[Xavier]

We agree less creativity will not be a problem. I don't agree episodic Soulstorm Brew would not be more coffined.

I guess this depends of the size of the episode, right? I like Manco's idea of splitting the game in two (one episode per CD) and I guess if OWI does that it shouldn't be more coffined.

The problem is I think NnT is far from perfect, it's got a fair share of minor and major problems, and I would not be satisfied if they did just what they did to AO in NnT. I find it hard to trust JAW with that feedback thing as well, as the PC version still lacks proper gamepad support with redefinable buttons (I don't buy the "you can go in the ini files and spend half an hour to set them manually", it really seems unprofessional), and the cutscenes still stutter in game (while out game they play smooth).

Also, it runs like crap on Ubuntu.

Yeah, I played it on NnT on Xbox One and had a great experience, so I guess I wasn't exposed to those issues and have a different vision of JAW's work than you do.

That's true, but I find it unredeeming, it's just one thing, and the controls aren't really like they were in AO.

True, using the controls as an example wasn't probably the best idea

I own plenty, most of them are by Telltale, and many (if not all) suffer from it. Especially if I want to disguise my gamepad as X360 one (because of no proper gamepad support) i have to copy the files to each and every episode folder. And that's just gamepad, there are also graphics and subtitles and audio.

I can't even use X360ce disguiser (is that a real word? Well, now it is) with NnT, since it's made in Unity. The lack of rebindable gamepad keys hurt me even more because of that. I had to play it with keyboard on my small 1280x1024 monitor (with black borders for half a screen) instead of my FullHD TV.

Well if OWI goes that route they know this is something they should keep in mind

Past experiences with game designers/publishers taught me never to trust them completely. It's a common theme to exploit that trust.

Yeah I guess you're right, yet OWI never disappointed me in that area.

There’s only two ways I can think for them to split AE up into episodes and have it make sense:

1. Two episodes, with the split at the point where Abe leaves Necrum and travels to Feeco (so: each PS1 disc = one episode).
2. Three episodes: as above, but with Soulstorm Brewery as its own third episode.

If they tried to split it any other way it would become too compartmentalized, or otherwise they would have to stretch each area out to make the episode length reasonable. Can you imagine an entire episode based around each area of AE being fun to play? I can’t.

Like I just said I like the idea of splitting the game in two episodes, one per disc, I think it's quite a good idea

I can see there being some technical issues with splitting the game up like this: as Varrok pointed out each episode would have to be individually configured to the player’s preference, which is annoying but not a big deal; but more importantly they would need to work out how to transfer the Mudokon rescue/kill count across episodes, and how to manage it if those counts change.

I don't think it would be difficult to transfer save files from one episode to an other, episodic games seem to do so all the time.

What I really don’t like about episodic games is being charged twice to get the full story. Unless the pricing is super-reasonable, this just feels like a cynical way to stretch development time and make more money in the process. I’d much rather buy a full experience for a single price, even if it takes longer to develop and costs more than buying an episode.

Basically: I don’t like the idea of making the AE remake episodic. I can see the thought process behind it from the developer’s point of view (they need more development time and more money to make it), but I think they need to find another way to fulfil those requirements.

The issue here is that this would mean asking them of doing twice the work they did for NnT for the same price, I don't think they can afford to ask more for (one piece of) AE than what they asked for NnT. I'd like them to find an other way too but I don't see how they would do it while maintaining the quality.

I’m happy for them to take the same route they did for NnT and develop DLC side-stories and bonus content, but I wouldn’t want them to take out chunks of the original AE and sell them as DLC packages. I could see them selling DLC packs of extra levels set in each area (more Necrum vaults, extra Feeco terminals, more Slig Barracks) and I’d be fine with that.

Hell yeah, I'm all for DLC with bonus content that was not in the original game. I think Alf's escape was an excellent idea.