gloomseeker

I'm all for a party of 6 (it wasn't too much micro when we used to play BG 20 years ago) but I'm happy with a party of 5 if it means we don't get to experience the pathfinding issues that plagued PoE1. 4 in Tyranny was just not enough but 5 works. I'm not going to pretend it doesn't feel odd after all these years playing Infinity Engine games but it's still better than the alternative.

I'm going with Barbarian/Unbroken (level 8 at the moment) and it's fine but the lower constitution feels more of a liability than it did in the first game (first run for me so I don't have any of the blessings of Berath enabled and some of my choices may not be optimal plus I'm still looking for a really nice shield). With hindsight I'd probably keep constitution around 5 at the start of the game (I got my hand on an item with +2 in constitution and it does make a difference).

I also dislike laborious cheesing, but that's a very narrow view of looking at things that only caters to your own sense of what is fun and reasonable. RPGs, especially with a degree of nonlinear exploration, are so, so difficult to balance for different kinds of players. So all I ask is that a game has robust enough systems and options that I can engineer it to provide the kind of challenge I want. E.g. I do not like regenerating health because it impacts my ability to have a meaningful attrition element. I have nothing against people who want to cheat heal or run back to rest 800 times or whatever else, but I want the gameplay systems / console / game options / etc to support a variety of styles. What you consider annoyances are important elements of fun for other people. One of the reasons BG2 & IE games were so great is that they gave you many ways to cheese, powergame, house-rule, attrition, sadistically gimp yourself, etc., as you chose - especially once mods like Tactics or SCS came around (the latter day SCS, when you pick and choose its modules, do not 'require' laborious cheesing at all, if you are familiar with the systems). Pot calling kettle black. Saying I have a "very narrow view" just because I don't see eye to eye with you is a bit beside the point don't you think? All I said was that it would be wise to wait for PotD to be fixed before getting into it. As for cheese, some people like it runny and some people like it in games. I've played Tactics and frankly there is no way you can get out of Irenicus Dungeon without using foreknowledge, cheese and tricks so I stand by what I've posted above. For the record just so we're on the same page that doesn't mean that I don't want you to have fun powergaming the hell out of the game but please let's not pretend that abusing cheesy tricks, fog of war and AI exploits are worth bragging about because that would just be unseemly.

I hate to be that guy but if you have spent 750 hours playing PoE1 and can't remember most of these choices then either you haven't been paying attention at all or you have a really terrible memory.

Speaking about BG2, it's funny that so many gamers used to play this game with difficulty mods like Tactics that required the player to (ab)use cheap tricks and foreknowledge to get through most fights. Kiting and pulling a Benny Hill to pepper a boss with arrows and magic missiles, casting Death Cloud on unalerted foes by abusing the line of sight, etc. There is nothing hardcore about cheesing your way through a game by using some overpowered items, cheating and abusing the AI to break the game. Deadfire features many quality of life improvements (including the smaller party and getting rid of the per rest nonsense or the endurance/health system) and to me it feels that I don't spend most of my time fighting with pathfinding issues when playing the game. Does that make the game easier? Maybe it does but frankly the major difference is that it makes fights much less annoying/more fun. Last but not least despite all the complaints by a very vocal group of people it's common knowledge that the game's PotD mode hasn't been properly balanced yet so it's probably wise to wait until it's fixed to give it a go.

You don't have to be in Stealth (which is definitely an improvement). It says in the game that Perception is used for that.

How long have you been playing? Do you have a bloated inventory? I'm using a laptop to play the game and my loading times are much much shorter than that (but I've only played 12 hours so far).

