Torment: Tides of Numenera vote decides in favour of turn-based combat

Torment: Tides of Numenera crowdfunding backers have voted for inXile to implement turn-based combat rather than a real-time with pausing system as seen in spiritual precursor Planescape: Torment and many classic CRPGs.

At the end of the poll it opened last month, inXile found its backers were almost perfectly divided on which combat system they preferred, with 48% plumbing for turn-based and 47% opting for real-time with pausing. According to a Kickstarter update, almost 20% of all backers voted, leaving over 2,000 comments.

The developer described the tiny margin as resulting in "essentially a draw", and went with its gut in selecting turn-based combat, like stablemate Wasteland 2.

"We were leaning toward turn-based combat because we believe it’s better suited for the kind of tactical complexity we're looking for through our Crisis system. We believe it’s a stronger fit for bringing narrative elements, including dialogue with NPCs, into hand-crafted combat situations," inXile wrote.

"We have decided to go with turn-based combat. Ultimately, there are no losers here."

The developer said that it has 'not been looking forward to disappointing half of its backers', but said that it found that many of the complaints levelled against turn-based combat are things it believes it can counter with good design.

In the rest of the lengthy update, inXile addressed some concerns raised by fans who voted for real-time with pausing, running the gauntlet from the vague and tetchy ("turn-based can be tedious") to logical sunding but inherently unconvincing ("it should be the same as Planescape: Torment"). Click through for inXile's full reasoning.

Thanks, Darkfield.