Wormerine

I am pretty sure Divinity: OS2 is filled with choices. I didn't play it myself, but from I have heard it very much seems so. However, I found the following excerpt from "Rock Paper Shotgun's" interesting considering the discussion. Also apparently writing in D:OS2 is good, which is a welcome surprise after kinda funny, but mostly cringy D:OS: Ye there are lots of choices. I was referring to the way your choices are presented. They are trying something different within the dialogue options at least to me in games like this. When you talk to the npcs your choices describe what you are saying not what you are actually saying. it was just odd when i first played. That's... interesting. I am not sure how I feel about it, but it might have its benefits. Reminds me of the choose your own adventure parts from PoE.

From my experience the most dull looking companions turn out being the most interesting ones. Also at this point I find it difficult to get excited about any of them. Those are really vague discriptions and they could very well completely change by the time the game releases. I would rather see them add new companions rather than reworking existing ones unless one the sidekicks will show a lot of unrealised potential but that is a discussion to be had after the game is released.

I am pretty sure Divinity: OS2 is filled with choices. I didn't play it myself, but from I have heard it very much seems so. However, I found the following excerpt from "Rock Paper Shotgun's" interesting considering the discussion. Also apparently writing in D:OS2 is good, which is a welcome surprise after kinda funny, but mostly cringy D:OS: "John: Imagine knowing someone else and having enough overlapping time. Imagine such a world. I need to share the strangeness of voices being added in this released version. The alpha had just text, which was odd at the very start, but then settled in to normality for me – indeed, even your Pillars and the like are only sporadically spoken. But now everything and everyone has a voice, and because I’ve already met them, THEY’VE ALL GOT THE WRONG VOICES. It’s such an odd experience, like watching a film of a book you read and their matching nothing of how you’d imagined it. Adam: I’ll turn off the voices. I’ll take out my headphones and unplug the speakers if I have to. If voice acting isn’t absolutely top notch I’d rather go without it, and I have very exacting standards. And it’s not even just about quality, as you say, it’s that I already know a lot of these characters. But there’s another level as well: the writing is brilliant. It’s witty and it’s clever and occasionally it’s even quite moving as you come to the end of some of the major plotlines that have their hooks deep into characters you’ve come to care about. But so much of that writing feels like it was constructed to be read from a page (or screen) rather than performed. John: Yeah, it’s very pleasant to read, in a way RPGs really usually are not. It’s not turgid purple prose lore guff nonsense, but pleasing writing. I think it’s a bit less pleasing to listen to. Which isn’t a slight at (most of) the voice actors (the person who did the little girl elf’s voice can maybe not do that again please), but more that – I dunno – I don’t think I’d even consider switching it off if I hadn’t played the alpha. Still, clicking past it as I read right now."

... and I was really starting to like you. Seriously though, the only thing better than a glass of red wine, and a baguette with cheese is a glass of a good single malt scotch whiskey.

Sounds very much like "oh, you know, it's a comic book" or "it's a kid's movie" excuse. Yeah, I agree. That said I do think the dialogue was in general very good - the only issue I really had with it was a tendency at times to overexpose (see the end of the Skaen quest or the final meetings with Iovara and Thaos as examples), but I believe they are already aware of this and are looking into this matter for Deadfire. Yes... well we're talking about Divinity:-D

Same. I'm enjoying it as well. Also, one of the great things about DoS2 full voice acting is it makes it easier to let's play. Sadly, PoE isn't a very popular let's play title because of the lack of voice acting and huge lore dumps make it frustrating to read for some people. Let's plays are one of those things that help with marketing. Sure, but usually games which are good for letsplays aer games that I don't enjoy playing. To be honest I am surprised that DoS is watchable.

Sounds very much like "oh, you know, it's a comic book" or "it's a kid's movie" excuse.

Seems like Watcher soul might be disappearing as well, so it's only fitting;-)

From what I understand engagements will be rarer but more impactful. They are an ability inherit to fighter, and I believe some weapon type's specialisation will provide engagement as well.

