Zenbane

Badass post, and killer screenshots, Ineth! That was some good inspiration, and now I'm gonna binge play me some PoE tonight That would probably solve 90% of the Engagement complaints.

Yes I read some of the earlier threads on here where people complained that the Watcher's ability to see the soul's of NPC Backers is irrelevant, but that proclamation makes absolutely no sense. If a character has the ability to touch souls then it sure does seem relevant for the game to allow... that character to touch a soul. I just ended up dismissing these types of complaints as people being jealous that some Backers have an in-game Avatar. The idea of "gamers being jealous" makes a lot more sense than the idea of, "soul touching is irrelevant in a game about soul touching." As far as being able to use your Watcher abilities in questing... umm, you absolutely can. Are you sure you played this game, or is this part of your 99% forget rate? Early in the game you "touch" a dead body hanging from a tree, which advances the main story. But then again, that tree is part of the current events content which you also claimed doesn't exist, so I honestly have no loving idea what you're carressingly doing. Oh that was no accident *wink**wink*

I see. The entire "Watcher" story is the only part truly geared towards the Main Character. I know that it has also received a lot of criticism, but I found it to be quite creative. Although perhaps I have played too many RPG's in my life lol - because I find myself caring very little about a story these days. Even when every review and forum post brags about how amazing a story is... I find myself just focusing on the character creation, battles, and hitting that end game content. Even with IceWind Dale... I cared more about leveling up and kill strategies than I did about whatever the hell "heart of winter" was supposed to symbolize For PoE, I find the "Watcher" angle to be highly unique. It hasn't really been done before and the term "watcher" has special meaning for me since it is also a reference to how humans (you know, in real life) can pursue a personal path of Enlightenment (see: Eckhart Tolle). Not to mention that allowing the games Backers to have an NPC with a backstory that can only be revealed by the Watcher's power is caressingly awesome. No other game has done this before (that I know of) and doesn't get enough praise imo. As for all that story of side characters not being relevant to your main character... I dunno, maybe I'm being dense but that's kinda how life is, no? People all around us have their own complex story that doesn't have a damn thing to do with our main character lol

This should not have been another Baldur's Gate. What you see as a downfall I see as a milestone. Right so I think the fact that you forgot 99% of the text is why you now think there was nothing about the current state of events. Did you by chance see that big tree with dead bodies hanging from it, and the conflict that arose shortly after? Did you ever make it to Defiance Bay and notice that its original path was blocked? And that's just the first hour or 2 of the game. The current state of events is pretty clear. Killing creatures in an RPG is typically all the sense we really need. I mean, unless the game suddenly dropped in Jedi Knights or an army of Decepticons then I can't see how slimers and trolls "dont make sense" in a fantasy setting. I recently killed slimers and trolls in Wizardy 8 and Legend of Grimrock, with no back story as to why they are there. Although even if they give backstory, you just ranted about how 99% of the text is useless/forgettable so I'm sure you'd hate that context as well. I agree on the lack of population and the developers know that more content/depth/story is needed, less trash mobs, better use of crafting and the Stronghold, etc. However, you seem to be critical just for the sake of criticism; as noted by the fact that you complain about both the lack of story and the fact that there is too much story: So if they don't distribute the text (goo and trolls) then things don't make sense, but if they do distribute the text (Grieving Mother and Durance) then it is weird and useless. Alrighty then lol

When I read that I was reminded of a certain day in business class (back when I was getting my undergrad degree), where the professor lectured on the importance of never using the word "not" in a sentence. Because in public speaking (eg, Commercial Marketing, Politics) the average person/consumer/citizen will register everything they said except for the word "not." Example: 1) "I did not sleep with that woman" is registered as "I did sleep with that woman" 2) "I didn't commit fraud" is registered as "I did commit fraud" Thus, "I will not use DnD rules" is registered as "I will use DnD rules"

Glutton for punishment? Folks like Xanar exist for pretty much any product and provide a decent balance to consumerism. But if he wasn't going to provide specifics, the least he could have done is provide an entertaining review to read. You know, like that one famous Veet review on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/review/R2QP56S5P2DEGA However, people who payed to back this game are at high risk of jumping on the "hate-play bandwagon" as soon as their personal expectations are not met (you know, people who are angry about the game they spent more money on than a normal person, so play it angrily while posting negativity)... Having expectations is a great way to set yourself up for failure and disappointment. Replacing them with goals and strategic paths to achieve them is much healthier (and smarter). The biggest problem with these types of expectations is that they are being imposed on another individual; and in the world of software development, meeting expectations of an external entity is an exercise in futility: http://www.qaexamples.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/sdlctrees.jpg The only intelligent thing a person who "backs" a video game monetarily can do is sit back and hope for the best. If the outcome isn't as you hoped then you should analyze why your judgement was ill-fated and move on to the next venture. Being a video game Backer on Kickstarter is not the same thing as being a Stockholder in a publicly traded company (nor is it like being on the board of directors lol)

As opposed to what, exactly? I mean... I love all things Final Fantasy but in essence, every game in that franchise could be described as a petty tacked on questing filler, and if you take away trash mobs then virtually every great RPG ever made becomes garbage. I can only assume people are comparing this to something like IceWind Dale, but as fun as that game was, it was highly linear. A linear plot and world has no need for trash mobs nor questing filler, but an open world (or variant thereof) really cant exist without 'em. Perhaps the real problem is the lack of just reward for defeating trash mobs and completing filler.

