gloomseeker

Sounds like a mess when it's Windows that is trolling you. I guess you've tried reaching out to Microsoft as well. That sucks. Good luck with getting it to work or getting a refund (it's still not released so shouldn't be a problem as you haven't even downloaded the game yet).

I'm running Windows 10 and I don't have any problem with it. Is the installation blocked by your antivirus program? Did you download the launcher from the official website? Do you get a specific error? Did you select the correct drive? Sometimes it's some little thing that gets in the way and create some big problem.

Steam is a necessary evil. Epic is not worse than Steam. It does lack a few features but it works (and for the record it took Steam years to offer the possibility of getting a refund). In my experience Epic is a lot better than the Microsoft Store (I tried it once and I'm staying away from it as much as I tried my best to stay away from Games for Windows Live back in the days). I can understand people wanting (and asking for) a GOG release since it would come with the advantage of being able to have a DRM free version of the game that can be used offline. The only reason why I got Steam almost ten years ago was to play Fallout New Vegas. Until then I had managed to stay away from that platform that is now ubiquitous. I use Steam because I have no choice in the matter and I'm also using Origin, Uplay, Battlenet, Rockstar and the Epic launcher for the very same reason. Sure that's a lot of game launchers and DRM applications but personally I'm wary of Steam having a monopoly on PC games. At the end of the day, it's good not to have all your eggs in the same basket but if you feel so strongly about using Steam there is a possibility of using Steam and adding a game as a "non Steam game" in your Steam library so you can launch it directly from Steam. I've been doing it with some Origin titles in order to use the Steam App to take screenshots in game (strangely enough Uplay does support taking screenshots with the overlay while Origin doesn't). It works with GOG games too so we don't know yet but there may be a possibility it may work with the Outer Worlds as well.

Looks like I'll be shooting for the recommended settings.

My experience with the Windows Store has not been that good. The last time I tried it was incredibly cumbersome and not that user friendly (a bit like Windows itself now that I think about it, the way they mess you up or troll you with updates whenever you have something that needs to be done and can't wait). Anyway, it's good to hear that they are getting better as a service but if I have a choice I'd rather deal with the Epic store (works fine in my experience). I'm just happy not to have to deal with the horror that was Games for Windows Live.

I like going back to infinity engine games from time to time. They've aged quite gracefully.

This reminds me of Icewind Dale 2. There was a book in the game entitled How to be an Adventurer that you could use for XP and the description was pretty funny: "This ludicrously huge and heavy book - more a compilation of volumes in a single binding than anything else - claims to be an extensive manual on the "the fine art of adventuring." Its many chapters include: - Henchmen: Loyal Companions or Seedy Pack-Mules? - Making Your Kit Work for *You* - 101 Uses for a 10' Pole - Catapults: Yes, That's as Far as it Shoots - Getting the Most Out of Your Party's Thief - Today's Tinderbox - It's Not Just for Lighting Torches Anymore - Dungeons to Tackle: - Stinky Pieter's Halls o' Poorly Guarded Gold - The Caves of Soundly Sleeping Monsters - Archmage "Loose-Bowels" Wozley the Milksop's Enchanted Item Warehouse - The Wooden Citadel of Darmos the Old and Crippled - Uncle Fralin's Tool Shed - ...and more! - Dungeons To Avoid Like the Crotch-Rot: - The Iron Fortress of Blodax, Devourer of Souls - Dominara the Erinyes' Nine-Layered Brothel of Violent Emasculation (No Slaking... or Slating... allowed) - The Crimson Hell-Pit of One Billion Miserable Deaths - Uncle Fralin's Bedroom - ...and more! - Your Lantern and You - Twelve Uses for Twelve Iron Spikes - 99 Uses for That Little Hammer That Comes With Twelve Iron Spikes - Face It, You're Actually "Neutral Evil" - The King's Lovely Daughter: Look But Don't Touch - Don't Put Your Hand in That Dark Hole ...and over eighty more information-packed chapters covering all aspects of adventuring, from hoarding to spell-casting and bold heroics to arse-saving cowardice." Face It, You're Actually "Neutral Evil" is the one that stuck with me. If we're being entirely honest then we have to admit that in most cases between two different options most of us will pick the one which yields the more XP.

