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Hey Everyone! I was trading emails with Azdeus and he said I should come see you guys. It has been a while hasn't it. The beginning of last year I think. I didn't even realize how long until I signed in and couldn't remember my password. I really hope all you fine folks and your families are doing well! 2022 and the first half of 2023 were a pretty rough time for me. I was dealing with lymphoma but with the help of early detection, some really great doctors and medical folks I'm almost as good as ever. Please don't ignore symptoms. If you feel off please see a doctor. After that experience I decided to retire. Much earlier than I was planning but life is beautiful, and short. It's meant to be enjoyed. Gwen (her real name) and I are still together and doing well. I don't know why I didn't want to use her real name online. It probably made sense to me at the time. I am so lucky to have met her. She is semi-retired as well and we are currently wrapping up a road trip to visit all the national parks in New Mexico. Eventually we will visit all the US & Canada national parks. 21 down, 90 to go. And forever to do it. Bri is graduating from college next week and we will be there to cheer for her. She is an amazing young lady with a bright future. So proud of her. I made peace with my brother I'm happy to say. I never really understood what the resentment was about but dealing with a serious illness changes your perspective on things. That's pretty much it. I do miss talking to you guys. After a career in tech I'm doing retirement decidedly low tech. I barely even use the internet anymore. I hope all of you are happy and healthy.

Since this is a "history" post, I'll start with the oldest stuff first and work my way towards the current time, here and now on the Obsidian boards I often deny having owned a gaming console and that is technically correct. But... long unrelated story, I grew up with relatives who were "junkies" (heroin addicts) and they would often rob stores and homes for things to sell for mere pittances at times to finance their addiction. One day, the oldest showed up at my parents place (my mother, for reasons, had become their legal guardian) with a Pong gaming console they had stolen somewhere and no fence would take it off their hands. The original Pong console was among my first video gaming experience in the mid 70's. It was my parents though, not mine. (I would have loved to put an image of the console here, but I honestly do not remember what it looked like 50 years ago) Other sources of video gaming at the time was the arcade machines a various convenience stores and grill bars. Some were electronic, some were part mechanical, part electronic. I particularly remember a "Duck Hunt" game, where several layers of glass were used to create the sense of depth and a single glass plate was used to reflect a flying duck from a TV screen hidden out of sight. The shotgun was mounted to a stick that was effectively a big joystick. No fancy electronics at all. Other places had more modern games like Galaxy Invaders... I spent a fortune in coins on those machines. Jump forwards almost a decade, 1983 I was convinced I was going to end up studying biology after high school... until my dad came home with three page advertising pamphlet for the Commodore 64. It was so colourful and impressive looking. It used an elephant to symbolize the humongous memory it had (even though only 38k turned out to be available to the user in the end). I managed to raise the money for my machine of dreams as well as the associated tape recorder and two games. A game on tape called "Beach Head" and a cartridge called "International Soccer". First two games I ever bought with my own money. Never mind that programming the C64 got me hooked on software development and an impromptu career change, the games changed my life too, spending much of my free time playing games on the old "Bread Box" (Danish nick name for the C64). US Gold was a major publisher int he 80's and the football game? It took almost 10 years before a better game of its kind came out. Another decade later I raised the money for a Commodore Amiga 4000 and a hard drive. Gaming now became almost an art form. Bear in mind, in the early 90's, the Amiga completely outperformed contemporary desktop PC's, with the latters CGA graphics and built in tweeter for sound. Never mind the operating system, where MS only caught up with Windows 8 or thereabouts. But the games... sooo many, soo good. On the C64, I developed a love for strategy games and role playing games. SSI gold games, the Ultimas etc. were not just nostalgia, they were state of the art as each individual title came out. So many strategy games too, it was like paradise for a gamer like me. The Amiga added better graphics and real music to many titles. And they just kept coming for the next decade. This is where I almost get to the point... (skipping a list featuring literally a decade and hundreds of Amiga games here) Some of the newer PC games in the late 1990’s looked interesting and I could run them on a PC Emulator. One title in particular stunned with its atmosphere (because I'm a child of the Cold War and the end of the worlds was always present), the demo for a game called "Fallout" had me completely hooked. I bought the full game and... it didn't want to run on my PC emulator (even though the official demo did). Life as a PC gamer Building myself a PC, my first gaming experiences on it was Interplay’s Fallout. More games followed and Fallout together with the first Tomb Raider were my standout memories from the late 90's. Then I ran into a game from the now established Black Isle Studio called Baldurs Gate 2 (yes, I missed the first one) and I spent the next 12 months, day and night playing the heck out of that game, to the detriment of the rest of my life pretty much. Fallout 2 happened, I ended up buying Baldurs Gate 1 too, completing it a few times, nothing like the time I invested in BG2 though. Still, I took note of the name Bioware as well as Black Isle. That thing called Obsidian I was active on the internet too at the time, but I had little interest in this thing called "Forums" (some newfangled sofware that was probably going to die out in a year or two, so why bother?). Usenet was where things happened and many discussion groups (especially the alt groups like alt.games.interplay) were completely unmoderated. Calling it the wild west is being nice to it. Usenet died the slow death of entropy and forums stayed. By the time I had convinced myself to join the Interplay forums, Interplay de facto folded. At least, it ceased to exist as the Interplay I knew. That's when I heard about this "successor company" called Obsidian Entertainment which had plans for opening up a forum. Still not the fastest tool in the shed, it took me a fortnight to sign up. Despite being somewhat of a troll at times and getting into fistfights at times, I ended up as a moderator. Much to my own surprise honestly. I suppose the thinking at the time was something along the lines of using a troll to catch a troll. The discussion subject at the time was "Project Delaware", resulting on all sorts of crazy speculations and wishful thinking (and doom saying). Knights of the Old Republic 2 arrived and... good game with awful ending is the best way I can summarize it. An understatement of course, as the ending was completely missing for various reason... Neverwinter Nights 2 followed and was slightly less buggy the Kotor2 had been, but not flawless. The DLC's however... Mask of the Betrayer in particular brings back fond memories of a game I might not otherwise remember. The Sequel Maker Obsidian was developing a reputation of making buggy sequels to Bioware games that were all 132% perfect... at least if you were to believe the most critical voices. Of course, there is a lot more to how such thing happen, but gamers are a weird bunch, often prone to tunnel vision and confirmation bias, congregating towards echo chambers. Especially when it comes to likes and dislikes of games. Fallout New Vegas managed the impossible, convince a lot of people that Obsidian could actually make great games, that weren't necessarily direct sequels to existing games. It is probably also the only Obsidian game I feel like coming back to again and again, despite it's age. I know Outer Worlds offers a lot corporate humour and a feeling of living in dystopia, but something about the post nuclear setting just strikes a nerve because of my age (growing up during the cold war, expecting the end of the world every day). Playing through scenarios where humanity survives said war feels good I suppose? Still here Obsidian is no longer known in the business as the "buggy sequel" maker, but as a world builder, story creator and the maker of interesting characters. Like Obsidian, I’m still here. Still enjoying video games 40+ years later, still having a preference for crpg's and turn based strategy games. There are many more Obsidian games I could mention (take a look at the forum!) and would have loved to spend time on, but those are the ones that stuck out for me... -Gorth

@melkathi@majestic@Hurlshort@LadyCrimson I just got word today from Guard Dog that he is well now, and really happy together with Gail! And he sends his best wishes to y'all!

Hello friends, In case you have not seen the new feature for the community, it's below. I hope this thread will be used to discuss community member's blogs and explore ideas for the new adventure for our community!

