POLL: As funding continues... What's next?!

[Brayko]

There is an obvious choice missing from this poll....

CHOICES AND CONSEQUENCES

We all know that real choices and consequences take a lot of time to be implemented properly, make this game the first to really succeed in this matter.

I think he's made it clear that this will be in the game anyway. More content simply means more of that.

[oldmanpaco]

There has been some serious herping and derping about a Mod Kit in this thread.

Anyway here are my views (again):

1) The goal of the mod kit should be to create independent modules. NWN1/NWN2 (and FRAU) allow you create your own stories using the available assets and mechanics from the game. This is the holy grail of modding.

2) People are looking to the wrong games to compare modding. 95% of TES/FO3 mods are game mechanics and visuals changes. If that's all the mod kit could do then I agree it should be skipped.

3) The argument that F1/F2 and BG have excellent mods despite not having mod kits is ridiculous. There are only a handful of people who know how to develop for these games and it's taken them 10-15 years to get the level of quality they now possess.

While I agree that a larger world and more content is a great goal (voted for it) it needs to be operate within the confines playable game. I am assuming this goal would also include increased dialogue which people seem to think is under the VO/Audio selection. And larger world would entail more assets which would in turn make modding deeper experience.

We all talk about the decline of RPG gaming and so much of that has been because to the need for higher production values in visual and audio work. This sucks money and time away from content and innovation. The fact that those options are garnering so many votes is really a shame.

[timobkg]

Echoing others above, #1 is Quality and Polish. Fallout 1 + 2 were great, but would have been even better without the bugs.

Qualifying my choices, I picked "Larger world and more content" but what I really want is more content. I want choices, consequences, dialog. It doesn't need to be a long game - I barely have time to play these days, and a "short" 20 hour RPG will take me weeks. But if there is a lot of content, a lot of choices, and I'd be happy to dive back in to see how an alternate approach would work.

Likewise, I picked Expanded character dialog and voice acting, but what I really want is character dialog. I enjoy voice acting, but I would always pick quality over quantity (poor voice acting hurts games more than just taking it out), and I would rather have more character dialog with partial (or no) voice acting over having everything voice acted.

[Merin]

Bugs for PC releases are a big deal to catch. While some of them are agnostic about hardware, a good deal of bugs you find come from software hitting the quirks of the various amalgam of parts that PC's (especially home built machines) are cobbled together from. A team of Q&A people are unlikely to hit the majority of those, it's just not feasible.

Being PC gamers I thought we all kinda accepted that we'll hit the odd bugs, but where we hold the developer's feet to the fire is in patching those bugs ASAP.

[Ichkannnichtmehr]

Story, Dialog, Characters and Quests are the most important in a RPG.

More in other areas of the game would be nice too of course, but the focus should be about the immersion.

[timobkg]

We all talk about the decline of RPG gaming and so much of that has been because to the need for higher production values in visual and audio work. This sucks money and time away from content and innovation. The fact that those options are garnering so many votes is really a shame.

I like my content and innovation with higher A/V production values.

Given 5 choices, it's easy to pick both content and A/V. However, the polling shows that we favor content over graphics and audio, and better graphics and audio over porting to mobile or special effects or an old-school version. Perhaps if given more granular choices (Larger world or More content, Character dialog or Voice acting) than we'd see priorities play out differently.

[yAak]

you can, just create more accounts.

this board needs some work..

Yikes, um, I don't want to make the poll any more inaccurate than it probably already is. I was just sayin...

[yAak]

There has been some serious herping and derping about a Mod Kit in this thread.

Anyway here are my views (again):

1) The goal of the mod kit should be to create independent modules. NWN1/NWN2 (and FRAU) allow you create your own stories using the available assets and mechanics from the game. This is the holy grail of modding.

2) People are looking to the wrong games to compare modding. 95% of TES/FO3 mods are game mechanics and visuals changes. If that's all the mod kit could do then I agree it should be skipped.