As someone for whom BG2 was introduction to D&D and role playing game in general I second that. Well, except Wizards. Sifting through couple levels of spells took time. In most of the classes however, you just picked which weapon you will use, and that was that.

Cool. Have fun.

Can't Siri read it?

Wtf would be the point of that? All in all your perception of what is "forward" and "modern" is entirely subjective. You just list things that you'd like to have and claim that they are an indicator of progression. Not necessarily this is a "progress". But it would nice to have an option not to be lvl 0 for once in a RPG direct sequel. Sure, that is why i prefer when sequels use different protagonist than 1st title (see KOTOR, NWN2, fallouts). From th what gameplay perspective there is little point to that. Asking new players to LVL up couple times before they even start the game is silly and even furthers trickiness of creating new character if you are new to the game. I do agree with you that there usually is this odd feeling of going backwards when you start a sequel.

Well i really like her. Her voice, lines, character... Great, really. Her line then you meet the Kraken is probably my favorite in the entire game in term of epicness But then again i really hated Grieving Mother so i am probably not representative of the most players. Still weird to hear Pallegina was bad or boring. She probably in my top 3 favorites. When all said and done, she is not in my top 5ve, but she was the first character I got attatched to. Her dilemma was more relatable and immediate than most of the companions. I love her confrontation with Hylea. Certainly PoE had an issue with short term storytelling. Individual "setpieces" were rarely engaging. While it is something, which hopefully will be improved in Deadfire it seems more like a time constraint than anything else. Good story should always start with a clear end goal and the "big picture" of PoE was phenomenal. It just lacked polish to make the smaller encounters really shine.

If Josh being bad at his job gave us Pillars I can only hope he gets worse the guy on the project who don't read fiction and actual prefers Tolkien's silmarillion to hobbit and lotr is the narrative lead? ... am surprised they ain't found the one guy in the building who thinks music other than polka is lame and made him music director. HA! Good Fun! Well... Silmarillion is a better work in some ways. It's not nearly as digestible as hobbit or lots, but it better represent what Tolkien was striving to do - creating fictional world with its history, culture, language, which would feel authentic. It was more of a linguistic exproment than a novel. Considering Josh's interest in linguistics he probably finds much more do dig into in Silmarillion, than in LotR.

Have a gander at Q&A streams at Obsidian's YouTube channel and Deadfire fig updates. That's pretty much the main sources. Sometimes something extra will slip through Josh's twitter or tumbler but those are mostly minor details or further explanations.

Can we do Deadfir entirely in Shakespeare Original Pronunciation?

This mixing of unrecorded narration and voiced spoken text will not take place in Deadfire. OBsidian is aware of the issue.

