SkySlam

If I start a new playthrough now, will I be able to play the WMp2 when it gets out? Or will I have to start over again, considering all the things that the expansion is going to change with the 3.0 patch (e.g. stronghold)?

I mean the standard protagonist' soundsets; you have to choose one when you create a new character (Noble, Mystic, Sinister etc.). You can modify the standard soundsets entirely, replacing the 70+ audio files of each set with your own. For example, the "Female - Feisty" (which is especially annoying due to the hiSSing) can be replaced by the voice of a different NPC from a different game, or even by your own voice! I'm surprised there are no fan-made sets yet, or at least I can't find them. It does take some time, but still... PS: I agree about D:OS, the MC voicesets were terribly lacking.

While the companions' voiceovers are great (except for GM for the following reason), I can't say the same for player's voices, especially females! The main issue is the terrible sibilant S, which makes a very annoying hissing sound, at least for my ears. That said, I'd love to download some custom voice packs for the game. Does anyone know where to find them? I had no luck with forum search or Steam. I am modding in a Viconia soundset to replace the hideous Female Mystic Voice, but it's taking me quite some time, because I can't find the original sounds from BG anywhere, so I'm using a youtube video to get the voices I'm looking for! Surface dwellers can be so stupid!

You might want to add a spoiler tag to your last sentence!

I have really enjoyed the Eothas/St. Waidwen story; I hope PoE2 will bring us to the Readceras and show us how well the theocracy is doing since the explosive fall of Waidwen. Vailian Republics would also be fascinating, of course. I don't dig pirates too much, but I trust Obsidian to make the theme interesting anyway. The only thing I wouldn't like for PoE2 is a prequel. I really want to see how the world evolves from now on. And see more of it!

Argh, I was hoping to play it in a couple of weeks... thanks for the info anyway. Well, at least there is a definitive date now, and enough time for another playthrough!

Wow, the tone of the thread sure has changed in few hours! I don't know what you have read, @BugsVendor, but there was no aggression nor personal attacks in the answers. That's before you came, of course! I am definitely a PoE enthusiast, to me this game is the best thing happened in the last decade of videogaming, but I still agree with OP on many points. Calling people here blind creatures with preschool arguments is unnecessarily rude and out of place honestly. Also, this forum never was alien to heavy criticism, but if you want to turn it into a crusade of phony "purist gamers" vs "blind stupid fanboys", I can suggest you another dump forum on the internet where gamebashing and namecalling are rewarded as virtue!

Interesting read, I strongly agree on stronghold, reputation and wilderness areas. While the last one can't be removed from the game, I agree that the other two should be entirely removed/completely reworked in PoE2! Personally, I enjoyed the Endless Paths; each level felt unique enough to make me wonder "what will the next one bring? What enemies will I meet there? Which theme will it have?". Anyway, I can also understand your point of view on this matter. The only part where I strongly disagree with you is side quests. I think the most of them are interesting and original. Also, I wouldn't like a mini-campaign for every single side quest, so minor/quick ones are welcome. BG2 also had them. On the other hand, speaking about bigger ones, I think there are some remarkable and memorable quests in the game. The first ones that come to mind: 1) Buried Secrets. A real mini-campaign of a good length, with its own interesting story, but still tied with the main quest. The bells' puzzle is very well thought up, the fights are though, and the final discovery is... definitely impressive, even without special effects or a flashy final boss! 2) Lord of a Barren Land. Another mini-campaign, this time with a straightforward story. Still, there are so many ways to approach it/solve it and so many things going on in Raedric's Hold that it almost feels like part of the main quest. 3) The Man Who Waits. A personal favorite, it really striked me during my first playthrough. The sanitarium was especially interesting for me thanks to Aloth, and the side quest there felt moving and also a bit creepy. Definitely something I won't forget anytime soon. Maybe the side quests don't feel memorable enough right now because the game is still pretty new. Perhaps, in a few years, you will remember the horrible secret that lied in the temple of Eothas, or the fiery assault to the tyrant's hold with renewed enthusiasm!

