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Hello Winterwolves.

First of all, I must say that I find SOTW a really enjoyable game (and Winterwolves RPG games in general). As someome wrote somewhere else on this forum I enjoyed SOTW more than Dragon Age Inquisition because of its much greater emphasis on the story compared to too much grind/combat to my taste of DAI and also because of the turn-based (strategic) combat instead of action oriented as the former I like _lot_ more.

Winterwolves RPG games are probably the closest to what I love on Bioware production and thus I simply started to care about them to the point I even (as lazy as I am ) registered here to write this post.

But why this introduction? Because I'm going to actually write what I did _not_ like so much in SOTW and I'm scared my post could be misunderstood as a heavy criticism. It is NOT! Just like Planet Stronghold, SOTW was actually excellent game and I write this in a hope my points will help to make future ones even better (at least for me ) Sadly I didn't play Loren (and here goes my first complaint ) because I always want to play female sorceressess or at least sorceress-like characters (so Psionic in PS or well... druid in SOTW is ok) and Loren didn't offer that. So please, please, never do such a nasty thing again, there are wanna-be-witches among us too, just ask Rowinda. And that also brings me to my "second point" that some of my "complaints" are actually rather personal wishes than a generic criticism. But anyway, enough of this babbling, here we go.

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a) While SOTW is awesome at decently big story branches based on decisions I make (better than Bioware in fact - and *huge* kudos for that) it fails completely at making me feel the world recognizes who I am. That means no dialogue line is ever altered based on my class, only very few on gender (practically just the romance ones) and literally none on what I did in the past. What is perhaps the biggest complaint - see below:

b) The game offers several moral decisions like if to kill or spare someone but no alteration of my character and how the world sees me after such choice(s). Despite behaving cold-heartly by decisions, Althea remains good elf in the non-controllable story lines (yes I prefer to rp evil characters ) and the world around continues to see her like that. In other words while I can shape the world around me and what my group does I cannot shape my character! It's personality is hard-coded to a good, rather enthusiastic elf.

c) This is personal request (and some might disagree). However I simply love being a respected hero in games. Althea is no doubt an incredible kick-ass after all what she did in SOTW and a natural no-nonsense leader. Sadly - the game never gives her any credit for that. Not from her partners which otherwise unquestionably obey her, neither the world around. Simply put - rpg is about heroes so give us (me) more feeling the world sees our protagonist as a hero doing amazing feats (especially since they do ). Commander Shepard can be a good example.

d) Romance in SOTW. Don't get me wrong - it was very well made. In fact a lot better than in most of Bioware games. I also liked that not all characters were romanceable though you could try to romance them. It gives the necessary thrill of not 100% guaranteed success. What I did not like though was what happened after I successfully romanced my partner (Chalassa). And that means - nothing. Essentially when I finally romanced her she completely disappeared from my life (even from the swiming pool events). There were no romance specific cut-scenes anymore, no special text lines between her and Althea on missions or any remarks by companions. Nothing until the very end of the game.

So - those are the main points I guess, otherwise it was a very well created game and thanks a lot for making it for us.

Yg.

No worries about being blunt, it's what makes my games better
First of all - if you haven't player Loren YOU SHOULD! Really just try the demo! It's by far my most well-received RPG / game in general, so even if you can't play as sorceress... try it

Then about your point, some as you said are personal preferences, so while I can't say will implement them all, some are interesting. In Loren for example there are very different lines based not just on your class but on what you say. If you always joke, your character will start joking, and others as well. And so on.

Regarding being a respected hero, yes that will happen for example in Loren 2, however many RPGs offers that, so I wanted to try something different. PS1 does this, and even some next RPG being worked right now do it. PSCD as well.

About your point d, it was because focusing so much on the gameplay I had to sacrifice something. Also the game was really written FAST by Taleweaver, because I wanted to have a RPG out between the wait for Loren 2. But yes, you don't have to fear about that for future games, will focus a lot on the relationships. Actually if you play the SOTW DLC you'll be pleased to see several scenes that changes thorough the story based on who you romanced in the main story

"If you haven't player Loren YOU SHOULD"

I probably will (as a rogue), but not being able to be a caster is quite a disappointment - at least to me. I love the contrast of a vulnerable feminine body frame and yet huge power inside - what a sorceress (and her variants) covers perfectly. But I understand every new class makes it more difficult for a developer to cover all situations, especially if he wants to also have class-based dialogs/events and most people probably don't care that much. Still, the basic holy rpg trinity (warrior, thief, mage) should be in imho every true rpg.

"some as you said are personal preferences, so while I can't say will implement them all"

Of course! But I can still do some little personal lobbing, can't I?

"Regarding being a respected hero...PS1 does this"

Yes, PS1 surely does it I loved that game (up to the point I didn't even wrote a bickering post, what is quite an achievement for any developer ). I'll surely buy PS2!

"About your point d, it was because focusing so much on the gameplay I had to sacrifice something"

Fair enough. But I rather pointed it out for the case it was overlooked.

Anyway thanks for quick answer and I'm surely looking forward to play more games from you.

You can't play an evil caster in Loren...but you can play alongside one! I think Chambara is right up your alley.

Troyen wrote:You can't play an evil caster in Loren...but you can play alongside one! I think Chambara is right up your alley.

With the exception she is not evil.

Just a clarification, I don't necesarilly play "evil" characters, rather I'd say - ruthless. Meaning, they "get the job done", no matter the cost and show little to none mercy. At any rate I think if the game offers moral choices - what is imho extremely important feature for enjoyment, it's something what "roleplay" is about, it should also adapt the main protagonist to those choices. It's (a lot) more work, sure, but that's what makes strong story-oriented rpgs so wonderful. It's that - be "what you want to be, read the story about exactly the hero you want to be". Same goes for the ability to be a caster of course which should go beyond just the ability to cast spells in combat. The world in story lines should again recognize you as one and act accordingly (and same for other classes as well of course). Simply put - "Please, no volcanos (fireballs), Althea!"