A Valley Without Wind 2 - a full sequel free for existing customers - is coming.

[LaughingThesaurus]

I honestly wouldn't expect you to make so many unique spells that you somehow never had any overlap. That'd probably be less appealing to me, because in the end, I really like the practical stuff. Stuff like fireballs, ice shards, or the basic elemental whips. Without those being in fairly large supply, I just wouldn't enjoy the game. So like, I see that stuff as just basic attacks.
Also graphics and sidegrade-like stats go a long way to differentiating the feel. That's why I always felt that say, energy orb and that basic entropy spell you never had the mana to use were very different and unique.

Interesting thoughts on elemental weakness. Some metroidvania games have pulled that off really well, and I never really felt that AVWW was one of them. I don't know that AVWW is even the kind of game where you actually should really have that kind of thing, truth be told. Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia is a game that does the whole elemental affinity thing really really well... because you were weak and absolutely HAD to hit everything where it hurt to even survive as well as to make it through any fight in any kind of reasonable time.

[LayZboy]

How many of the 200 spells will I use? Probably only the same 2 or 3 cus the rest will suck.

[tigersfan]

How many of the 200 spells will I use? Probably only the same 2 or 3 cus the rest will suck.

Well, no. As you level up, you'll switch to a new set of spells. Each mage class in each level has it's own group of spells.

[x4000]

And in general I think you will find you will use quite a larger number of the spells even within one tier from this game compared to the first one, too.  It's a much more eclectic, interesting, appropriate mix for this style of gameplay.  By losing the pretensions of being an RPG, the spell design was able to be really focused in a metroidvania style, and that really makes a big difference.

To a large extent you will probably find yourself switching between some mage classes just for a change of pace, because each has a unique mix of stuff.

[keith.lamothe]

How many of the 200 spells will I use? Probably only the same 2 or 3 cus the rest will suck.

You could just save yourself the trouble and finish the game before starting it by using that heavily upgraded "Cynicism Cannon" spell you've already got

The game can't and won't be for everyone, naturally, so you may find less frustration looking elsewhere

[LayZboy]

You could just save yourself the trouble and finish the game before starting it by using that heavily upgraded "Cynicism Cannon" spell you've already got

The game can't and won't be for everyone, naturally, so you may find less frustration looking elsewhere

I just find it annoying when games are like "we've got X amount of things and that's cool!", kinda like what borderlands did for both it's games. Don't get me wrong they are both fantastic games, but it always got on my nerves when people mention the "bajillions of guns!" thing when really you only use a select few.

Also I have bene meaning to ask:

Why is it free to people who own AVWW 1? It seems kinda... odd to be offering a full sequel just because you bought the first.

[x4000]

I think it depends greatly on the game.  In Unreal Tournament or Metroid, for instance, not all those weapons are my favorites.  But I still use them all at least some of the time, because they are interesting and powerful in their own way.

In terms of the free to players of the first game, it's free for the reasons mentioned in the OP.  TLDR: to avoid "Left 4 Dead 2" syndrome where people get all upset about it being too close after the first, among other reasons.

[LayZboy]

TLDR: to avoid "Left 4 Dead 2" syndrome where people get all upset about it being too close after the first, among other reasons.

Really? Most people I ask about that game say it's pretty decent and don't really mention the first game. I never played either though so yeah. But aren't you guys changing all the graphics and the Gameplay and things too?

[tigersfan]

TLDR: to avoid "Left 4 Dead 2" syndrome where people get all upset about it being too close after the first, among other reasons.

Really? Most people I ask about that game say it's pretty decent and don't really mention the first game. I never played either though so yeah. But aren't you guys changing all the graphics and the Gameplay and things too?

L4D2 took a TON of flak for that, they really did.

And actually, we've been compared positively more than once outside of this site, with folks saying something to the effect of "I'm glad they are doing that, I don't want another L4D situation"

[Mánagarmr]

I find it so incredibly stupid that they made a L4D2. It should've been an expansion to the first. Having people buy two full games that aren't interconnectible is beyond stupid. Had it been an expansion, it would've been awesome.

