Interview BioWare guy on carrots at GameSpot

[Roqua]

I want to rape you and piss on your face and throw my feces at you, queer.

 

[LlamaGod]

im really exitium

 

[Fez]

It's true. There was a blood test to confirm it and everything.

 

[Rat Keeng]

there were a great deal of negative posting on the totsc board and the bg2 board 'bout the largely useless and empty wilderness maps o' bg1.

Bah, it only sucked because you were forced to wade through the wilderness to get to the next area, that was just retarded. I generally liked the wilderness areas, i also liked how there were houses in Baldur's Gate that you could walk into, and there'd be a family living there, or just some dong who had nothing to do with anything, he just lived there.

I like that, so long as you're not forced through every friggin' area to proceed in the game.

 

[Volourn]

"I like that, so long as you're not forced through every friggin' area to proceed in the game."

You weren't so don't lie. Thank you.

 

[Fez]

It was only the first time you visited you had to do that, then you could just travel to it on the map directly, I think. Vollie or someone else can confirm if that was how it worked.

 

[kris]

It was only the first time you visited you had to do that, then you could just travel to it on the map directly, I think. Vollie or someone else can confirm if that was how it worked.

That's correct.

Personally I liked the BG formula. Of course that is not really viable for a game like Kotor as the scope and means of travel are different. I say yes to optional wilderness areas.

 

[Volourn]

Actually, you could avoid a lot of the extra/optional areas. One example, is Minsc's quest to find his grilfriend D at the gnoll fortress. If you get his quest, you can skip all the wilderness inbetween the town you meet him and the fortress. You'd just likely have more than few random encounters on the trip there. There are somtimes (the Spidercloak Woods) where you *are* forced to go from area to area to reach your destination (the mines there); but that makes sense in that one. Of course, when you leave the mines, you can eaisly skip the woods altogether. And, in all other situations, it's like Fez says.

 

[Gromnir]

"Bah, it only sucked because you were forced to wade through the wilderness to get to the next area, that was just retarded."

many, if not most o' the wilderness maps were completely optional and did not fall along the critical path.

regardless, Gromnir is not stating a personal opinion... am simply telling you what was. there were lots o' complaints 'bout the wilderness maps following bg1, and those complaints were mostly 'bout there being very little to do on each o' those wilderness maps. walking times were very slow and the "kill the ogre" and "find my dog" fed-ex quests were spiced up only rarely by the random seeming bandit/wolf attacks.

whether you or others here like those wilderness maps is beside the point. am just telling you how the mass o' people reacted to 'em following bg1 and totsc.

HA! Good Fun!