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PrimeHydra

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Everything posted by PrimeHydra

  1. PrimeHydra
    That's uncalled for. The poll is biased (I admitted as much), but I don't think I was antagonizing anyone.
  2. PrimeHydra
    MReed: If some subquests are accessed only via dialog skill checks, then it makes sense. Sure enough, Mechanics aren't used in dialog (much) so it would then be a way of bringing Mechanics up to the other skills in terms of XP-unlock potential. I've yet to discover a side quest in the backer beta that was skill-gated, but I'd feel better if you're right and the final game has them. This would increase replay value, too.
  3. PrimeHydra
    I really did look. Kudos to your superior search skills!
  4. PrimeHydra
    There aren't multiple ways to pick locks or disarm traps, though. (You can find the key, but there goes your XP). Most skill checks in scripted conversations that are part of quest objectives, are not the not the only way to achieve the objective. You can usually choose "[Attack] That's enough out of you!" and kill them. This is true, which is why I conceded that such a system wouldn't work well with six characters and only five skills. If there were many more skills, there'd be (some) incentive to branch out, because you could get at least some of the skill checks for some of the skills. But none of this really negates the need for unbiased skill selection in the first place. That can be achieved without regard to specializing or diversifying. I guess I just don't see why we need XP for traps and locks. Most of the arguments for it state "I like it and I don't care if it's exploitable or creates a skill bias". OK. But why isn't disarming the trap or picking the lock reward enough? You get safe passage and/or loot. Do you really need to gain experience, too? It echoes the combat XP argument in a lot of ways ("that's their choice so leave their XP alone"). The difference is, traps and locks are not nearly as common as enemies. Incentivizing them even more than they already are makes no sense, because a) you're not constantly encountering them, b) getting past them is a significant reward in itself and c) there is only one way to gain their XP--Mechanics. As for throwing up your hands about the issue, there is still plenty of time until release. Expect people to debate it for a while. I joined the conversation well after the Kickstarter campaign, so maybe I'm less burnt out on it.
  5. PrimeHydra
    I wish it could be. But even if we go with the assumption that each character should max a skill, this makes it more desirable to always have a "mechanic". Getting through the game without a specialist in any of the other skills, sounds a lot less painful. I can easily see a party without an Athlete or a Loremaster; but no Mechanics? Now we not only get stung by traps and locked out of chests, we miss experience points. Isn't this skill desirable enough without that last bit? You raise an excellent point, though, one that deserves its own thread: What's the point of multiple skill points, or even of getting the choice to dump points into different skills, if maxing out is the only viable path? There are a number of solutions to this, such as limiting the number of points you can put into any given skill per level (e.g., two out of the five--or whatever the number is--skill points awarded when leveling). With six character slots and only five skills, though, not maxing one skill per toon seems pointless. I would love to see a system where well-rounded characters have their own appeal. Multi-classing in the D&D-based IE games was really interesting because it let you do more things with any one character--at the cost of not doing them as well as a specialist. They did say there will be more character progression options in the next patch. Let's see what develops!
  6. PrimeHydra
    +1. Clearly someone who understands software development!
  7. PrimeHydra
    If I could still edit the post, I'd reword the question to sound more neutral. But this is a forum, not a closed ballot--I'm certainly allowed to post my vote and explanations for it. If anything, I did my cause a disservice because people like to troll-vote just to piss off a slanted OP Furthermore, it would be ridiculous for me to think this is any kind of representative sample (even if the wording were unbiased). It is a means of prompting discussion and nothing more. By no means do I intend it to be statistically valid. That's a little insulting to anyone who wants to experiment with not having a mechanic. Maybe they don't want to dedicate a slot to a character whose main utility is dealing with traps, unlocking locks--and now, grabbing bonus XP. A character for whom they mindlessly click the [+] next to Mechanics whenever they level up, because it'd be crazy not to. It's easy enough to forgo the other four skills, or distribute their points in a more balanced fashion--because those skills won't be tied to hard-gated XP pools. With trap and lock XP in place, skipping Mechanics becomes even more punishing than it already is--making players less likely to try braving a dungeon without it. I think Obsidian wants players to build parties without feeling railroaded into specific choices. That's why, for example, they are against dump stats. Is this a huge deal? No. Will I play the game, regardless? Of course. But the same could be said for any number of design decisions that we discuss on this forum.
