waltc

I very much appreciate the fact that the Obsidian crew knows how to use the GOG update features really well for Deadfire--including the developer update and beta channels. I give you massive Kudos and thanks for that! And I was wondering...since both Obsidian and InXile have been picked up by Microsoft now, if maybe some learned person in Obsidian could step over to InXile (or email or call the appropriate person) and offer to help them learn how to properly use the GOG developer tools for updating and patching their games, and how to use the GOG developer update and beta channels, too? I mean, you are still competitors, but also friends and colleagues, I'm sure. Don't mean to embarrass them, but the fact is they seem to have no clue as how to use GOG's developer channels, or how to do partial patches for their games--and the pity of it is they don't seem to think it's worthwhile to learn how to do it properly. Every game patch--even for relatively small issues, is 25GB for BTIV. They don't use the GOG developer channels to post the patches and releases themselves--they just shoot the entire game install to GOG and tell them to do it. Yet they seem to have no problem in using Steam's developer channels--even though the principles behind both are similar, I am sure. GOG has developed a front end for its customers and developers alike, Galaxy, that offers the same developer flexibility that Steamworks offers, yet is not DRM as all Galaxy-installed games can be run from their own native executables, bypassing Galaxy completely--it's up to the customer. I use Galaxy to install and update these days, and run all 326 games from their native exe's. It's a sound system. Then later, when the game is finalized as to developer patching, I'll download my back-up copy of the game to a separate drive and store it. I can see by how well Obsidian is handling this GOG release (Deadfire) how much more learned and skilled the Obsidian staff is concerning this sort of thing... People--many of us--have been asking InXile to please address these shortcomings for months, and in every case the response is a wall of complete silence. Evidently someone at InXile believes that Steam customers are the only ones who count, and acts inappropriately when it comes to their GOG customers--I mean, it was difficult to have them actually post update GOG.com readme's for their BTIV 25GB download updates, at one point--and betas were for Steam customers, but not for GOG customers. I think that maybe you guys could actually teach them something if you can get them to listen. It may be just me--but if you are going to release a game through GOG distribution, it only stands to reason that you would learn how to update and patch your games properly through GOG, eh? Talk about self-fulfilling prophecies, the sloppier you are with GOG customer support, the fewer copies you can expect to move through GOG, eh? ( Filler/background: I prefer GOG because of their position on DRM. It's very insulting to paying customers. Always bought my games, always will. I also like the fact that GOG provides me with a stand-alone installable copy for all of my games--started buying software in the 80's, on the Amiga, actually. Always got an installable copy--my installable copy... When I moved to Windows in 1995, I always received an installable copy, too, of course. Always will buy my software. I have some 326 titles on GOG--and some 61 on Steam, about 28 on Origin and about 10 on Uplay--mainly because of my preference for the absence of DRM and for the receipt of an *installable* copy of my own. I did, however, purchase PoE1 on Steam--but only because it was not simultaneously released on GOG, for some reason. Yes, I am prejudiced--I have a favorite software distribution outlet--and I can tell you why--as I just did... Last--Steam also extends its DRM to its *forums* if a developer asks for that--such that you cannot post before you buy the game on Steam! Steam says that its DRM (having to run Steam to play the game and/or a forum lock) is only done at the request of the developer, and that is true--PoE1 did not require that Steam be running in order to launch the game from its executable--and of course did not lock its forums (rare, but I have seen this, too, on Steam.) Still, had I a choice, I would have purchased the game through GOG. Valve leaves it up to the developer, but if Valve took a stance similar to GOG's, then no Steam games would require that Steam be running in order to play the game, etc. And it would be nice to see Steam provide installable copies of my games, too. I have hard drives and partitions lettered from C:\ to M:\ consecutively--right now I cannot even get Steamworks to install a game or move a game to L:\ or M:\--just won't do it. Additionally, Steam has worked it so that some games must be installed installed on a particular drive--even if the customer prefers not. But all of this is no issue with GOG, I'm happy to say. Don't even have to think about it. ) Anyway, suffice it to say that I am very pleased to see the difference with Obsidian and their GOG customers! It is night and day! Fargo should know better, imo. Please offer them a helping hand if you can.

Thanks! I spoke too soon--it's coming through on the GOG beta-channel right now!... Actually, I have GOG set up to always apply the latest patch, beta or regular, and so the full patch is coming through now.

