New Features of Book II

Here's where all things related to Book II are being discussed!
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IJBall
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Re: New Features of Book II

Post by IJBall »

BasiliskWrangler wrote:Since many people have asked "what's taking so long" and "what new features will Book II have", here is a list of the new features that are in the game now or currently being worked on.

GUI
* You can now dump torches by right-clicking on the torch icon.
Hey, I just thought of a question related to this - will we also be able to sell back torches now too?
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Getharn
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Re: New Features of Book II

Post by Getharn »

IJBall wrote:Hey, I just thought of a question related to this - will we also be able to sell back torches now too?
You'd need a damn high merchant skill!

"Come on now, this is the finest bundle of half-charred sticks this side of Thaermore. I mean, look at the way they're so evenly oil-soaked, that's genuine artistry that is..."
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CrazyBernie
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Re: New Features of Book II

Post by CrazyBernie »

Getharn wrote:
IJBall wrote:Hey, I just thought of a question related to this - will we also be able to sell back torches now too?
You'd need a damn high merchant skill!

"Come on now, this is the finest bundle of half-charred sticks this side of Thaermore. I mean, look at the way they're so evenly oil-soaked, that's genuine artistry that is..."
What, you didn't know that theses torches came from the Goblin Citadel and are laced with troll dung which more than triples the burn time?? Anyone who knows anything about trolls knows that their feces is the only hard to burn part of their body... :mrgreen:
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CrazyBernie
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Re: New Features of Book II

Post by CrazyBernie »

Ok, my turn to ask questions and make comments!! ^_^
* Numerous optimizations implemented which improved engine speed (up to 30%) and lowers RAM usage.
Borat likes very much!
* Enhanced lighting and special effects.
Oooooh, enhanced! Are they shiny? I like shiny!! 0_o
* New weather effects: snow, rain, and thunderstorms. Weather isn't just a special effect; severe weather effects gameplay stats and skills.
Are they going to "offer" visual impairments? Would make for an interesting challenge if you're travelling through a blizzard and didn't see that frost troll creeping up on you... Maybe as a "Realistic Weather" difficulty option...
* "Brightness Booster" option for players who are afraid of the dark.
Is this BlingBoost (0_o) going to just jack up the brightness/contrast or will it effect the actual lighting in the game; ie. @ max brightness will it look like daytime or a washed out mess?
* Saved game function rebuilt with more redundancy and error catching to cut down on the number of bad saved games.
I hate those misbehaving saved games...
* Numerous updates to the scripting engine and file handling, making the game one step closer to being fully modable.
This is semi-related I suppose... will the game have any nifty scripted cutscenes?? ^_^
* Walking via keyboard
I believe an obligatory "w00t!" is in order for this one.
* New skill: Foraging. Used to increase your chance of finding food and alchemy components during your travels.
Is this a passive or active skill?
* Food and Water now a factor in survival. Long treks into deep dungeons will require planning and preparation. (Optional)
Soooo.... will we be able to plant fruits and vegetables in certain tillable areas of a dungeon....??? ^_^
(Sorry... been playing too much Harvest Moon/Rune Factory on the DS lately... >.<)
* Powder kegs can now be picked up and dropped in new locations which makes for strategic game play options.
Is there going to be a limit on the number of these you can carry other than via weight?
* Improved User's Manual with additional game information often requested by players
If I'm bored (which I usually am) and you need any help on this, feel free to scream at me. :mrgreen:
Slarty
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Re: New Features of Book II

Post by Slarty »

BasiliskWrangler wrote: * Walking via keyboard
* Significant skill rebalancing for more unified progression.
HOORAY!

Kudos to Basilisk for listening to the (probably irritating) feedback of your Book I customers. I'm impressed with the number of changes you are making. The two above are (IMHO) major improvements, and will probably guarantee my purchase of the game.
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Re: New Features of Book II

Post by TalinMajere »

Currently the only way to move is with the mouse. Can we get keyboard movement using the arrow keys? Customizing the movement keys would be nice too. Thanks.
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Re: New Features of Book II

Post by CrazyBernie »

TalinMajere wrote:Currently the only way to move is with the mouse. Can we get keyboard movement using the arrow keys? Customizing the movement keys would be nice too. Thanks.
BasiliskWrangler wrote: * Most keyboard commands can now be remapped via .cfg file.
* Walking via keyboard
Good job reading the post =P Although if you're referring to having that feature in Book I, I doubt it's gonna happen.
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Re: New Features of Book II

Post by Hoser »

Boy am I ever glad that weapon degredation is optional. That is one option which I will NOT be turning on. I've never played a game where I enjoyed weapon degradation (System Shock 2, Oblivion)
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Re: New Features of Book II