  8. PrimeHydra
    Edit: Never mind, I don't have one of the items needed. Still would be nice to know if quest is bugged.
  9. PrimeHydra
    I'm not a huge fan of having to confirm travel on the map. "Traveling to Dryford Crossing will take 4 hours. Confirm?" I get that it's to prevent accidental clicks, but I'd prefer to see the travel time either included with location labels, or shown when you mouse over the location.
  10. PrimeHydra
    After clearing a few rooms of spiders and wraiths in Lle a Rhemen, I hit Tab to see whether I'd missed any loot. Sure enough there was a pile (dead spider sac?) but I could not reach it, not by approaching it from either side of the wall. Load this savegame and press tab to see what I mean. Screenshot attached.
  11. PrimeHydra
    Kind of surprised to see the Yeas outweighing the Nays. I thought lockpick and trap XP was really unpopular among this forum. Anyone who voted Yes (or No), care to share your reasons?
  12. PrimeHydra
    I shared my own opinion, which is indeed biased
  13. PrimeHydra
    These don't bypass the Mechanics skill check, if I understand correctly. And what about traps?
  14. PrimeHydra
    So, max Mechanics or miss out?
  15. PrimeHydra
    It wouldn't be so bad if every skill focus provided a more or less equal opportunity for XP. But then you'd still have to max one skill per character, lest you miss a corresponding skill-gated experience pool. Why even provide multiple skill points per level? You might as well pick a skill on character creation and have it auto-level. Edit: Updated the OP to take your (excellent) point into account.
  16. PrimeHydra
    Better late than never. Thank you for lighting a fire under me arse.
  17. PrimeHydra
    Quote from J.E.Sawyer (full post), emphasis added: That part in italics seems misguided, for a very simple reason: Disarming traps and picking locks is a Mechanics skill check. Therefore, reaping all XP rewards will require a Mechanics-focused character in your party. None of the other sources of XP require specific skill focus. Between bestiary, exploration, and quest/objective rewards, together with carefully-designed levels, progression should be plenty frequent without forcing players (or at least "power players") to max Mechanics. That skill's plenty desirable without binding it to an XP pool. What do you guys think? Sign the poll and speak your mind. (I realize there is another thread that touches in this issue, but its survey is broader and its discussion has mostly devolved into yet another combat XP debate. So please, focus discussion on Trap and Lockpick XP, and whether it's good for the game. Thanks!) Edit: To clarify (thank you, wanderon) the problem isn't so much that Trap/XP is bound to Mechanics, it's that the other skills are NOT bound to XP pools. Even Bestiary unlocks are not strictly Lore-gated; low-Lore parties can unlock entries, they just need to fight more of a given beast. Even if each skill had an associated "XP activity", though, we'd have to make the usual-suspects group of rogue, wizard, fighter, etc., or else lose out. You may as well pick a skill for your character on creation and have it auto-level. Why provide multiple skill points per level if you're going to max one?
  18. PrimeHydra
    Maybe this is by design, but I noticed that recipes don't count ingredients in your stash when listing which ingredients you possess. This is when in a friendly area (town), so the stash is accessible and should be available for crafting recipes. [Reproduce] Load this savegame. Open your stash and note the Turquoise stone in the bottom-right corner. Open Crafting and look at the recipe for Potion of Minor Regeneration. Turquoise shows as 0/1 in red; i.e., that you don't have it. Take the Turquoise out of your inventory, go back into crafting. Now that recipe shows 1/1 Turquoise. If you truly mean for us to hunt for and pull out crafting ingredients, please consider this a design bug.