Hey folks! @Boeroer and I recorded this discussion on 5 builds he made for Deadfire. I thought y'all might be interested! https://youtu.be/nEdI3x8qxGM

I think its a new addition, but Alpha Protocol is available on Gog: https://www.gog.com/en/game/alpha_protocol

My passion project sees the light of day! What can you do with it? Create builds! Export/import them! Make a build, press Summarize, then use one of the copy buttons below. Look at what abilities do! Mouse over icons on desktop; press icons on mobile/tablet. I don't have any inside info - the data is from fansites and videos - so there are some assumptions behind it that may not be correct: You get one point per level, starting at 2. There are no bonus skill points. The level cap is 25. This I'm pretty sure of, because there is no level 25 tier (which there should be if the cap were 30 or higher), but Iron Fists rank 4 requires level 25. You don't have to spend ability points as soon as you get them. You can hoard them. You can wait until you're level 20 and then learn all level 20 abilities at once. Therefore, the calculator lets you skip levels/hoard points if you turn off strict mode. As a result of these assumptions, there is a maximum of 24 points you can spend in my calculator. This may very well be wrong, so don't take it as gospel. I would love to know if you know/think differently! I have faithfully copied the data as written, other than fixing a few typos here and there, but the following are probably not correct: Rank 2 Corrosive Siphon can permastun an enemy. Freezing Pillar, Blackbow and Pull of Eora can be learned without finding them in a grimoire. These are the only spells that require Grimoire Mastery without having to be learned from a grimoire. I expect they do in fact need to be learned from a grimoire. Sniper is 25% for all ranks. Looking at other passives that are 25% at rank 1, it's probably supposed to be 25%/40%/50% or 25%/35%/40%. And now for some questions you may have about the tool... I want to make a max level build and/or not worry about build order. Turn off strict mode. I exported, but didn't get the build order I had in mind. When you play around and reduce skill levels while in strict mode, the calculator will try to keep your build intact and valid rather than force you to start over, but it cannot always figure out the order when you do this. If you want to be sure it gets the order right, start over and only increase skills to get your build. If you didn't lower any skills while building and the order still ended up wrong, do let me know. I can't increase this skill, why? You've spent all 24 points, the skill has no more ranks, you're missing a pre-requisite (Grimoire Mastery or Unbreakable), or you're in strict mode and taking the skill would cause you to skip levels. I can't lower this skill, why? It's a pre-requisite (Grimoire Mastery or Unbreakable) for a skill you still have. Get rid of that skill first. I have an issue with the calculator. What should I do? Post it here! I have a suggestion for the calculator. What should I do? Post it here! I have made a build that I want to talk about. What should I do? Post it! But not here. Give your build the space it deserves with its own thread!

"Where did it start? How did it start? These are questions I asked myself when I made this post. The question being “my love of fantasy and fantasy RPG PC games? And why not Sci-fi, why fantasy as my favourite genre?" For me it was the late 1970’s, I was young and don’t remember much but I do remember my dad reading to us Enid Blyton’s “The Magic Faraway Tree” and that’s where it started. I was absolutely enthralled and mesmerized by this idea of a tree and portals that led to incredible and fantastic lands. You never knew what creatures they were going to meet or what place they were going to discover and my love for fantasy only grew from there. In the 1980s I also started collecting comics with Conan being my favourite and to this day I still RP my characters in RPG on Conan’s personality and world views. Basically, Chaotic Good but someone who helps the downtrodden, wanting wealth and never saying NO to a damsel in distress. It was also in the 1980’s where I started playing the very popular and loved Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone books and I was given my first D&D Red Box ruleset with that indelible image of a fighter and dragon and a new world opened up to me. The world of tabletop RPG. I still consider D&D ruleset and the various D&D fantasy worlds my overall favourite because that’s where my journey on RPG really started. Due to Apartheid sanctions, we had limited access to general fantasy paraphernalia and goods, but my dad was an investment banker and he travelled 3-4 times a year to the UK and sometimes the US and he would buy us things we couldn’t get in South Africa. But we were generally behind in IT and the advancement and creation of the PC, and this included Internet access and connectivity speeds. I used to read Dragon magazine and they had these adverts and stories about games called Ultima, Wizardry and Might and Magic and I always wondered “it looks and sounds amazing … imagine an RPG on a computer.” But in the late 1980’s that started ending because Apartheid was ending and suddenly people had PC at their homes and that meant PC gaming was also coming to South Africa. And in 1989 at my uncle’s house was the first time I saw a PC game and it was one of the classic Sierra games, Kings Quest 1. The PC had monochrome graphics and was incredibly basic, but I still was blown away by the concepts and how you needed to type actions to advance the game like “open door” or “push witch into fire “ . It was a life changing experience and my love, enjoyment and passion for PC gaming never ended from that moment like my love of general fantasy. I stopped gaming from 1995-2007 because of RL responsibilities and I was travelling overseas a lot, but I bought my first real gaming machine in 2007 and PC gaming has been an active hobby of mine since then. I play many different genres like action or RTS games, but fantasy RPG are still my preferred choice and it’s because of my childhood connection to the Magic Faraway Tree books. The idea of what waits behind that door, what lives in that ancient temple, what strange beasts await me are still the most exciting design themes of RPG that I treasure and appreciate. And Obsidian has created many games that align with my core expectations of what I want to experience in playing any RPG. These 3 Obsidian games are all in my top 10 of “best RPG of all time “and it’s tough to think of a top 10 or 20 list because there are so many excellent games out there. Lots of competition which is a good thing for gaming. NWN2: MoB: Brilliant D&D setting with an exciting and fascinating narrative that takes you on this epic journey to the Planes with memorable and interesting characters and companions. I love the entire NWN2 series, but this expansion was my favourite with the whole Spirit Eater curse and then the choices you need to make about the Wall of Faithless Fallout:NV: It’s my favourite third person\first person Fallout game outside the first 2 isometric games. I love open world and sandbox games and I like the concept of exploring anywhere you want and F:NV provides that reality. I had the single most appreciated moment in F:NV and that is the most appreciated of any game I have ever played. To get to NV I didn’t go directly and went through small regions and areas of interest, and I remember I reached a point where I was wounded with no ammunition, and I was being chased by brutal and indefatigable Deathclaws. I had a sniper companion who bravely stood his ground and died while I fled. But the Deathclaws continued to pursue me, and it was night and then I went around a corner and saw something … incredible bright lights on the horizon. I had reached NV finally and I was saved. I have never been so relieved in any game to find my destination as that single experience. PoE2: I thought Obsidian created a fun and worthy alternative to standard D&D ruleset and the whole PoE mechanics worked for me. I thoroughly enjoyed the overarching and depth of the narrative, the lore of the game world, the companions were interesting, and I appreciated the whole naval exploration of islands and open world design PoE2 created. So, in closing its easy to support Obsidian and love their games because Obsidian is not just a name of a company, it’s a world-builder and creator of so many games that resonate with me and the mystery and allure of The Magic Faraway Tree from my childhood.

Beautiful weather in LaCrosse the past few weeks. But you can feel the air getting drier. Winter will be here soon. We're planning a trip to Big Bend National Park in November. Already have a campsite reserved in Cottonwood. We will spend the winter in West Texas. Looking forward to it. Hope you guys are doing well. @Azdeus hope your foot is doing better.

Hi folks, sorry for the delayed response, we've been heads down working on the deployment of this patch. We're anticipating to release in the coming weeks, we're just locking in deployment on the various platforms now. Currently we are targeting Steam, Game Pass, GOG, and Epic Store for PC. We've also been working on Mac and Linux builds, which we're hoping to push in a separate patch along with more continued improvements and bug fixes. Thank you all for your patience and support.