I wholeheartedly agree. I had to stop my first playthrough in April after 60 hours (real life took over), and I restarted the game many months later (after 2.0) and the changes were incredible! Party AI options are the best feature other than bugs fixing ofc. Indeed! I discovered that feature later in my playthrough, but I still think it should be changed in PoE2. During act I, I had to reload a save a dozen of times in order to read/understand what Aloth was saying to Kana... This example is particularly fitting, because the disappearing text was not only transcribing the words spoken, but also the situation:

My profile: 30-something y.o. male. I started my gaming life with the NES, then Warcraft and Heroes of Might and Magic series introduced me to the pc world. I discovered RPGs with Final Fantasy 7/8, and only later on I finally met IE games. I played BG2 before BG1 (madness, I know), and I enjoyed them quite a lot. It was such a unique experience in my life, I can still recall those sleepless, feverish nights. You can imagine my surprise and excitement in seeing the PoE kickstarter campaign. Sadly, I was late to the party and I ended up not backing the game, much to my regret. What I loved about Pillars - Story, Atmosphere, Graphics. The fantasy setting didn't make the game alien to the real world. The reflections on human nature, instinct, belief etc. were interesting and actual to me. The graphics are amazing, definitely keep the isometric view with pre-rendered backgrounds for the next titles in the series: it is magnificent! - Companions. They were all interesting in their own ways. The voiceovers were all above average, some of them fantastic! The random interjections and party banters really made them feel alive, with distinct personalities and traits. I only hope we'll see even more of them in PoE2! The personal quests were interesting; some felt a bit incomplete/rushed (Pallegina especially), but all in all well done! - Difficulty. I've read many things about this topic, but the difficulty of the game was perfect for me. I played normal during my first playthrough, and even tho it felt a bit too easy after Act 2, I still enjoyed it. Now I'm playing on Hard and it's even more interesting. A friend of mine, completely new to the genre, is having a great (and balanced) experience on Easy. Well done once again! What I would improve - Act 3. It felt really strange, boring and almost rushed on my first playthrough... and still feels like this to me. Keeping my post spoiler-free, I think it introduces some "situations" very quickly... and it's also very quick at "resolving" them! In addition, while I kinda liked DB, TE felt almost annoying, and I ended up skipping all the side quests and extra contents, rushing through the final dungeon. Surprisingly, I've found Act 4 to be extremely interesting and well written once again, like the majority of the game; so the anomality is only in act 3 for me. If I had to rank the acts of the game (and why not, since it's my post! ^^), I'd say: Act I > Acts II & IV > Act III - Party banter on the map: I hated reading the disappearing text over the heads of my companions! Most of the times I missed part of the dialogues, because I wasn't fast enough to read/understand the sentences or because the banter started on a different part of the map and I wasn't looking at my party. This should definitely not happen in PoE2! Party banter is one of the reasons my companions felt alive, I'll never forget the fun I had reading Aloth-Kana or Eder-Sagani. The banter should happen in Baldur's Gate style, or in a different way which still lets the player read and continue when he/she is ready. - My main character's portrait should be shown in the dialogue box when I'm making a choice. Also, having some portraits for important people/questgivers during the adventure would help the player remember them, especially when they are voiced! - This last thing is more a wish: I would love to meet the companions again in poe2, not as possible playable companions, but as important/casual characters in the world. I believe the endings of most of them could already hint to this. Final words PoE entertained me for hunders of hours already, and I haven't played the White March yet! The reason for this wall of text is to thank Obsidian and all the people involved in the creation of this masterpiece, including the backers of course! 2015 has been especially difficult for me in real life, but Pillars proved to be a great relief and a fantastic way to forget my troubles, at least for a bit. I strongly hope to play TWM part 2 and PoE2 as soon as possible! I know the higher-ups won't ever read this, and please forgive my english, but I still felt like I had to do it! Cheers, Andrea

Congratulations! Totally fitting and deserved award in my opinion.

Yes, you can only use it during combat and you must target a free space on the battlefield, where you summon the copy. If you try to cast it on a target (ally, enemy) or an occupied area, the button will be greyed out! Great choice btw, one of the best spells in the game for me!

I strongly dislike the idea of being locked to specific sets of weapons & armors for any class. I enjoy creating the weirdest builds for my characters and I hope it will stay like this in PoE2! If OP wants to roleplay class restrictions, I see no problem in him doing that! He can self-restrict his monks to fight unarmed and his chanters to only use pistols. Why enforce these rules on every player when we have been given so much freedom?

I've already completed both the quests Two Sided and Clandestine Cargo, but I still get to ask every animancer if they are the awakening expert or the ones buying relics. I don't know if this is intended, but it doesn't make much sense.

