You can keep track of your relationship status with the crew

I'm sorry, but you said that "I'll probably just end up using it like everyone else."  I took that to mean that you were basically saying that you wouldn't be able to stop yourself from using it.  Buried in a Codex, it's your decision whether you open that part of the game or not.  If you want to keep track on paper and not use the in-game features that keep track of your "Journey So Far," that option is still very much available to you.  IMO, putting it in the game beats not having it at all; and it certainly beats having the meter right on the player level-up screen... and we know this character meter isn't on that screen because Bioware have showed us that view in trailers. 

I also think it beats putting up notifications every time I talk to someone that says "X approves."  I'd rather just see their reaction on their face or in the tone of what they say back to me.  Of course, we don't know whether having this meter will eliminate those pop-up notices; but if it does, I'm even happier.

I suspect too, if they do enable imports into a second game, having a meter to tell us what each saved character was all about might come in handy when deciding who to import intothe next game.  It was really frustrating when importing a ME1 file into ME2 to not know who it was your character romanced until you saw which picture they put on your desk or to try to remember whether this was the Shepard who was OK with Liara even though he didn't romance her or the one who hated her outright.

Also, keep in mind that PC players can look at stats and manipulate counters in ways that console players cannot.  I play on the console, so the more information the game can give me about the status of the game itself as I go along, the less likely it is that I'll have to start a playtrhough completely over because of losing track of where I was and what I was intending to do in it.

I can appreciate that. Obviously my opinion is ONLY my opinion and that means it could differ vastly from anyone else. My main fear was that, like some other games, it would become a mini-game of spamming people with presents until their bar was in the 'love' zone or something. I have hopes though that Bioware won't simplify it that much. I imagine it'll still be pretty obvious if someone likes you or not. If some people get use out of the relationship bar or whatever they're gonna call it then that's fine too of course, it'll basically just confirm what you think someone is feeling about your character.

You make a very good point about the import thing too. I despised not knowing whether I was good friends with Garrus or not when importing a character. Hopefully the site (the one they're adding like the Dragon Age Keep) will keep good track of everything, even the smaller details.

To be perfectly honest, I don't even remember the gifting system in DAI (not sure if that's a good or bad sign since I completely it twice). All I remember is I mainly built up approval with Cassandra by either making major choices she liked, or doing her loyalty mission. How did gifting work in DAI, again?

Oh! Yeah, I remember I had to get candles and poetry for Cassandra. I thought you meant like an actual gift system. I thought that was just a romance quest, or something along those lines. Fair enough. I wouldn't be opposed to that.

Yeah, that's exactly what I meant by different fundamental approaches.

Could you get into how you go about RPG decision-making?

I think people would be generally upset if they had to, say, keep track of all their skill point allocations on paper just because some players want the game to feel more natural... and natural means we should just remember how skillful we are at something or what specific evolution of a certain power we chose.  What is the cost to kingjuly if the meter is hidden in a codex unless specifically opened?

Yeah, I instantly remembered the gifting system in DA:O which is why I screamed... If it is done in a way that is good story-telling that's fine.

... and you don't have to do it because it's a screen you never have to open. 

Sorry, I'm not buying that putting a entry in a game that can be opened optionally impacts your game at all... and you shouldn't care whether or not I or anyone else might exploit it in their own game either.  There is no "cost" to you that you don't inflict upon yourself due to lack of self-control.

As you said, to avoid "curb-stomping" your enemies (if that's what you want to do), then you can do it by avoiding certain classes, upgrading certain powers, etc.... and you can do that effectively because you can call up a skill tree and see exactly where you're putting your points.  If they eliminated that tree, and you just acquired certain skills because you happened to curb-stomp a certain level of enemy that you could not avoid winding up with a build that would curb-stomp enemies.  So, in accordance with your own argument, the skill tree is an exploit because it allows the player to know the exact combat skill status of the PC in relation to the level of enemies he'll be facing and the type of protection layers they might have.  Do we eliminate the skill tree also, then?

Huh? In what universe do you get to tell me what I find annoying? Sure, I can exercise self-control over exploits. And I do. But it is annoying to have to.

Is this a general position on exploits, or is it limited to companion relationships?



But this would be just plain bad design. The PC should understand his own abilities. And nobody's asking for this design anyway. What's your point? It's looking a little strawmannish as written, but that's probably me missing your point.

In the same universe where you're telling me that the presence of an option arbitrarily results in my exploiting my game.  ... and not having an option to view relationship status, IMO, is plain bad design in a game about relationships.

Let me put it this way... if the game decided you weren't actually using your shotgun enough and decided one day that your skill had gotten rusty enough that you would not be able to carry a shotgun thereafter... wouldn't you be a tad bit upset?  The player uses the skill tree to ensure their skills keep pace with the higher level enemies they encounter in the game.  Even though they may not use them for a length of time, they still want them available later on.  In a game about relationships and role-playing relationships (rather than IRL being in relationships), the players who wish to should be able to direct and control those relationships.  As I said, a hidden meter is far less invasive on immersion that a pop-up notification of approval or disapproval or +5 paragon, or +20 XP, etc.

ryerye17 Greatly Disapproves.

Reasoning like that is what got the Knight Enchanter nerfed in Inquisition.

I get it, we all have opinions and we all have preferences and that's fine and lovely. The question is, who will eventually adjust? From our POV (people who like to see numeric systems), having it there is fine because if you don't want it, don't use. Everyone wins. But if you remove the checking system, then while you win, we don't. We then have to get out a piece of paper and systematically track how much approval is gained.

Same goes for builds. Once again, you don't like it, don't use it. But others obviously do, who will adjust?