This build was created for a collaboration with @Aestus who runs the Youtube channel Aestus_RPG. Here's the video where we talk about this and other builds. This is build 2 of 5 from that collaboration. ----------------------------------------- This build is mainly meant for inspiration. You don't need to follow it in detail to have fun. If you understand the key features - the basic idea what makes this build special - you can usually deviate from my non-core attribute-, skill-, gear- and ability selection and form the build to your own likings and ideas. I do not try to produce the most powerful uberbuilds (often those are the most boring to play in he long run) but to focus on having fun while playing. Usually that means the build is powerful - but it's not the main focus. If you like to read about my personal requirements for "fun to play" builds, you can jump to a list below this post ----------------------------------------- orn a slave, Miccaela Shorsh grew up in the shadowed quarters of Ancenze in the Vaillian Republics, where art, politics, and wealth flourish - at least for the free. Her mother Borschtscha was cleaning the dog kennels for one of the wealthy families, and Miccaela seemed destined for the same life of subjugation and shἱt shoveling. However, even as a child and despite her little frame, her voice was unlike any other, an voluminous sound that could either stir hearts and calm tempers or incide discord and altercations. Unbeknownst to her, her gift was more than mere sound: Miccaela possessed a rare psionic talent, woven into her voice. Her abilities first manifested during a punishment because she refused to wash the stinky fur of the owners' favorite hound Beangobbler the Volatile. Terrified and in pain, Miccaela sang a phrase so powerful that it brought the overseer to his knees, clutching his pearls. Word of this strange power spread quickly through the household, and Miccaela was soon seen as dangerous, but also a potential tool. Her owners realized her voice could be used for their advantage in politics and business, so they forced the little Wild Orlan to perform at grand galas, her melodies subtly manipulating the minds of listeners. But the Wild Orlan's rebellious nature kicked in: at a big dinner event she planted a simple longing into all of the female guests: to stab their partners or patrons with a greasy shashlik skewer as soon as they started to talk obnoxiuos stuff. As a tumult erupted and people who looked like shashlik porcupine fell over each other, Miccaela managed to flee the scene - and the Vaillian Republics althoghether on a trading vessel which was headed for the Deadfire Archipelago. As Miccaela grew older (which happens pretty quickly with Orlans, min you), she learned to conceal her abilities behind the guise of mere performance. Although cleaning the kennels, Beangobbler the Volatile and the whole slavery shebang was behind her, she longed to fight for freedom for all sentient beings: every note she sang became a coded message of rebellion, a call to anyone who would be susceptible to the power of her voice. Now, Miccaela is no longer just a performer, but a covert agent of resistance, using her voice to bend minds, influence rulers and subtly shift the balance of power. In secret and with a philosophy similar to that of a Bleak Walker, she will use all means to free the oppressed and gather those who would help her tear down the chains of slavery, always with a song on her lips and her psionic power in her little yellow furry head. "I won't let you down I will not give you up Gotta have some faith in the sound It's the one good thing that I've got I won't let you down So please don't give me up Because I really, really don't want to wash that hound..." - Miccaela while freezing some killers stiff - =================================== The Ceaseless Siren =================================== Difficulty: PotD -------------------------------------------------------------- Solo: untested -------------------------------------------------------------- Class: Spiritualist - Psion/Troubadour -------------------------------------------------------------- Race: Wild Orlan (or any) -------------------------------------------------------------- Background: Old Vaillia (or any) - Slave (or any) -------------------------------------------------------------- Stats (w/o Berath's Blessings, ★=recommmendation) MIG: 10 (11, -1 Orlan) CON: 10 (do not dump) DEX: 12 PER: 15 (13, +2 Orlan) ★ INT: 19 (18, +1 Old Vailia) ★★ RES: 12 (11, +1 Orlan, do not dump) ★ -------------------------------------------------------------- the unique icons for all passive abilities are part of the Community Patch mod Abilities | Skills | Proficiencies - (!=important, r=recommended, a=automatic) 00. Brisk Recitation (! a) + Telekinetic Burst (a) 01. Whisper of Treason + If Their Bones Still Slept + Blessed was Wengridh | Dagger + Large Shield 02. Lingering Echoes | +1 Stealth (->1), +1 Intimidate (->1) 03. Soul Shock | +1 Stealth (->2), +1 Intimidate (->2) 04. At the Soud of his Voice + Mental Binding | +1 Stealth (->3), +1 Insight (->2) | Small Shield 05. Weapon and Shield Style (r) | +1 Stealth (->4), +1 Intimidate (->3) 06. Phantom Foes | +1 Stealth (->5), +1 Insight (->3) 07. Ancient Brittle Bones + Puppet Master | +1 Stealth (->6), +1 Bluff (->3) 08. Secret Horrors | +1 Stealh (->7), +1 Intimidate (->4) | Sabre 09. And Hel-Hyraf Crashed | +1 Slight of Hand (->3 ), +1 Insight (->4) 10. The Shield Cracks + Pain Block | +1 Stealth (->8), +1 Bluff (->4) 11. Spell Shaping | +1 Sleight of Hand (->4), +1 Intimidate (->4) 12. Penetrating Visions | +1 Sleight of Hand (->5), +1 Insight (->5) | Club 13. Rapid Casting + Borrowed Instinct | +1 Mecanics (->2), +1 Bluff (->5) 14. Keen Mind | +1 Mechanics (->3), +1 Intimidate (->6) 15. Farcasting (r) | +1 Mechanics (->4), +1 Insight (->6) 16. Quick Summoning + The Empty Soul | +1 Mechanics (->5), +1 Bluff (->6) | Scepter 17. Disintegration | +1 Mechanics (->6), +1 Intimidate (->7) 18. Greater Focus | +1 Arcana (->2), +1 Insight (->7) 19. Many Lives Pass By (r) + Ancestor's Memory | +1 Arcana (->3), +1 Bluff (->7) 20. Called to His Bidding | +1 Arcana (->4), +1 Intimidate (->8) | Pistol --------------------------------------------------------------- Items (!=important, r=recommended) Weapon Set 1: Sasha's Singing Scimitar (r, +Refreshing Finale, +Shocking Prelude), Shimmer Scale (+Warped Scales, +Thermal Ablation, +Legendary) Weapon Set 2: Lover's Embrace (use modal at all times), Shining Bulwark (+Rear Guard, +Legendary, use modal when shot at) Head: Pearlescent Rhomboid Helstone (or any other) Back: Cloak of Greater Deflection (r - helps to demotivate enemies from attacking you) Neck: Charm of Bones (r - for the added INT -> bigger AoE and durations) Armor: Casita Samelia's Legacy (+Legendary, +Ardent) or Nomad's Brigandine (+Tail of the Column, +Tactical Withdraw, +Legendary) or Gipon Prudensco (+Legendary, +Fight Another Day, +No Fool I) Waist: Girdle of Eoten Constitution Hands: Bracers of Greater Deflection (r - helps to demotivate enemies from attacking you) Rings: Chamaeleon's Touch (+1 INT & +1 PER) or Ring of Protection or Deflection, Kuaru's Prize Boots: Boots of Stability or Boots of Speed Pet: Loki (+15% AoE size) or Animancy Cat (when using summons a lot) or whatever suits your spell selection --------------------------------------------------------------- What is this build about: endless generation of resouces: you gain focus and phrases for your spells without having to do anything. That also means your resources fill up while you cast, run around etc. Using the Psion (focus gain per second, scales with Power Level) and the Troubadour (phrases elapse twice a fast with Brisk Recitation -> double the phrase point generation) gives you a caster who never runs out of spell resources and has almost no downtime: excellent action economy no need to actively use your weapon (which you are not good with anyways) immense versatility with all sorts of great spells: healing, reviving, disables, damage, buffing, mind control, summons - you can do it all. Pick what your party needs and you’ll be good at it. You can then also alter the gear to your needs. For example: if you wanted to play a Ceaseless Siren as a damage dealer who is spamming shock spells (Her Revenge + Soul Shock) nonstop you could pick up Deltro's Cage instead of the armor I listed above. If you want to take a support role (casting Pain Block and singing Ancient Memory or Mercy and Kindness etc.) you could use the Physikers Belt and a pet that does +15% healing and so on. The most potent combination might be to focus on mind control on the Psion side (Whisper of Treason, Puppet Master, Ringleader) and on summons on the Troubadour side (Animated Weapon + Many Lives Pass By), but constant CC spells are also very impactful: spamming Killers Froze Stiff + Mental Binding lets you completely disable and control whole groups of enemies pretty early in the game. independent from special unique items, this build can free up gear for other party members who might need it more. Sasha's Singing Scimitar is great, but even without it this caster is very effective. So if you want to include another chanter in the party who might make even better use of the weapon (for example a Bellower) it's not a problem. attributes can be allocated freely fitting your role. For example a damage dealer wants more MIG, a summoner or supporter/healer wouldn't need a lot of PER. one of the very few class combinations that beat the Ultimate challenge without the "endless duration of buffs" exploit - which shows how powerful it can be. I chose a mix of CC, damage, healing and summons so that there's always an answer to most situations. While playing you will quickly find out which spells you like to use the most - just can alter your choices of abilities and gear accordingly. Issues: when you get damaged (or critically hit when using the Community Patch mod which I recommend) your focus generation will stop for a short time. Unconditional focus generation is the Psion’s forte. While phrase generation stops briefly after an invocation the Psion’s focus never stops growing until damaged (or critically hit with the CP mod). Without this costant focus generation the Psion is bad. So you want to avoid getting attacked! You automatic ability Telikinetic Burst can help of course. But there's other ways to reduce the risks: stay stealthed at the beginning of combat. You want to load up on focus anyway - and when enemies have settled on your party members (like your tank) you are lot less likely to get attacked. having good deflection and/or immunity against disengagment attacks lets you get away without damage. you shouldn't build a glasscannon but have to invest into defenses. You can also use summons and mind control/disables to avoid damage to great effect - but more importantly (because it works without much effort and micromanagement) raise your deflection and armor and don’t dump your CON (health). There are lots of enemies out there that specifically look for weak party members in terms of low deflection, low armor and low health (like rangers, rogues and barbs do). Using a shield and putting on decent armor deters most of those enemies from picking you as their favorite target in the first place, giving you an easier time. sacrifice some offensive prowess for defense. It will help to let this character play a lot more smoothly than maxing your offensive potential. Unusual for a caster but it works. The best offensive stats mean nothing if you cannot cast because you lack focus. Another great way to prevent getting attacked (without having to actively do anything) in the later game is to sing Many Lives Pass By at all times - a weak skeleton that pops up every 3 seconds and forms a group of skeletons with its buddies quickly draws attention away from you and shields you from almost all attackers. Why is it fun: because of the endless and fast resource generation there’s always something to do, very little downtime. Opposite of low level Wizards, Priests or Druids who have very few spells in he early game. the spell selection is great always good impact, powerful right away bc. of summons, great CC and so on extremely versatile. There are Very little situations where you cannot contribute. The swiss army knife of casters because of the rel. good sturdyness (to avoid focus stop) little frustration from getting knocked out etc. which is great for inexperienced players. does not depend on items - this can help to attain a special look or theme/background a lot more easily without the feeling you have to sacrifice performance. Hope you enjoy! Cheers!