Why is .23 not on the GOG beta channel? You know, GOG has a beta channel just like Steam. It works fine as far as I can see. I'd love to test the beta (since I have finished D: OS and D: OS 2) and could possibly supply some useful information. Never mind! Coming through on the GOG beta channel now! Thanks! (Actually, I have GOG setup to deliver the latest patch, whether beta or normal release.)

OK, I'm running the latest beta--how to access turn-based? Or is it actually there yet? Maybe I missed it somehow in the Options settings. I don't mind the automatic mode where you pre-configure the AI for each party member, and you can still set up things by pausing with the space bar--a' la' the original PoE1. But a turn-based mode on the order of D: OS 2 would be terrific, too. I have the GOG beta, 4.1.xx19--is that it? Never mind--it's coming through on the GOG beta channel right now!

First let me say that I'm very pleased with the work done on the introduction since the game shipped originally--it's much better now! It's 95% fixed, I'd say, and was actually enjoyable. The only part of the intro that still sticks out like a sore thumb is the unbelievably verbose description of the dwarf's face... The narrated description would have been fine if you were reading it in a book--but we're looking at the dwarf in the scene, and there's a sketch of the dwarf's face we see as well--and so the verbosity of the description is way, way over the top and wholly gratuitous--I actually grimaced through that bit of the narration. A one-liner like "The dwarf had a face only a mother could truly love," or something similar would have been much better--the stuff about the "giant acne craters" (paraphrased) was really too much. But everything else is much, much better in the intro. Good job on almost getting it 100%... (Watching the Intro originally inspired me to hold off purchasing the game until now.) Right now, my impression is that the game is much superior to PoE1 in just about every way. The musical score in PoE2 is actually excellent--I find it enhances the game. Where in PoE1, it was as likely to put me to sleep as anything else. It seemed more of a dirge in the first game...Graphic rendering in PoE2 is much better--noticeably--than PoE1, especially at 3840x2160..! Very nice. Very nice voice acting, too--giving voice to the lines is a massive improvement over the old days. I still read, of course, but it is much more enjoyable with voice--good voice, that is. Still in the very beginning--out of the caves--met the Govenor--but that's all, so far. I'm sure I will have more to say later on...

*cough* CRPD with the Witcher series was the first software company to abandon the "take their money and run" Electronic-Arts business plan--Larian came right along behind them with EE versions for D:OS and D:OS2...then definitive versions and so on. (You didn't know that Larian released the Definitive Version of D:OS 2 at the end of August '18?) InXile is doing it right now with BTIV (the upcoming patch will fundamentally change the game and make many, many improvements) and Bard's Tale Trilogy is still being worked on (BT3 has yet to ship) but I'll wager InXile has easily outsold the originals already by quite a margin--and the last game in the trilogy hasn't shipped nor has the legacy mode for all three BT titles. What a great thing--they've taken good games of yore and made them great by continuing to work on and improve them. You can bet it's put money in their pockets and will pay them dividends for years to come! Obsidian is actually late to the party, but better late than never! What's a waste is abandoning games 6-8 months after shipping them--regardless of what they need, or how they might be improved to more closely match the developers' original plans and goals for the game. What polishing, refining, and improving your games will do for a company is ensure that those titles keep returning income for many years after development ceased--D: OS 2 still regularly tops the Steam sales list--and it's all because of all the extra work and time that went into the Definitive Edition. CDPR made a fortune on their Witcher games after establishing a solid reputation for W1 and W2 through their constant refinement of those games--which are still selling today. The Software graveyard is full of games that were abandoned long before it was time--that nobody today remembers, etc.

