Awathorn
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Posts posted by Awathorn
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Hm? They tell you how Dyrwood, the Vailian Republics, and Readceras came to be. The rest is outside of the game's scope.How did nations in Eora come to be? And why is race irrelevant?
That is the biggest problem with this setting.
Just about the only thing well done is the whole soul thing and pantheon of gods.
Have a very nice day.
-fgalkin
I'm not talking about countries and their fairly basic and boring origins. I'm talking about nations. Where is the french revolution, enlighment and similar stuff that would enable this people to overcome racial, tribal and feudal obstacles and form "nations"?
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How did nations in Eora come to be? And why is race irrelevant?
That is the biggest problem with this setting.
Just about the only thing well done is the whole soul thing and pantheon of gods.
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Let's see: Sawyer was lead designer on Icewind Dale 2 and Fallout New Vegas.
And IWD2 was the weakest part of BG-IWD era. NWN2OC must be one of buggiest, most boring games in the whole genre.
Actually, PoE is probably the best Sawyer game for me. Pleasant graphics, nice music, serviceable story and combat, reasonable number of bugs.
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I like BGs companions more, but I guess it is a matter of personal taste.
I do agree with OP on items, enchanting and gold. Every new game does this. And none can repeat the sheer joy of having one magical weapon, with a story, or even first plate mail, like in BG.
Instead, you have 20000 gold by the time you reach Loading Bay, pretty much everything you find is bland and all of your stuff is MAGICKS, and you can make better or similar weapons to those you find. So, exploring and trading becomes pointless. You gather everything without looking, you dump 150 items to a random trader, you spend your meaningless money on another meaningless feature that is stronghold. And still, by the end of the game you are able to buy half of Valian republics.
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It is unfair to compare PoE to BG. PoE will never reach the awesomeness and legendary status of such a game. End of.
BUT, as I was grinding through 40 rooms with 150 thugs watching hideous graphics, listening to terrible VA and repetitive music over and over and over again, while AI was infuriating me (Yep, I'm playing NWN2), I learned to appreciate just how good PoE is compared to some other games.
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I would prefer more portraits for NPCs, scripted interactions and BG style drawings of weapons and armors then more VO.
Also, having more VO leads to more danger of dialogue turning out funny. Like dead hanged dwarf lady.
Recently played NWN2. Well, tried to play it. It's a perfect example how 3D and tons of VO is vastly inferior to, let's say, PoE in its present state.
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A little less VO. Just the basic stuff.
People need to read, not listen mediocre VO, especially on-off one.
Use that money for more music and ambient sounds, making cool transitions between combat and peaceful tracks etc.
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Yeah, the language is silly. Is just seems like random th-w-z-y-ll everywhere. Or "Defiance Bay", "Gileded Vale" stuff. On the whole, the setting is quite unattractive to me. Kind of knew that would happen ever since Josh first said "glanfathan" and "biawac".
Guess many (or most) people like it.
IMO, weird names, real history ripoffs and a few historical events doesn't sound that good. Pretty much - amateur trying to write his first fantasy novel.
Also, "nation" thing is not well explained.
Stuff about the gods is cool.
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Some of that stuff missing would actually be a good thing. Brighthollow LOL.
Anyway, I hope they will have like 10M for the next one. With already established world and engine, it should produce much better end result.
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At least is much better than NWN2OC.
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There it is again... "Skip it, ignore it".
I'm enjoying the game, well, some parts of it, but that's not the point.
Point is - either do stuff well, or don't do it at all. Also, if you go for "the consumer base" - why not make another Bioware/whatever RPG with watered down RPG elements, open world, and tons of features from marrying elves and horses to redecorating you house an leading an army etc?
Unfair criticism from my side would be something like - "Oh, I don't like to use guns/swords/magic/dwarves/quests - remove it from the game." Now, that would be stupid.
If they give me a stronghold (btw, what a stupid way to gain stronghold...), it should work, it should have a huuuuuge impact on the game and on your position in that fantasy world. And I would be OK with that. You're building and "empire", you talk with the duc, you lead 50 armored soldiers into the Skaen temple. Fine.
They enable crafting/enchanting. Again, fine. But then it would be nice to have some tools, some locations, some material, some sketches, logical background. And that should be available to the rest of the world. So, enchanted weapons are not rare, they are common. Right?
But that's not the case. And it drags this game down. Just like those cheap story moments like end of Act 2, PC infiltrating the secret organization the way he does, and few other I won't mention because of SPOILERS.
I really don't understand how are you guys OK with all that? We should be striving for a game that is excellent and different from other mainstream games today. Not the game that is mediocre and same like mentioned games (minus fancy graphics, cinematics and VO).
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It seems that "Just ignore it." is a magical answer for everything on this forum.
Never really had tough time with camping supplies, I did play with and without custom made companions, and I played with stronghold fully developed and totally ignored after taking it.