578,064 Steam'in piles of pppproduct! http://steamspy.com/app/291650

I beat this about a year ago, and if memory serves... the acting Sith Emperor had defected and it took a fun group raid to track and kill him. I stood before the council shortly after and ascended to some elevated status. And then they completely changed Hutt Ball so I cancelled my account lol

I played through all of SWTOR once, beating the main story as a Sith - and I loved it. Kudos for hitting WoW's endgame, I just was never able to do it. I was a huge fan of the WarCraft franchise since the release of WarCraft 2 (I played it on a Windows 3.1); but after DAoC, WarHammer Online, and even Shadowbane... I just couldn't commit to WoW. I played an Orc Rogue up til level 20-something and then said goodbye. Oh and IceWind Dale is another I can add to my list; I completed a full playthrough 3 times.

I think the reaction is fairly standard as far as internet forum posting goes lol; some like it, some hate it. I'm definitely loud, but I do not engage in outright personal attacks (the same can't be said for others). Regardless, thick skin and a sense of humor go a long way. But enough digression, lets get back to making wagers on the success of Obsidian's first mobile game

Goodness mister, why is it that any time something is presented with even the slightest trace of poopoo on it this is you: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0dcZ66783k I only found out about that partnership because that same link and info was posted earlier in this thread, in the same conversation that you were apart of too. So when you said the risk is still too damn high I wrongfully assumed that you had already read this information. The irony is that you also got upset with me earlier in this thread for telling you to read better. In any event, I was simply dismissive of your retort based on the fact that we had new information. My flaw is that I assumed you had read that information prior. Yes.

So obviously you are not a very business-centric thinker; Obsidian has experience not just developing but also making business decisions. So even if you are correct in that their experience is that limited (you are wrong about that as well but lets ignore that), the business side of the brain solves this by forming a partnership... Their risk is certainly not too damn high, but the wrongfulness of your assumptions certainly is lol

Agreed, although keep in mind that we are referring to the success of Candy Crush within the context of Obsidian's successful track record. While it is true that startup ideas with no experience nor background have a high risk of failing when entering a new competitive market, a veteran like Obsidian should yield a higher percent rate. There is no guarantee of success, of course, but statistically speaking, OBS is in good standing.

In case this hasn't been clearly stated (I see a lot of different ways people use to describe Engagement), it's only purpose is to create a front-line that is hard to penetrate. Sawyer mentioned this about a week ago: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3706905&pagenumber=675&perpage=40#post453141440 Even up to last week, long time players of PoE still don't fully understand Engagement. Once you understand its purpose (and obvious limited use), it just becomes another tool to help increase party survivability. If all else fails... you can always resort to kiting! lol

Bravo! You just became my 2nd favorite poster on this forum. If you follow up with your Mod, do keep us in the loop.

Wow not a single replay of any RPG ever? Impressive. I don't do it often due to the time sink, and the desire to try "the next big thing." But there are a few exceptions; games I've definitely replayed in their entirety: 1) Final Fantasy 1 2) Diablo 1 and Diablo 2 (I gave up on this franchise after that) 3) Lords of Magic (beat the entire game with every single race) Although I'm not sure if LoM counts since it is turn-based strategy. But it had magic and a story

It's the holidays, gamer dad's never sleep during the holidays. It is also the time of year that Red Bull sales skyrocket

I believe that to count as Isometric the angles between the axes must be 120 degrees; all vertical lines are drawn vertical but horizontal lines are drawn 30 degrees to the base. Since we are talking about rotation (camera angle), the standard for projection to achieve proper perspective is: 35.264 degrees (or 35.3 as the OP stated). Instead of the good 'ol sine/cosine we use arcsin/arctan.

It's important for modding purposes. Also, as the first page of this thread demonstrates, it's a perfectly good issue to fight a holy war over... lmao @ "holy war" Any details on this Mod? I love Mod's and recently released my own for a different game. I wish PoE had a game editor.

Yep, you typed it 3 times as you tried to prove a lack of caring. For your next trick will you be playing in traffic to prove that moving vehicles are dangerous? Of course, I never once argued that someone cares but don't let that stop you from seeing things that aren't really there. Also it is not hard to ignore my posts, I believe Fenixp posted detailed instructions on how to do this lol I share the same sentiment. Of the many top-down games I've played, PoE just doesn't seem very problematic. And I've yet to encounter a battle where the camera made things difficult.

If this were to happen I would prefer it done in a way where standard invasions were few and far between, but large scale warfare would be the result of primary campaign activities. Like after I kill that drug lord in Defiance Bay, my phone receives a notification of a drug cartel at the gates. Ten minutes of mobile app battle later... my Paladin has a new shield!

Personally, I would love a downloadable Mobile App that extends the Stronghold's function to a mini-war game! If I can engage in some battles on my phone while at work, then come home, log in, and cash in the spoils of war for enchantments and legendary items (also needed)... then we have ourselves some good addiction.

I like criticism as well but after 8 months of reading the same thing it gets pretty old - although that has nothing to do with what I asked in this thread and I am simply addressing your topic derail. Also i do not think it is common for my posts to get misread, so your "have in common is me" jab missed the mark by a huge margin. I have accused exactly 2 people of misreading my posts, so unless you are unaware of the number of people posting on a regular basis then I think you are guilty of some terrible math. I do believe you're the one that needs to read my post again and perhaps look up what "passive aggressive" means; cause I assure you that it is not synonymous with "disagreement." Like I said, I do not disagree with anything posted in this thread - up until your bad math of course. As for the actual topic, I do believe someone posted a link to Sawyer on the SA forums (or was it a Tweet?) where he spoke of UI updates that are coming very soon. Although, if anyone pays attention to any PoE forums it is often stated that the best combat tactic is using/abusing entrances/doorways. So even if the camera angles in PoE are sub-par compared to its predecessors, I'm wondering how problematic this is when you're standing at a doorway?

I am not disagreeing with anyone in this thread, learn to read. I asked an honest question about his BG activities since he mentions it so much, and I am truly curious. Try staying on topic.