allowing players to make their own notes on the maps
Yeah, that's a big one.
I just like 3rd person view better despite some of the camera flaws you point out
I realize that many players just prefer 3rd person camera. Still, my arguments have an objective grounds, namely the problems that I described, whereas your only argument is a personal preference. I think Oblivion got it right, when it gave you a choice between 1st and 3rd person camera. Of course, introducing 1st person camera is more complicated than just adding this option. In particular, in DKS, NPCs seem to know more than what they see, for they have no trouble finding you wherever you hide. This makes sense when you (the player) have 3rd-person camera (if you have it, then why wouldn't NPCs have it too?), but not for 1st-person.
blurring effect as you explore the game world in dragon form - a special effect the first time you see it you think 'oh neat' but after that first time it was just a pain to see anything clearly as you explored the game world
I agree with this, but feel less strongly about it than about the 1k strikes effect. I actually enjoyed the blur most of the time (except when trying to pick some fine details on the terrain). I'd argue the game should allow switching this on and off.
it seems pointless to have character stats if the results of combat predominantly depend on your actions
*shrug* higher stats mean higher damage, less uncontrollable errors, more critical chance, more resistance, etc. I can't see how character stats contradict player's melee skills. As to preferences, I personally thoroughly enjoy realistic combat with steel crossing steel, combo attacks, swift flanking moves, realistic arrow flight, etc. Even better when your opponents also employ smart tactics and are able of performing combat maneuvers. Of course, doing it right is the hard part.
The game was originally designed to allow the dragon form to attack ground opponents, but it required too much memory and had too much of a frame rate hit
Ironically, I had no performance problems in the dragon form.
What is wrong with skeleton's healing? Potions and spells can heal your character, and at some point if you get beaten down to 1% of your health there has to be a few broken bones involved somewhere.
LOL, it's not about healing broken bones. It's about the traditional way of how healing works on undead in RPGs: either it doesn't work at all, or it harms undead instead of healing them.
Thanks.
******
Some more blunders I forgot about in the original post:
- no damage when falling from any height
- pretty ridiculous attitude from Damian. Why on earth would the incarnation of evil let the hero live even on their first encounter? Same with other bosses, which first "warn" you by throwing some of their servants at you instead of killing you right away.
- I find the mere idea of "bosses" ridiculous and disruptive to the role play. I think the games should be more inventive than making each chapter end with a boss fight. Solving a tough puzzle? Sure. Concluding a long quest? Sure. Advancing to another stage of the story with a grand cut scene? Sure. Pushing through an enemy territory to an exit? Sure. But please, no boss fights. And PLEASE, no mentioning the word "BOSS" in the game. I do enjoy combat, but I don't like it when the game blindly follows the same tired and very obvious story development pattern.
