bringingyouthefuture

EDIT - I was totally wrong below, Wormerine you are right, haven't been trying to disengage much with my melee fighters so never noticed. But Jump / Disengage is a bonus action for the moment, and agree it should be changed to a standard action, I am not so sure about push though I would keep it as a bonus action. Jump is a "standard" action so you can't attacks after so it would count as the official "disengage" action, while push is a bonus action but it is based on a D20 roll to hit, so it doesn't always land, and while you can push someone down, run away and shoot them with a bow, knocking someone down doesn't cancel their turn or take away an action from them (it takes away from how far they can move), so you wouldn't officially disengage unless you move far enough away from them after you push them down as they can stand up an threaten you again. It's not bad as the playing field is even in these terms, and have been pushed from a perch myself by an enemy. It's all a matter of taste really, I find the challenge of the game interesting not so much in that each encounter it presents you with is impossible to overcome, but more that each encounter has a particular obstacle to tackle, and if I just walk in without stopping to consider my options, my party either gets beat to a pulp or totally wiped, and this doesn't just include combat encounters but each situation is pretty unique ... and I have made some role playing choices already that have come back to hurt which ups the stakes in the choices I make even greater. I don't mind Larian games in general though, so I am really getting into the challenge of each new encounter, trying to get past them on the first attempt is really slowing the game down for me and making me think.

I feel in all fairness since such passionate opinions of why BG3 isn't a good game were made, it is only fair to add that it isn't a bad game at all. I have found it one of the most challenging and interesting RPGs I have played in years, and though I was skeptical too it would be very much like DOS 1/2 just with DnD rules, it is very much its own experience, and I am like 60 hours in and starting to love it more and more. I will offer only one other perspective since comparing it to Solasta and then commenting on the disengagement mechanic is somewhat erroneous. Solasta to has a disengagement mechanic, you push a button and then can walk out of any engagement. BG3 just did it slightly different by making it an action such as pushing or jumping out of the way. While I agree they could of made jumping into dodging perhaps, both Solasta and BG3 have the same disengagement mechanic, its just BG made it "hell" (get it hell) of cooler by turning it into an action. I think BG3 did okay by the rules ... I have my gripes about the game too, no day/night cycle the major one, but in my humble, probably ignored opinion the game is good.

I already did 3 updates through Steam since the first announced update, kind of interesting I wonder if they were bug fixes? Haven't played it yet going to wait for a big chunk of them, kind of like how I stream anime lol ... one episode is never as good as a binging 3 to 4 episodes

Finally jumped into Badlur's Gate 3 ... my only really gripe so far is they didn't do a day or night cycle, but created a camp. What's the fun of playing a Rogue Vampire if it never gets dark out, might not have been the smartest character options in this case. It has a lot of cosmetic bugs still, but its definitely playable.

What's the next evolution phase, lol I know I can google but send a picture!!

@melkathi let me know when you evolve if you go Knight vs Baron, curious about the Knight I went the Baron route not realizing there is a stage after

Alisa Rage Barbarian of Death: vs . Hero Irene the Marital Artist

Worked on it last night for awhile, will post this evening, what did you end up with Barbarian or White Knight? I went Barbarian to start, but was looking at the White Knight Mastery Sets and they look pretty good. Edit: So far I will mention that my Barbarian builds usually when set to challenge mode go in, wipe a bunch of enemies out, then get downed ... trying to figure out how to make the build with better damage absorption, I mean the dancing clowns really did a number on it ... my Hero Irene the Martial Artist build still might be the best tank and heaviest damage dealer.

About to break into the DLC, Luna the maniac with the chainsaw sounds about right with lunacy ...

Troublshooter character build - Sion the One-Shot, Glass Canon Lightning Mage:

I finished the Troubleshooter game, completed all missions on hard, with some of them on challenging :) Got 145/198 steam achievements with the most rare one being: We are the one In the mission [Astonishing Reunion], win as the team of Irene, Anne and Ray with 'Pick lotteries.' choice on 'Hard' or higher difficulty. Pretty fun and obsessive game, thanks @melkathi for all the screenshots and making me want to buy it!!! The story and role playing elements, humor and strategy are all pretty fun. I mean the game only got grindy for me when I started obsessing over crafting and needed money and material, otherwise fast paced and right on time.

Just finished Phoenix Point Year One Edition, liked it a ton, reminded me of the game Warlords for some reason - but pretty sure I never need to be brutalized by it again. Messing around with Solasta Early Access too. And @melkathi just picked up Troubleshooters, your posts convinced me.