[keith.lamothe]

I just find it annoying when games are like "we've got X amount of things and that's cool!", kinda like what borderlands did for both it's games. Don't get me wrong they are both fantastic games, but it always got on my nerves when people mention the "bajillions of guns!" thing when really you only use a select few.

That's a fair complaint.  It's not our intent to say that Valley2 is awesome because of X spell count, we just realized the number was actually 200 and thought that was kinda cool that it was so high. 

In a given game you certainly won't use 200 spells.  You'll have at most 100 available to you throughout the game, iirc (5 out of 10 classes per tier) and realistically you'll only have about 20 available to you at any given time since using a class from a tier lower than the highest available would presumably be gimping yourself pretty hard, and presumably within that tier you'll be most comfortable with one or two classes, bringing the currently-at-your-fingertips amount down to 4-8.  But it's certainly not the same 4 through the whole game, etc.

[Oralordos]

Is there going to be a pre-game lobby of some sort to choose settings and optional plots? Even something simple like choosing the size of the map?

[LaughingThesaurus]

I like to think I already helped address the whole concern with the "are the 200 spells really actually necessary" issue. The problem with Borderlands isn't that you use only a select few guns. It's that, for a lot of the guns, the biggest differences are actually purely statistical. One gun barrel can fire at a high velocity but do low damage and lower the fire rate a bit, like you might want for a sniper rifle... but if the sight doesn't have bonus critical damage on it, then it's useless. All the pieces do are change minor little statistics. But, don't forget. You multiply all of the part combinations by fifty, because every gun can spawn at any level requirement, and the level requirement acts as a 50-level tier system that upgrades the stats little by little. All that changes are the numbers, and I don't think Gearbox would even try to deny that. Bajillions of guns is a marketing term, nothing else.

We're talking probably some thematic spells (As in, ice ball versus fire ball versus energy orb) that have little difference, or purely a status ailment kind of difference. We're also probably getting spells more akin to say the difference between the knife, cross, and axe in Castlevania. They each have their uses, and are excellent in unique situations, and end up governing your playstyle, based on what you have available.
This is something I've always loved about Metroidvania games and in part something I love about Orcs Must Die!. Why do they get so many playthroughs by me? Because, as I gain subweapons or special abilities, I'll try out different ones and see if I can't take a boss down in a different style than I did before. The only reason this works out is because the spells are legitimately different, not because the statistics are slightly different. I'm sensitive to the littlest changes in my play style, and I really like to switch it up now and again. Now, if the spells don't end up working out like that, then I'll be disappointed... but the way Chris, Keith, and co. are making it sound, each spell is going to be at least a little bit different, likened more to subweapons rather than glorified projectiles with different names, numbers, and particle effects.

[x4000]

Is there going to be a pre-game lobby of some sort to choose settings and optional plots? Even something simple like choosing the size of the map?

That's all set by the server admin before the server starts. There are still very few choices to set up at he start of the game; everything else is expressed through gameplay.

[zebramatt]

I like to think I already helped address the whole concern with the "are the 200 spells really actually necessary" issue. The problem with Borderlands isn't that you use only a select few guns. It's that, for a lot of the guns, the biggest differences are actually purely statistical. One gun barrel can fire at a high velocity but do low damage and lower the fire rate a bit, like you might want for a sniper rifle... but if the sight doesn't have bonus critical damage on it, then it's useless. All the pieces do are change minor little statistics. But, don't forget. You multiply all of the part combinations by fifty, because every gun can spawn at any level requirement, and the level requirement acts as a 50-level tier system that upgrades the stats little by little. All that changes are the numbers, and I don't think Gearbox would even try to deny that. Bajillions of guns is a marketing term, nothing else.

Well, although it's definitely expressed, for the sake of the PR, several magnitudes larger than it need be - due to, as you say, purely numerical differences - Borderlands 2 does have a rich tapestry of interesting attributes which are randomly combined and applied to weaponry. I, for example, have a wonderfully powerful magnum-esque pistol with a tiny magazine and rapid reload but which, if I ever happen to manually reload it rather than waiting for my mag to empty, turns into a grenade.