I used to see Steam as a necessary evil and although I do appreciate the ease of use it offers and some of its features (which literally took years to be implemented) I also use Battlenet, Origin, Uplay, Gog and now Epic. As long as it works and I can get the game I've paid for I don't really care, so far I haven't had any problem with Epic (and I've been playing Operencia, Rebel Galaxy Outlaw and the Sinking City). The reason I started using Steam back in 2010 was to play Fallout New Vegas so I'm not going to skip Obsidian's new game just because it's not available there.

You probably misinterpreted what I wrote or I wasn't clear enough about what I meant. Basically Fallout 3 presented two major options, 1) save Megaton and be hailed as a true hero salt of the earth kinda guy/gal or 2) blow up Megaton for kicks and giggles and get a pad at Tenpenny's Tower. That's what Fallout 3 boiled down to (and the last choice at the end of the game was merely another take on the same options either be a psycho or be a saint and sacrifice yourself). In all fairness The Pitt DLC did introduce some sorely needed moral ambiguity. What I meant was that knowing the complexity of Obsidian's past work we can expect something more elaborate and more nuanced. A little more subtlety than just blowing up a nuke just because you can or going out of your way to sacrifice yourself just because that's what Bruce Willis did in Armageddon (by the way I hope I didn't spoil a 21 year old movie for anyone reading this thread). In a computer RPG (just like in a regular RPG) the PC's motivation is of paramount importance. The game doesn't even have to cater to all the player's whims, it just needs not to stifle a player's imagination. That's probably the most fondamental difference between Fallout 4 and Fallout New Vegas. In Fallout 4 you play a guy who is a vet or his spouse who is a lawyer, you're forced into the role of a parent whether you like the idea or not. In Fallout New Vegas all you know is that you're a Courier but you're free to come up with whatever backstory that works for you. In regards to this thread, I do believe that it is important for the game to leave enough blank spots on the canvas so the player can fill them in and make the character his or her own.

That's basically what Bethesda did with Fallout 3 so considering we're talking about Obsidian I would expect this game to provide a little more nuance than that.

I'm a chronic restarter so I need to find the character that feels right to me in order to get anywhere in a game. I usually replay the opening sections numerous times so that can get old after a while. I'll probably play some sort of free spirited trickster or rogue as that's the type I like the most in games.

Glad you like it. I think it turned out ok (which is why I decided to post it). You're doing a pretty good job yourself if I may say so.

Found this online: It's a portrait of Shaun Gilmore from Critical Role which looks a bit different from the one that comes with Deadfire. Since I'm going to use it for my new Spellblade character I've decided to share the edits I've made to turn it into a portrait for Deadfire.

Here is a perfect example of what Phenomenum mentioned above. If you look at the bigger pictures and compare them to the smaller ones it is obvious that the aspect ratio is not the same and that the larger pictures look stretched. Are you cropping the pictures or just resizing them? My humble advice would be to make sure you're keeping the original aspect ratio and cut the bits that don't fit (even good old paint can do that). I'm not trying to be a **** but I'm a bit baffled because you're doing a stellar job on the watercolour versions and it's truly the difficult part.

Nice job. Never played a Fire Godlike before and now I may have to.

I did spend too much time fighting the pathfinding in the first game and in the end I did enjoy the game despite the gameplay whereas I've enjoyed Deadfire both because of its story and its gameplay. The first game had a very strong story so there's that but Deadfire has a very refreshing setting and is absolutely gorgeous. The major flaw with Deadfire is that you're drawn into the game that deities are playing and are forced to act as their pawn (and either you are a willing pawn and will want to move through the plot as fast as possible or you're a reluctant one and will do your utmost to stall them).

Boeroer's mention of Blackguards reminds me that I never finished that game. I liked it a lot but it ended up feeling like too much work. I'll have to start over some time. I can't see why people resent turn based mode as long as it's entirely optional. I get the argument that it's diverting resources away from regular patching and bug squishing but I doubt that this had an impact simply because it came late in the development of the game (which may or may not be a good thing as there is some validity to the argument that you shouldn't redesign the fundamental mechanics of a game once it's finished). There is no denying that many people are now drawn to the game simply because of the novelty of the turn based mode. I for one would rather play turn based because I prefer a slower pace even if it means encounters end up taking longer but then to be frank I'm also the kind of player who keeps hitting the space bar when playing BG and IWD.

