Torment: Tides of Numenera - Beta Part 2

Originally Posted by Pongo
An rpg without combat? But… But that's crazy talk!
Although yeah you're right of course, if it could be done well it would be interesting.

I've actually found that there is a split in almost all RPG's I've played, either they have a good combat system or a good story/dialogue, I found the combat parts to be more or less pointless in those games.

I can't think of a single game that combined really good combat with really good story and dialogue. I guess it is too much for must developers to focus on both. Well, except Tactics Ogre… but it is a combat simulator with story / choices.

It's all subjective, but the original fallout was probably closest to getting that balance right for me. I liked the "show not tell" story, the non-linear exploration and quest order, and the satisfaction of bopping folk with a sledgehammer. There are no doubt games with better stories and combat, but I think they got the balance between the two pretty close in F1. If the new ToN had a similar split (albeit with a modern flavour) I'd be a happy camper.

Yes, fallout 1 actually had a pretty good balance in this regard, I agree with you. But it is mostly single character and turn-based, which makes it much easier to make the battle system.