Partially wrong or right, whatever. Yes i ask for changes. More specifically modernization. Getting stale in the past just because a "path" must be followed. Path that was set due to old technical limitations ain t good. Things must be sorted out, what is tecnhical militation and what is core. Main tale with good story telling with possible moral choices that cast doubts and if possible interwined side quest with the main is core. Having an interesting way to create characters, which sometimes is the part i most like in games, is also core. - Now having ever the same non related sidequests was a limitation, and breaking this with a pool of side quests could show you even more diverses facts and atitude present in the world. - Would also allow to give a tool so comunity can share fan made missions, this is also quite mainstrean and was present in Neverwinternight, nothing new here. - Having slides instead of a "roling world" (or part of it) was a limitation, that is no more, it so true, they are adjusting. - Not start as a zero on the left, to rise as a god, is a mental limitation in RPG mindset that few have ever tried to break. (i would like to see a point system were you can buy level or skills habilities fame or LVLs, would be a trade off , let s say you could start up to LVL 5 instead of level 0, but doing, so you would lessen other kinds of benefits. Game would adjust some crucial places in accordance. Non relevant missions would stay the same. - If your party is being wipped (this may have been fixed) you can abandon it and flee with the survivors, instead of a live all die all approach. Or it could be an option. - Its not because a dungeon switches place and aquire a diferent X,Y on a 2D map that the games is fundamentally changed. But keeping surprises high and repetitive stuff at minimal keeping the core of it intact is a move that i spell as improvement. If evolution wasn t part of it we would still be playing 2d games like Curse of the azure bonds, or Pool of radiance, which by the way were excelents, and i REALLY miss. Would be an instant buyer. FPS would still be 2d strategic games would still be merely symbols. Do not confound real advance with those who use modernization as an excuse to lower the quality bar. And there s alot, since by modernization they usually mean better FX at the expanse of interesting gameplay. I love the kind of game PoE is, i just think it could shake some dusty features off not essencially going to the makeup artist. Now if someone could muster the courage and leave the D&D and give a go to Rolemaster kind of combat and world... Shadow World would be a blast. Dirty, gritty, dusty evil, gods, avatars, sernants, walking as mere creatures/kith, but yet some hope.. Tyrrany is a good step toward this kind of setting but a bit still too festy in design, it lacks dirt, grits and exposed guts. But this require a hugue step. Giving community modding tools is not a modernisation but a creative decision. "What is our experience designed to be?" To create a modable engine you have to create an engine for that very purpose. In case of PoE that would mean completely changing how the game plays and looks - instead of handcrafted prerendered backgrounds you create 3D assets which can be easily used and reused. Games become modular. NWN is a good example. To some it was step forward, but to me it was a disaster. Campaign was dull and unengaging, gameplay a step backward from IE. But it allowed for multiplayer and custom campaign. I don't care much for user created background. Obsidian has many talented writiers, artists and designers on their team and I am more interested in their work than a fan fiction of some random bloke. POE is a bit vintage but that is what it is supposed to be. It's a successor to EI games. It values handcrafted locations, class based combat, well written prose. And they modernise it where they see the need.

I think what OP asks for is a different game with and different mentality, goal and design philosophy. I am afraid that procedural "Rogue-like" elements won't mesh welll with handcrafted nature of PoE. Prerendered locations don't allow for much variation, character design tends to be tied to who they are. The encounteres you have are a way of storytelling as well. Ideally, the depth of player interactions with the world will be more fleshed out in Deadfire, and you can get desired replayibility from the way you interact with the world. I would rather have more possibilities of role playing, rather than game throwing new, shallow scenarios on multiple play through.

I would be. I think a question regarding that was asked on one of the stream and the answer was no - it would take a lot of work to rework existing material and sidekick to reach companion level - better to spent resources on a new companion with new content. As far as monster and finishing - it looks like a feature that could be added on a later date, for example with an expansion. I don't recall seeing that question asked, but I'm not sure how much reworking would be needed, so much as expanding on the base that is provided by the vanilla game. I'm not saying that it *will* happen, mind, just that it seems perfectly plausible. I spent some time looking for it with no result so I might have been under an influence of Zahua's mushrooms.

I would be. I think a question regarding that was asked on one of the stream and the answer was no - it would take a lot of work to rework existing material and sidekick to reach companion level - better to spent resources on a new companion with new content. As far as monster and finishing - it looks like a feature that could be added on a later date, for example with an expansion.

I believe that DOS main strength lies in coop. Characters and scenarios aren't particularly engaging unto themselves but it is a way you interact with the world and solve problems which makes it so fun. If you have a gaming buddy I can't think of better game to spend an evening with than DOS.

Do we know how well DOS did? I think that Feargus said in an interview that PoE sold around a Million copies which seems solid. They do support multiple projects right now, so it seems the success of PoE was used to revive the company rather than pour all of it into a single project. And even though Deadfire is a game I am looking most forward to, I am also looking forward to see what the secret project is.

I personally didn't have issue with PoE voicework beyond mixing unvoiced narration and voiced lines in a same window. Double VO is very welcome. I am not a bit fan of full voiced RPG - I would rather see a more reactive game. As much as I enjoyed Mass Effect or KOTOR games, it is not what I want from PoE and it is not necessarly an improvement, just trading one thing for another. It has been a while but I am pretty sure Baldur's Gate was very sparse with voiceacting as well. I also would be careful with comparing PoE to BG2 (though in Deadfire case it might be more appropriate) as BG2 was already builing on a sequel and a couple of spin offs.