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Jayngo

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Posts posted by Jayngo

    Traditional CRPG Maps vs. Deadfire Island Maps

    in Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire General Discussion (NO SPOILERS)

    Posted

    What Obsidian does here is kinda a traditional cRPG thing - Fallouts were quoted as direct inspirations when pitching the system during crowdfunding.

     

    I love it, one of my favourite additions to Deadfire. It keeps the exploration aspect of PoE1 or BG, while alowing the actual rendered spaces to be meaningful, rightly designed spaces. A better use of resources I would say. Discovering new places and avoiding/raiding ships is lots of fun, constant drain of resources (though for now seems like a less significant drain that I thought during beta) gives the feel of expedition and traveling.

     

    Whever it would be a ship or land, I loved how Fallouts did world map, I liked how ADOM did world map, I liked how Wasteland2 did world map, and I am digging very much how Deadfire did the world map.

    One mechanic I'm not sure if I like yet is the "survival" aspect to feeding the crew. It seems when I explore these islands they go through the resources pretty quickly and morale drops. I'm ok with that mechanic, but to me, it feels like it's more of a micro-manage at the time. Wish that "timer" would take a little bit longer to go off before it is feeding time.

     

    With regard to the map, I think it will grow on me. I think my biggest concern is that so far, the maps feel small. Hopefully this changes as I get into the game further. Just arrived at Neketaka last night when I stopped playing. From what I've heard, that city rivals Baldur's Gate in size. If that's the case, I'll be most impressed.

    Why do some people/reviewers dislike the story of Pillars so much.

    in Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire General Discussion (NO SPOILERS)

    Posted

    I have to admit, the story/world building in Pillars is not my favorite, when compared to Baldur's Gate/Icewind Dale. I give Obsidian full marks for creating their own world from the ground up. That's no small task.

     

    I think for me, I'm not crazy about how heavy the story depends on multiple god's and the whole reincarnation thing. It's just too much heaviness. I will say, Deadfire seems better, even though there appears to be more god stuff than PoE had so far. I love the idea of this big statue walking through the islands and you are giving chase. Cool concept. I think having the key words able to hover over, like in Tyranny helps a lot. Almost like a cheat sheet or cliff notes on the spot.

     

    With regard to characters and character building, I really love Eder and Aloth. I also like the rogue animated robot from WM (forget her name currently). Other than that, the other characters were just ok.

     

    Typically, I play CRPG's for the story and character development first, then leveling aspect, then combat, in that order. Even though I don't generally like the PoE world as much as say, D&D, it's still really fun and usually intriguing. Plus, the nostalgia factor of playing new CRPG's has not and will not wear off on me!

    Traditional CRPG Maps vs. Deadfire Island Maps

    in Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire General Discussion (NO SPOILERS)

    Posted

    Thought I'd start a topic about what people prefer. The traditional big map in most CRPG's (Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale, PoE1) vs how the maps in Deadfire work.

     

    I'm roughly 8 hours in so far. Finished the starter island and then proceeded north in my ship, stopping at every island I hit on my way to Neketaka. I appreciate the idea of open exploration on the sea and finding multiple islands, but so far, it seems most islands only have maybe one decent sized map and a bunch of items you can loot and pick up in other areas on the island. I was able to name an island, which was really cool and it shows up on the map of the island. So far, I've only come across one large map that was 4 levels deep. Everything else has felt rather empty for the most part.

     

    I know I'm early in the game and as I eventually open more of the World map I'm sure the amount of areas/maps to explore and fight on will be the same or greater than the amount of maps that were in PoE1. So far, the way things are laid out, it just feels like the game is smaller, including most maps.

     

    The question is, do you like how traditional CRPG maps are laid out, on one big World map, or are you liking the idea Deadfire has, where you explore individual islands that may or may not have a lot of locations?