From the trade show last month. Bad lighting in the hall. As an architect I feel offended by how bad the lighting was. Even worse attendance. Complete waste of money.

Hey everyone. Hope y'all are doing well! We're in Jamestown New York for a family function. We're picking up Bri from the airport in a few hours. I dislike New York mostly but it's nice around here. We drove up from Texas which was pretty miserable this time of year. After this it's back to cheese land for a while.

So, the first game I played that was made by Obsidian was Knights of the Old Republic 2. It was to be representative of the early productions of the studio. Yes, admittedly, it was rushed, technically very flawed and was clearly lacking content that was cut to make the deadline. But it was still a gem, inserting shades of grey in the normally two-toned world of the Star Wars universe, and in doing so making the world feel that much more real and worthwhile. The characters were believable; they didn’t just exist simply to further the story, but they each had their own agenda, and they were all tied to the player character in their own unique way, as was slowly revealed throughout the story. And this is what I feel Obsidian so often manages to add to a world, whether it’s an Obsidian original, or borrowed from another’s intellectual property. They take their narratives seriously; they build their worlds to be believable and they allow their characters to live their own lives and not simply be window dressing for the main characters. I remember going through Mask of the Betrayer, the Neverwinter Nights 2 DLC, for the first time and being awed by the gravity of its story. This was a story of mythological proportions, pitting you against the laws of its universe and death itself, and in a way where you were never quite sure what exactly was the right choice to make. The ending did not offer simple black and white choices, a hallmark of the sort of Obsidian games that I hold dear, and of which I cherish fond memories. I kept following Obsidian throughout the years, and each time I would look forward with anticipation to whatever the studio would come up with next. Fallout: New Vegas was a huge success, of course. And when the studio started doing Kickstarters for their own IP, there was absolutely no doubt in my mind to throw some money their way. It did not leave me disappointed, both Pillars of Eternity games wove exactly the sort of deep narrative, rich with lore and worldbuilding, that I have come to expect from the studio. Remarkably, the studio has not lost its soul throughout the years, as exemplified by the 2022 release of Pentiment. Set in the fictional town of Tassing in historical 16th century Bavaria, this game plays like a detective story. But the catch is that actual detectiving is a fool’s errand. Whoever you end up picking as the culprit, you never have enough evidence to be certain that you have picked the right perp. Not that the powers that be mind very much; they’re happy so long as someone is seen to be executed for the crimes. You could say that the true objective of Pentiment is to unravel the underlaying plot, and to eventually confront the real thread spinner that has immersed the quiet town of Tassing in a state of chaos. But I don’t think that’s quite right. For me, the real objective of the game is to, if only for a moment, make it possible for you to transport yourself to a different time and a different place, and to contemplate what life was like for people in those days, and what kind of choices they were confronted with as the last vestiges of the old were being blown away by the winds of modernity. And now, it will not be long before their next much anticipated game will come out. I will be honest, when I first heard of the studio working on what was then still considered to be the studio’s answer to Skyrim, I was sceptical. It seemed like they might be biting off more than they could chew, and I felt the sort of formula behind Skyrim didn’t seem to play to the studio's strength. But now that I’ve seen the first previews, I’m glad to see that it’s actually nothing like Skyrim. It seems smaller in scope, less focused on a large open world, and actually aiming more for a smaller, more intimate experience. A lot has been made about the combat, and luckily the latest news seems to be that there’s been a lot of improvements on that front. But what I find more interesting is that once again Avowed looks to have characters with their own voices and their own agendas. And once again there seems to be a rich story with plenty of mysteries to unravel. I honestly can’t wait, and I’ve always taken the week after the release free from work, so I can fully enjoy it without any distractions. I’m sure I’ll have a great time.

