Dhruin
SasqWatch
Here's a minor tidbit from Vince on The Age of Decadence forums but it reinforces the current status and demonstrates their direction, so I thought it worth a quick post. In answer to a request for new information:
More information.The closer we are, the less we have to report. All features are discussed and implemented. All models and animations are long done. We're tweaking quests and balancing checks, xp, reputation, and rewards, which is pretty much what Oscar said recently.
For example, the second Imperial Guards' quest was a fairly straightforward "take over the gate". The Imperial Guards are a military organization, so their goals are often straightforward, which is logical, of course, but does not make interesting gameplay. So, we had to spend some time on it, looking for fitting way to improve it. Now, we have 3 options:
low INT - straightforward attack
good INT, low CHA - a clever plan which puts your ass on the line, because you have to do the hardest part* yourself
good INT, good CHA - a clever plan with someone else doing the hardest part, you get a promotion because you're the "management material", plus it unlocks a special briefing for the next quest, which completely changes the goals, because you've demonstrated that you can do more than follow orders.
* only 1 player in 10 will make it.
The best part is that players with low-med INT fighters will be completely unaware of the extra levels of complexity and options, which makes gameplay truly stat- and skill-based.