Definitely. I'm clearly not the only one who did find the writing a bit too "heavy" in the first Pillars of Eternity and Yosharian has illustrated this point perfectly. Still, I don't believe the story is limited to the quality of the writing as it is important to take into account pacing and the way the main plot and side quests work together (something that has been brought up in this thread already). To make a great story we need a few basic things, mostly an antagonist and a reason that drives the protagonist to progress through a series of events. Some of these things are up to the player. It's entirely possible to embrace the story of the first Pillars of Eternity in different ways simply by considering the way you choose to react to the visions of the Watcher's past. Sure, you're still looking to thwart the villain's plans but your choices do inform the relationship with Thaos (and Iovara for that matter). I've played only 12 hours of Deadfire but so far I didn't feel like my guy wasn't properly motivated to look for his antagonist. Nor did I feel that it was out of character for him to look around for opportunities to make some dough on the side. Sure it may be easier because I am playing an antihero (or a very reluctant hero at best) and becoming the pawn of supernatural powers is not high on his list (nor is he very respectful of these powers). A pally or a more religious type may feel obligated to focus on the main quest and ignore the rest but even then the sense of urgency is entirely up to the player (sure getting his/her soul back is probably a priority for the Watcher but all things considered it is a tall order to confront a god whether you're prepared or not and in the meantime a Watcher still has to eat and pay his crew). What I'm trying to say is that the most important part is the actual roleplaying. In the BG series you had a few elements that were predetermined and you could build around them. The game gave you enough leeway to allow you to expand upon these elements and make them yours. Going through the events in the game allowed you to flesh out your character by creating a past for what had been a blank slate. Pillars is like that. We do have certain elements that won't change but we also have some room to maneuver (which is why I like trying different things and why I enjoyed my last playthrough of PoE1 in which I played a self centred mercenary type who enjoyed being blunt when he could and devious when he had to). By the way, my guy never really considered Thaos to be the antagonist. It was less about defeating Thaos and more about moving on and getting closure for his Awakening. In some ways my character was an unwilling participant in the events that lead him to end up on a boat in the Deadfire Archipelago (after all he does hate boats). Sure, some may argue that all that doesn't make a difference and that whatever story you may choose to spin you still end up going through (roughly) the same events and (mostly) doing the same thing. They may even say that all we have is the illusion of choice. The pretence that our decisions matter and have a direct consequence on the story as a whole. The truth is that when it comes to roleplaying the only thing that matters is for the player(s) to believe in this illusion that is carefully woven by the game master. Things may take unexpected turns but most of the time the game master will adhere to a script and even if very good game masters can make it look effortless and give the impression that things are entirely up to the player it's never really the case. When it comes to videogames things are even more restrictive but in the end as long as the player is willing to suspend his disbelief then it's possible for the player to invest in the story and make it more personal and thus more relevant. If the player doesn't embrace that opportunity to fuel his or her imagination then all that is left is a by-the-numbers approach that will only be about facts and mechanics with decisions motivated by game logic instead of actual roleplaying in which case the fun will probably come from crunching numbers rather than getting immersed in a story. That's why a slow start is a boon for the roleplayer because it gives him or her time to fill in the blanks leisurely without having to worry about the action whereas a more down to earth approach will probably want to be entertained with more action and less introspection. Of course things may not be so clear cut and I don't mean to say that roleplayers don't want any action in their games but It seems to me that both ways of playing the game are at odds and I think Pillars of Eternity is more skewed towards roleplayers. If anything in the first game the whole series of events leading to Caed Nua could be viewed as a long tutorial. We could also say that both need different things from the game. The ones who focus on roleplaying need enough space to build their stories within the story whereas the more practical gamers probably want to be shown and take an active part in the action on the screen. It's only logical because what happens on the screen is the most important thing to them whereas the roleplayers use what is happening on the screen to cater to their own stories (and for them it's these stories that make what's happening on the screen interesting, not the other way around). In any case I've been going long enough with this post so I think it's a good time to stop. I just want to stress the fact that I don't think things are so clear cut in reality (I believe there is a bit of the roleplayer and of the number cruncher in all of us) but it may offer a clue as to the reasons why people seem to react so differently when it comes to the story in a CRPG. I know full well not everyone has an experience in pen and paper roleplaying but this is definitely something that you should consider getting into if you ever find yourself writing stories about your character in a video game.

The great thing about playing a pen and paper campaign in this setting is that you can expect your players to be somewhat familiar with the lore and world of Eora after playing the videogame.

Grating is the exact word to express how I feel about it. For the record I have nothing against Southern American accents (I used to date a young lady from Ohio years ago and I just loved listening to her). Nice to have some input regarding the Vallian voices! I guess I can relate somehow as a Frenchman when playing Dragon Age since in this game series Orlesians are supposed to talk in a French accent and most of the time they talk the way English speakers think a French accent should sound (which can be quite funny actually).

I'm fighting the urge to restart and it's hard. The only reason I'm sticking with my Brute is because I did go through the first game with him. I'm really tempted to start over with an Orlan War Caller (Skald + Devoted) dual wielding blunderbusses... So far I'm glad I'm sticking to my current game.

Correct me if I'm wrong but I seem to remember that when PoE1 first launched the loading times were much longer. Do the loading times increase the longer you play? I'm not that far into the game and I didn't really notice they were that bad.