I think all user reviews at this point are garbage, especially on Steam and metacritic, I actually appreciate the critic reviews at this point. User people reviews fall into 4 categories in my opinion: 1) the game sucks because it has bugs 2) the game sucks because it isn't like my favorite game of all time 3) the game won't get a good review from me because I like to write long reaching reviews just to read my long review that do little but re-affrim my belief that my words matter 4) the game is good I find critic review much more spot on these days if taken as an aggregate. Edit side-note: I found it interesting that people on this forum generally approved of CyberPunk 2077 for the PC, much the same way as the first reviews for the PC version were pretty positive, not that this proves my point it just is a good example of reviews being diverse for a lot of different reasons, but in general I fell professional critic reviews still give a better picture of the game.

There is one issue with a POE3 for Gamepass, I don't think POE1 or POE2 were very popular on console yeah? I can't imagine trying to navigate POE1 with a controller, would rather be forced to play Tetris or Mario Kart against my younger brother for 24 hours straight. Doesn't the new XBOX allow for keyboard and mouse I read somewhere? Sorry going off topic, but that could open up a whole new realm for Microsoft in terms of gaming consoles, and types of games but seems like a long shot. I really like the idea of an episodic gamepass for POE3, an ongoing RPG world with new adventures that isn't and MMORPG ... they could even bring in guest writers. In regards to POE2 and its sales, its strange how much I didn't enjoy the boat aspect, but did enjoy rolling around in the Kodiak in Wasteland 3 - if you compare the two I would say the boat map of POE2 didn't really bring the world to life. Otherwise the game was good in so many ways, but it didn't pull all the elements together in the right ways, I think the boat made the world seem too one dimensional. Otherwise, I think POE could do small changes to bring it up to speed in terms of feeling more modern, while also getting back to the roots of what made RPGs so much fun (not just IE rpgs). First make the map rotate so you aren't fixed in one view. Create more environment interaction, like for instance Solasta allows for lighting scones, requires torches, etc, they don't have to go as far as DOS2 or BG3, or try to introduce something groundbreaking, but RPG people love stuff like camping, having to eat food, wounds that can't be healed, anything to make the escape into another world feel more well real. Maybe just create a good TB-mode along with the RTWP-mode, then everyone is happy! And last of all, along with the challenging combat, I do still love a good puzzle, POE could do a little more to embed some hidden mysteries in the world. It is the best combat still in terms of mechanics and strategy, but they can apply that thinking to outside of combat too. Maybe just get rid of the overworld map completely and have the areas just connect to each other so it seems like a seamless environment.

Maybe fans will finally get the Quantum AI they want that wipes the floor with their party ....

I could be wrong, but my guess is that any 4K 2D 60 fps video environment is never going to push VRAM much past 16GB or even up to that which has been available for years, but VR could potentially. The other question I always have is the generation of RAM that the cards use, new generations of RAM should mean that 8GB does more than the previous version of 8GB ... but not really sure but I work in video editing and we often see a lot of 5K and up video footage at 24 fps and realtime playback is easily possible with 16GB of VRAM (even with realtime effects which you could consider similar to live rendering), and the new Mac pros for video editing already offer 64 GB Vram if you have the money along with 1.5TB of standard ram ... so yeah I think they are all prepping for actual VR 3D environmental experiences at this point ... otherwise I don't know what the hell you need 64GB Vram and 1.5TB of actual ram, though the glutton in me says I need it ...

Binsc and Moo is the real trawling that went down recently ... leave it to the French to create Boo as a space hamster who controls giant rats named Moo ... but considering the French do satire with puppets on TV I shouldn't be surprised. I am leaving this comment vague because not sure I want to admit I played and beat The Dungeon Of Naheulbeuk: Amulet of Chaos ... [that was my French humor] https://www.programme-tv.net/videos/swip/quand-les-guignols-imaginent-la-suite-des-aveux-de-lance-armstrong_11925

I'm amazed it has 12,000 reviews already on Steam, I read that Larian is shocked for how well it sold ... I am not surprised at all though. Also Lakers just won their 17th Championship ... all in all a great week

Every single character from FFX ... even the character you play, I agree about Tristan from Kingmaker. Also, Allistair from Dragon Age ... what a sap!

