Wormerine

My wish list is short (less then 10). Big chuck of it are games that didn’t comeout yet, but got a steam page. Couple games I want but wait for deep deep sale.

I think it refers to overall theme, treatment of hero and its relative power to enemies around him.

I do think he is well written, just doesn’t have much to do or say about in Deadfire. I thought his personal quest was interesting, though a to brief to be properly explored.

Yes! There are some minor overall improvements to combat and UI, but most of all, there are additional story missions! Two I can recall on top of my head were related to companions (Gloria and the decker guy). Good stuff, and they make the most out of systems available in dragon fall. It is well worth the 2nd playthrough I think.

Well, why not. Here is my list: 1) PoE: Deadfire - in spite of my gripes: Deadfire represents what RPGs I like, and it does so many things, so very well. My main issues are when the game doesn't so as well, what the original did, but judging on its own, it's a pretty stellar RPG. 2) Shadowrun: Dragonfall - really good time with a limited scale. Replatibility isn't great as it's a very directed experience, but I played it twice and had great time both times. 3) Divinity Original Sin - very subjective. I played a big chunk of it with my friend and had a grant time. Still, finished it single player and it was brief enough to still be enjoyable. 4) PoE1 - mid game just wasn't interesting enough, but destiny was well worth the journey. 5) Tyranny - I liked the setting, characters and opening chapter, but there just was too much combat, and combat was too shallow to not drag it down. 6) Wasteland 2 - I would need to replay it, as it's been a while. And it was the first one I played in a long time, so my memories might be a bit too positive. BREAKING POINT Me do not like: 7) Pathfinder Kingmaker - game in early stages (finishing opening chapter I think) so it might change. So far it's alright - the system gives me some Nwn2 nostalgia. But it has so many problems. Combat can be tedious, balance seems out of wack, pacing is real bad, enemy composition dull. Writing is not done great - I don't have an issue with the light tone, but how unnatural, unlikable and awkward it feels. Divinity Original Sin2 - a big *I need to try it with a friend (preferably THE friend from D:OS1). Single player experience was really bad for me. Really tedious, too much time spend managing trash equipment, quests were so undefined and freeform it felt more like cleaning a map, then doing anything specific. 9) Shadowrun: Hong Kong - quite disappointed in this one. On paper it is a bigger and better Dragonfall - but nothing really worked for me here - didnt care for companions, areas felt large and empty, and Hong Kong made for a surprisingly dull setting. 10) Torment: Tides of Numenera - meh 11) Shadowrun Returns - really meh

Pretty much this. The whole crisist system is there (it's clunky) but I remember maybe two instances it was utilized. I enjoyed reading through the game, but the whole thing felt a bit too disjointed to be satisfying.

Good one.

Never played it so can't say. Dark Soul was dope though. But, unless Demon's Souls is more of an RPG, in roleplaying sense, then I don't think it's an apt example. Doom is supposed to be great, and it has demons, but it's not a story drive RPG. I don't question demons as an appealing theme for visual design, but their narrative flexibility to become something interesting. Ah maybe. I mean to check the Inquisition out, but I am not interested enough (D:O is supposed to be still the best, and I didn't even like that one) to download Origin for it. I has been off my PC after the midsappointments that were DA2 and ME3.

I am liking it alright so far, though it is quite tedious experience. Writing is a mixed bag, though one thing which really annoys my is how your protagonist is all over the place - you can't really define him in any coherent ways. And then you have things like that: I don't think Bioware was ever that bad, and their love for massive exposition dumps is legendary (Yes, tell me about the history of dwarven race). I am trying to figure out if Owlcat are parodying RPG tropes of if its a genuine attempt.

Awww, I missed the sign up deadline. I have fond memories of original Desperados, and Shadow Tactics has been delightful. Having high hopes for D3. Looks great.

Lootboxes then?

Entering the thread I assumed it will be about realistic scope of the game, and was about to make a joke about realistic weapons scopes, only to find that the thread is about weapons scopes.

To some extend the way items are handled might be the case of preference, though I would agree that the way Deadfire implemented items fits more the overall game structure and progression. Personally, I am not much into making my character more powerful - I treat leveling system as a way to define my character, but I don’t look forward to leveling because of getting more powerful. I like my enemies to pose an engaging and fun challenge, and so I would be interested in an RPG which abandons numerical powercreep entirely, and uses levels to expand your and enemies tactical options, instead of just giving flat bonuses to rolls. I mention it, because I don’t enjoy finding weapons which are simply better then what I have. Looters fail to engage me, and if I find a weapon which simply replaces my previous one, I don’t find it rewarding. Remembering BG2 I liked having multiple weapons with different effects I would use for different situations, but I didn’t enjoy finding weapons which would make the rest obsolete. As such Deadfire is a perfect system for me, giving plenty of interesting weapons, which synergise with different builds or strategies. It also encourages to have couple weapons at hand. However, like most of the systems in those kind of RPGs - you don’t really need to engage with this system to get by. It might be the case of the difficulty being too low, but at the same time you wouldn’t want to fall into trap of requiring to have certain weapons to win, I found great satisfaction of equipping my team for megabosses, and seeing my team counter enemies with a smart application of weapons. A benefit of turn-based mode, is that such things are easier to track. Weapon effects are easily noticeable, while in RtwP majority of player will loose track of what’s happening in the noise (I know I usually do). i also love that Deadfire doesn’t punish switching weapons - proficiencies don’t contribute to your chance to hit (for the most part) so one isn’t reliant on meta-knowledge.

