JE answered a thread where someone asked why it seemed like he has an obsession to tamper with the Fallout rules/game design and here's JE's respons:<blockquote>I am concerned with all aspects of game design. Most of the questions on this board have revolved around the SPECIAL rule system. If you ask me to look at an equation that reads "2 + 2 = 7" and have me validate it, I'm not going to do it. When my mind works out the math and the practical game effects of something and the common feedback on that subject reinforces my conclusion, it's hard to avoid it and feel like I'm actually doing my job.
Gifted is a really poorly balanced trait. It doesn't compare with any of the other traits in Fallout or Fallout 2. A large number of people have stated that they barely even consider taking any trait other than Gifted, and that they usually play through the game with Gifted unless they "feel bad" about it. That seems like something that should be addressed.
It's my job to insure that people other than ultra power gamers can have a reasonable chance of success when playing our games.
It's interesting when I read commentary about the difficulty of IWD2 vs. IWD, BG, BG2, et al -- because the grouping of responses is far more uniform for IWD2 than the others. The people who complained the most about IWD2 were the powergamers -- not so much because it was hard, but beause it wasn't as easy. The original IWD was easy if you powergamed, and very difficult if you did not.
I had an IWD tester swear up and down that the battle with the Idol in Lower Dorn's Deep was, and I quote, "Impossible." This word was used specifically to describe a battle that K-Pak and I rolled through with little effort. Why? Because we abused 2nd Ed.'s rules to make monstrously powerful, ultra-buffed characters that annihilated everything. The tester in question did not know all of the secret tricks and tips to victory that we did. As a result, he was frustrated out of his mind and loathed that entire section of the game.
Though 2nd Ed. supporters will dispute it, 3E is generally less difficult to abuse than 2nd Ed. This is not to say that 3E cannot be abused -- it certainly can be -- but it generally takes a lot more work and produces a smaller margin of advantage over a "standard" character. Haste doesn't double your attacks, it just adds one. All ability score bonuses don't stack. Secondary and tertiary attacks don't have the same chance to hit as a primary attack. Ability score bonuses advance at a regular rate, every two points. Altogether, this produces a range of benefits and drawbacks that is more predictable and yes, more balanced. Not all players are ultra-keen system analysts. In fact, most of them are not. Unbalanced systems punish the inexperienced heavily and favor powergamers and system analysts to the point where the powergamers breeze on through.
When people say, "focus on the fun", sometimes they seem to forget that they aren't the only people playing this game. Have you ever watched someone who is unfamiliar with AD&D/D&D play an Infinity Engine game other than Torment? It is a sad, sad experience. It's like watching a chess novice play against a brutal opponent who repeatedly crushes them in four to twelve moves, never explains how they were beaten, and jumps up on the table, kicking all the pieces off when checkmate is inevitably reached. Do you think that person is having fun? That's the person who tags Doctor, Gambling, and Outdoorsman with Skilled and Jinxed as traits. Is it their fault that they chose those skills and traits, or is it my fault as a designer for making them suck so badly compared to other skills and traits?
EDIT: Tell you what: you and slowtrain and another person of your choosing can make a party of six 10th level AD&D/D&D characters to go against a party of six AD&D/D&D characters created by me, Sammael, and Karzack. I have a feeling that your definition of "fun" may quickly move away from the necessary inclusion of easily abused rules.</blockquote>It's a long post, but some good points here..
Link: Thread
Gifted is a really poorly balanced trait. It doesn't compare with any of the other traits in Fallout or Fallout 2. A large number of people have stated that they barely even consider taking any trait other than Gifted, and that they usually play through the game with Gifted unless they "feel bad" about it. That seems like something that should be addressed.
It's my job to insure that people other than ultra power gamers can have a reasonable chance of success when playing our games.
It's interesting when I read commentary about the difficulty of IWD2 vs. IWD, BG, BG2, et al -- because the grouping of responses is far more uniform for IWD2 than the others. The people who complained the most about IWD2 were the powergamers -- not so much because it was hard, but beause it wasn't as easy. The original IWD was easy if you powergamed, and very difficult if you did not.
I had an IWD tester swear up and down that the battle with the Idol in Lower Dorn's Deep was, and I quote, "Impossible." This word was used specifically to describe a battle that K-Pak and I rolled through with little effort. Why? Because we abused 2nd Ed.'s rules to make monstrously powerful, ultra-buffed characters that annihilated everything. The tester in question did not know all of the secret tricks and tips to victory that we did. As a result, he was frustrated out of his mind and loathed that entire section of the game.
Though 2nd Ed. supporters will dispute it, 3E is generally less difficult to abuse than 2nd Ed. This is not to say that 3E cannot be abused -- it certainly can be -- but it generally takes a lot more work and produces a smaller margin of advantage over a "standard" character. Haste doesn't double your attacks, it just adds one. All ability score bonuses don't stack. Secondary and tertiary attacks don't have the same chance to hit as a primary attack. Ability score bonuses advance at a regular rate, every two points. Altogether, this produces a range of benefits and drawbacks that is more predictable and yes, more balanced. Not all players are ultra-keen system analysts. In fact, most of them are not. Unbalanced systems punish the inexperienced heavily and favor powergamers and system analysts to the point where the powergamers breeze on through.
When people say, "focus on the fun", sometimes they seem to forget that they aren't the only people playing this game. Have you ever watched someone who is unfamiliar with AD&D/D&D play an Infinity Engine game other than Torment? It is a sad, sad experience. It's like watching a chess novice play against a brutal opponent who repeatedly crushes them in four to twelve moves, never explains how they were beaten, and jumps up on the table, kicking all the pieces off when checkmate is inevitably reached. Do you think that person is having fun? That's the person who tags Doctor, Gambling, and Outdoorsman with Skilled and Jinxed as traits. Is it their fault that they chose those skills and traits, or is it my fault as a designer for making them suck so badly compared to other skills and traits?
EDIT: Tell you what: you and slowtrain and another person of your choosing can make a party of six 10th level AD&D/D&D characters to go against a party of six AD&D/D&D characters created by me, Sammael, and Karzack. I have a feeling that your definition of "fun" may quickly move away from the necessary inclusion of easily abused rules.</blockquote>It's a long post, but some good points here..
Link: Thread