3) The argument that F1/F2 and BG have excellent mods despite not having mod kits is ridiculous. There are only a handful of people who know how to develop for these games and it's taken them 10-15 years to get the level of quality they now possess.

While I agree that a larger world and more content is a great goal (voted for it) it needs to be operate within the confines playable game. I am assuming this goal would also include increased dialogue which people seem to think is under the VO/Audio selection. And larger world would entail more assets which would in turn make modding deeper experience.

We all talk about the decline of RPG gaming and so much of that has been because to the need for higher production values in visual and audio work. This sucks money and time away from content and innovation. The fact that those options are garnering so many votes is really a shame.

Well said... my vote to Mod Kit was for helping people create new dialogs, scripted sequences, items, characters, etc. by reusing existing assets for most everything, with a way to plug in new sounds, voice, and music.

The topic starts to get hazy when talking about adding assets like models, textures, and areas. Depending on the engine & game-style, adding support for this can range from "not-terrible" to "piles-of-work." I don't feel the devs should put much work/time into enabling us to add assets, but even then, there are a few simpler things they can do to make life easier for the more technical and dedicated modders.

[timobkg]

Bugs for PC releases are a big deal to catch. While some of them are agnostic about hardware, a good deal of bugs you find come from software hitting the quirks of the various amalgam of parts that PC's (especially home built machines) are cobbled together from. A team of Q&A people are unlikely to hit the majority of those, it's just not feasible.

Being PC gamers I thought we all kinda accepted that we'll hit the odd bugs, but where we hold the developer's feet to the fire is in patching those bugs ASAP.

A team of Q&A people are unlikely to hit the majority of those. The of players, however... There's currently over 3700 people pledged at the early beta level, but a late beta could be opened to all 20k+ backers. We're already committed to the game, but a bug free release would help encourage better reviews and wider adoption, possibly making it a commercial success.

Honestly, as a PC gamer I've gotten more and more used to (mostly) bug free games. Sure, Fallout 3 was a hot mess, and Dragon Age 2 wouldn't run in DX 11 on my graphics card, but those are the only big bugs I've run into over the past 3 years. For the most part, PC games now just work, and I'd like Wasteland 2 to be another example of that.

[secretfire]

I have to admit: I voted for the larger world (my biggest choice) and the "Expanded character dialog" action...which I am going to interpret as meaning we get more text and people talking, in addition to voice acting, which I could care less about. I also selected enhanced portraits, because nothing is as fun in modern rpgs as having a pretty avatar.

I then selected the graphics stuff for all the rest of my options.

I feel ashamed of that, because I play dwarf fortress. I honestly wouldn't care if Wasteland 2 was ASCII if it had good descriptions. I mean, sure, if I could have a decent looking avatar, I'd love that, but I honestly don't care about graphics.

But I selected it because, in addition to us, I want the -masses- to like it, so we can have a wasteland 3, and bring back the golden age.

This is godawful group-think, I know. I hope the game will end up at somewhere around Baldur's Gate 2/fallout 2/Icewind dale in terms of graphics, but perhaps more modernized. I think that would reduce costs and allow for a super-huge plot and world, which is what I really want. I don't -really- care what the graphics look like. I'm a -wasteland- fan, sheesh!

But I voted against my personal interests because, as I said, I want the masses to love this. I'm sorry.

[ash_22]

Larger world. Obvious choice, but it's always to know there is something more to do.

Expanded character dialog and voice acting. - If the voice acting would mean F1/F2 I totally agree. But fully va? Not really. I don't like when every npc is "attacking me with one-liners, repating over and over the same line. More text dialogues? It would be priority to me in this poll option.

Expanded audio, but NOT voice acting - Mark Morgan OST will be great, as always but I think the sound is also important. The ambient sounds blending in the game... Creating atmosphere for diffrent locations gives them more than 3d graphics.

Mod kit - Maybe for some it seems to be wasted money. But there are people who will deliver some new content. I'm eager to see "What remains" mod on FOnline Engine. Maybe someone will want to do a story based in Ukraine or a Wasteland remake?