Do you like them? And what do the casters say when they pronounce the spell words? I really, really enjoyed the incantation sounds in PoE, especially when it's Aloth speaking, but don't understand the words. And I'm pretty sure that - contrary to BG - this is not latin!

That would be great. I'm thrilled about a second chapter in this universe, hopefully the parallelism with BG 1-2 will stay true, so we are in for a true masterpiece! Also, if they decide to kickstart it (or part of it), I'll be able to partecipate this time.

Hello everyone! I only played the original game (and din't actually complete it yet after 60+ hours). I'd like to start over and play the whole story once again, this time with the White March (part 1 and 2). I'm curious about the new companions, in particular how do they interact with the party and the original content? Are they limited to the White March part and then become silent followers? Or do they feel alive all game long, commenting events and bantering with other companions? I'd love to know the answer because I'm planning my party in advance, obviously! Also, will Part 2 bring more new companions? Thanks to anyone kind enough to answer; Pillars was a blast for me, I can't wait to play it again!

Indeed. I suppose many people there enjoy this "bad name", because they believe it gives them some sort of importance and/or credibility among gamers. This whole review and especially its hyperbolic conclusion are exactly what I was expecting from them. Sad to be proven right once more about the Codex.

Is it really ONE hour and half from now or TWO hours and half?? I'm getting maaad!

It's clearly a matter of personal taste, nothing else. Personally, I liked the idea of a female priest holding an arquebus. That is a companion I'd like to have in my party and interact with, as I'm curious to know more about her story and background. I can't say the same about Durance, because I dislike his appearance, concept and voiceover. However, since he was written by Avellone, I will surely give him a try in my second playthrough. Of course I could roleplay a female priest to replace Cadegund, but it wouldn't be the same. You know the difference between reading a good book and writing one yourself, right?

Cadegund was a really interesting concept, I was looking forward to playing with her too. Sad to learn she is not a companion anymore. Any chance of a couple of hidden/unannounced companions?

Principle of course. I can understand english written text pretty well but i don't wanna promote a developer who deliberately ignores me as a customer only for his convenience, expecially when other devs don't, even low-budget\indie ones. It's a matter of customers care Here's where you have it wrong. Translation need to be budgeted. And personally, to the question: "Would you rather see the game translated in your language, or get one more content in the game?" ... as much as I like my language, I'd take the latter without blinking. I strongly disagree with this. Personally, I have a decent knowledge of english, which is more than enough for 99% of the games on the market. However, PoE happens to fall in that 1%. In my opinion, heavily text-based RPGs with lot of unusual terms need to be translated (and translated well!), in order for them to be appreciated to the fullest. I can't really immerge in the story nor feel the atmosphere of the game if I have to tab out and check WordReference every 10 mins. Or I could pretend the dictionary was my grimoire, but still... Maybe after the first playthrough in my language, I will consider playing the game in english, just to see if something got "lost in translation", but I'm grateful for the Italian option: it is much more important for me than any extra content. Also, I don't know how Obsidian manages its funds, but honestly "money for translation reducing gameplay features" would be a VERY strange business model. The two things shouldn't even be related. I think many people use that example just for the sake of the argument, but I could be wrong, of course.

This is clearly an exaggeration. At least it proves that the game is in such a good shape that people have to get mad over these very minor things. I don't pretend to speak for a majority, but I think that many players will find area looting useful and not immersion-breaking at all. And before some arrogant "codex guy" butts in telling me "you didn't play BG!"... I DID, since I was 14. And still, I approve this feature. It is not a "take all" button, and it's plausible that items/weapons/personal possessions won't stay GLUED to individual bodies after they've been dismembered or fireballed, therefore you have to pick them up from a small area.

They all look amazing, can't wait to see the hooded male ones! I guess I'll have to wait till release for those...

Such a heated discussion over such a little thing! People speaking of verisimilitude and immersion should be happy, because area looting makes much more sense in my opinion. After a furious battle, with fireballs, dismembered enemies and imploded bodies, personal belongings (like gems, money, pendants etc) aren't going to stick to the original possessors as if they were mannequins in a boutique that you can individually loot! It's much more likely that after a battle all the items are scattered and mixed up, so you have to pick them up from an area, without knowing who were the original holders. If it's optional, better. If it's not, no big deal honestly! PS: I played BG too, but this feature is not ruining the "spiritual successor" idea...!