Wormerine

Agreed, it (mostly) isn't... which I think is a mistake and irredeemably damages one of the most important aspects of the RPG experience. I understand the whole gaming world has gone ADHD, so there's little choice now if they want a commercially viable game. However, I hope for a new-game option, akin to the permadeath checkbox in POE1, to restore some resource based gameplay. (I don't think food bonuses suffice for this). I see. I really don't think "those-twitchy-kids-these-days" to be a reason for these changes. I would rather expect older fans of originals to not have patience to get potentially stuck in story driven game. I am a big fan of strategy games, resource management, meaningful (often deadly) decision making and all that jazz. Those are selling points to me. But in the end, every game has to decide what it wants to be and where its (and players) main focus should be directed to. I will use the same argument I use whenever this subject of "meaningful" choices and resource management comes up: None of the Infinity Engine games or RPGs that followed really had any resource management in them. In all those D&D games you could rest wherever you wanted. It's not by a mistake. Those are primarly story driven games and getting stuck in a dungeon, having to reload old save, permanently loosing a handcrafted companion, or not being able to complete a quest goes againt what those games are valuing the most. In some more mechanicly driven RPGs those tough decisions and possible real looses are welcome. In IE style RPGs they really don't belong. Even if they are somewhat present (perma death of characters in IE game or PoE, or per-rest abilty use, and limited camping) those are more of a flavour than meaty mechanical restrictions.

Oh you mean like basic weapons would break randomly? I LOVED it. One of the main things i missed in BG2. <No sarcasm>

Items can get destroyed right? Spears can be broken, armors misshaped beyond repair etc. etc. I wouldn't want to see completely random loot being dropped, and I would like to see loot being dropped (in case I AM looking for a generic spear) but making those not drop 100% of a time should be a good change.

But you get the actual game when it is released as well for that $55 expenditure. Its not like you are paying $55 for beta and then have to buy the game later. No, but if you are looking for a pure, selfish entertainment there are better ways to spend $20. Not that one shouldn’t buy into Deadfire beta. Just wanting to make sure, one knows what is going into.

You prolly played PoE right after it came out and not after Patch 2.0 which added AI scripts for companions, right? Yes, is there AI scripts for companions in POE I?0:20https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=I0GvsA6exuY

But... why? The system clearly isn’t build for that. There is no resource management. Spells and abilities are per encounter. The only reason to rest are injuries (which you get on screwup, be it falling in battle or running into traps) and restore empower points. Resource management beyond combat level just isn’t really a thing in Deadfire.

I believe Josh mentioned those items are to be dropped as semi random drop (so dead xuaurip has a chance to drop a spear, or shield). Whenever it is still the thing, we don’t know, but stacking thing is in. So instead of 20 spears you will have a stack of 20 spears.

Hmm, I wonder what will happen to all our POE1 pets and especially space pig and obsidian wurm. I hope we'll be able to get them again in POE2 with cool bonuses. After Eothas' attack on Caed Nua they will all be scattered across the Deadfire. Gotta Catch 'Em All!

Say whaaat? Didn’t know I am participating in discussions here with such a fine and recognised crowd. I knew that the name sounded familiar, but never came to my mind that the inspiration went other way around.

Tyranny combat better? Blasphemy! There is a promise of detailed companion AI, which should allow you to specify, what skills they use, in what situations etc. Hopefully, it will make for a more controlled and precise AI for those who don’t want to micro their entire team every couple seconds. It is not in the beta as of yet so it’s difficult to say how well it will work.

I would say backer beta is really for people who are interested in the project, want to see how it develops, want to give feedback and make sure it is the best game it can be (or it fits the most my taste:-P). As far as fun-buy it is not a good offer. It is not a polished early access game Klei tends to release. There is little content, its buggy, unbalanced, runs poorly. The benefit of such convoluted to pay paywall is that only people who are really interested in the project get in. And its part of crowdfunding culture by now.

Absolutely, if you focus on damage dealing spells it is a a very good idea. With the new casting system it is very valuable as you can cast a lot. But it’s not like giving strength to wizard is useless. There are builds you can do which benefit from strength (using summoned wizard or crowd control spells + damage from weapons) and that’s what makes this system intriguing. Different ideas for different classes might result in different attribute spread.

I think it might be because there was no “preselected questions from twitter” section. Those tended to be the more condensed, informative parts of streams.

Wasn’t it just like that in old D&D games (always have been powering through those without really learning systems so can’t tell). It does make more sense, but it makes everything much more complicated. The question is, would it bring anything worthwhile gameplay wise? I don’t really see what it would add, except making things more convoluted.

I dont have the same issue If difficulty progression is done right. I do encounter the same problem, If enemies stay the same but they are simply higher level. While I prefer to face strong opposition in the late game (as a matter of fact I prefer when difficulty rises, not gets lower) it sucks if it feels that you fight same enemies over and over again. However, if you face groups enemies that you struggled to defeat before in smaller numbers, or had to outright avoid it can be super satisfying. One of my best RPG memories is facing Shadowbeast in Gothic. Shadowbeast lived deep in a forest, which you could go into at the very start of th game. Of course, one time I did take a shortcut through a forest and run into one. It was larger and more threatening than anything I saw till this point and pretty much killed me in one hit. I have been running away from it ever since. But now, many hours later, I am lvl 16 and I am talked with bringing horn of this thing. And so I set out to my doom. Still not a cakewalk, but now I could fight it and defeat it. Super satisfying.

I could say it as a system to save clicks. You press spell you want to cast and the spell gets prepared, and when it is ready game pauses and you decide when you want to cast it. Of course, you might end up "preparing" spells by accidents, and can you "try out" spell before preparing it? Nah, I think change creates more mess, but I do see it working.

Wouldn't that be constitution though?

"What are we going to do tonight Tiny Animat?" "Same thing we do every night Baby Lagufaeth!" Don't forget about Larry

Where, do you think. those "crew mutinies" are coming from?

I doesn't seem bad, but I don't see a benefit of suggested change either. The only abuse I could think of is "preparing" spells far away from the fight and than running in and casting it with no recovery and no danger of being interupted. I think that you can't retarget spells beyond your range for a reason. Maybe a massive walking slowdown when "carrying" a ready spell (like in Magica) would prohibit possible casting-outside-battlefield: abuse.

https://jesawyer.tumblr.com/post/168050660961/1-will-there-be-a-room-below-deck-on-your-ship I guess, that means "yes"

That’s what backgrounds do, no? Giving you a head starts on certain skills based on your past. As the system itself (taing certain skills with better results per invested point) I don’t think it’s necessarly. Fallouts were single character RPGs which meant even if you focused on 3 skills, at some point you might want to upgrade less defining skills. PoE is Barry based, which means you will probably pick 3 skills per character and focus on them, rather than spread around points with one character.

There is a point to be made that solution can be satisfying without being challenging. A good example of that is Portal. A very enjoyable game, which makes you smart, but most of the puzzles are really easy. However, because game engages the player (while easy, puzzles are creative and fresh and game doesn't hand hold the player) the game stays fun. The bigger problem comes, when game is designed around certain rules but those rules aren't reinforced strong enough, so even if you play the game in a "wrong" way it still doesn't matter - the game doesn't really engage player with its mechanics. And of course there is a satisfaction of "progress", clearing up map, increasing procentages, gaining lvls etc. Never got into those games.

So ready to hunt:

I don’t think party assist to be a thing in scripted interactions. In those you tend to pick people who do certain actions, therefore only their skills come into play. Party assist is implimented to give your party’s social skills a role in regular dialogue choices, as otherwise they would be pointless.