8-bit version - Atari/C64 preferable . Because seeing a new game on those would be like having own Delorean with flux capacitor.

[Alaseur]

I'm eager for a mod kit. Implementing custom user made content into the game to help reshape it.

For free of course. I hate it when mods cost money.

[Anarkopsykotik]

This is godawful group-think, I know. I hope the game will end up at somewhere around Baldur's Gate 2/fallout 2/Icewind dale in terms of graphics, but perhaps more modernized.

Come on guys, it's 2012! Even with a relatively small budget, you can easily have better graphics than those games! Isometric view and old school gameplay doesn't mean low graphism.

I think that would reduce costs and allow for a super-huge plot and world, which is what I really want. I don't -really- care what the graphics look like. I'm a -wasteland- fan, sheesh!

I am somehow near you, I mean, I still play F1 (not same level as DF I admit ), graphism don't means that much to me in a well written game with good gameplay. But fuck, it's better when it's beautiful.

[sdlotu]

Since it wasn't on the list specifically, I wanted to describe what I think would be most desirable:

The complexity of the interactions makes for some amazing role-play and replayability. The desirable result should be more than 'say A and make him happy' or 'say B and make him angry'. In previous computer gaming experiences, there was a real tension and anticipation in having to make meaningful decisions without necessarily knowing the outcome.

As I would become more involved in the evolution of the character, it became more emotionally engaging and memorable to have to understand the interactions I was having with the world. The greater the range, the more unpredictable the world was, and the more I had to step into my own character's development as well as understand the perspective of the NPC I interacted with.

It wasn't only getting the right result, it was experiencing the wrong result and trying to correct the mistake. Such corrective paths are not commonly available in RPG interactions, and to the extent they are possible, such paths allow an enormous amount of character development to be played out in the interaction. A short conversation with the wrong impact shouldn't always end up with a permanently hostile NPC. Such is reasonable in many cases, but include some that forgive and forget.

[scottmbruner]

I think it's important, despite the fact that Kickstarter made this possible, that you still make decisions that build the game you think is best.

I would be careful to make sure you simply don't have too many chefs mucking up the soup.

I trust you - and although I know I won't agree with every decision the team makes, I think ultimately, making the game less by committee and trusting the team is important.

That being said! Here's what i want!

- A deep, engaging sandbox world with deep, adult themes and interactions
- Grey moral decisions, but the ability to play as a hero, or...to at least try
- The ability to use skills in unusual situations.
- and finally, MAKE THE GAME HAAAAAARD - games the last few years have been dumbed down, and made so easy, give us old school gamers the challenge the neophytes can't deal with so we can show 'em!

[sdlotu]

Another element which disrupts the experience for me is repetitive use of lifeforms and abilities, and the automatic assumption that they will always be hostile. I don't want to see level 1 rats, then level 10 rats, then level 20 rats. Expand the creature table so that each level of experience is unique. There are literally millions of possible creatures to inhabit a land full of mutants and deviant lifeforms, so using only 50 is unconscionable. Different levels should require different creatures, and at some point it should be possible to negotiate, bribe or mollify some creatures as well as kill them.

With the expansion of the creature table comes the possibility of increased randomness in the world as a whole. While I still count Fallout 1 and 2 among my favorites, the predictability of supposedly random encounters drains some of the excitement and replayability from the game.

I realize that there is a story to be told, and some paths to follow that will ultimately lead to a set of possible endings. I'm not saying the game should be post-apocalyptic NetHack. I would just like to play through a second time and expect that I will face encounters not seen in the first play through, with different creatures that populate the world instead.

Clearly this adds balance challenges, or else you have a 10HP mouse, 10HP spider, 10HP bat, 10HP whatever, and the only change is the skin. Still, I believe there is a lot of value that can come from not just a greater randomness in the creature type, but also in their abilities. Looking at the games being released now, there are hundreds of abilities which can be included to provide unexpected challenges for the player. Occasionally, such an encounter will require that the player's character turn tail and run just to survive, but I see no loss in that. This is the Wasteland, after all, and the unexpected should be the order of the day. There will be creatures the player simply is not prepared to deal with. When the player does finally tame that aberration, it will only make the experience more memorable.

