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AOE spells - radius indicator

PeldinPeldin Member Posts: 46
edited September 2016 in Feature Requests
I'm new to BG, but I looked through the first 8 pages of Feature Requests and didn't see anything related to my request.

After playing through BG1, I had a hard time placing aoe spells in the position I wanted them in. Either I would place them too close to my melee, causing them to be webbed, fireballed, etc... or I would place them too far away and render it useless.

I think it would be a fantastic toggle feature if a very lightly colored radius indicator appeared around your cursor when you selected an AOE spell. It would be even cooler if the color was associated with the type of spell. For example, when you click to cast Fireball, a very faint red circle would appear around your mouse cursor in a 30-ft radius.

I know a lot of the more experienced players would have no use for this as they intuitively know exactly how far 30 feet is in the game. For people like myself that have only played through BG1:EE once and just purchased SOD and BG2:EE, this would be immensely helpful to cut down that "learning curve."

Adding on to that feature, I think it would also be great to have a similar feature for conal spells or "beam"-like spells like Aghanazar's Scorcher. When you select that specific spell, it would be neat if a 2-ft wide beam automatically attached itself between the caster and your cursor. Or for something like Color Spray, a faded fan of color would show itself on your cursor and you could direct the fan instead of the mage. In doing so, the mage would actually move to the specific location needed to cast Color Spray in the location and direction that you set.

Are these features possible or are they desired by anyone else?

Comments

  • mf2112mf2112 Member, Moderator Posts: 1,919
    edited September 2016
    I just practiced at different zoom levels and then finally stopped playing it so close for the most part. Although there are many times when it can be useful. If you stack fire resistances up over 100% on your tank then run out to confront the monsters then fire spells heal you.

    I wouldn't mind an AoE circle feature if it was optional.
    Post edited by mf2112 on
  • ReddbaneReddbane Member Posts: 222
    All the other D&D and D&D inspired games (Dragon Age, Pillars) do it. The only obstacle i suppose is working with an old finicky engine.
  • ArchaosArchaos Member Posts: 1,421
    @Reddbane

    If indicators below the sprites are possible, then indicators for the radius of spells should be possible as well.

    NwN1 had the same problem as well. You had no idea where AoE spells would land, so you went for the single-target spells, like the insane Isaac Storm spells.

    I'm really in favor of this idea. It's a quality of life improvement.

    Some would say that this might dumbing down or making the game easier, I say that any mage or spellcaster in general should realistically know the exact range and radius of their spells, either with research or divine knowledge, for obvious safety reasons.
  • PeldinPeldin Member Posts: 46
    edited October 2016
    Archaos said:

    Some would say that this might dumbing down or making the game easier

    This is the exact reason that I request it be a feature that can be toggled on/off. With a game that's been played this long, some people like things a certain way, so I would never want my feature request to infringe upon someone who wouldn't want this. However, I think my request would be a QoL improvement that would attract newer players like myself to experiment more with spells, thus experimenting more with the game in general, and in the end, as a business, can encourage people to buy SoD and BG2 when otherwise they may not have.
    Post edited by Peldin on
  • RavenslightRavenslight Member Posts: 1,609
    As long as this was 100% optional with the ability to toggle it off, I think it is an excellent idea to help newer players as well as those who don’t want to guess how spells will land.
  • sazziesazzie Member Posts: 103
    personally even as a long term player this would be awesome. there are some spells i use frequently and can gauge how its going to impact the battle, then there are other spells that i havent used and have no idea about.

    having it as a toggle would allow it to be used until players felt comfortable turning it off
  • PeldinPeldin Member Posts: 46
    Thank you for the support. I'm new to this community so I don't know how responsive Beamdog is to feature requests. Hopefully this request is even possible, and if it isn't, it would be good to know that someone at least looked in to it.
  • sazziesazzie Member Posts: 103
    haha no worries @Peldin ive had the games for 3 years but only started the forums today as i felt like a break from my game!

    good luck with the request and i hope the devs do check it out
  • mf2112mf2112 Member, Moderator Posts: 1,919
    The devs definitely look at feature requests, but having them in redmine.Beamdog.com in the right format helps. I can work on that later after work if someone else doesn't get it in first.
  • PeldinPeldin Member Posts: 46
    Is my request in the wrong format? I went to redmine.Beamdog.com and it looks like a tracking site for devs more so than a feature request site for users.
  • mf2112mf2112 Member, Moderator Posts: 1,919
    Peldin said:

    Is my request in the wrong format? I went to redmine.Beamdog.com and it looks like a tracking site for devs more so than a feature request site for users.

    They are looking for the format described in the first post here: https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/49845/how-to-report-bugs/p1. I know it says "bugs" but the feature request format is the same.
  • PeldinPeldin Member Posts: 46
    edited October 2016
    Ah! I did actually read through that post, but as it seemed more about reporting bugs, I wasn't thorough.

    I don't have the ability to register an account at Redmine from my work computer. I'd do it at home but my time at my pc is extremely limited with 3 kids and a pregnant wife, lol
  • mf2112mf2112 Member, Moderator Posts: 1,919
    Okay, hopefully this explains it well enough: redmine.beamdog.com/issues/26969
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