One of the primary reasons I continue to be drawn to Obsidian Entertainment, reaching back to the days of Black Isle, has been its commitment to great storytelling. This has been a quality that I believe has and continues to set it apart in the creative venture to tells stories through the gaming medium. I would like to delve into their artistic storytelling by highlighting just three examples that display their unique approach to narrative design. For me, I was hooked by their stories back in 1990s. When I discovered the stylised ‘isometric’ game of Fallout. It illustrated to me the importance to establish a foundation for narrative depth and complexity. In these early days, I believe Fallout telegraphed this hallmark of Obsidian's later works. The game's post-apocalyptic setting, moral dilemmas, and branching storylines captured my attention to the extent that much sleep was lost and it set my expectation quite high for storytelling in video games. And it all began with a water chip … Though the post-apocalyptic genre has always captured my geeky imagination, it has always been the fantasy medium to which I have been drawn. Some of the first books I dove into, as I discovered the power of the written words, were Tolkien’s and the vastness of Middle Earth. As I shared this passion with so many, Obsidian’s first foray into the genre, particularly through Gary Gygax’ D&D worlds, from Icewind Dale to Neverwinter nights, was amazing, but Obsidian’s ability to create its own IP was when they went to the next level. For me, the evolution of Obsidian has been their ability to create immersive worlds that come alive in dynamic ways. At the launch of the first Kickstarter for Pillars of Eternity, I knew that something amazing was happening in the maturation of the company’s ability to weave tales. The dedication to illustrating rich and detailed environments had me lost for hours. The world of Eora, which I believe will be further expanded in Avowed, exposed me to a living, breathing world with its own history, cultures, and conflicts. The depth of the lore and the complexity of the characters means my choices unfolded in meaningful and engaging ways. Beyond just the first title in the franchise, with Deadfire it was clear to me that my choices had consequences. This is a recurring theme in Obsidian's games, where my agency as a player is paramount. The storylines are often not linear path, but they present multiple divergent paths that lead to different outcomes. This approach not only offers opportunity to replay (if one had the time!) but it allowed me to feel like I was the agent helping the story unfold. Deadfire’s narrative, as an example of Obsidian’s narrative commitments, was further enriched by its well-written dialogue and memorable characters. The last example that I will touch on in this blog is the storytelling that shines in The Outer Worlds. If Fallout was post-apocalyptic, this recent addition to their creative library involves a journey through a dystopic future where the rich and autocratic corporations’ rule and individual freedom is intentionally oppressed. The story unfolds with satire on capitalistic greed. The satire presents a story that unfolds with a nimble wit and dark humour, which I believe is an essential component of Obsidian’s taletelling. As with their other stories, I felt I could become the Stranger. The character offered me a blank slate that allowed me to become the Stranger as I realised my choices would affect the fate of entire colonies, need alone my companions in dramatic ways. The writing is clever and thought-provoking, with plenty of twists and turns that kept me up much too late far too often! Let me conclude this musing, by focusing on Parvati’s Companion Quest. This component of Obsidian’s storytelling is what hooks me every time. Their ability to weave storytelling to liberate the player to see more widely through an artistic medium allows me to commit to the outcome of the story. Parvati’s relationship with Junlei is rich, human, and inspires me to see outside of the box. It allowed me to feel like I was hanging out with Kaylee from Firefly, recognising that in this dystopic future, love endures. The human connexion and emotion this questline evokes are profound, standing as a powerful challenge to the very real-life struggles we face outside the immersion of great gameplay. If a creative story can stir our hearts and show us options that translate into how we might aspire to be better human beings to one another, then those are the games I will passionately continue to play. And that is the true power of storytelling that I continue to experience from Obsidian after over twenty-years of my relationship with them.

That's a big negative for me. None of Bethesda's games needed bigger maps, they needed more variety in what's already there.

What I did today: Tried to figure out why I didn't have no internets. What my cat did today: Disconnect the network cable.