That just tells you what these people know. A slow start is actually perfect for an RPG because it allows the player to build up his character. Remember the exchange with Calisca in PoE1? That's the sort of things that help flesh out a character and make him or her a little more than some numbers on the character screen. With that being said I still think PoE1 did a poor job introducing its setting. There is just too much information when you're getting started and it can only be overwhelming. I can't really say how Deadfire's introduction would feel to someone who hasn't played the first game but I think it's following the same pattern mostly. Having played the first game makes things much less confusing though. IMO the problem is not that the story is bad, it's more about those people not wanting to invest in the story. Perhaps they feel the path to be taken is not obvious enough. Maybe they want dragons to show up right after character creation just like in Skyrim (which is absolutely terrible and something no self respecting Game Master would do in a pen and paper RPG). Frankly I don't really know. I'm just glad we still get the opportunity to play games that provide a "slow" start.

Except Werner Herzog did shoot Aguirre in English before dubbing it in German. As for accents in PoE, I'm in no position to judge (I'm a Frenchman who worked very hard to lose his accent in English and ended up with more than a hint of a Scottish accent) but I don't really care for American accents when it comes to fantasy games/movies. Don't get me wrong, I'm ok with most (including Edér's) but I have to say that as far as I'm concerned the one that gives me a hard time is Xoti's. I like the character but she takes me out of the game every time she speaks. I much prefer how Iselmyr sounds.

It's too early to post a review IMHO (unless you hit a game breaking bug that can't be solved by reloading an earlier save). At this juncture I won't be posting a review before completing the game which will take some time. Rushing to post an early review when you lack any hindsight is not very useful for anyone and it only serves to skew Steam metrics (which are unreliable at best -seriously, have you read what inane ramblings many Steam users come up with? Finding a decent Steam review is like looking for a needle in a haystack, it can be done but it can be time consuming). As far as QA, I think that there is room for improvement. I've played under ten hours but I've noticed a typo in one of the tooltips. Not game breaking at all but a bit sloppy. Other than that the game has been amazing so far. Fingers crossed so it stays that way. EDIT: just read Fluffle's post above. Perfect illustration of what we can expect from random Steam users.

I agree with the above. If you care about the setting and the story (which you probably do if you're into RPing games) starting with Deadfire will most certainly be confusing and even if you catch up on all the things that took place chances are you won't be involved at all with these events or with the returning characters. Besides if you end up really liking Deadfire and then decide to experience the whole story the entire plot of the first game will have been spoiled for you and you will have a much harder time getting into the first game after playing the sequel considering all the improvements (graphics alone make a huge difference). In any case there is nothing wrong with taking the time to enjoy the first game (don't put too much pressure on yourself because it is a long game and 70 hours is probably the minimum for a full run including White March) knowing that you will be able to enjoy Deadfire to the fullest after that.

What the gentleman above says. The game is also utterly gorgeous.

For what it's worth I much prefer the way things work now and I certainly don't miss endurance. It may be a bit more straightforward but when it comes to game mechanics it's not necessarily such a bad thing.

Thanks again for this, you rock! Have a great game everyone!

I'm importing my character who is a Vallian Mercenary with a practical mindset and a taste for the better things in life. He was trying to leave his colourful past behind and seeking to make a fortune which turned out ok as far as becoming the lord of his own keep in Caed Nua. I like playing roguish characters with a nasty streak so he is a merc through and through without any qualms about twisting the terms of a contract to make the most of it. There is nothing he dislikes more than being blackmailed or pushed around which caused him to be rather outspoken at times or to change sides just to satisfy a grudge. I like the idea of a sophisticate looking Vallian trying his best to look like an aristocrat without the true refinement and education of a real lord but enough presence and sheer brutality to silence anyone who would dare voice any form of criticism (especially on a battlefield). I will probably make him a mix of Barbarian and Fighter (he was already a Barbarian with Veteran's Recovery in POE1) since although devious at times he is a brute and a bully at heart.

Are you sure? Steam seems to indicate otherwise. It says the game will be released in 17 hours from the time I'm typing this.

That's just the way it is unfortunately. Over here the 8th and the 10th are national holidays so I'm taking a long weekend.

I've enjoyed Pillars of Eternity despite a number of flaws and from what little I've read and seen of Deadfire I don't expect preordering will turn out to be a mistake (and I went for the Obsidian Edition) but if you truly feel bad about preordering then you should cancel and buy the game once the reviews are out just to be safe. The only thing you'll be missing out is the preorder bonus and frankly that's not worth worrying about either.

I've tried something but getting rid of the shadow on the left was a bit tricky (I may have cut too much hair but that's the best I could do).

If someone makes a watercolor of this portrait, I'm definitely using it because it looks close to me. I've been searching and you have provided, my friend. For that, I thank ye. I gave it a shot, it's not perfect but I really like this picture too.