Ladies...
I thought it was clear from day one that the game will have cooldowns, so I don't understand the sudden "oh noes! the cooldowns are in!" cries. Is
Roguey the only one with brains here?
It was clear (I hope) that the game won't use the Vancian system, (...)
I don't think it was. I mean, I definitely was expecting it. I expect even worse yet, to be truthful, which is why I haven't pledged already. But obviously at least a few people were hopeful we would get some kind of system like that.
(...) which isn't a huge loss as it was never implemented well (definitely not in the IE or NWN games where the formula was rest, blast your foes, rinse and repeat). It works like a charm in a controlled environment (PnP) but not in cRPGs where little Johny's feelings must be taken into consideration. Sad but true.
I think it would work pretty fine if the game just took time into consideration. That is all it takes to change rest from a no consequence cheat key into an interesting tactical decision. It isn't so far fetched to think Obsidian would do that. I men, Mask of the Betrayer had that spirit eating mechanic that made time important, and it is natural to think this game will be more anathema to publishers than any Obsidian has produced. Actually having interesting encounters for the night watches would be a great improvement too.
So, if not memorization, then what? A pure mana system a-la Diablo? Sure mana-based casting worked well in the old games like Realms of Arkania where magic was going up slowly, but in modern RPGs (and PE is a modern RPG whether you like it or not) it goes up fast and you get a steady supply of mana potions, should you find the regen rate too slow.
Therefore, the cooldowns are the only options here. While they are mostly associated with shitty MMO and "watch the cooldowns" mini-game, there is no reason to believe that they can't be done well, because in a nutshell, every magic system is designed to restrict spellcasting in some way.
But you just said yourself PE is a modern RPG. Isn't it enough to believe it will be badly done, then?
As Feargus pointed out, DnD's X number of use per day abilities are nothing but very long cooldowns. From this point of view, cooldowns definitely work and they can work very well, as long as they aren't too fast.
Of course, Obsidian will most likely try to make combat actiony, but we knew that from day one when they said RTwP (i.e. cooldowns have nothing to do with it).
I don't really have much of a problem with really long cooldowns trying to simulate vancian casting. I mean, it sounds pretty ridiculous, if you want that kind of casting, just use it.But if you are going to emulate it well using other mechanics, it still won't change my fun. I do think it is a damn shame they try the patchwork solution, rather than trying to take how the older games worked and change the design so what wasn't working started to do so.
But my real fear is that all this hints to a direction I really don't like to this project. Let's take a quick look at BG's combat. In any given fight, you had thousands of ways to approach it. You could have any of more than 100 spells memorized, you could have very different companions, with very different strengths and weakness. Combat there could be a real mixed bag. Some encounters required you did something more or less a certain way, while others could be tackled in many different forms. In a way, combat was an important way you roleplayed in the game. You could make many different choices, and to a certain degree, the game obliged them. PS:T didn't have this nearly as mcuh, but sometimes you would get to see things that happened in the story affect combat, like getting Ignus' spells.
It feels Obsidian is afraid of trying to recreate this for PE. Like, they don't want abilities to be all over the place and crazy like in BG, but instead have everything in their proper place, so the game can follow the proper growth they want it to. In a way, IE felt a lot like it captured the spirit of 2E. Like, Goldbox games had the spirit of 1E well enough. They lacked the sandboxy deal that was present in those days, but nailed a few of the other things, like the class gambling thing they had going (specially when you take characters from one game to another). then, IE did away with a few of the strengths of those games, like the fun dungeon crawling, and the exact combat, but embraced the more "baroque", I guess, spirit of 2E. BG, embraced the early spirit, with the high fantasy stuff, thge lots of options things and so on. PS:T embraced the later one, like the weird settings and such.
What I am trying to say is that IE games are, a lot, about 2E. Not the rules set, itself, but the spirit that accompanied it. I think people are afraid that the spirit PE will embrace will be that of 4E, instead.