  19. PrimeHydra
    Crafting shouldn't require you to hunt for and haul out ingredients from your stash; it should automatically use components in your stash whenever the stash is accessible (i.e., in a friendly area, or when resting). (Suggested because I noticed that if I move an ingredient into the chest, the recipes no longer show it as an ingredient I have.) Wait, maybe this is a bug...will report on bugs forum
  20. PrimeHydra
    On a related note, it plays strangely to get the XP (and possibly level up) before finishing your fight with Medreth. Shouldn't the quest be completed only once you've dispatched him and his brigands? (In the case where they go hostile on you.) Leveling up your dudes at the start of a fight is a bit awkward. It's like, if you lie convincingly and they leave, I can understand getting the XP then. But if you fail to do this, the battle should be an additional condition of completing the quest.
  21. PrimeHydra
    I feel the same way! Haven't played a PC shooter since Quake 3. I get my ass handed to me in Halo games and mutter to myself, "damn kids and your controllers....give me a mouse and keyboard, I'll show you a thing or two..."
  22. PrimeHydra
    Hotpocket.
  23. PrimeHydra
    Josh's solution is rewarding Xp for opening locks and disabling traps.. the one thing from Baldurs Gate 2 nobody wanted to see make a return. What the hell just happened? Getting back to the original post, Immortalis has a good point: Why give XP to traps and lockpicks? It introduces a soft requirement: You have to have a Mechanics-focused character, or you'll miss out on experience. This isn't true of any other XP source, including combat XP! If the goal is to award experience more frequently, that's readily accomplished with granular quest XP (objectives), exploration XP, and bestiary unlocks. Rather than being play-style-focused (combat XP would make sense if PoE were designed without alternative resolutions, like stealth and diplomacy) trap/lockpick XP is literally bound to a specific talent. "What the hell" indeed!
  24. PrimeHydra
    You're never too old to enjoy your passions. Do people "age out" of making music, or watching movies? There's this unfortunate stigma that gaming is an immature pastime for immature people. Most who perpetuate this stereotype, in my experience, wouldn't know a good game if it hit them in the face. They watch a lot of bad TV, too. I hope that as a generation who grew up gaming comes of age, playing games will be more "acceptable". We're not a bunch of misunderstood teenagers anymore. We own this medium. And as others have said, we're in the midst of a renaissance of sorts. Just like how music and movies got their counter-commercial "indie" movements, we have one too. It's a great time to be a gamer. As for your coming-of-age anxieties, I can only say that it felt really scary to turn 20, and then to turn 30. It's something about the digit on the left changing. Stupid decimal system, if we used unary you'd just be IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII rather than IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII. It really is that small of a difference. By your mid-thirties you'll have better things to worry about. That's what rocks about getting older. You care less and less about stupid **** and embrace what really matters--like doing the things you love.
  25. PrimeHydra
    Somebody will belch irrational complaints no matter how awesome a game is. It makes me wonder what exactly those people expect, what types of games they enjoy. My guess is that they are nothing like Pillars of Eternity or the Infinity Engine games. Regardless, rather than feed said trolls it's best to add them to your ignore list. Arguing with them just bumps their threads to the top of the list, and perpetuates negativity. Having played the backer beta, I concur that Pillars is shaping up to be a classic. No amount of forum trolling will change that. But wouldn't it be nice for Obsidian if said trolls found something better to do with their time? Tip: To ignore a troll, follow these steps: Click the little down arrow next to your name in the upper-left corner of the screen (you must be logged in) and click Manage Ignore Prefs. Type the troll's name into the text box and check all three of the checkboxes, then click Save Changes. You will no longer see posts from said ****; their threads will still appear in the list, but the content of their posts will be hidden unless you click "View" on a per-post basis. Enjoy the fresh air!
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