Fable II and Magic use

[SPBTooL]

There is a new Fable II video taken from TGS08 that is the most close up showing of magic use I've seen so far.

It looks as if they are making it harder to be a really powerful magic user even with out using a mana system. I also like how the area effect indicator would morph to the targeted form.

EDIT: Here is another one just released that goes over the abilities.

Glad to see that even when they had their level boosted up they still had a hard time in the first vid.
I would have liked to see the strength and skill abilities be a tad deeper.
Weapon augments are back and there are a shitload of weapons.

[KingGorilla]

Fuck the "this magic system looks pants" noise. How about the glowing trail of breadcrumbs? "You are as thick as an obese dutch child with a sweet tooth, so we need to make sure you can find your way home" at best, or "Our level design is so horrible that Rare looks like geniuses by comparison."

As far as that system, looks similar to the charge up for Ninja Gaiden.

[SPBTooL]

Originally Posted by KingGorilla

Fuck the "this magic system looks pants" noise. How about the glowing trail of breadcrumbs? "You are as thick as an obese dutch child with a sweet tooth, so we need to make sure you can find your way home" at best, or "Our level design is so horrible that Rare looks like geniuses by comparison."

How about; The world is so big and we don't want you to get lost. Or, we don't want a radar onscreen nor a separate screen for a map. Oh, and did we mention you can turn the trail off?

[KingGorilla]

Can't I just be inflammatory? I like luminescent breadcrumbs, quest text in RPGs sucks for finding the shit you need to do. Try playing WoW without and then with Quest Helper.

[Widgetcraft]

Originally Posted by SPBTooL

How about; The world is so big and we don't want you to get lost. Or, we don't want a radar onscreen nor a separate screen for a map. Oh, and did we mention you can turn the trail off?

Need moar attitude.

[Virtual Machine]

Originally Posted by KingGorilla

Can't I just be inflammatory?

No! Goddamit!

[SPBTooL]

Originally Posted by KingGorilla

Can't I just be inflammatory? I like luminescent breadcrumbs, quest text in RPGs sucks for finding the shit you need to do. Try playing WoW without and then with Quest Helper.

Sure you can. I was just offering some more realistic options.
The trail is not as much of an interface issue as the bright glow around targeted creatures. I hope that can be turned down or off like the trail can.

[Gerbs]

Looks pretty interesting, does that mean I can have Inferno or whatever that spell was in the first vid on the first slot of my magic? Allowing me to fire off weaker but faster blasts. Hopefully the combat system and character building is interesting enough for a few playthroughs.

[inmostlight]

Hmm, looks like it could be a neat magic system. I just hope that this time around it doesn't make me look like an old man after only a few hours of play.

[Xerxes]

Magic and Abilities were my favorite part of the first game.

[Karak]

Originally Posted by Xerxes

Magic and Abilities were my favorite part of the first game.

MIne as well. Played the first time as a warrior and had a blast but once you go Black Magic you never go back.

[itchyeyes]

I like the charging mechanism. It looks as if it adds quite a bit of depth and trade-off to what spells you want to use and how powerful you want them to be. Given how difficult it was for them to get to level 5 though, hopefully a level 5 spell will be pretty decimating.

[Iron Past]

Oh, that looks really cool. I don't know if this makes me shallow or something, but I love that armor rating isn't tied to your clothes. Now I can wear whatever the hell I want and not worry about stats.

[SPBTooL]

Originally Posted by inmostlight

Hmm, looks like it could be a neat magic system. I just hope that this time around it doesn't make me look like an old man after only a few hours of play.

It is not supposed to. Aging is tied to the main story and time. Magic use will have little to no effect on age this time.

Originally Posted by itchyeyes

I like the charging mechanism. It looks as if it adds quite a bit of depth and trade-off to what spells you want to use and how powerful you want them to be. Given how difficult it was for them to get to level 5 though, hopefully a level 5 spell will be pretty decimating.

Choosing the spells to upgrade might be hard too. It looks as if a spell has to be the same level as the spot you want to put it in. Then I think that if you have a level 5 spell in slot one it will only do the level one version of that spell.

Originally Posted by Iron Past

Oh, that looks really cool. I don't know if this makes me shallow or something, but I love that armor rating isn't tied to your clothes. Now I can wear whatever the hell I want and not worry about stats.

I hope that the clothing can be augmented too.

[Xerxes]

Originally Posted by Karak

MIne as well. Played the first time as a warrior and had a blast but once you go Black Magic you never go back.

I love being a Battle Mage in any game.

[Deadend]

that looks fun!

[KingGorilla]

I played most of 1 as a Rogue style. The auto aiming made it ridiculously easy to take down large groups from a distance. And when you got those Multi-Arrows, so that you were like a Gundamn firing in the climax of a show, it got easier.

[Kryopsis]

Originally Posted by KingGorilla

I played most of 1 as a Rogue style. The auto aiming made it ridiculously easy to take down large groups from a distance. And when you got those Multi-Arrows, so that you were like a Gundamn firing in the climax of a show, it got easier.

Oh, that was an incredibly overpowered mechanic. Two and a half of these brought down the last boss of The Lost Chapter. Not to mention that you could stack potions like a mad alchemist and you had a limit of four resurrection thingies. The funny thing is that I didn't even use any of the aforementioned items. The game was definitely way too easy.

[johnperkins21]

Originally Posted by KingGorilla

Fuck the "this magic system looks pants" noise. How about the glowing trail of breadcrumbs? "You are as thick as an obese dutch child with a sweet tooth, so we need to make sure you can find your way home" at best, or "Our level design is so horrible that Rare looks like geniuses by comparison."

As far as that system, looks similar to the charge up for Ninja Gaiden.

I thought I read part of the reason for that was to encourage exploration. So you go off on a side quest, looking for treasure or whatever, and the breadcrumbs always lead you back to where you're supposed to go.

I know that sometimes I'll miss a side quest or some exploring because I don't want to have to deal with finding my way back. I'm not very good at remembering exactly where I've been and what I need to do next. It's killing me in Mass Effect.

[KingGorilla]

That can be solved by a good map and wuest tracking system. Oblivion and the Witcher do not have a trail like that, not even an arror with WoW Quest helper or the silver thread on the map like Guild Wars. You can explore the shit out of Cyrodil or Temeria without getting lost, just pop open that journal and see a shiny peg on the map.

I am not anti-on screen help. But when I have seen that degree of help implimented, it stems from a major flaw that the designers overlooked. Perfect Dark just had horrid level design without any organic clues to progress you forward, as you searched for keys and such. Bioshock only needed a flashlight mechanic and you would not have needed objects to flash on you, or that arrow.