better combat system (that is truer to tabletop at that) I'd want them to choose the latter.
For the sake of argument, let's pretend we were making a D&D game of some kind.
What would be your top-three list of things you absolutely, positively would need to see present in that game -- whether it be in the story or the feature list?
Detailed combat feedback. I'd like a text box in the UI somewhere, and it should describe all the damage and dice rolls.
Slavish adherence to a tabletop ruleset. It still bothers me that enemies got a save against Command in Baldur's Gate. I don't know if EE fixed that.
Moddability. An moddable game serves a wider market by letting players with niche preferences have those preferences served, without disadvantaging other players. Mods are the ultimate toggle.
Mechanics/Ruleset: 1. Should be intuitive to build good characters 2. Should adhere closely to D&D rules, don't be afraid of getting too complicated/intricate. However... 3. Change rules that would slow down or disrupt the flow of combat, not be afraid to make small changes here and there if it ends up improving gameplay 4. Minimal hidden or undisclosed mechanics; if some system is too complicated for a tool tip or in game description, thats fine, but there should be documentation of it somewhere, which ties into my next point 5. Don't be afraid of dice. Or the digital equivilaent of dice. Use 1 in 20 rather than vague terms such as improves chances of; or increases dmg by 20% 6. Isometric would be popular, but dont be afraid of Iso +3d if that would suit better.
Story/Charaters/Quests: 1. More characters the conform to conventional roles than exceptions to the rule. Basically, for every inquisitive, thoughtful, peaceloving orc you meet, there should be 100 bloodthirsty violent ones. otherwise you risk falling into: 2. Minimal "Special Snowflake" characters. Theres a difference between having a few characters with a quirk or two and having a bunch of crazy, rule bending, unable to function in regular society, purple haired mary sues 3. You and your party should be demonstrably weak at the start of the game. Power and awesome abilities should be Earned, not inherited. 4. Political and philosophical diversity. It is tempting when you are writing to have a few subjects and themes you want to address. Definitely do this, but try to write criticisms or counter-philosophies to those themes too. Constantly check your writing to see if you are being too pushy or preachy of one idea. If you have major decisions or branching plot paths, make sure you mechanically reward both relatively equally, and that the writing doesn't favour one choice over another, unless you are certain that you want one choice to be a "bad" outcome 5. Humour is fine, but err on the side or serious writing. One of my bigger criticisms of the bg:ee stuff was that your character was too flippant. For every 1 or 2 jokey or humorous encounters there should be 10 serious or dramatic ones.
General: 1. Real time with pause 2. A criticism of other D&D games I have is: Try to avoid having large numbers of very short term abilities which require manual activation. 3. Spells should be a bit cooler than they were in bg. Choosing which spells to use in combat should be difficult. More non combat spells that are actually useful 4. Defensive spell buffs should by and large last a decent amount of time. No more protection from negative energy lasting 30seconds. Either they should last until the end of a combat, or for a number of hours so they can be cast at the start of the day 5. No booster items DLC or special collectors edition items. Especially no ones that you find in a delivery chest near the start of the game
I quite like "special snowflake" NPC companions. Especially when you can create custom companions yourself, as you can in PoE, and is now possible in BG2 2.0, I like NPCs to have a little something that the protagonist doesn't have.
In PoE I found myself resenting that if I wanted to experience character stories I had to take along NPCs that where less effective than ones I could make myself.
I like isometric games with 4+ party members. If it is a new project not related to Baldur's Gate then I would like to see D&D 5E because I have not played it in a game yet.
One thing I would like is for the team at Beamdog to truly get inspired and make a game that THEY want to make. Make something that you would want to play. I think the greatest games are the ones that were pushed in new directions because the people making them were inspired and pushed things very hard in order to satisfy themselves and because they enjoyed creating the game. In doing that they made games that blew minds.
Gaider made ascension on his own after TOB was released because he wanted to. That is the sort of passion that the team needs to tap into. Taking suggestions from the community is a great way to get started but don't let the community input sway you guys too much. I find that the community is usually not happy when devs give them what they ask for because the community are not game developers and trying to complete a checklist from the community can sap the truly creative and inspiring vibe that devs have.