I use tame in the previous sentence deliberately. I would like to be able to deal with hostile or resistant creatures and NPCs with something other than a killing blow. Devices that sleep creatures, mollify them, confuse them, daze them and then allow you to capture, interrogate, enslave, recruit (even if only temporarily) would add hugely to the tactical experience, as well as add new events and quests to play out.

It would be wonderful if some of these ideas are implemented in the final game. It would be awesome if they were implemented in a far better way than I describe here. But I won't whine if they aren't.

[Postapo]

I have to admit: I voted for the larger world (my biggest choice) and the "Expanded character dialog" action...which I am going to interpret as meaning we get more text and people talking, in addition to voice acting, which I could care less about.

Ditto!

[sorophx]

There has been some serious herping and derping about a Mod Kit in this thread.

Anyway here are my views

+100500

[Cyborg_Sam]

Voted for larger world and more content because those were the two things that I loved from the first Wasteland and really, from most every other open CRPG that I've played.

The others have merit, too, and here are my own thoughts:

- Expanded character dialog and voice acting
Is it possible to just have the expanded dialog as a separate choice? I don't mind playing a game without any voice acting whatsoever as long as everything else holds up. But I'm totally onboard for more dialogue options, more writing, and don't mind reading all of that sexy text.

- Expanded audio, but NOT voice acting
I'm also all for ear candy! Especially music-wise, but definitely prefer a bigger world.

- Enhanced graphics and 3D models/textures
I'm pretty ambivalent when it comes to this. If a game is fun and has this, I'd consider that a plus. If not, but it's still a lot of fun, then there it is. Am curious, though, if there might be any consideration towards mod support (or toolset support if one is eventually released) to make it easy to modify these assets by fans in the same way that the Elder Scrolls series has done?

- Enhanced NPC portraits and equipment artwork
Again, same point as previous. I'd consider it a bonus myself, but I won't complain if my Ion Blaster looks shiny and new onscreen as I create blood sausages.

- Porting to mobile (iOS and/or Android)
Personally, I'll be playing this on a PC, but it wouldn't hurt to see the game on more platforms especially on mobile.

- Enhanced special effects (explosions, etc.)
This also falls under the eye candy categories above for me. If it is has Michael Bay crying in his sleep from seeing the petrol fueled majesty of Wasteland 2's explosions, I won't complain.

- Create and old school 8-bit version
I'd probably be pretty excited to see this, or even if it's only as a special stage in the game such when you jack into a computer and see it rendered in...8-bits.

- Mod kit
It would be nice, but I also would hope intuitively easy to use. The tile-based stuff used in NWN was ideal for pushing out dungeons on the fly and the way NWN's toolset also handled dialogue trees, quest construction, etc. was head and shoulders above the scripted mess that Elder Scrolls uses IMHO. I'm not saying make it Adventure Construction Set easy, but the shorter the learning curve, the faster fans can start putting out their own apocalyptic add-ons for everyone.

- Other mediums (card games, board games, pen & paper RPG, collectables)
I'm just happy that inXile has even mentioned a paper manual and a cloth map in their Kickstarter. I'm not sure about seeing it in "other mediums", though. It certainly would be great, but if it's going to detract pulling anyone off of the main game to work on content for this, I'd be against it.

And thanks, inXile! Hope to see more ideas from everyone on Wasteland 2!

[Crayon]

One thing that I'd like to add when it comes to content, is that I'd like to see some benefits for playing a middle-of-the-road character. Too often in "RPGs" nowadays, you really have to play as an evil scumbag or angelic protector of justice to get access to additional things. I'd like to think that it's not just me and that there's a number of us who like to play it down the centre, making some "bad" decisions and some "good" ones.

After all, if I'm putting myself into a character, I tend to act nice to those who I like and not so much to those who I perceive as dicks