And hence the tittle "Unnecessary features", not "OMG this sucks, I can't play, Obs I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!!!...!". Secondary stuff, ya know?
1) Resting. Very artificial solution. Why not implement danger level that would make resting impossible/costly in a room next to 20 bandits, but possible in the courtyard of your fancy stronghold or cleared level/part of dungeon?
2) Taking everything. This is hilarious in a game that brags about difficulty, tactics and strategy? Also, effect on world economy and prices? They are designed with that 200 suits of armor and 700 xaurip spears in mind. I understand, people are lazy, people want everything, but it is dumbing down to please the crowd. Same with ranged weapon ammo. Yeah, it's a pain in the ass, but it's a resource and a choice. Infinite whatever is bad. It leads to stupid games like DA2, for people who can't bother to press more than four buttons.
3) Stronghold. Whatever you do with that damned thing it will still be an empty husk, unless the game is based around it. Also, from roleplaying point of view it makes 0 sense that you rule the most powerful fortress in the land. And as such, you and your band of merry misfits run around saving piglets, killing babies, doing little errands or all out massacres of people both important or not.
Let's put it like this: In BG1 you are stranded with no money, nowhere to return and with a few friends. OK, you do different stuff gaining friends, money, equipment. Sounds fine? In PoE you have a stronghold, you carry 300 swords in your inventory, you have companions, hired guns, guards in your stronghold, talking chair, you've practically conquered another stronghold (so, that's two in one country), and still, you go saving kittens from the trees and nobody gives a single f...k about who or what you are. In reality you should almost be able to wage war with every in game settlement except DB.
4) Custom made companions. It's a nice idea. In IWD it was highly logical. But, PoE is supposed to have a strong story. And because devs need to give similar kind of experience even to those player who go with custom made companions, real companions seem detached from the story and just like an afterthought. That's it. Also, it's funny how you can hire a dude to go through hell with you for a price of a renting a room in a decent inn.
5) Enchanting, crafting, whatever. Are you a smith? Nope. Do you have materials, tools, 20 years of training, ancient formulas or plans? Erm, nope. Powerful wizard, tower, books and all? Nope. So, why can average Joe, a trader from Aedyr, with some herbs and things, in the middle of nowhere, between killing wolves and xaurips, make a magical sword comparable to 9/10 "legendary" items found in the game? I have no idea. Well, people love their sandbox games, there's that.
Also, if crafting and enchanting is so easy. Why doesn't every fool in the world do it? Bandits in the woods, sure, slaying kith. Firemen, clubs with freeze damage. Housewives, staffs with fire damage.
Making potions, or oils witcher-style is OK. You gather herbs, you find recipes, or buy both, and you have a potion that makes you more lively for a short duration of time, or poisonous blade in one or two fights.
Things you find in deepest dungeon should matter. Sword pieces you collect from 15 levels of fighting should be epic! Same goes for stuff you buy for XXXXX gold from merchants.
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What would you like to see removed in future PoE games?
For me it's:
- Limited camping supplies. Stupid beyond comprehension. Especially when you can carry like 80 suits of armor. Oh, another thing that needs to be removed. "Take everything" is just dumbing down to please modern gamers.
- Custom made companions. Devalues real companions and makes them detached from the story.
- Stronghold. Just forget about it. It belongs in different kind of games. Give us a room in the inn, a house in the city or something like that. Why does every game has to have a stronghold?
- Enchanting/crafting. Again, why does this has to be in every f...ing game? Stop being lazy devs and make interesting items. Creating high level merchant or smith who will do this kind of work if he is provided with unique material and lots of gold would make sooo much more sense.
Instead of all this superficial stuff I would like to see more attention given to combat, items, dungeon design, encounter design, lore, story, npc depth, dialogue etc.
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It's a decent game.
Nothing really different from other modern RPGs. Different view, less money to do fancy stuff and VO, less overall gayness and beeeewbs, same unconvincing story, few wannabe shock moments, dumbed down gameplay for all to enjoy.
One big mix of NWN2, IWD2, ToEE and Lionhearth LotC in a different world.
Unfortunately, I was hoping for an upgraded bastard child of BG and PST with an original twist. Didn't get it.
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Review is one big, long rant. Review is also true.
While I think PoE is not PoS the reviewer thinks it to be, I agree it is a flawed mediocre game of uneven quality. Obs did a good act 1 and then made a 40 hour long filler.
A shame really.
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Any real interest I had in PoE kind of died in the Act 2. Sure I finished it, and I started again, but I never manage to put myself all the way through the game once again. Quality of... well, everything plummets as you progress. Beginning is really the best part of the whole game. No wonder they've kept the story hidden through the development.
And while it is not THAT bad, or even bad at all, it's not good. Like some weird bastard of IWD2, NWN2 and TOEE with all the fun removed.
