So, here some more things we wanted to hear about, because it was highly requested, commented about, expected, etc, but we didn't learn anything about during the PFH.
UI, QoL and usability.- Improvement to the party controls (as Tuco mentionned), or to the movement for a single character.
- Improvement to the camera.
(Unless they thought it just wasn't worth showcasing, because having a comfortable, convenient and usable camera in a 3D game is kind of baseline. Nothing to brag about. It just wasn't there in the EA version, because it wasn't there at the start, and then it would have been a hassle to retro-implement it on the EA build, and it's not like there was any need to test if obviously-better is actually better.) - Improvement to the looting-inventoring-trading UI.
Notably, no mention of the much-requested ability to select multiple items.
No mention of a Loot-All-Around function (as mentioned by neprostoman)
Also, no mention of keyrings and similar dedicated containers (potion cases, scoll cases, gem pouches, etc).
No mention of the trading UI/mechanics accounting for the fact that we are a party (and. e.g., automatically using the best Charisma of the group, etc). - Indications that the character creation screen, and the rest of the game, will be better at giving newbies the info they need.
In particular, no mention of any "at higher level" preview at character creation, despite the character creator and some of its new features having been featured during the PFH (all nice features, btw, but that's not the point here). - Better UI for combat.
This would include Opportunity Attack indicators that are more visible.
Or an AoE visualiser that give correct information (currently, there is a discrepancy between the creatures that the AoE visualiser shows will be affected, and the creatures that actually get affected by a spell). - Possibility to have flexible weapon sets.
Like, 2 melee sets, or 2 ranged weapons sets. Or 1-handed ranged weapon and shield. Or dashing Rapier and Hand-Crossbow.
Mechanics and rules- Conversations that would account for the fact that we are a party (as Tuco mentioned).
- Ambushes made easier to execute, and Start Of Combat dragging all characters around in Turn-Based Mode.
In fact, Larian showcased that their "cool system" of allowing Out-Of-Combat character to keep moving in Continuous Time Mode is very much staying. - Actual and reasonable mechanics, or set of mechanic, for Steath.
- Indication that it will be possible (as an option, not necessarily by default), to play with a more balanced ruleset for combat.
This includes Shove, Hide, etc. - News about how Long Rest will be handled.
Will they stick to the Camp Supplies mechanics, and that's all ? Will there be No-Long-Rest-Here zones, as was described by Nick Pechenin prior to the start of EA ? Will Long Resting have narrativo-immersiono-tactical consequences (e.g. you Long Rest immediately after killing Gut, and the alert level in the Goblins' Camp increases, and Dror and Minthara have more guards around them) ?
Story, immersion, narrative elements.- Information about how Long Rests, Camp Scenes, and Relationships with Companions will be tied (or rather, untied).
- Distances. (Is the Druid Grove still a 5 minutes walk from the Goblin Camp ?)
- Passage of time. (Is the Inn burning forever, and still burning even if you visit it a week after passing through the Goblin Camp celebrating the raid ?)
Customisation and cosmetic options.- Possibility to make Tieflings without tail ?
- Deity for all characters (not just Paladins, and Clerics) ?
As I'm listing up all this on the fly, I'm sure I forgot many things.
I'm quite aware that, given the long list of recurrent feedback that we never heard any news about, it would certainly have been hard for Larian to give updates about all the frequently-discussed feedback topics.
Now, as I mentioned here and there in my post (and it was also clear in the opening post, and should be plain clear to any one with common logic), just because Larian didn't showcase something during the PFH, or just because we didn't get to spot that thing during the PFH, doesn't mean a given feature was
not improved. Maybe it's just that Larian didn't feel it was important enough to showcase. And maybe it just didn't happen to show up on screen.
But Tuco's thread idea was to summarise various features that we had requested, expected, etc, and didn't show up
in the Panel From Hell.
____
PS : As I'm thinking about the short version take-away from this PFH, I feel that was was shown was, in a large majority, related to story / narrative content / reactivity. With a minor extent of cosmetic / customisation. We didn't learn much in terms of UI, mechanics or more "technical" aspects (e.g. Verticality-Fly-Spider Climb, Weather effects, Day/Night Cycle, etc).