Warfare for everyone when going for Physical damage did feel a bit awkward to say the least... In all fairness and by definition the original pen and paper RPGs are turn based. Good old D&D was all about turns and rounds and the order in which characters took action. Real time with pause in BG was an attempt to replicate this system and make it more dynamic and it worked but you could still set it up so that the game would pause at the end of each round. Ideally we would be getting the best of both worlds by having more choice. I can't imagine Obsidian completely ditching real time with pause for the next Pillars game but I'm definitely looking forward to playing Deadfire in turn based mode.

Interesting question Wormerine. If we go back to Arcanum we may have some elements of answer (although to be honest it seems the idea in Arcanum was catering to the turn based Fallout crowd and the real time Diablo crowd rather than BG fans). In any case Deadfire is a very interesting experiment and if they can sort things out and make it work nicely in both modes then there is no reason they can't take advantage of this expertise with the next Pillars game. Another side effect of going turn based games is that it takes away the concerns you may have about pathfinding (plus it's been mentioned before in this thread it also makes working with a controller a lot easier). Turn based games tend to be slower paced but the real problem with DIvinity Original Sin 2 doesn't have anything to do with its turn based nature, it is the simple fact that the game is based on two different types of damage and protection and that just narrows the way you're going to tackle the game. If you want to be effective you will have to choose early on between one or the other and there's no way around this (unless you drop the difficulty).

Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura is the best example of a game that has both real time and turn based combat and frankly playing this game in real time would be a real pain. I can't see why Pillars of Eternity 2 Deadfire couldn't benefit from having the option of playing in turn based mode. Sure the turn based mode may not be for everyone and sure it may translate as a (somewhat) slower game experience but for players who like me prefer the option of playing the game like that the announcement of the turn based is an unexpected treat and a new way to experience the game. As for saying that it's an unnecessary diversion of resources, that's up to the OP but as far as we can tell and unless a dev can weigh on that there is nothing to substantiate that claim. Personally as much as I enjoy playing real time with pause games like BG (which I still have installed on my PC) I do think the introduction of the turn based option is the best thing that could happen to this game.

Look at it this way, worst case scenario we have to wait a bit longer to enjoy a fully patched game which will probably be less expensive once it hits Steam and Gog. I've preordered the Obsidian Edition of Deadfire, it's almost been a year and I'm still waiting for the game to be fully patched before getting into the DLC and the turn based mode. One year is not such a big deal. Especially when you have a backlog and if waiting ultimately means that you get to play a better and fully patched version of the game.

I'm just going to point out that if you own it on Steam, you don't really own the game. If Steam decides to ban you, you lose access to all of those games. Steam is Pro-Consumer! Or if for whatever reason Steam goes belly up. It may sound highly unlikely but even as a remote possibility it is a real concern considering that it's the DRM that is used in almost every PC games these days. Not to say anything about Steam servers being needed for users to access their libraries. A few years ago you could still get retail versions of games, nowadays they all require Steam. The only way to truly own a game is to get it from Gog and make sure you have the installer backed up on a storage device somewhere.

For the record I don't like Steam. The reason I got on Steam was to play Fallout New Vegas and the reason I have many games there now is simply because it's convenient and they offer sales and discounts. In my experience both Origin and Uplay are much faster than Steam when it comes to downloading games and they don't have all the clutter. Origin sucks when you want to take screenshots so Uplay is better when it comes to that. As far as I'm concerned Gog is the best because it's DRM free but games usually take longer to get patched there and that can be a hassle. Plus fair regional pricing on Gog is going to be a thing of the past in 10 days because they can't compete. So what does Epic offer me? -Slower download speed. -A few free games that I either already owned or didn't care about. -A much higher price for new games considering I'm not in the US and online stores like GMG or the Humble Store don't sell Epic keys. Like I said, I got into Steam because of Fallout New Vegas so chances are I'll probably get into Epic because of the Outer Worlds but I won't be happy about it unless they improve their service. Steam came a long way since 2010 so I should probably give Epic the benefit of the doubt. I understand they want to take a bite out of Steam's pie but exclusives will only get them so far if they can't have a storefront that is easy to navigate and prices that gamers who don't live in North America can live with. I don't see this happening any time soon.

Funny how the jagged teeth make such a difference! Nice job!

Or cutscenes in DAO that took your entire party away from the positions you had carefully picked to put them all (including your stealthy rogue) right in the middle of the fray.