It all comes to this:
- mediocre setting and story (with so many holes and cheap ways to advance the plot),
- world is dead and everything feels detached from PC and story, with no truly interesting companions or other characters,
- repetitive combat that removed all the awesome IE stuff and added just a few good things,
- small maps without enough content,
- lazy enemy and encounter design,
So, PoE, failed in almost all the aspects that matter. And passed with flying colors in the visual department. Sounds so familiar.
I was very optimistic when I first heard about PoE, somewhat optimistic when it was out and on my first playthrough, but flaws just keep coming to the surface. Excluding limited nostalgia factor, there is nothing here that is better than other modern mainstream RPGs. In fact, Witcher or even DAO felt more original and just... fun.
Obsidian now has some money and working engine+world. I hope the next effort will be much, much better.
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When talking 'bout cities, I have one small suggestion.
Instead of making standard issue lets-divide-our-city-in-4/5-districts, how about doing few squares, crossroads and streets?
Like important hubs, with inns, temples, markets etc. while leaving the rest of the city to players imagination.
For examle:
- City gate with guardhouse, tavern, stables, refugees, people selling stuff.
- XY street with taverns, whorehouses, thief guild or whatever, shady small alleys, beggars.
- XY street with wealthy people houses and better merchants
- XY square with public bath, temples, town crier, HQ of some organizations and guilds,
- market, with some temples, inns, merchants both outside and inside buildings
- docks
- obligatory zombie infested cemetery
- castle
Also, cities need more life and less space. It is too empty, dead and silent. Feels like traveling through perfectly built empty squares all the time. And inns/taverns should have more stuff happening. Why bother making inn with 10 people you can't talk with and only one small quest?
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Yeah, beginning was very atmospheric and promising, right until you hit tree with hanged people. After that it's all downhill.
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The problem for me is that in Pillars you just don't care about the world and the main quest.
I've read everything in game and I still don't know much about the world, and the things I do know I don't really like. It is all pretty basic. Few historical figures, few events, few nations, few gods.
Then, there is the story. Good idea about souls and hollowborn...but game never lets you feel it. It is just something talked about. No emotions involved.
Watcher (witcher, warden) is going mad, but again you do not feel it. few short dialogs and that's it.
And in the end you finnish with some quick "twist" having little in common with the rest of the game.
It all feels terribly rushed and half-done. Devs were just following the formula, had a deadline, some general idea, and this is the result. Not good, not smart, not involving, not epic...just ok.
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Beregost is a major city compared to PoE places. Four buildings and 20 dudes standing around doesn't do it for me.
Ok, if they were going for depopulated ghost town feeling, they did a good job.
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The more I play PoE, the more I agree with Sensuki.
It's lacking in almost every aspect as standalone, or when compare to IE, or even later RPG from the same "family".
RTWP game made by guys who obviously want to make a turn-based game. IE lookalike that hates everything IE. DnD ripoff that doesn't want to be DnD.
Original world is not so original, writing is not that good (and this was supposed to be the Obsidian strongpoint), combat seems fun at first until you realize you're doing the same thing over and over again, with different classes, over different playthroughs while wave after wave of meaningless copy-pasted enemies come your way.
It's just so... meh. Interesting characters, epic battles, epic quests, epic loot... nowhere to be found. Replayability? Nope.
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If you engage one enemy with two companions, and then move one of your companions, does he suffer diseng. attack? If so, that is just stupid, and should be changed. This would create a nice tactical addition.
Engagement is not so bad as I though it would be, but needs some work.
Also, it is hard to be tactical when pathfinding is so bad, formations are messed up and companions are so stupid.
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do you have the latest patch installed
Yep. Not better.
A slight decrease in loading time and removing the loading screens when entering houses/inns/second floors would do wonders for this game. This is not a problem when you're out in the wilderness or in large dungeons, but my God, everything else is such a thrill-killing chore.
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I'm well on my second playtrough, I'm running around doing different stuff in the city, and it seems I'm looking at the loading screen every few seconds. WTF?
The maps are small, houses are smaller... is it really necessary to load 100 times in few minutes? Enter X-LOAD-go upstairs-LOAD-go downstairs-LOAD-go outside-LOAD-exit map-LOAD-enter keep-LOAD-exit keep-LOAD-exit map-LOAD-enter house-LOAD-exit house-LOAD-enter inn-LOAD.
And it takes like 5-15 seconds every time. Not to mention the situation with resting in stronghold.
Really, I struggle to remember the last game where I spent so much time waiting. Please change it, do... something. It is really, really annoying.
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Please provide more portraits and soundsets in White Marches
in Pillars of Eternity: General Discussion (NO SPOILERS)
Posted
They should add backgrounds for every culture on char creation screen. A minor thing, but it would give us some idea how that part of the world looks like.