Hey, thanks for all the responses! I didn't expect many, if any! Anyway, I wasn't implying that PoE music was poor--not at all, it's very well done and I agree with those who thought so! It's just that--seriously--it lulled me to sleep (not literally cutting z's... ) but it simply sort of sapped my energy and enthusiasm. A better description might be that I found it kept "lulling" me. (Morrowind did the same thing long years ago. Wonderful game that nearly put me to sleep after a decent play--I tend to play for hours at a time.) I like edgy, kind of bizarre, occasionally off-pitch type of musics--that don't necessarily sound good at all when listened to as a mere sound track, but music which serves to compliment the game--and where you are going--your quests, etc. A sound track that really only takes shape when it accompanies what is happening in the game. Battle music doesn't always have to be throbbing, etc.--heck, sometimes no music at all during a battle is quite evocative. That's all--something more in tune with the sort of high fantasy we all like so much in these games and films. But as far as the LoTR goes--I was as big a fan as anyone--but it's been done to death in 2018, know what I mean? Wife and I pulled out the BLuRays the other day and decided to watch all three movies again--and I'll tell you, much as I fondly remember these films, we both thought they were already a bit *dated*--and that was something I never thought was possible. But it's true. After something is heard for the 50th time it loses something in the translation. Anyway...I hope this is a bit more clear--but it probably isn't..

In PoE1, even with the all the DLCs and patches installed, loading saved games--especially later in the game--brings things to a crawl, literally--so much so that it actually discourages loading from a saved game to try different techniques, approaches, etc. Has this improved substantially in PoE2?

Pillars of Eternity was a fine game, if a bit rough around the edges, but the sound track almost lulled me to sleep on more than one occasion. Lively, and kind of weird, like Witcher 3 soundtrack would be nice.

You should be able to click on each person in your party and click the blue head icon and turn off the AI individually. Yes, indeed, this is the "separate button" it's always been...

Not quite. Those digital stuffs like novellas, OST are not. Also.. many publishers like THQ Nordic gave me TQ Anniversary when i only has the vanilla version. Obsidian are looking big on money and not about good reputation with players. Look at CDPR giving out free DLCs. Fine with me--"the stuff" they can take or leave--I want the *game* and *only* the game! And by George of the Jungle, I got it today--I got like three separate patches for some reason! First time I've logged onto Steam in awhile--may have to do another playthrough--depends on how much I remember as I go... Very nice pre-Christmas gift--thanks, O...

I discovered this awhile back...easy way to dramatically cut down on load times is to constantly pare down the size of your save-game folder in terms of the number of games stored. Create a new subfolder inside your savegame folder you can call OldSaves (or something you like) and move all but your last 5-10 savegames to it. You will immediately notice a *dramatic* reduction in loading time for saved games. Keep playing and saving until loading slows too much again, rinse & repeat. Seems to directly involve the time it takes for the game to parse and order the number of saves you have in the folder--the more saves in the folder the longer it takes. Give it a whirl! Also, when you enter a new area a savegame is generated automatically of your last position in case you are surprised by trouble and can't proceed in that direction at the moment--that takes time, too. I use a mod to manipulate what happens when I move to new areas--can't recall right now if the game allows you to turn off autosaves, etc. I wish before they say so long to the game that they'd port it to the latest version of the engine they are using, too. It's not mandatory, but it would be nice! inXile did that with Wasteland 2 as a nice surprise....Hope this helps as I realize this may be more info than you need...

Are you sure? I seem to recall many of them being poorly written and cringe-worthy. Not at all something I'd expect from the actual Obs writers. It's not cringeworthy, imo...your central character is a Watcher, remember, and several things in the story only begin to unfold after you have communed with a soul--the extras I don't mind as it's exactly what you'd expect--not every soul you read will provide information directly bearing on your life, etc. People are upset because not every single soul you brush has a bearing on the story, but I think that's silly, myself. If anything, those snippets of souls simply broaden and deepen the game. The only "silly" thing--as others have mentioned--are the gravestones--because none of them directly bear on the story or events (IIRC.) But, lots of games are like that...At least the players are told in advance about these things and can avoid them if they wish. Believe me...they are not distracting... Also, I'm not sure why people think that humor lessens the depth of a game...? I don't get it, as I think the appropriate humor--gallows humor, etc.--is very lifelike and adds a lot to the game. You even find humor in Lord of the Rings...the books, I mean. It doesn't lessen the impact, imo, and if done right, can deepen the impact substantially.