This build was created for a collaboration with @Aestus who runs the Youtube channel Aestus_RPG. Here's the video where we discuss 5 builds for Deadfire. This is build 3 of 5 from that collaboration. ----------------------------------------- This build is mainly meant for inspiration. You don't need to follow it in detail to have fun. If you understand the key features - the basic idea what makes this build special - you can usually deviate from my non-core attribute-, skill-, gear- and ability selection and form the build to your own likings and ideas. I do not try to produce the most powerful uberbuilds (often those are the most boring to play in he long run) but to focus on having fun while playing. Usually that means the build is powerful - but it's not the main focus. If you like to read about my personal requirements for "fun to play" builds, you can jump to a list below this post ----------------------------------------- orn aboard the creaking decks of a ship, Roberto Dilani was raised in the cutthroat world of the Deadfire Archipelago’s biggest pirate faction, the Principi sen Patrina. His mother, a ruthless weather mage with aspirations of command, and his father, a famed marksman who wielded an arbalest with deadly precision, instilled in him the cunning of a pirate, curiosity for the arcane and the artistry of ranged combat. Roberto grew up with a mind as sharp as his aim, constantly honing his ability to strike from afar with unerring accuracy. Early in his youth, Roberto saved a little piglet from the ship's cook and named him "Tartufo" and the two became close friends despite Tartufo's pretty overwhelming odor. Roberto also discovered his talents as an Arcane Archer, able to weave magic into the very bolts he fired from his heirloom arbalest passed down from his father. The weapon was renowned for its ability to break enemy lines with crushing force, and in Roberto's hands, it became even more dangerous, as his magical prowess allowed him to overwhelm foes with staggering shots of power and precision. Loving the songs and shanties that were sung on deck he also grew into a skilled Troubadour, learning to use his voice and lyrics not only to inspire his crew but also to further enchant his shots. His ability to suppress and take out helmsmen or even captains on enemy ships earned him the nickname "Pindown Poet". Roberto acted with cunning and strategy, using his arbalest to pin down dangerous foes while his crew took control of the seas. Though loyal to the Principi, Roberto's ambitions reached beyond petty plunder. He dreamed of exploring the world beyond the archipelago, using his deadly mix of arcane powers, song, and steel to carve a legacy that will be spoken of in taverns for generations. He believes that with an arbalest in hand and the legends of old as his guide, he can shape not only his own future but the fate of the Principi itself. "Hey, Mr. Arbalest Man, sing a song for us We're not sleepy and there is no place we're going to Hey, Mr. mouthy Helmsman, I'll sing a song for you and the spear I cast will put you on your arse." - Roberto while spanning his arbalest during a boarding fight - =================================== The Pindown Poet =================================== Difficulty: PotD -------------------------------------------------------------- Solo: untested -------------------------------------------------------------- Class: Wildrhymer - Arcane Archer/Troubadour -------------------------------------------------------------- Race: Wood Elf (or any non-godlike, e.g. Boreal Dwarf) -------------------------------------------------------------- Background: Old Vailia (or any, e.g. White that Wends) - Mercenary (or any, e.g. Mystic bc. +Arcana) -------------------------------------------------------------- Stats (w/o Berath's Blessings. ★=recommendation) MIG: 11 CON: 08 DEX: 18 (17 + 1 Elf) ★★ PER: 18 (17 +1 Elf) ★ INT: 19 (18 + 1 Old Vailia) ★★ RES: 04 -------------------------------------------------------------- the unique icons for all passive abilities are part of the Community Patch mod Abilities | Skills | Proficiencies - (!=important, r=recommended) 00. Brisk Recitation (a) 01. Not Felled By the Axe + Dull the Edge + Imbue: Missiles (a) + Marked Prey (r) | Arbalest (!) + Rod (r) 02. Fast Runner | +1 Arcana(!) (->2), +1 Survival (->2) 03. Arms Bearer (r) (Shattered Vengeance for Coordinated Escape) | +1 Arcana(!) (->3), +1 Survival (->3) 04. Two-Handed Style +Gunner (!) | +1 Arcana(!) (->4), +1 Survival (->4) | Large Shield 05. Marksman (r) | +1 Arcana(!) (->5), +1 Survival (->5) 06. Protective Companion (r) | +1 Arcana(!) (->6), +1 Survival (->6) 07. Sure-Handed Ila (!) + Imbue: Web (a) + Evasive Roll (r) | +1 Arcana(!) (->7), +1 Survival (->7) 08. Marked for the Hunt | +1 Arcana(!) (->8), +1 Survival (->8) | Arquebus 09. Resilient Companion | +1 Arcana(!) (->9), +1 Survival (->9) 10. Aefyllath Ues Myth Fir (r) + Stalker's Link (r) | +1 Arcana(!) (->10), +1 Survival (->10) 11. Rise Again, Rise Again (r) | +1 Arcana(!) (->11), +1 Survival (->11) 12. Nor Flame, Nor Thrusted Blade | +1 Arcana(!) (->12), +1 Survival (->12) | Club 13. The Lover Cried Out (r) + Imbue: Fireball (a) + Driving Flight (!) | +1 Arcana(!) (->13), +1 Survival (->13) 14. Master's Call | +1 Arcana(!) (->14), +1 Survival (->14) 15. Spell Shaping | +1 Arcana(!) (->15), +1 Survival (->15) 16. And Face your Foes + Survival of the Fittest (r) | +1 Arcana(!) (->16), +1 Survival (->16) | Dagger 17. The Bride Caught | +1 Arcana(!) (->17), +1 Survival (->17) 18. Tough | +1 Arcana(!) (->18), +1 Survival (->18) 19. Called to His Bidding (r) + Imbue: Eora (a) + Furious Call | +1 Arcana(!) (->19), +1 Survival (->19) 20. Set to their Purpose | +1 Arcana(!) (->20), +1 Survival (->20) | Pistol --------------------------------------------------------------- Items (!=important, r=recommended) Weapon Set 1: Spearcaster (! - +Legendary, Elemental Bolts, +Pinning) Weapon Set 2: Watershaper's Focus (r - best weapon for imbued shots, +Ondrath's Wrath, +Legendary) Weapon Set 3: Shattered Vengeance (r - +Coordinated Escape), Large Shield (any, +Superb) Head: Acina's Tricorn (r - +Acc and +reloading speed) Back: Ruata's Walking Cloak (skill Survival for ++stride) Neck: Necklace of the Harvest Moon (+reloading speed on crit) Armor: Sharpshooter's Garb (r, reloadin speed, +Legendary, +Low Profile, +Steel Threaded) Waist: Huana Charm Belt (+stride) or Spellkeeper (get a free scroll per rest: profit from high Arcana) Hands: Aegor's Swift Touch (+reloading speed) or Firethrower's Gloves (+reloading speed and +Arcana) Rings: Ring of the Marksman (r), Camaeleon's Touch (+1 PER, +1 INT to reach INT 20 for overlapping phrases) Boots: Boots of Speed (+stride, stacks with belt and cloak) Pet: Epsilon (-armor recovery, +stride) --------------------------------------------------------------- What is this build about: reaching very high accuracy and reducing your reloading time with arbalests so much that you can use the arbalest's modal "Overbearing Shots" to prone and interrupt single enemies (or two enemies with Driving Flight) every few seconds, essentially taking them out of the fight - depite the modal's -25% action speed. combine that with powerful AoE CC capabilities that have very high accuracy (mostly Imbue:Web + Imbue: Eora) High accuracy is achieved with Spearcaster + maxed Arcana skill + Ranger’s accuracy abilities and the Arcane Archer’s Imbue shots - which profit from Arcana, too very high reloading speed with no fuzz is achieved with Gunner (Ranger) and Sure-Handed Ila (Chanter) as well as high DEX and items (such as Maia’s Armor, Acina’s Tricorn, pet etc.) and cosumables (mostly food from resting). Sure-Handed Ila applies its -20% recovery time buff twice(!) to reloading weapons such as the arquebus. As long as you sing phrases you’ll always have three times -20% reloading time just from those two abilities (Gunner and Sure-Handed Ila). add Aefyllath Ues Myth Fir to give the party and yourself a burning lash for all weapon attacks. 19 INT +1 INT from items (like Chamaeleons Touch) makes sure your Troubadour phrases will have no gaps. You will not use Brisk Recitation most of times Spearcaster can cause “immobilized” on hit (in addition to prone enemies with the modal) - so you are combining the prone effect with being stuck. And all you have to do is just by using rapid auto-attack against mobs use Imbue:Web and later Imbue:Eora which together create a zone of incredibly powerful pulsing CC which immobilizes and then pulls enemy into the center. Most enemies cannot escape from this. Imbue effects get triggered with every projectile jump(!). This means Driving Flight adds another proc of Binding Web and Pull of Eora. If you can add another jump you'll get another proc. This is the reason why I'm using Watershaper's Focus ()it has an innate projectile jump that stacks with Driving Flight. If I use the rod's modal "Blast" I can add 3*AoE damage to the imbue shot and also I raise the chance to proc "Ondrath's Wrath" which is a high damage AoE water splash. Blast causes very long recovery. But if I fire the first imbue shot from stealth I'll have 80% recovery bonus which means the second imbue shot can follow quickly. After that I switch to Spearcaster and take out single dangerous enemies. it’s the perfect setup for allied casters and other AoE damage dealers who can now hit a lot of enemies at the same time give your main tank an item that grants immunity to push and pull effects (Upright Captain's Belt or Horns of the Aurochs) to negate the effect of Pull of Eora and give the tank immunity or resistance vs. DEX afflictions (Spider Silk robes, Shark Soup, Gwyn's Bridal Garter, Engwithan Bracers, Cipher's Shackle, Boots of the White...) or Reflex attacks (Edér's Saint's War Armor: Veteran's Maneuver) singular enemies like bosses can be taken out of the fight with prone&pin auto-attacks. Because of the fast reload and the burning lash (and the small lashes of the arbalest itself) you deal good damage - although your main focus is constant disabling/CC due to the fact that Animal Companions do not suffer injuries when they get knocked out - and the fact that Chanters can revive allies unlimited times (if no injury occurs) you don’t have to worry about a dead Animal Companion. Just revive! Since I am not using invocations all the time but only in special situations and because I can always cancel reloading the reactivity is superb. if Animal Companion is revived it even gets a defense boost. In addition I get the usefulness of Chanter invocations in general. You could add more summons like wurms to your offensive arsenal in the early game or use the White Worms invocation fropm afar - you could use the resitance chants instead of Myth Fir and so on. Almost always able to retreat from melee attackers safely (see below). A non-Arcane Archer variant that might want to focus on single targets more could also look at crossbows instead of arbalests. They interrupt but don't get the prone effect, but the 10% crit conversion on crossbows is actually universal, meaning it applies to all your attack rolls (including spells). They are also a bit faster of course. Fleetbreaker is an excellent crossbow (if you want to support Cpt. Furrante that is, otherwise it's not accessible) an the late game crossbow Scourge of Bezello is like it's made for a Ranger/Chanter character with its overall theme and especially with its 3 projectiles: each of them can interrupt with the crossbow modal, making it supereasy to strip a target of all concentration and interrupting it very reliably. Thanks to @Elric Galad for pointing this out. Issues: like your party members your Animal Companion should not enter the zone of absolute CC - so you can often only use it as your bodyguard. Because of Stalker's Link and Marked Prey it’s still very useful against bosses etc. when you usually don't use imbued CC shots a lot. If you use a tank (which I recommend) you should add immunity to push&pull effects on that tank as well as resistance or even immunity to dexterity afflictions as I said above. Else your tank will be stuck and tossed around as well. the Trouabdour side is mostly there for the chants, not the invocations (no Brisk Recitation). If you use an invocation your chanting will stop briefly, robbing your of the reloading bonus of Sure-Handed Ila. although it’s quite versatile for a ranged weapon build: it completely lacks melee capabilities (except with the Animal Companion). Usually you have to bolt if you get attacked. Your defenses will not be great and your health rel. low, too. To be able to retreat safely you cannot get hit by disengagement attacks. I do three different things when I get attacked by melee enemies: if it's only one I will just shoot him down (prone/stuck) until dead if it's more than one attacker I will try to charm at least one of them with an emergeny invocation. If I hit all of them I can run away safely with high stride (from boots, cloak, Fast Runner and so on). if one or more enemies cannot be charmed (but at least one is) I switch to my third weapon set (Shattered Vegeance + large shield). With my Animal Companion at my side and a at least one enemy charmed I get "Coordinated Escape" which makes me immune to engagement (if I'n near 2 or more allies, animal companions and charmed enemies count), letting me run away safely. if I cannot charm enough enemies and/or my animal companion is not near I use Evasive Roll if I get shot or cast at and cannot disable the attacker myself I will switch to large shield + modal (greatly reduces AoE and ranged dmg) and use Evasive Roll to get out of the situation. it is true that you can achieve the same with any Trouabdour in the party and another Arcane-Archer-multiclass (for example Cipher/Arcane Archer, Rogue/Arcane Archer, Monk/Arcane Archer or Paladin/Arcane Archer). This build however is the best "self-contained" version that doesn't require taking in a separate Trouabdour. Why is it fun? it’s easy to play because it doesn’t require a lot of setup: you just start combat and everything you need is right there. Shoot and immediate result - the enemy’s down. Blast and the mob is conentrated and controlled the swirling field of utter CC is so impactful and makes you feel quite powerful. It happens in an instant - unlike usual spellcasting which take a rather long time to complete it’s great against mobs AND single foes at the same time. It never feels useless seeing enemies getting pushed over all the time - right when they get up again - is fun it doesn’t need a lot of levels to become impactful: you can prone almost every enemy right away (albeit much slower at the beginning due to the lack of reload bonuses) and you can get Spearcaster and most of the other gear pretty early in the game you can maneuver yourself out of a pinch easily. Usually you will sit on phrases because the focus is on the chants - but if you need an invocation asap you have the full amount of phrases and can react immediately. It helps that with reloading weapons you can just cancel the reloading (unlike recovery) so you can react very quickly. Having great reactiveness is fun Hope you enjoy! Cheers!