    American accent in CRPGs. Yes or No?

    in Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire General Discussion (NO SPOILERS)

    Posted

    I'm American. Originally from Michigan, so I have a mid-western accent (the correct American accent  :yes: ). Seriously though, most news stations will hire reporters you see on TV with this type of accent. Easiest to understand and if I would be so daring to say....the closest to the correct form of English with regard to correct pronunciation.

     

    I moved to South Carolina some years ago (mainly "Southern" accent here, as we call it in the States). When it comes to immersion in RPG's I don't usually care about the accent, but when it came to Xoti, it really breaks immersion for me. I feel like I'm talking to my neighbor (the farmer across the street) when I hear her talk. It was such an odd accent choice for a "traditional" CRPG. 

     

    Other VERY noticeable American accents to me include: New York, Boston, Maine (an accent all their own!) and even the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (very close to Minnesota accent which had heavy Swedish settlement). Then you have the "Valley Girl" accent from California. You know, the "Oh My God, Becky. Look at her butt!"

     

    Anyway, this is an interesting thread!

    Almost all negative Steam user reviews are due to bugs

    in Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire General Discussion (NO SPOILERS)

    Posted

    I first read this topic to say: "Almost all negative Steam user reviews are due to drugs."

     

    I think I stayed up too late playing this game last night. Anyway, most of the reviews I read online mentioned bugs, but that wasn't the main reason they lowered their score in some cases. I didn't agree with most of the reviews I read. So far, I love the game, bugs and all. I totally expected this and while the import save thing is disappointing, I'm moving forward in the game and not worrying about what did or didn't transfer. I know the truth. I know the choices I made. It is what it is at this point.

    • Like 6

    Adding notes to world map?

    in Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire General Discussion (NO SPOILERS)

    Posted

    I will say this; I just recently played both Divinity Original Sin games for the first time and there are things I was wishing Obsidian would have incorporated in Deadfire. Adding notes to the world map is one such thing.

     

    I find myself still trying to rotate the camera in Deadfire lol. I'm fine with the traditional 2D/non-rotating camera (it's what I grew up on playing CRPG's) though.

    • Like 1

    Ship Battles

    in Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire Characters Builds, Strategies & the Unity Engine (Spoiler Warning!)

    Posted

     

    Is attacking the other ships (different factions, not pirates) on sea considered ok? Do somebody know if there is reputation cost or down the road some nasty surprise from that faction?  

    I've attacked pirates, slavers, Vailians, Rauataians and Magran's giants. Nothing has earned me any death threats or nasty surprises. After all, dead men tell no tales. ;)

     

    Check the triumphs:

    b62BxaH.jpg

     

    You, sir, are a maniac. Surely there will be repercussions to your violent ways....

    Ship Battles

    in Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire Characters Builds, Strategies & the Unity Engine (Spoiler Warning!)

    Posted

     

    Oh snap, you DIED? That's terrible, how are you coping?

     

    Let's send a message to Josh, he must apologise for this travesty immediately

     

    Yaa, a tuff guy . 

     

    Anyways, I have cooled down a bit about the problem and spent some time looking at some videos, but let me explain why I think this is a bad design, or at least a bad introduction to the design. 

     

    First, I die all the time, and that is fine. The whole Steel Paladin person ate my lunch without a problem (although I did appreciate the enthusiasm Aloth showed by trying to punch him to death). What I didn't die doing: Fighting the pirates in the first battle or fighting the mobs in the first area. Why? Because it seems the game's intro design, even though it is a sequel, is effective in introducing the player slowly to the mechanics. The rest of my deaths had to do with me doing things I knew probably wouldn't work but I wanted to play around with the mechanics and these choices led to the untimely demise of my poor character. 

     

    Enter ship combat: You get an extremely vague 3 page tutorial pop up, and then you are thrown into combat. Combat which is not short, combat most likely with a superior foe (in terms of ship size and condition, despite the fact I had crewed up and topped up all supplies). The worst part is that a death wastes like 45 minutes of pressing buttons, and the combat is so divorced from the normal flow of character/player interaction it is jarring and I dare say not unusual to feel a certain amount of frustration. 