Beamdog is free of a publisher and I would think that they should ditch the "satisfy the masses" approach to gaming and simply worry about what they want. That will probably make the best game.
* Wilderness locations. Not too much urban adventuring.
I'm a bit worried about the Waterdeep Rumours. I'm not keen on such a large, generic city as a major location. IWD benefits hugely from it's atmospheric setting.
(POOP¡ helmo1977 opens the djinni bottle and takes his 3 wishes):
1. Party based (fully controlable, not like in NWN 1) 2. Set in the FR setting (post Spellplague nonsense) 3. 5th edition rules (true 5th edition, not some downgrading)
(helmo1977 spends his life savings in another djinni bottle and opens it):
4. Tools to make modules (like in NWN 1) 5. Mature story with politics and consequences, as somebody else said 6. (helmo1977 keeps his last wish for the future)
In turn based combat? Why would you assume that? That depends entirely in how they program the animations.
No, I meant in BG. In one round there are character attack animations and idle ones. When they switch, it resembles to turn based system for a short time.
I'm a bit worried about the Waterdeep Rumours. I'm not keen on such a large, generic city as a major location. IWD benefits hugely from it's atmospheric setting.
I'm excited about waterdeep. It's a great setting that we haven't seen before. It should be like Amn and Baldurs Gate. Sprawling city, quests in the wilderness and dungeons under the city.
Comments
Unless your character is essentially Siegfried or Wieland, who first where smiths and then became heroes, it is very unlikely that you character would be good at making weapons. The only feasable professions I could see are alchemy and magical item crafting for wizard-type characters.
Keep the crafting like it was in BG2.
Have a few special items that you can bring to another guy who does the crafting for you Cromwell style.
Also, please no Undercroft DA:I style. The gear feels so much more special if it has a story behind it. Gives it personality (sometimes literally ...). Not to mention that the Undercroft got pretty annoying pretty fast.
I don't want a nameless sword I put together myself. I want the stuff of legends! Right, Boo?
As you gain knowledge of the weapon's legacy and the legend behind it, it get's better. Whether it gains additional effect or a buff.
Similar concept is soulbound weapon in Pillars of eternity.
-Interesting characters that fit the setting. Make the world believably dirty, interesting and flawed with a touch of humour. (Stop listening to Coldplay and start listening to The Doors and The Smashing Pumpkins. Thats a good fellow.)
-Make non-combat actions not only possible but meaningful in how you resolve quests and situations aka Divinity Original Sin.
1. Resource management (and rest restrictions if Vancian magic system is employed). See Swordflight for a peerless D&D exemplar.
2. Reactivity - BG2 and Siege feature only token reactivity. Gaider's Origins is far superior here.
3. Fixed isometric perspective with rotation and zoom.
4. A hardcore mode that disallows save-scumming and reload-based gameplay (parodied with "Bondari reloads..")
5. Turn-based tactical combat. RtWP is imprecise. See ToEE for how to make a good combat system.
6. Solid pathfinding routines.
7. Modability and toolset (see NWN for how to balance power, flexibility and ease-of-use).
8. Grid-based inventory, not list-based (see NWN for my ideal).
9. Replayability.
10. Non-linear quest-dense urban hub (Athkatla).
For me, it's not a deal-breaker if Gaider once again eschews TB in favor of RTwP: I just prefer the former for its precision. Here are two other things I would like to see:
The ability to measure out movement and see what attacks of opportunity are provoked before committing to the movement (see image on the right).
The image on the left is a visual aid for AoE placement. Two other examples.
Origins featured AoE visual aids, too.
TB is abbrevieted for Turn-based (Turn-based tactical combat).
- Timestop spell (presumably it will be in the next game because it makes all battles so much fun and liches are easier to deal with Timestop)
- TB and it's UI design with one or more action points would, IMO, hurt the game's fantasy athmosphere and natural flow of the gameplay.
