I already discussed the topic in the commentary of Swen's blog, so I hope it doesn't feel too lazy and impolite if I'm just going to copy-paste what I wrote there:
I can't even overstate how much I liked Original Sin.
That said, there were few issues that undermined its state from "timeless classic" to "barely pretty damn good", in my opinion.
My main gripe was the loot/itemization. I know there are different opinions on the topic but for me fixed, specifically designed items are far more interesting (and rewarding to get) than randomized loot. Not just because it's easier to design unique items which can truly stand out, but also because it makes more manageable to balance them.
I really think that randomized itemization fits terribly a game where encounters are fixed in their design and enemies don't respawn (which is how I like RPGs, by the way). Baldur's Gate 2 should be a better model to copy than Diablo.
Then it comes overall balance. While I loved the combat system, the game was incline to become a bit too easy/exploitable in its second half (or at very least the last third).
Now, few other points that aren't exactly flaws but that just fit my personal taste more. What follows is just my opinion, so no offense if people at Larian don't share my suggestions.
First, I'm not too fond of monsters being tied to levels. Especially when enemies of the same type (i.e zombies) are avaible at different level ranges. I like the D&D phylosophy of monsters being defined mostly by their stats and being reliably constant across an entire game.
Second, while there's nothing particularly wrong with traditional exp, I love what Bloodlines did (and Pillars of Eternity is attempting) with goal-driven exp that reward the player just for accomplishing specific tasks, discouraging grinding or the kill of NPCs just for the sake of it.
Third, while the art style in D:OS was charming, I'm not too much into "deformed" characters. I'd prefer anatomically correct ones with great, fluid animations, no matter how detailed or stylized (in fact, I think I never got over my love for Another World and its super-stylized characters).
More about goal-driven exp:
First, because I don't think it's a counter-intuitive system at all.
Second, because I don't even think "intuitiveness" is something that comes into play; a good exp reward system is (and should be) mostly something that goes on in background, not something you actively monitor and exploit.
Third, because a goal-driven system is *factually* more fair, objective and less exploitable, if the goals are granular enough.
Traditional exp-for-kill-and-for quests leads to abominations like "Find the diplomatic solution to solve the quest, then kill anyone anyway for extra points" (the last Deus EX: Human REvolution was particularly infamous in ths sense, for instance) .
A goal-driven system has a single reward for a certain accomplishment (i.e. reach and loot the final chest in a dungeon, get rid of a certain enemy somehow, gather a specific piece of intel, etc) and no matter how you reach your goal (stealth approach, diplomatic intercession, brute force) the reward is indicatively the same for everyone... Or eventually *reliably* not the same when it's a deliberate choice to reward a specific solution as the best one.
And even more about it and fixed loot.
Thanks for taking your time answering me, Swen.
Now, just a couple of points. Not to argue against you, but just to point my perspective, how I see it.
1) yes, I do think randomized and predefined loot can co-exist and it's surely something that can work better than having just the former (especially when the randomization doesn't change at every single reload encouraging compulsive behavior... ahem).
On the other hand, no matter how well thought and balanced, I don't think randomized loot actually tops the experience of having good predetermined one in any scenario, except maybe if you leave the randomization for the so called "trash loot" (crafting materials, vendor trash, etc). Then again, i also have the feeling that the less "trash loot" you have in these kind of games, the better.
It's not even just a matter of having better, more unique items, but also a matter of pacing.
I like finding special, useful items as a "defining moment" that happen at very specific circumstances. What I don't like about randomized itemization is that you can get a significant upgrade at any given moment *and* yet you can happen to not get one after a relevant accomplishment, which can lead to "meh" scenarios like looting very-similar-yet-marginally-different swords and comparing them constantly to decide which is better and to what degree.
Frankly, I don't think this is a system that will ever beat the pacing of a Baldur's Gate 2 where you get your fairly plane +1 weapon, then at some point a +2, then the outstanding +3 with a special ability tied in that will come with you across the entire second half of the game, more or less.
Of course, the "issue" with fixed itemization is that you can't just let drop anything, you need to think how you want your player to dress the entire party in the end game (no matter what party formation comes) and eventually even offer alternate options aimed to different builds.
2) About goal driven-exp, I think it should be important to stress that, as you are more or less implying yourself, "goal-driven" doesn't necessarily mean "no exp reward for combat". It just means that you have your exp reward for combat when you account that fight as another mini-goal among many. It would just be tied to encounters rather than single kills. Or maybe the goal could be about killing one specific enemy in an encounter setup and what you do with the rest doesn't even matter.
The difference is that in a goal-driven progression system you would get your reward out of the encounter or from avoiding it. In a traditional "exp-for-kills" system you would get the reward out of the diplomatic/stealth option and THEN you would be able to break/exploit the game logic fighting anyway to maximize the reward.
It's... not a big deal, far worse stuff happened in gaming for years... But it's also a bit clumsy, archaic and unnecessary when a more slim and elegant solution existed for years.
Oh, it should also be noted that the first game I mentioned as an example, Vampire Bloodlines, didn't even bother giving actual "exp points". It skipped that passage entirely, rewarding the player directly with "talent points" to spend in the character sheet (of course, it also had a progression system granular enough for this to make sense).
Then of course I would love the day/night cycle IF tied to appropriate NPC dynamic scheduling.