Post by realmzmaster »

I do not mind weapon or armor degradation as long as there is an armorer skill and tools I can use to fix the weapon or armor.
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Re: New Features of Book II

Post by Randomizer »

It could be funny combining weapons degradation with unarmed combat:

"Your hand breaks from smashing the barrel."
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Re: New Features of Book II

Post by Ragashingo »

Randomizer wrote:It could be funny combining weapons degradation with unarmed combat:

"Your hand breaks from smashing the barrel."
Is a piece of my hand going to hit me in the eye as well? :p
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Re: New Features of Book II

Post by realmzmaster »

You break your hand and a piece of bone flies out piercing your eye. You are blind in one eye with a broken hand and the minotuar just caught your scent.

Feet don't fail me now!!!
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Re: New Features of Book II

Post by Castor »

I have been looking for one of these games for long time.

But it looks like if I am to enjoy the game, I will have to wait for the book 2 to be released.

Just one thought, is there any plan for letting user know if how the weapon you are using is degrading?

Maybe a percentage indicating how long it will last until it breaks will certainly help a lot. So the player can repair it

before it breaks. After all, it is my magic sword +2 against dragon so I should know how it is doing. ? :D
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Re: New Features of Book II

Post by BasiliskWrangler »

Castor wrote:Just one thought, is there any plan for letting user know if how the weapon you are using is degrading?
Yes, when looking at a piece of armor or a weapon, there is a general description of the level of wear on the item such as "Near Perfect" or "Somewhat Damaged". When you actually equip the item, it gives a further indicator of wear via a tiny "health bar" just below the icon.
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Re: New Features of Book II

Post by AstralWanderer »

BasiliskWrangler wrote:* Numerous optimizations implemented which improved engine speed (up to 30%) and lowers RAM usage.
While performance improvements are generally a Good Thing, I'd suggest that most users would rather see time spent implementing extra features. There aren't likely to be many recent systems that have problems running Eschalon.
BasiliskWrangler wrote:* Enhanced lighting and special effects.
Will this include a better light spell than Gravedigger's Torch? That dim red glow (even when coupled with Cat's Eyes) was in my view an irritation.
BasiliskWrangler wrote:* New weather effects: snow, rain, and thunderstorms. Weather isn't just a special effect; severe weather effects gameplay stats and skills.
Don't forget deserts. Players wandering the barrens of Crakamir in heavy armour ought to feel the pain... :)
BasiliskWrangler wrote:* Enhanced Alchemy mixer with one-click mixing via a built-in recipe book
Don't go overboard in simplifying Alchemy - players should have to put some effort into getting the benefits involved (especially with imbuing equipment). I thought the Book I system had things just right.
BasiliskWrangler wrote:* Walking via keyboard
* "Health meters" on objects while bashing show exactly how much structural integrity remains
Both welcome additions.
BasiliskWrangler wrote:* Weapons and armor now deteriorate realistically with use (optional). Increasing your weapon and armor skills slows deterioration rate, and the Repair Skill can be used to fix damaged equipment.
* Food and Water now a factor in survival. Long treks into deep dungeons will require planning and preparation. (Optional)
These I have strong reservations about. While "realistic", such options can also involve tedious levels of micro-management and require various restrictions (no scoffing apples or reforging armour during a fight for example). Long dungeon treks already require planning in terms of healing/mana potion stockpiling so adding food and water isn't likely to change things for the better.

As an alternative, how about making resting in dungeons less beneficial in terms of HP/mana recovery? (on the grounds that the character can't forage for food as easily as in the great outdoors). This could be done by either slowing the recovery rate or imposing a lower limit on points recovered (say 70% of current maximum HP/mana). Foraging/Survival skills could be used to offset this thereby encouraging players to return to the surface regularly without requiring excessive amounts of micro-management.
BasiliskWrangler wrote:* Powder kegs can now be picked up and dropped in new locations which makes for strategic game play options.
* Game world objects more dynamic: explosions and fire can affect objects; more objects are usable.
Nice additions - but how about making most items movable? 90% of the time this would have little practical use but you could then include puzzles where players have to use objects in the right way (e.g. moving a chair onto a table in order to access a high-up passageway). The Divine Divinity game has the best example of this feature where barrels and crates can be moved about to reveal hidden objects, herbs can be combined with flasks to make potions, etc. Quests could use this feature (e.g. combine paints with a canvas to create a picture of an escaped criminal to help in tracking him down) as a way of adding challenge and variety (virtually all the quests in Book I were FedEx type).
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