- It is BG saga spiritual successor.
- RtWP round based combat already has idle animations per character in the round.
These are my opinions regarding RtWP vs.TB.Supposedly we have TB mechanics with only one action per character. Timestop looses it's meaning completely 'cause you loose control over your current character and have to wait for next turn. Unnecessary.
If we have TB mechanics with more actions per character, again it looses it's meaning 'cause in turn based everything already is timestoped. So, it's better to use another skill/spell/innate ability than timestop spell.
Plus, you don't get to control all the characters.
But how about a compromise? Simultaneously executed turns like in Frozen Synapse...or...or...or Dominions? We'd (and by we I mean game developers obviously) just have to brainstorm how to make it work in that system we want. Frozen Synapse and Dominions get away with these things because they have quite simple basic systems.
But really, this being BG's successor, I think RtWP is the way to go. SCS has shown that making it challenging without making it insane is possible.
2) elaborate character creation, with lots of choices;
3) Interesting companion characters;
4) Compelling story, not to linear, with plenty of choices with regards to how to solve quests;
5) No multiplayer.
Things that would be nice, but not essential:
1) Dark Sun campaign setting;
2) Toolset and modding tools.
3) Less emphasis on romance. I'm busy saving the world.
If there is a sensible way to do a multiplayer then there should be one. Actually, there shouldn't be a multyplayer only if there reasonably couldn't be another character(s) for other people to control...and Witcher is only such games that comes to mind at the moment. Even in Fallouts your partner could take up Ian or Sulik or someone without breaking the narrative. Other reason might be the games intense focus on roleplaying aspects of the main character and a lack of combat, and now I mean Planescape: Torment
Oh, I could throw another pet peeve of mine to the mix, too:
Put some major effort to that stronghold, for there is always a stronghold. Make it essential to the plot, true home for your character and base of operations for pro_hisher adventures. And gid please no, do not make it a simple money sink where the amount of money poured in affects the ending.
1. That's not how it would be at all. Let's say we view the same scenario play out twice, wherein the second one a character opened with casting a Time Stop-esque spell.
Scenario without timestop:
Turn A1
The Wizard takes his actions.
The Fighter takes his actions.
The Orc takes his actions.
End turn.
Turn A2
The Wizard takes his actions
The Fighter takes his actions.
The Orc takes his actions.
End turn.
Turn A3
The Wizard takes his actions.
The Fighter takes his actions.
The Orc takes his actions
End turn.
And so on. But if the wizard opened with casting Time Stop it would look like so:
Turn B1
Wizard casts Time Stop.
F and O gets no actions because time is frozen for 1d4+1 (2) turns .
End Turn
Turn B2.1 (special turn granted by Time Stop)
Wizard takes his actions
End turn
Turn B2.2 (special turn granted by Time Stop)
Wizard takes his actions
End turn, time returns to normal.
Turn B3
Wizard takes his actions
Fighter takes his actions
Orc takes his actions
End turn
And then it continues. You seem to be forgetting that the system BG is based on is turn based, and the Time Stop spell exists in at least all three of 2nd, 3rd, and 5th editions of it. Turn based combat is definitely not a hindrance for some Time Stop hijinks.
2. While I can't argue against your feelings, I myself certainly didn't feel like ToEE's UI was any kind of out of place in a fantasy setting. I don't think displaying actions left would be any more an impediment to atmosphere than displaying HP, or status effects, or any other information.
And what's that about not getting to control all the characters? TB does in no way prevent you from deciding over the actions of more characters than one. See ToEE or Jagged Alliance 2 for example.
3. A valid point, but in the choice between being "truer to BG" and having what I consider a better combat system (that is truer to tabletop at that) I'd want them to choose the latter.
4. What? I don't understand your point.
Slavish adherence to a tabletop ruleset. It still bothers me that enemies got a save against Command in Baldur's Gate. I don't know if EE fixed that.
Moddability. An moddable game serves a wider market by letting players with niche preferences have those preferences served, without disadvantaging other players. Mods are the ultimate toggle.
