Your comments about the combat do worry me a little bit, but not enough to put me off the game. Besides, the game is going to be moddable and just about everything can be fixed with mods
I do hope so.
As I'd said in another thread, the dev team is definitely interested in the idea of faster, smoother combat, but their only limitation seems to be the engine they're using. They claim they'd need to put more mobs in to balance the challenge with the faster combat, and for that they'd need to improve their engine, and they're kind of at their budget limit right now. They're hoping the game will sell well, and if it does, they say that these improvements may be implemented.
As it is, I think if you're really interested in it already, I think you'll have a lot of fun with it. It's a rich game.
Okay, read her preview but it didn't explain the combat system at all, other than to say it was slower than game a and game b. She also didn't compare it to the original game at all, so she may not have played it. Since I don't play for story and consequences the preview didn't let me know whether I'd like the game or not.
Is the game linear? Are there hidden doors, secret crawlways, thief skills, sneak attacks, backstabs, etc? How does town adventuring differ from dungeon delving? How does the economy work? How do you gain skills? Are there attributes? How do you level? Is it by using skills or by xp or something else? In Inquisition, you unlocked attunements by using items; use an item that was attuned to water and you may unlock an ice attack, for instance.
Maybe Aubrielle can do a followup post to let us know about the game systems and how they work. She covered crafting a little, so I have an idea there. I loved the original game so I plan on getting this to support the devs, but I'd love more details if Aubrielle has the time.
I may have a hard time selling the idea of a follow up article to the other editors, especially when there's so much material coming down for publication, but just for you, Nut, since you've been nice to me, I'll see if I can accommodate you here.
Whew, okay.
There's no rogue systems in the game as far as I'm aware. This may be something GF is interested in in the future, but so far in the game, the closest characters I've run into that might resemble a rogue are the ranger you can pick in the beginning, and an Ishkari (goblin) archer. There's no backstab systems, and I haven't tried the ranger, but so far as I'm aware, there's no real stealth mechanic either. (I can't vouch 100% on the lack of stealth)
I'd seen a question about linearity above. In terms of linearity, with 1 being completely open like Skyrim or Oblivion, and 10 being…oh….Mega Man…the game is about a 4. You can backtrack, and the cenotaph system allows you to teleport to anyplace else in the game where there's another cenotaph. The levels are Diablo-like in terms of design, but I don't think they're procedurally generated, and they're the same when you return. You can clear out an area, but once you return, everything may have respawned. The respawns are a b*tch, too. The game does get progressively more difficult. There are also quests in the town of Thole that you can return to and do whenever you want (and probably in other towns as well, though I'm just now getting out of the Outlands), and the game doesn't really pressure you to keep going all the time. You can play at your leisure.
I have played the first one, but only for an hour or two. I loved it, and I think I personally liked the combat a little more if I recall. I've played Shadows way more.
All your characters level at once, and it's pure combat xp. I haven't seen many instances where you gain extra xp for completing a quest in a certain way, like in Icewind Dale or Baldur's Gate. And I haven't seen any instances of attunement. Every time you level, you get a point to spend on a fairly small tree. Certain abilities have level prerequisites, but once you're…say, level 3…you can use abilities C and D. Each ability has five rank slots you can put points into to make it better/faster/more powerful, and each character has very different abilities. The Ishkari archer has abilities to make him run faster, where Evia can put more damage-over-time on her fire attacks and gain spells to root enemies.
There is no dynamic economy. It's basically loot-and-sell.
In town, you can pick up quests to do different things, and said quests give you extra xp and rewards. Quests may be as simple as picking up the protection money for a certain seedy merchant, or for killing spiders in the catacombs. The demon will find just as many enemies in the shadow version of the town as out in the wilderness.
Does that help to answer any of your questions, Nut?