by Tiavals » Fri Aug 23, 2013 10:19 pm
One of the more exciting things about KOTC 2 is that there's a vast amount of spells and weapons. This is because variety creates gameplay. I don't care much about what the graphics(icons and such) the weapons have(might as well use the same graphic for all swords(broadsword, bastard sword, scimitar, short swords,e tc), so long as the mechanical effects are different. The more different spells and weapons are in the game, the better the game is(provided they all are balanced and have a point). I hate games that just have generic weapons and spells. Weapons like Ranseur and Spiked Gauntlets are the reason why I'm so excited about KOTC2, as are spells like Solid Fog, Mass Suppress Sword, Heat and Freeze Armor and Gust of Wind. If all the spells were like the Cleric spells, I would be extremely disappointed, and if the weapon choices were simple and few(like in KOTC1), I would be disappointed. The ability to customize my characters and plans, and execute them with a massive variety of feats and spells that come from a thousand different party configurations, is the true reason why KOTC2 will triumph one day. Sure, KOTC1 was nice, but it was more of a proof of concept that games like it still hold the hearts of some people. KOTC2 should be the same idea, but expanded in every possible way(which is the plan from what I have seen). The ability to craft your own items was an important part of the process, but it had it's downsides so I understand why it will be cut out.
The difference with BG and Diablo is that everything in their weapons is purely damage related. In KOTC2, you can disarm, sunder, trip, grapple, have reach, set against charge, etc. So many different ways to do things, not just hitting them on the head with a club. With enchantments, this becomes even more complex. I don't think anything has been said about KOTC2 enchantments, so I'll assume they're just the same as in KOTC1. So no Bane, Dancing, Defending, Ghost Touch or Spell Storing.
But there's still Brilliant Energy, Disruption, Wounding and alignment and elemental damage, as well stuff like Blinding. Thus, the applicability of a Ranseur that's Blinding and Brilliant Energy is vastly different from a Greatsword that's Holy and Flaming. In BG, the only difference is the damage. Here, there are huge tactical considerations. A more apt comparison would be with Temple of Elemental Evil.
If you must have icons, you could do them like so: Icon(like sword) means the general broad style, then a letter or two(such as G for greatsword, S for shortsword, etc), and the background of the icon denoting the material(silver for mithril, purple for adamantium, etc). Saves the effort for pointless icons, yet makes it instantly obvious what weapon you're dealing with.
That said, I'd prefer just text. Makes it instantly obvious what you're dealing with, and the only purpose of weapons is the mechanical customization as you fiddle around your characters to try to make the sort of party you want. If the weapons were visible on the characters like most high budget games, it'd be different of course, but since the characters are just icons(or at least that is my recollection of how it'll be done?), it's just a waste to have the weapons have graphics when text is enough. This is especially true since the weapons themselves are customizable, you can tell from a single glance that a weapon is Silver Greatword of Holy Destruction +3 if it's done with text, if it's an icon it'll be impossible to deduce. And if you have several greatswords in your inventory, it'll be crazy, multiplied by several party members. Of course, if there are only static items without player forging, the problem with multiple weapons of the same type will probably not exist, as the player will just use the best weapon they have found instead of fiddling with several specifically built weapons. In games like Diablo or BG, you only ever use one weapon at a time, because the differences they have are purely power-related(which lets you deal the most damage?). For a tactical game like KOTC, you may have a need for a Blinding weapon, or a Holy weapon, or Flaming, or Wounding weapon, or a simple big enchantment weapon. Each tool for a specific situation(low fort save enemy that hits hard to blind, evil undead with huge DR, trolls or webs, high HD foes or low CON foes, etc) and in a case like that, you'd have all of them in your inventory, waiting for the right situation. In a case like this, you must have the ability to quickly and efficiently determine which is which, or you'll grow frustrated with switching weapons each battle. But again, if there's no forging, you might ever just have one weapon which is obviously better than the rest which you'd have sold as useless.
The same applies for spells as well, although fiddling around with a spellbook that is icon based is more efficient for the player, since spells can be discerned from each other much more easily with icons than names, and the icon itself will give a hint of what the spell did if you have forgotten. Not to mention you'll fiddle around the spellbook much more than the inventory, so the spellbook has a bigger priority in being pleasant to the eye. Plus with icons of the same size and shape, the arrangement and organization of the spellbook itself will be much more logical, than if they were just text blocks of varying sizes.
With the change of the graphics from the nostalgic style to the efficient style, you might as well ditch the weapon graphics. KOTC2 will never win any prizes for it's graphics anyway, so you should focus on what matters.
PS: BG would have been a masterpiece even if the only weapon in the game was a club and nothing else. The combat system is not what made it good, it was enough that it was serviceable. For KOTC2, the combat system is what can make it into a masterpiece.