     

    I know we are all super cool dudes (and dudettes) here who don't need to be told how to play video games and understand every opaque mechanic immediately, but at least there should have a been short (OPTIONAL as in skippable) ship battle to get you ready. 

     

    Did you have a chance to play the backer beta? That was my tutorial to ship battles and I agree, the three page tutorial in game is not much to go on.

     

    I've yet to fight an actual ship in game. Last night I finally got to open water (little over 6 hrs in) and I saw a ton of ships going by, but none were hostile. I traveled north from the starter island, came across a few ship wrecks to scavenge, etc; but no hostile ships.

     

    Is everyone having bad luck right off the bat, or are people exploring farther than they should be this early on? As a side note, before I left the starter island, I recruited as many sailors as I could and loaded up on supplies. Maybe that will help in the early battles?

    Audio Issues, all kinds

    in Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire General Discussion (NO SPOILERS)

    Posted

     

    Yeah, I found that too. If I didn't already have my hands full with writing the editor, I'd play around with making a music mod, and cutting the VO. A 0 length mp3, converted to an ogg and then "compressed" to a wem, should work in theory.

     

    Simply deleting wem files may cause errors in the error log or a game crash at start, I'm not sure which.

    I've deleted WEM files without repercussions, so removing voiced audio for NPCs is possible.

    However, I also am not a fan of Xoti's voice, and there doesn't seem to be a way to remove ALL of her VO without breaking something.

     

    Yeah, she has that southern US accent. Makes her sound like some kind of cult nut job individual.

    Audio Issues, all kinds

    in Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire General Discussion (NO SPOILERS)

    Posted

    I love audio, especially in CRPG's, so this thread caught my eye. Things I noticed:

     

    - Ambient sounds are WAAAY too quiet. Ambient sounds are my favorite part of these types of games. I agree, it needs it's own slider.

    - I loved Justin's score in PoE1. I listened to it to and from work for months straight lol. So far, (4 hrs or so in), the music has been good, if not uninspired (as in I don't notice it while I'm playing) and some seems to be reused from PoE1. I have the digital soundtrack, but I really don't want to start listening to it until I complete the game and hear the music in game first.

    - The VO is fine by me. So far it's great. With regard to character voices, I was fine with them, as my girl from Icewind Dale 2 appears to be a voice set yet again: "Into the fray!" I simply love her voice. I've always wondered who that VA was.

    • Like 1

    Do Scepters Now Benefit From One-Handed Style?

    in Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire General Discussion (NO SPOILERS)

    Posted

    I have this question too, but it has to do with this "saber" that has green flame on it (I forget the name). When I tried to compare it to Eder's equipment it brought up his shield. I thought it was a bug, but I believe it acts as some type of shield, even though it has dmg amounts in it's description?

     

    I may be totally off, but it totally confused me. Anyway, it looks really awesome in his had. Like a green torch lighting the way, along with Xoti's cool lamp!

    A Messy & Broken Launch

    in Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire General Discussion (NO SPOILERS)

    Posted

    My FPS goes from phenomenal to garbage in about an hour due to stuttering and supposed memory leaks - moving the camera, especially on the world map, makes it look like the screen is tearing even with vsync on. Changing the graphics settings makes zero difference.

     

    I really didn't want to have to get a new PC just yet since costs have skyrocketed this year, but it seems that may be my only choice.

    I had the same problem last night about 2 hours in. I totally think it's the new "Smart Camera." Anyway, I never turned it off and just rebooted the game/Steam client. Everything was fine after that for another 2 or so hours when I quit.

     

    I'm sure you were joking, but spending money right now on PC parts is literally insane. Your best bet and cheapest bet, is to wait for a patch or two within the next few weeks/month. These major issues will get ironed out.

    • Like 1
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