I just got done changing the front brakes for my neighbor a few door down. Man I love it when theres no stuck or rusted bolts and everything goes smoothly. My charge for services rendered is a large garbage pizza that she has to eat with me while we garage drink.

Update on the situation with the little bugger that is our dog. Indeed, is. Because, get this, while he was in a torpor on Sunday when I posted, refusing to eat and being lethargic and all, on Monday he was unable to even get up and move, so we put a water bowl right next to him. He'd wake up every now and then, drink a little, and would fall back asleep. We already called the vet, because it was clear that he was suffering, and we all expected him to die, so why not put him out of his misery? Yesterday morning he just got up from the mattress we put him on and walked to his water bowl, drank, then walked around, growled at us as usual because he wanted to be put back on the mattress. He ate a bunch of treats like nothing happened, although he still doesn't wolf down his regular food like he used to. When my wife's sister came to visit he went and greeted her. Not as energetically as he used to, but still, he basically moved more than in the past few days combined. He's also sleeping soundly, with his usual relaxed expression, instead of sleeping fitfully. We put a wet towel on him to help him cool down as it's been ghastly hot these past few weeks, almost never cooling down for more than a couple of hours, with annoyingly hot nights. So, yeah, no idea what is going on, but it doesn't look like the acute organ failure through metastasis that we expected it to be, because if so he would not have improved and probably died by now. We honestly thought the tumors had progressed to the point of organ failure. We're still going to lose him soon - I mean the tumor is not going anywhere, obviously, but perhaps not right now. Or even if he ends up dying really soon, at least he seems to be content instead of suffering. Which is more than we thought he would get.

Survived another year. At least the cake turned out better this year.

We had a supposedly critical server go down. Then we checked and found the process the server is hosting hasn't been working for 2 weeks and our clients have not raised anything. Amazing we get paid for this.

Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire is a computer/classic roleplaying game (CRPG), which explores the topics of personal freedom and responsibility, religion, and colonialism. The story takes place in the (fictional, but it is obvious) Deadfire archipelago, where several local and foreign factions stand in uneasy peace, while the protagonist follows a reborn god (who destroyed their very nice castle during his rebirth) to save their soul. The game was unique in many aspects, most importantly, in supporting the player's agency and acknowledging their choices, and some admirable design decisions, such as not rewarding murdering random non-playable characters without an in-character reason (quest) and the critical path (the main story) being of reasonable length. Then, in one of the last updates, the Blackwood Hull, required for it, was moved from the shipyard at the capital, broken into 5 pieces, and these pieces scattered at random places, thus, successfully decreasing the immersion and securing another sale on GOG, which allowed to rollback the update almost painlessly (installing and uninstalling GOG Galaxy while downloading the game twice was not the most positive experience, but it worked). Keeping the 51GB around was less painless, but absolutely worth it. Usually in video games, the final part where the player and/or the party are proficient with the technical aspects of the gameplay systems and have completed most of the story, thus, being invested in both, consists of several hours of story-free battles, which, on one hand, allow to utilise the most powerful equipment and skills the player has. On the other, these long battle sequences are predictable, boring, and do not exactly serve the narrative. In terms of the in-game lore, Ukaizo was the lost birthplace of the local people, the Huana, which also was the final destination of Eothas, whom the player's party was pursuing throughout the story, and the target of the factions vying for the control over the Deadfire archipelago and its resources. Therefore, it would be expected for the island to be mechanically similar to the end-game locations from other CPRGs, including the first Pillars of Eternity (fortunately, as far as I remember, Obsidian did not go overboard there either). The level and narrative design of Ukaizo was impressive in general and in the context of CPRGs - while it featured one avoidable (blessed be the Bounding Boots) token boss battle with a unique foe that had little to no bearing on the story (the Guardian did provide some lore), the encounter with Eothas was never meant to be combat, due to him inhabiting a giant adra (soul-sucking-rock) statue from the practical point of view (granted, a few well-shot explosives could have solved it), and because I wanted to see him taking down the creatures that were much worse than he was, which made travelling to Ukaizo in the first place rather out of character, but the quest journal pointed there and, as a player, I wanted to know the outcomes of my actions. It also was very convenient to replay, considering the number of expansions, with all of them taking place in the story before visiting Ukaizo. Another boss battle at Ukaizo was against a leader (I think there were several for each option) of a non-chosen faction. For some reason, despite me not compromising my moral high ground for any of them, it usually was the Royal Deadfire Company of the Kingdom of Rauatai, with Hazanui Karū as the boss. Possibly, it was because of Atsura, who was definitely not a spy, giving me the opportunity to decrease the number of their employees without negative consequences. The point being is that the presence of this battle highlighted another essential aspect of the story - the relationships with the factions, where each of them was reasonable enough not to be killed on sight, unlike, for example, the Legion in Fallout: New Vegas or the Systems Alliance in Mass Effect (not an Obsidian game, and the damn faction was impossible to leave, while the game itself was extremely pro-military). And, most importantly, there were dialogues with the companions on the way to Eothas, reflecting the bonds built with the party. It also was great that the romantic interest did not lessen or overshadow the friendships with the other party members, while the fact that all of the possible romances were bisexual successfully avoided cis-heteronormativity and made the story more immersive and engaging for the LGBTQ+ gamers. Thus, Ukaizo defied the combat-first (not an unjustified approach, since providing a satisfying and interactive combat system, while still challenging, is significantly easier than satisfying and interactive dialogues) aspect of many CPRGs where the last location is a long mind-numbing gauntlet of battles and the boss, whom you have come to kill anyway, monologuing for an hour - the dialogues with both bosses and Eothas were skippable and/or possible to minimise. I also loved how in PoE1 it was possible to kill Thaos without listening to him, since the information you needed was much more satisfying to take from his corpse. I see Obsidian as one of the best RPG developers whose games I have played. I think it is important to explore the conventions and subvert the expectations of the genre in order to make more unique and memorable art, while supporting it being sustainable (system requirements and development costs), accessible (fully rebindable controls and saving at will), inclusive, and DRM-free, because video games are both art and a product and it is crucial to acknowledge and support both of these aspects.

