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1  RPG / The Age of Decadence / Re: Steam keys for those who pre-ordered via BMT on: July 04, 2014, 04:39:05 pm
Please send me a key if you get some. Thanks.
2  RPG / The Shelter - Official Dead State Forum / Re: Hotkeys: Assign all actions a hotkey, in the name of all things holy. on: November 02, 2010, 06:57:15 pm
I've always thought simplifying controls so that you didn't have to learn six dozen hotkeys was the best way to do things.
I don't have to memorize them all, I want to memorize those that I use frequently. Consider a text editor. I don't know all the possible shortcuts in MS Word, but I do know the ones for commands I use on a daily basis and I wouldn't use an editor without those shortcuts, even though I don't make split-second decisions there. :)

My test for a decent interface is to watch someone who has never played before and see if they actually play the game without asking "how do I open my inventory?" or "how do I make my guys attack?"

Agreed, but the interface should not only be easy to understand, but also easy to use.

Hotkeys don't replace on-screen buttons, they do the same function but for different people. A new player should be able to understand what actions exist and how to perform them just by looking at the interface, but an experienced player has already learned them and doesn't need them anymore, so he uses keyboard shortcuts.
Ideally, after the player has gained enough experience the input part of the interface could be switched off, leaving only the game view and the output part of the interface. Now one hand can use the mouse for pointing and clicking creatures, items and objects; the other hand uses the keyboard for everything else, which boils down to changing what happens when mouse is clicked.

Considering that a person "has never played before" only once, I suggest more tests for decent interfaces:
  • Can I use it with both hands? Can I select text using mouse and press ctrl+b, or do I have to do both with any single hand?
  • Does it require three hands? Do I need letters all over keyboard, cursor keys, home, delete and mouse?
  • Is a button not needed? How often will the player actually click the INV button instead of pressing 'I' key? Or copy button instead of ctrl+c?
3  RPG / The Age of Decadence / Re: Let's play AoD! on: March 28, 2008, 09:36:06 pm
I vote for an attempt towards diplomatic solution. Several is more than one, and although Titus has a dagger now, I am not convinced he can defeat 4+ alert enemies. And if he doesn't, the LP is over. Sad

They might know that Daratans killed their messenger, but they wish to get something for the captive, and they will not if they kill whoever is sent to negotiate. Disclosing Titus' allegiance probably isn't that risky. Especially considering that he hardly signed anything.

Which one of the raiders is the leader, the middle one? Holding a hand on a pommel implies that the weapon is sheathed, and they are all armed. What is that in his hand anyway?
By the way, can you say "holding his hand on the sword's pommel" if the sword is never mentioned before?
4  RPG / The Age of Decadence / Re: Day and Night on: March 27, 2008, 09:57:44 pm
There is also the Predator's sight spell, which doesn't really shed light, but helps you locate enemies instead.
Anyway, I used Cat's eyes in combination with Gravedigger's flame, it is brighter that way. I added a torch to that when not in battle.
5  RPG / The Age of Decadence / Re: Skill points on: March 23, 2008, 08:31:48 pm
No luck, no reward for maxing skills, other than increasing the passive traits more.

Hello, Vince, I am looking forward to your game.
I have some questions, though:

How many skill points will an average playthrough yield? And how many an average quest? I am trying to put that 300 point maximum in perspective.

How much impact on that does intelligence have?

What is the difference between, for instance, persuasion of 300 and persuasion of 299? How much does that last point pay off? Or last ten or hundred points? In other words, how common are hard skill checks and how are they distributed?

There is no perks, traits, advantages, disadvantages or anything similar than differentiates one assassin from another? The only difference are skill choices and perhaps some stats?
I see the "Traits and Ranks" box in the character screen, but those have limited effect on gameplay if I remember correctly.
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