Wormerine

I am using GOG Galaxy for automated updates, but on one point I had to uninstall and redownload the game from scratch.

I barely used them before, unless there was an encounter which gave me problems so I imagine it will be the same.

Essencially yeah. You did one of the final crit path locations, putting end game into motion. You still have freedom to do all the other stuff (faction quests might be cut short by that point, but I am not sure).

Answer no. 4 doesn't seem "benevolent" at all, and beside it we have one already.

Baldur’s Gate2 was lighting in the bottle. It can’t be reproduced or replicated. PoE games are superior to BG is many aspects, but I would agree they are probably not as good. Why? I can’t tell you. A similar game to me is Xcom: UFO Defence (or UFO: Enemy Unknown) - I am not even terribly nostalgic about that one. It’s a game with many issues and other games (even firaxis remake) do many things better, and yet nothing can compare. There is a game, which I consider to be my new Baldur’s Gate2: Witcher3. Pretty much gave me the same feeling and, I would say, a similar type of game - approachable, sprawling, limited but focused RPG. PoE did a great job - I replayed BGs between PoE and Deadfire’s release, and to be honest, I only gained more respect to Obsidian’s craft. PoE1 3.5 made for much more enjoyable gameplay, and it took me a while before I switched to cartoonish and one note characters of BG. I don’t mean that as criticism - BG is more of a cartoon, while PoE attempts to be a novel. Liked both. I am still not sure how I feel about Deadfire as it seems to be stuck somewhere inbetween. Still, it can’t compare to playing BGs for the first time, what... +15 years ago?

Seems like you are really good in breaking the game. I am not sure of those issues could be fixed retrospectively, if they were addressed at all. If new patch is out and something still doesn’t work the best thing would be to re-report it. That’s were QA team is.

Considering how much more storytelling is being integrated into the quest/item/world design, it is not necessary a bad thing to have less books. I could use a book on how the wheel works though.

Just as above I haven’t experience anything that broken so I can’t relate. The stuff that has been bugging me gets constantly worked on and improved.

Single class character gains + 1 ability point per level + extra 1 when reaching new power level. As you level up you will be able to cast 2 spells per spell (power) level + an option to use empower to either empower a spell, or refresh half of your resources (up to +1 spell per spell level). That’s a lot of spells.

The blue glow of “conversation with companions” lingers as well.

Pallegina reached new level, and I leveled it up. While the "cross" dissapeared the pulsing shine is still there: Save: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1kwYJuBQCJ2IPR_hDRRH9_nuIBfaJFogW

Maia initiated the romance fairly quickly as well - Takehu and Xoti on the other hand stay silent. What are your characters prefered dispositions? I have a theory that companions react to your dispositions (therefore in 1,0 was hitting on you as you would advance in all dispositions really rapidlly). My current character's leading dispositions are: stoic, rational, diplomatic. Sounds like something Maia would appreciate (especially first two ones).

So what is it exactly? Obsidian getting paid by steam to screw gog users? Obsidian having a personal grudge against gog? Obsidian hating polish people? I am really surprised that there is still no support for gog for those items, but I wont try to figure out what the reason for it exactly is. After s long, another free DLC would be enough I think.

The biggest obstacle I can think of is need to redesign UI.

Probably just an extra in case you missed one.

4 critical hits in one fight and you die?

While i found PoE1 very flawed while playing it, after completion it left me satisfied. Deadfire was much more enjoyable in the moment, but after the credits rolled I found it a bit hollow. What I really can’t find in Deadfire is a coherent set of themes or character arc. Individual quests and stories are a lot of fun, but in the end they don’t come together. Even in something like Baldurs Gate, those unrelated sidequests tend to play well into main story of you being the child of Bhaal - murder and way you use your power is central part of the game. In Deadfire you are a Watcher, a herald of Berath, a ship captain, a hunter, a discoverer, but none of those come together into a coherent character arc. Majority of the game is spent exploring and supporting factions, yet crit path makes all those conflicts feel irrelevant. The more I think about Deadfire, the more interesting it is. Something in there doesn’t really work, and I am not 100% what it is, or what would fix that. But it’s good, it’s really good. And yet it disappoints. Edit: it doesn’t have heart. There are no “feels” in Deadfire. PoE1 gave me “feels” - whenever it’s companions, or finale or quests.

Thaos’s reference to the Wheel: Skip to 41:43

I overall agree, except the notion that inability to confront Eothas is a sign of inexperienced writer. There are plenty stories which use protagonist’s inability to interfere to their advantage: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7uSz0mEtEsQ I am less sold on why we are tasked with following Eothas in the first place, and why we are the only person who has an influence toward him. The whole wheel reveal the whole situation more confusing, rather than explaining anything.

You are not maping the opening isle - you are mapping uncharted isles around opening isles. You should be able to name each uncharted isle after exploring it, whenever you met the map maker or not. Just like bounties you can explore them ahead of time, and hand in quest after it is given.

What makes you think that he is not?? His honesty? :-D

It’s less about what other people do, but what players do overall - it’s about a good game design. RNG save rest was an issue a it wasn’t designed for a computer game with save/reload function. Slot machines might be appealing to some but they loose appeal if you can change the outcome whenever you like. Sure, you might not reload and treat it as a real slot machine but majority of the people won’t - because people pull the lever in order to win and if they have a way to change the outcome, they will. Getting ambushed is not fun - it’s a punishment for taking a risk, and a punishment which can be too easily avoided. Still, we were talking about random encounters while traveling, not ambushes while resting - those were too in BGs but were o forgettable it seems people’s minds jumped to restin.

Obsidian decided to go with full-on unique and handcrafted attitude for Deadfire. Random encounters are usually tied to grinding - resource and xp. Not in support of those. But a small amount of random encounters could have made the world feel more alive. Currently you initiate every encounter, even ambushes - which doesn’t feel very ambushy.

It didn't add much difficulty wise, but the fantasy was there - going for an expedition, with limited supplies and having to backtrack to get more, and go back into the dungeon.