What are you all griping about now? I spent an hour playing, I threw a Mindflayer barrel in a fire and killed my party of two when it exploded ... it was pretty awesome. Graphics a little rough around the edges still, but all in all feels good to play. It reminds me of the Ultima games with the controls of DOS2, super excited. Glad they brought things back to RPG games like jump the chasm, it is really about time, and throw the candlestick ... though I guess that was more adventure games back in the day, but it allows more freedom. Combat feels pretty good, but I thought DOS2 combat was some of the most innovative in the last 5 years. Not quite as nuanced as POE2 combat but pretty darn good, not saying DOS2 combat is better than POE2, but DOS2 is good, really good. This promises even to be better with a larger envelope of rules based on D&D, so am excited to see how it stacks up to POE2, and I rate POE2 combat as some of the best around. Also, just a quick comparison, where Pathfinders combat never really clicked for me until it became turn-based, and even then still a little clunky, this doesn't fall into any of those problems at all!! Writing so far is good and the cinematics are really good, maybe the best in an RPG I could argue. Can't comment on the story yet, but I would be somewhat surprised if it is as large as BG2, but you never know keeping my fingers crossed. I mean the opening and the start of the game kept me on the edge of my seat so like I said so far so good. I don't have the same issues that a lot of you all have with Larian's writing. I went back and played the Definitive Edition of DOS2, and had no negative quips about it, so am guessing will enjoy BG3. I really am shedding tears for all the fans of BG2 who didn't get another game exactly like BG2 ... actually I'm not just messing with you all, I know how many fans of BG2 are on this site ; ). I will add that I am hell of disappointed about Avowed, that it is first person ... such a bummer, fingers crossed they finish the Pillars series as three games. But in the meantime sitting tight with many great games ahead. Good year for RPGs, and I hope many more to come.

I mean who would argue with that, though a good point was made that perhaps you are too much landing in the realm of opinion. Especially for DOS2, because reviews, critical and consumer, as well as in the good fun of capitlaism, the money points that you can say what you like but its hard to argue that the game isn't great, and writing is more than dialogue, especially if you consider authors like James Joyce. But on another note, I would like to point out that you are wrong about Betacam losing to VHS. TV never abandoned Betacam, it was only abondoned as a consumer medium most likely because of costs, but it stayed a professional medium well into the 90s, and in many ways outlived VHS as CDs adn DVDs took the market from VHS, but never made inroads into the professional market. Here is an even better analogy, companies like Sony never abandoned tape, and innovated HDCAM tape which became the one and only delivery for professional video to television networks. They kept innovating and moving forward with the technology where US companies abandoned it, and eventually took over the market completely. Fun fact when the Tsunami hit Japan it wiped out Sony's only factory that made HDCAM SR tapes, and there was a panic in TV production because networks wouldn't accept anything else, post production facilities were hoarding them. Of course even this technology is considered old now, and now there is LTO tape ... so I get your point but maybe the Joyce was a better analogy. I mean DOS2 did innovate a lot with there gaming systems and it seemed to have won the day.

Well, I did read the Twilight Books so not sure what that says about what is considered entertainment, or my taste, but if you want to discuss the ultimate entertainment that leaves you drooling ... I would say it is Henry Cavill with his shirt off with cat eyes

Heck yeah and I haven't been on crack for 14 years thank god! That first area of DOS2 on the island and getting off it was hella fun!! I mean it wasn't as nuanced as the Shadowrun story of course or as seamless as the Dragon Age stories, but still the quests and the setup, the exploration, everything was amazing, but its one of those things where you can say it sucks, but unfortunately the sales and popularity make a good case that it didn't ... so if they can get that synergy between action, quest, character, and combat going again the game is gonna be really good. As for you @Wormerine 40 hours is pretty slim ...

I got excited just for the extra attack animations ...

Yes except the only good thing about the Witcher 3 were the cinematic story elements (and not Geralt putting his tadpole in everyone), the ending and maybe exploration. And first-person shooters is too much Up,Down,Up,Down,A,B,A,B Left, Right,Select. I am going to go out on a limb here and say DOS2 did a masterful job of creating, writing and implementing a story that pretty much took the cake that year, so not sure everyone's criticism is really valid in that area. And I don't just mean the dialogue writing. I believe for this forum at least Obsidian has the upper hand when putting up walls of text to read which I do love about Obsidian games, they do have superior writers, but if anything Larian proved they can write great storylines and great adventures, fun quests and amazing games. Also, not a co-op player and if you think DOS2 is only popular because of co-op you are totally wrong, the game is a great single player game. Plus with Wizards of the Coast onboard I feel like this is gonna be a good one. And just to be clear I am one of the staunchest defenders of POE2 as a great game too so I am not biased towards Larian or against Obsidian.