I am trying to think of a one example and can’t.

Overall, I found companions disappointing, as I found PoE1 companions to be one of the strongest aspects of the game. I liked how they implemented them this time around more - the way they join you feels more natural, and having them respond to things around you, rather then delivering their stories in big chunks has a better flow. However, because their character arcs are independent from locations you visit I found that: each individual story feels underdeveloped, while characterisation feels very one note. If the game were decided into linear chunks, your companions could develop over time. As it is, Takehu will always be irresponsible, selfish, spoiled brat, and no matter how he develops in the future it is something which is suggested but rarely seen. Here is my personal take on companions: RETURNING COMPANIONS - all disappointing, mostly due to how they transfer from PoE1 to PoE2. 1) Eder - I like the guy, but it feels to me like he doesn’t fit in. Considering how important Eothas is to him, I expected him to have a compelling part to play. I feel he is not very well explored. His personal quest really disappointed me. After reading short story for PoE1 which included his relationship with Elafa it makes a bit more sense, but before that it really felt like something which came out of nowhere. He felt like a baby’s first henchman with likeable personality but little relevance. He could have been an interesting counterpart to Xoti, but as his personality has to for the most part cover both faithless and faithful Eders, he ends up in a vague, indecisive inbetween. He does get couple good lines regarding current events and Saints Wars though. 2) Aloth - disappointed how Deadfire undermines growth he had in PoE1. Certainly disappointing if you happen to suppress Iselmyr, as it doesn’t change his character - it simply cuts a lot of content out. His encounter feels the most artificial and convenient. Like Eder, he feels like “that mage” character. 3) Pallegina - I think she is the one who suffered the most when merging PoE1 endings into something manageable. As she becomes an unrelenting mouthpiece for Valians, she looses a lot of complexity she had in the original. Her personal quest doesn’t further her character, but fills plot points, which I just didn’t find compelling. Considering how I loved her confrontation with Hylea in PoE1, I am sad her personal story and conflict wasn’t explored. Just like Eder she gets some good lines, but they don’t lead anywhere. NEW GUYS 4) Xoti - my definite favourite of the companions, in spite my early hate for her. Being independent from factions (though one might argue she represents Gods) she seems better developed and more rounded as a character. I liked her personal quest, and she felt more involved in the overall story then most of the others. 5) Takehu - I really disliked this guy, until my last playthrough. Siding with Huana and taking him as my regular companion, showed me parts of his character and arc I didn’t see before. It also helps that with two dedicated story quests (watershapers/gullet) and some really relevant story bits (Sanctuary Island and landing on Ukaizo) he has space to grow and respond to things around him. 6) Maia - never found her interesting. I like her quips, but she never got deeper then that. It always felt to me, like she didn’t get much content. Even when playing as Rauatai supporter she never gave me much cause to care about her or her faction. 7) Serafen - I liked him. Just a fun guy to keep around. His waves of past memories, bursting under emotional duress was a nice touch. Also, the only faction guy likely to stick with you until the end - gotta respect that. SIDEKICKS: I pretty much liked them all. Small story arcs and quips added in DLCs helped to flesh them out. Sometimes all you need is just a bit of context to like them.

Thanks! Always nice to have a nice conversation. Didn't mean to criticise your way of enjoying your single player game. It is just something I don't understand (even after further explanation;-). Well, Forgotten Sanctum is neat, and throws some interesting lore and possible PoE3 teases, but it isn't a very plot driven adventure - at least not like BoW, which had a very nice flow of story beats, development, misdirections, revelations etc. FS is more of a dungeon with some really interesting stuff in it. The conflict is there, but when refering to momentum, I more refered to lack of development. I blame it on how open the game is. There is a lot of good stuff in it, with interesting ideas, characters, even companions arc, but because the game's so open, there is little in terms of linear development. Game presents a lot of interesting leads, but doesn't have a chance to follow up on them. You praised BoW, and rightfully so: it's biggest strength is its focus. Because, there is limited way in which you can progress through it, certain story beats and character developments (be it Ydwin or Vatnir) have been nicely spread, prepared and paid off. That is something the base game lacks, consisting of smaller quests and ideas, which do fit together, but never flow. Curiously enough, according to Josh, Deadfire wasn't designed to be that open - at the start, player were constrained to were they could go, until they progressed through the content, and eventually they opened it up, as there was no reason to block player's progress. I feel something must have been omitted when developing the story... like too much time was devoted to what the worlds metaphisycal and political situation is, and not enough on what the story is and what it should be about. As a side note, as you just completed Deadfire you probably missed Josh's post-mortem, which I think is an interesting watch. https://jesawyer.tumblr.com/post/185500604851/the-deadfire-post-postmortem