Mechanics/Ruleset:
1. Should be intuitive to build good characters
2. Should adhere closely to D&D rules, don't be afraid of getting too complicated/intricate. However...
3. Change rules that would slow down or disrupt the flow of combat, not be afraid to make small changes here and there if it ends up improving gameplay
4. Minimal hidden or undisclosed mechanics; if some system is too complicated for a tool tip or in game description, thats fine, but there should be documentation of it somewhere, which ties into my next point
5. Don't be afraid of dice. Or the digital equivilaent of dice. Use 1 in 20 rather than vague terms such as improves chances of; or increases dmg by 20%
6. Isometric would be popular, but dont be afraid of Iso +3d if that would suit better.
1. More characters the conform to conventional roles than exceptions to the rule. Basically, for every inquisitive, thoughtful, peaceloving orc you meet, there should be 100 bloodthirsty violent ones. otherwise you risk falling into:
2. Minimal "Special Snowflake" characters. Theres a difference between having a few characters with a quirk or two and having a bunch of crazy, rule bending, unable to function in regular society, purple haired mary sues
3. You and your party should be demonstrably weak at the start of the game. Power and awesome abilities should be Earned, not inherited.
4. Political and philosophical diversity. It is tempting when you are writing to have a few subjects and themes you want to address. Definitely do this, but try to write criticisms or counter-philosophies to those themes too. Constantly check your writing to see if you are being too pushy or preachy of one idea. If you have major decisions or branching plot paths, make sure you mechanically reward both relatively equally, and that the writing doesn't favour one choice over another, unless you are certain that you want one choice to be a "bad" outcome
5. Humour is fine, but err on the side or serious writing. One of my bigger criticisms of the bg:ee stuff was that your character was too flippant. For every 1 or 2 jokey or humorous encounters there should be 10 serious or dramatic ones.
1. Real time with pause
2. A criticism of other D&D games I have is: Try to avoid having large numbers of very short term abilities which require manual activation.
3. Spells should be a bit cooler than they were in bg. Choosing which spells to use in combat should be difficult. More non combat spells that are actually useful
4. Defensive spell buffs should by and large last a decent amount of time. No more protection from negative energy lasting 30seconds. Either they should last until the end of a combat, or for a number of hours so they can be cast at the start of the day
5. No booster items DLC or special collectors edition items. Especially no ones that you find in a delivery chest near the start of the game
I'm sure I'll think of a bunch more later
In PoE I found myself resenting that if I wanted to experience character stories I had to take along NPCs that where less effective than ones I could make myself.
One thing I would like is for the team at Beamdog to truly get inspired and make a game that THEY want to make. Make something that you would want to play. I think the greatest games are the ones that were pushed in new directions because the people making them were inspired and pushed things very hard in order to satisfy themselves and because they enjoyed creating the game. In doing that they made games that blew minds.
Gaider made ascension on his own after TOB was released because he wanted to. That is the sort of passion that the team needs to tap into. Taking suggestions from the community is a great way to get started but don't let the community input sway you guys too much. I find that the community is usually not happy when devs give them what they ask for because the community are not game developers and trying to complete a checklist from the community can sap the truly creative and inspiring vibe that devs have.
Beamdog is free of a publisher and I would think that they should ditch the "satisfy the masses" approach to gaming and simply worry about what they want. That will probably make the best game.
* Wilderness locations. Not too much urban adventuring.
I'm a bit worried about the Waterdeep Rumours. I'm not keen on such a large, generic city as a major location. IWD benefits hugely from it's atmospheric setting.
1. Party based (fully controlable, not like in NWN 1)
2. Set in the FR setting (post Spellplague nonsense)
3. 5th edition rules (true 5th edition, not some downgrading)
(helmo1977 spends his life savings in another djinni bottle and opens it):
4. Tools to make modules (like in NWN 1)
5. Mature story with politics and consequences, as somebody else said
6. (helmo1977 keeps his last wish for the future)
Quests, quests, quests. I want loads o' content.