Should just link to Tim directly.

I mean... yeah?

Houston got ravaged by a storm and my parents electricity went out, so I've spent the last 24 hours scrambling to set them up somewhere with electricity to run my dad's oxygen concentrators. So far everything has settled, but I'm damn tired.

Because I'm still waiting for a deal on a new computer, and the GPU on my current old machine constantly crashes, the only games in my library that seemed like I could play and not tax the GPU are the old BG games. So I've started a run of BG1, SoD, and BG2, and for the first time ever am using a few select mods. I'm also playing the classic fighter-mage-thief multiclass for my PC, which I've never done before in my many, many times playing these games. It's rather rough here in the beginning, as my Charname is so very weak from having everything including XPs divided across three classes. But it amazes me how enjoyable it still is to play these now-ancient games.

Wait till they run a kickstarter celebrating 30 years of continuous Star Citizen crowdfunding.

Wasn't today but the last weekend, but I made a dead(wood) hedge. I had to get rid of all the cut-off branches and stuff we removed from the neglected and overgrown neighboring property (which is now ours since new year) and thought that this might be a nice way of dealing with it:

Our new stuff released: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/107410/view/4133814330212415053 So far so good. The negative reviews are as expected. Just a bit weird that the majority is in cyrillic. But oh well, so far so good.

Added to my hoard

I completed Pillars of Eternity a couple of days ago. I had such a good time, I haven't played an old school RPG for a couple of years despite it being my favorite genre and Obsidian made an absolute banger here. It had a really good story, and not having the curtain pulled back until the very end made all the reveals very impactful. I was planning to play something that's totally different between Pillars 1 & 2 so I didn't get bored with the real-time and pause genre but after the last couple of hours of PoE1 I just have to know what happens next now so I've started playing Deadfire immediately. I've basically just started, I'm about to repair the ship and leave the first island. It was a bit jarring for the first hour or so with the new UI and going from a typical medieval setting to a swashbuckling pirate adventure but it's already obvious that the quality of the writing and RPG mechanics are so much improved here. I'm very much looking forward to seeing the rest of the game.

I don't want to set the world on fire I just want to let you know Fallout London is on GOG change musical era and genre Mamma mia, mamma mia Mamma mia, download this on GOG for free, for free, for freeeeee

Here's the trailer for Solasta II. I'm stoked for this game

Obsidian CEO Would Love to Make a Shadowrun Game

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Thanks everyone. It's been a hard week and I've been too tired to really focus on anything after having to deal with grief, doing all the work to set up the cremation and viewing, and helping to rearrange the house after all of the hospice care machinery was taken back. My dad already did some of the planning because he was adamant about not having a funeral and wanted to be cremated, but there's always calls to make and hoops to jump through to make it actually happen. At this point I'm not feeling as sad but just very tired. A guy broke a chair at the viewing, it's sturdy enough that you'd really have to work at it to break it, so I have no idea how he would have done that. My dad would have thought it was funny. Excuse you, I have written a several essays on chainmail bikinis. One of them is very 100000 words.

This week our PM lead went on vacation and I was acting lead. We had 4 production incidents this week... They ranged from a random piece of old code that started producing issues without any reason, to our dev ops deleting our cron job server. Suffice to say, my working days this week were averaging to around 12 hours... Well if nothing else it was a learning experience.

Just realized I've been a member here for 20 years now. 10 more and it will be 30 years, jeeeeeez

I'm playing some more user modules for Solasta, which are a bit hit and miss in terms of quality. Currently I'm running through the "Depths of Darkness" module, which is a re-creation of the old "The Sunless CItadel" PnP module for DnD. It's a pretty decent effort compared to many of these user creations, so I'd recommend it if you like Solasta. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2860765207

Great blog @Gorth! My start in gaming was my (at the time) new step-dad's Nintendo Entertainment System with Super Mario Bros. 3 getting me into consoles. Not long after, my blood-related dad got me into PC games with DOOM and Wolfenstein share ware via the old hard floppy disks people shared (got ours from my uncle). I wasn't aware of Interplay or Black Isle, but I did play KotOR 1 for the first time on my friend's Xbox and immediately fell in love. Ended up getting it on PC and when I saw the sequel nearly died until I saw that it was made by some company named Obsidian instead of Bioware. At the time I was like, "Oh man, it's not Bioware? This game is probably going to suck..." To my surprise I enjoyed it even more. Being able to corrupt my companions, especially taking the time to corrupt Mira just felt epic compared to only seeing Bastilla corrupt in the previous title. Years later, I end up seeing South Park and the Stick of Truth and seeing Obsidian and saying, "Oh yea, I forgot about them." I played that game and looooved it, especially Butters as Professor Chaos. It wasn't until my old co-worker from Best Buy reached out to me to play a new game he was a part of developing called Pillars of Eternity that I would forever remember the name Obsidian. He is the one who ultimately helped get me into the gaming industry within Obsidian and I am forever grateful as it's allowed me to work with amazing, creative people both in the studio and within the community. After almost 8 years, I still can't believe the things I get to do and the people I get to do it with. Another thing that your blog resonated with me was your experience playing Fallout, as I started playing it a week ago and only JUST beat that game technically this morning around 1AM and continued to start up Fallout 2. I can't wait to continue the adventure tonight

Well, I would not say it was much different from other Beth games. Same engine, same bugs, just in space They should have put it into Starship Troopers universe, at least the bugs would fit into the lore

Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 has been formally announced: Jesus Christ be praised, a trailer has come to see us, god bless you trailer etc etc.

I found @BruceVC's next game to play, and probably his first 100/100 on the BruceVC whatever game scale. Slightly NSFW. Click me!

"The Top 10 Reasons I left gaming and became a withered husk of my former self - number 3 will surprise you!" Maybe break it into parts and pitch each part? Nothing in Fio's post indicates you couldn't have multiple bites at the blog (cue Fio clarification). Based on Fio's wording, I think they'd want a blog post to tie into Obsidian's games in some way.

So during an official Apex Legends tournament, players got hacked and remote installed cheating cheating software on their PCs. To make matters funny some got an account ban. What makes this story interesting is that apex runs a kernel level anti-cheat software and the suspicion is that the hack happened through it. This is the screen that flashed for every player when the hack happened. See if you can spot it.