The 3.00.9xx (latest one via Steam) is making a tremendous difference in the game! Can't wait for 8 more days to pick up the PTII expansion! OK, this game is truly going to be a contender, I hope, for the 2016 RPG awards--it seems like the game is finally homogenizing, if you know what I mean! I think it's fairly important, too, to start the game over with the patch/expansion. The game has always seemed more like a collection of disparate pieces than a unified whole, until now--I think that when the last patch for PTII is done--this game will move into legendary status! I have to admit that even in combat--it was fun from the start--I do enjoy not having to micromanage every character through every turn,,,the automatic scripting seems to work really well in the latest 3.xx patch! Very happy with it--because I can still pause the action at any time and direct individual characters! Good job, Obsidian...! This is what comes of not walking away from a game the minute it's published--or six months later, etc. You hang in there until you get it right--get it like you want it. I am very happy with the game...!

I really enjoy PoE, and will pick up the last expansion, but I gotta' say that nothing I've ever played is remotely close to Witcher 3. It's the new bar for RPGs in every category, imo. I've lost count of my playing hours (somewhere north of 100) and have yet to get bored--which I consider an incredible achievement on the part of CDPR.

Personally, I don't think Kickstarters should include stretch goals of any kind. The pitch should include anything and everything the developer wants to put into the game, and his goal should reflect same. "Here's what I want to do," seems much cleaner than "Tell me what you want me to do." No one should have to tell the developer anything. Some of these guys have been about the business for 30 years--they should already know what to do. In spades. And by and large, they do. "Stretch goals" seem dishonest to me, like "afterthoughts" that are used simply as a pretext to raise more money than was originally asked for. A great game design won't have any room for stretch goals in the initial pitch because it will include any that might be of value (aside from the crazy ones, of course.)

Except that Pillars on Steam has no DRM... None, nada. I can't be certain of this, of course, but it seems like a GOG-purchased expansion for the Steam game would work fine, because the Steam version is just like the GOG version--Steam doesn't have to be running at all to play the game. Got two recent games through Steam that are like that, Pillars and Witcher 3. On Steam it's the developer who calls the shots on DRM...if the developers say, "No DRM" then even the Steam game has no drm associated with it. It's funny...I've got ~100 hours in Pillars so far, but my Steam account says I have 8 hours in the game... I've actually launched the game very few times from within Steam--usually I simply run the executable as I'd run any GOG game. The *only* thing Steam has over GOG atm is a superior patching apparatus--GOG doesn't allow developer access to their games that are on GOG. Developer sends GOG patch and then GOG puts said patch in game Libraries of GOG customers who own it. Takes a day or two longer than Steam, usually. However, the flip side is generally that Steam patches tend to be much larger than GOG patches, usually. Or at least it seems that way. Large patches are no problem for me, but people with metered connections (poor souls) or data caps might look at it much differently. EDIT: Almost forgot to again say "Thank You!" one more time to Obsidian for doing that with your Steam release of Pillars!

I somehow got the idea that the 2.03 patch was a beta...don't know how. But I guess it isn't. That's fine--I was expecting a 2.02.xxx non-beta patch first, I suppose. I'm getting off track with these betas...

I see...So you'd say, "My only regret is that I have but one life to give for my Linux!", eh? j/k!

Formation and Sneaking buttons are on the main panel. It would make sense to move AI button there too. Just saying. Where on the main panel would you put it?

I have a much simpler workaround that, from the looks of these screen grabs, will work absolute wonders for any Linux gaming system: dual-boot to Windows 10. Elementary, my dear Spambot...

Do yourself a big favor and get rid of Norton's...no, it's not better just because you paid for it, unfortunately. People don't realize that most of the so-called AV-program "comparisons" available on the web are sponsored by a pay-for-your-AV-software company--and of course they enjoy presenting results that cast the free AV programs in a poor light. I go by experience, and frankly, I started using Defender long ago (when you had to buy it--it was called Microsoft Security Essentials then--or maybe just "Security Essentials" as I started using it before Microsoft bought the company) and I've used it for many years if not a decade or more, and in its present form, as Defender, standard in Win10, the program is superb. When those times come up that I do run into a nasty Defender nails it instantly. It's been great in that regard. But here's the great thing about Defender: you can kiss false positives like this away! I don't think I've ever had one with MSE/Defender--at least that I can recall. It is extremely effective and quick with real nasties, as I mentioned. The other dividend is that of them all Defender has absolutely the lightest resource footprint and is by far the least invasive. I've seen systems with McAfee's or AVG or Norton's that are slow as molasses and themselves cause problems with other programs. Just thought I'd pass it on...'Course, if you like false positives then I guess Defender is not for you...