I agree with most of what you say, aside from being shocked by some preferences - not doing Forgotten Sanctum because there is nothing to gain... is beyond my ability to understand :-). Especially, as you claim to care for story more then gameplay. I generally like the changes to the systems they did in Deadfire. However, they did struggle with finding a right difficulty balance. I dislike were it ultimately led, with HP floats in megabosses and DLCs. Having beaten those recently, I must say it was not experience I enjoyed, as megabosses tend to keep “a surprise” until late into the combat (like spider giving injuries, or mage unlocking all sigils permanently) which meant you lost a lot of time just to get screwed by something you couldn’t know was coming. I really enjoyed how Deadfire handled items - I found it simply better then other games, and I found myself constantly torn by what to equip. Unlike yourself, I find myself short on money, as I do tend to upgrade a lot of items I find. I never sell uniques. This game still surprises me. Recently, I wrapped up my third playthrough, this time as Hunter from White that Wends, and ended up supporting Huana. I saw Takehu developers in a different way then usual, and while I quite disliked him before, the transformation and arc he got this time, was quite compelling. I thought that the Woedica addition they made in the last patch, help a lot. Too bad, they didn’t quite nail the sound work, and the new lines when talking to Eothas (be it new new or related to DLCs) sound noticeably different both and sound and volume, played back to back with original content. My main gripe is the ending, and overall lack of narrative forward momentum. I would happily trade one of the DLC, for an expanded Ukaizo which would better flesh out choices you have made throughout your journey. I also disliked how returning companions’ various endings from PoE1 got reduced in scope. There was a promise of change and development that was squashed. I almost wish, they would simply stick to one ending they would find more fitting to Deadfire and develop that, rather then what they did. The fact, that my first playthrough was with endings which really seemed to draw a short straw (Eder being a governor, Pallegina a kind wayfarer, Aloth suppressing Isylmir, and taking over the Leaden Key) might have contributed to this dislike.

Someone made similar post to your a long time ago. I do like the approach you are suggesting. Gothic1&2 utilised this design really well, and while clunky those are open worlds I really engaged with. Giving players a GPS or quest marker might improve pacing, but has an unfortunate effect of making players ignore their surroundings and focus purely on the UI. However, we don’t even know how open OW really is. We know it consist of multiple maps, and depending how open and sprawling they are, navigation open environment might not even be a thing. Whatever the case is, designing game so it can be played without showing you were to go would take a lot of work - it needs to be considered in all of the design: visual, layout, conversations, quest progression. If they haven’t done that by know, I doubt the game would be fun to play with quest marker turned off.

You won’t be able to buy through GOG just DLCs as it is a different platform. i don’t use mac much, especially not for games, but the Deadfire description reads “in-app purchases”. Isn’t there a way to buy DLC somewhere through game’s main menu? Thats how Civilization6 is set up on App Store if forums are to be believed.

Game intention might not be to be a commentary on politics, but can have some content relevant or relying on current political landscape. Individual members of the team might have used this opportunity to discuss subjects they believe in/are interested in, while at the same time making a game, which hits broader themes.

Weren't attributes supposed to have an acronym like S.P.E.C.I.A.L.? S.D.I.P.C.T. doesn't have a ring to it.

No kidding. I started to do some teaching in a primary school, and I was a bit shocked when I found out that all the kids are talking about is Fortnight and skins. I started to really look differently at lootboxes since then, especially knowing how impulsive and impatient those little chumps are. While lootboxes don't effect me, personally, unless they mess with gameplay, and therefore interfere with my enjoyment, but I am not the target audience/victim. I am quite far from having an addictive personality, and "pulling the lever" had never had any appeal to me. Opening lootbox irritates me, not excites. I would put myself very firmly in "if you fall for it you are dumb", but I simply don't understand the appeal/addiction.

I don't know much about Nestle. The thing about hobbies, is that it is something people get attached to, and are very protective about. Funny thing about things like music, movies or games, is that while they are objectively less important then more basic things, I am more emotionally attached to them as I consume them volountary. I recharge my batteries that way, I look forward to playing a good game, watch a movie or go to a good concert. While, for example food, is just a chore. I have to eat to keep going. So I eat stuff. So yeah, if someone poops into my happy time it does upset me. More so, then someone pooping into my chore. I am at the stage of not caring anymore, and finding it more and more difficult to find something to play, and am spending more and more of my free time on other things. If they can't figure out why their public perception is so bad, then maybe a change in management is needed.

And Epic is paying for it? Those guys really have too much money.

I don't think Galaxy2 is really stepping on anyones toes right now. Keep in mind that GoG is supposively working with other platforms to make the integration possible. Epic/Battlenet/Origin all rely on exclusive games. While you might launch them (and download them? I am not sure about this part) via Galaxy2 you can buy it via gog and a platform on which you own that game still needs to be installed. GOG hope probably is, that people will use GOG to make managing multiple labraries easier, and in the result will end up buying some of the games from them - there might be a conflict of interest with steam, but still GOG has small fraction of their library, and gets many titles with a delay.