Oh wow, that was blistering hehe. Somehow I didn't catch this thread yesterday, but yeah, this is pretty thorough right here, which shouldn't suprise since the OP's threads always are. I guess at least "Panel from Hell" is pretty aptly named, I wonder if they will ever do another?
They legit could have just streamed an armored Sven visiting the forums and reading off thread titles and that probably would have landed with more succesful entertainment value and respect for the stream.
I only hopped back in here real quick since the convo now is weighted with the loaded dice thing. I'm a big fan of dice games, especially A&A and D&D, and I can for sure say that if the general convo about a dice game becomes a convo about pRNG, that is terrible for the broader perception of the game.
I've been through a few permutations of what's happening right now on that front for more than a couple titles, and even if they do manage a hurry up fix, letting the RNG genie out the bottle does lasting dmg over time and questions about the loaded/unloaded dice will linger forever.
I'm surprised they would see it as a solutions to promo. One of the things I think people appreciate about D&D and other games based on dice is the transparency of the mechanics. The frustration and psychological fallout of adopting actual randomness is only offset if there is transparency and confidence in the RNG. Not that most people are going to look under the hood or even want to, but its the idea that the computer is following established rules and not smoke-and-mirroring stuff behind the scenes or arbitrarily breaking its own rules in favor of the player after trying to come off all legit and impartial.
If you never show the dice, then fine, everyone may just assume that the DM is trying to keep us happy by noodling around behind the DM screen and fudging things on the fly (ie the computer isn't really rolling random but just trying to make us think it is, like good enough for government work.) That's BG1.
With enough gibberlings getting chunked and a fast pace, you don't need to see the d20 rolling or believe what they say to have buy in. Since its an RTS action game at that point more-or-less. But the second you actually show dice rolling animations, and showcase it, which is the equivalent of handing the yatzee mug to a player or setting up a dice tower in full view of the gang TT, you really don't want any questions about rounded corners or trick D20s to even cross the mind. Having an easy mode that removes certain check rolls or adds extra bonuses is one thing, but you don't want the whole dice rolling scheme to become Liar's Dice in the players' mind.
I didn't even notice that part of the stream, I must have fast forwarded right through it, so this synopsis was helpful by highlighting that.
Best
Elk