The stronghold is simply a part of the game...like the Vale and any other territory. It's interwoven into the game itself...I can't find anything wrong with that. As far as having to head back to the Stronghold to defend it from invaders...you're always given several days of advance notice, which I've found, no matter where I am, is plenty of time to get to the surface, get back there, defend your castle, rest up, etc. and return--or maybe go somewhere new. Usually I can stay where I am a couple more days and continue to fight or explore, before I have to head back, etc. The game is what it is...I've never understood people getting unhappy with a game because it isn't what they would prefer it to be, instead--(they think!)...Lol... No matter how "bare-bones" the stronghold, or how intricate and demanding, there will always be people who bitch about it... The thing is that the game isn't about your stronghold--that's just a part of it--so if you make it too demanding then it overshadows the other elements in the game, elements meant to have more significance. I've got a full complement of stronghold fighters, a 100% complete stronghold, and I rarely ever see my funds dropping below $20,000... Usually I am in the 30's and always flush with cash--with an infinite stash there is no reason to ever run out of $$$. But then, when my castle is invaded I make it point to be there and rally my mercenaries and fight alongside them, and I save a lot of $$$ in the process. I also think it's a good thing when the game penalizes the player for neglecting his stronghold when he knows it will come under attack. Not acting on that advance notice indicates the player is too lazy to defend his property and doesn't really care what happens to it, imo. So it is only fitting that in his absence his paid defenders abandon their posts and don't do their jobs (if the Lord of the castle doesn't care, why should they?)--and stuff gets knocked down and has to be rebuilt, etc., at considerable expense. I learned early in the game that I needed to participate with the defense of the stronghold if I was going to bother to rebuild it in the first place. It's only logical. Complaining about it seems like complaining about the color of the sky in the game--it is what it is, you you either play the game as it is or you choose not to.

I've only just reached the Twin Elms cities, and the one thing I've noticed is that even though I'd never been there, the town of Hearthstone(sp?) has no fog of war at all and its map is fully revealed. Other towns relating to the expansion are the same, if memory serves. Not sure whether I like that or not...I like the fog of war initially on a map, but when territories are explored I do expect it to be completely gone by that time.

Well, sometimes that's how full games are developed. I suppose that Obsidian could have waited another year & some-odd months to release the whole game, including all of White March (all "parts" of White that Obsidian has planned), but I think that strategy would have gone over like a lead balloon. As it is, at some future date when the whole game is complete it will no doubt be sold as one complete game at that time, I'm sure. But for now, if you want to eschew the White March yet still finish the game you can certainly do that--so it isn't like the expansion is something you have to buy in order to finish the original game, is it? It's for sure that PoE will not be the first game to release an expansion that simply adds new areas & quests to an existing game universe. But already it seems they've added some significant things to the game that weren't planned, as well--like the AI and other stuff put into version 2.x of PoE. All of this stuff takes time, and if people don't wish to be in on the ground floor of a game's development then they should studiously avoid kickstarters in the future, imo. Kickstarters are for people who can go the distance. The following things were true when I bought PoE (I did not do the KS for some reason I don't now recall... 1) The original game is complete and can be finished without buying the expansion(s)... 2) I knew when I bought the game that I'd also have an opportunity to buy both Part 1 and Part II of the White March, when if ever they would be released. It was clear from Obsidian's ample disclosure ahead of time that the White March consisted exclusively of adding new quests and territories to PoE. At no time did Obsidian infer that the White March would (a) be sold complete initially (as Part 1 was always advertised from the start), and (b) amount to PoE II in terms of the story. At no time did Obsidian state that the White March was a continuation of the story in PoE. One of the most difficult things for game developers is trying to cover all the bases in your communications with your buying public. No matter how hard you try and be as precise as possible, and try to state your offerings as concisely as you know how to do without overstating your products, there will always be some people who don't listen to what you say but rather attach their own spin to what you've said--and believe it, too. These are inevitably the "disappointed ones," the ones who feel slighted because they get what was actually promoted instead of what they had convinced themselves they were getting, instead... Eh? Sound familiar? As far as the size of characters is concerned, that's a function of screen resolution that you control. The lower your screen resolution the larger your characters appear, generally speaking. The higher your resolution, the smaller your characters appear on screen.