Brentra wrote...
M-zero wrote...
We'll just ignore the fact that the difference between a metaphor and a literal statement is apparenly lost on you. Still waiting for you to explain how the option to display detailed stats would affect your gameplay. Let's hear it.
Aside from the fact that implementing and testing such a feature would require a certain expenditure of time that could better be used on more important and interesting projects? How about the fact that if it'll be there, it's be there. If players are presented with an option to know that a fireball hits for 30 damage, and a lightning strike hits for 23 damage, most of them exercise it, whether they like it or not. Which, as I said earlier would ultimately destroy some of the mood and enjoyment of the game for at some of them. Come on, you don't seem to be a newbie. You should know that given a choice between keeping immersion and using every single loophole available, most gamers will choose the latter. It's a part of our "gaming" mentality.
Besides, I'm not the one who should be on the defensive here. I'm still to hear one single good argument why we must see the numerical values of a plate chestpiece in order to be able to compare to a cloth robe. If it were up to me, I'd use random time and damage values for most of spells and force the player to be ready to adapt to the resulting situations. I'm not a big fantasy expert, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't Tolkien who came up with the rule that every single fireball you cast should take exactly 2.75 seconds to charge. I swear, sometimes I think players like you would be much happier playing directly with Excel spreadsheets...
First off: game balancing requires the development team to sit around and number crunch. To do that they need feedback tools that record all of the thigns that happen in a battle. Ergo, the tools probably already exist to record and log feedback in fights, all the team would have to do is make it pretty and accessable.
Second: A character in game should be able to measure the effectiveness of their abilities. If I, as an elf mage, want to know whether my fireball or lightning bolt is more effective then I can cast them against things and observe the destruction. Keep in mind I've been doing spellcasting my entire life surrounded by other people who have been doing that their entire lives. Reason dictates that SOMEONE has quantified these things.
Third: lightning bolt is not a fireball. Even if the damages were identical the method in which the damage is delivered differs. Spell descritions already do a fair job of explaining the delivery method (like chain lightning vs fireball) as well as describing secondary effects (like fireball's knockdown). These differences allow spellcasters to choose the most appropriate spell for a given situation.
It sounds like you want your character to always cast the spells he enjoys casting most. That's swell. My caster, however, is aware that his world is a horrible place full of things that will kill him if he lets his guard down for an instant. He does not have the luxury of choosing to cast spells which are pretty; he must always choose the most effective spell for the job, or the job will impale him and rip off his head. He needs to know which spells will be most effective for different tasks.
If he needs to neutralize a lot of enemies immediately he'll cast sleep. If he needs to neutralize them while dealing damage he'll use blizzard. But if he has a need to simply do as much damage as possible, he needs to know which spell will provide him with that.
If Bioware intended for us to use only the spells that we "liked" most, while not being concerned with damage, then every spell would have the exact effects that every other spell had. Bioware wants us to realize that they're all different, with different strenghts and weaknesses. That being the case we need to know the damage of a spell, otherwise a VERY major stregth/weakness is unavailable.
It appears that you're assuming that just because spell A does less damage than spell B that no one would ever use spell B. Maybe that's just how you play. Personally I like to look at all of the advantages and disadvantages between A and B and choose accordingly.
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