Starwars

Isn't that usually the case when Volly shows up?

Can't really remember how long Primordia took me. I remember thinking it took me a shorter time than most older adventure games at least but can't be sure. It's not super long at any rate.

Primordia is one of the best adventure games ever made, it's fantastic!

Started a replay of the game a few days ago. For some reason, that nice ambient touch where music will play from an inn where you're just outside of it seems to be turned waaaay down to the point where I can barely hear it at all. Small thing to report but still, it's such a nice touch for the atmosphere. I've tried fiddling with the volume sliders but that doesn't help.

Agreed. I thought Act I was promising, though not amazing, but the game unfortunately turns into a bit of a slog in Act II. And then, once things gets interesting again, the game moves very quickly to the end.

I also reinstalled Pillars after finishing Tyranny. I liked some of Tyranny but PoE feels "right" to me as soon as I get into the game. Pretty much everything about the gameplay is way more up my alley, and the UI is so much better.

This is so old now but I just found this guy again. Probably still the best thing posted on the internet. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBiLAy7mDbw

I played on PotD (which I found easier than PoE) on normal speed. However, I turned down the difficulty to Normal in Act II, not because it was Hard, but because each little meaningless combat situation took a small eternity to finish up. I like the slower pace in combat because it's easier to get a sense of what's happening but unfortunately there is very little in the ways of challenge if you like to be "hands-on" with the system (I turn off the party AI). It's just too easy, and takes way too long to boot.

Goddamnit Obsidian. Why did you have to ruin this game's rather nice pace by shoving a bunch of unbelievably boring combat in area after area in Act II? The game has officially turned into a slog. Sigh.

So far I think most of the stuff in Tyranny is sort of better kept in that franchise since they really seem to try for different things. I sure as hell would be disappointed if they brought stuff from the combat situation into PoE at least. Tyranny has some of the most boring combat I've encountered in a long time unfortunately. That said. -Getting some sort of mechanical benefit from the reputations of factions is a great idea. Might be a bit "game-y" but it's a good solution to give the system a bit more weight. Obviously hard to design enough reactivity to make it really feel meaningful in terms of dialogue and other stuff. -A lot of dialogue with the companions is always a good thing. That's about it as far as I'm concerned. Again, they seem to try for diffferent design ideals... PoE is much "wider" and bigger with Tyranny going more for depth within the story and choices. Just, please... no Tyranny combat in PoE.

I missed one there also. Wish I could give you clear directions but there was one on the level with a couple of stairs up towards a sculpture/statue (statue has a hidden cache in it btw). If you go up to the statue, there was like a small area to the northwest of it that I missed. Seemed easy to overlook. That was the one I missed at any rate.

I think Mask of the Betrayer was the best one overall in regards to voiceacting. Alpha Protocol was also good/great (Thorton himself was a bit bland but I can understand their thinking). Funny thing is that those two, along with Vampire Bloodlines (which is *fantastic* in terms of voice acting) had voice talent that were directed by one Margaret Tang. Someone needs to get a hold of her for the next games because she seems to do a great job with the actors. I think Bloodlines' voice acting is more of the exception than the rule. Alpha Protocol had a mix of good and bland, as you mentioned, and Tang also worked with Sleeping Dogs, which falls into the same bland/not bad/not great territory. I wager it was the whole team and its creative efforts that put Bloodlines above them all, rather than one person, though she helped. I still think something like Alpha Protocol (or indeed Mask of the Betrayer) had stronger performances though and it actually felt like... I dunno, they had stronger direction somehow. In PoE and Tyranny, I don't buy these characters at all (well, I liked a few in Pillars, like Thaos and Edér). It really feels to me like actors just reading lines "over" the game so to speak. Like Sagani in Pillars... there is nothing wrong with the line readings per say, but that voice just brings nothing to the table when it comes to Sagani's history, where she was brought up, the harshness of the land etc. I thought about whether it could be a "disconnect" with the isometric view but I don't think so. And New Vegas had some similar problems with a lot of characters.

I think Mask of the Betrayer was the best one overall in regards to voiceacting. Alpha Protocol was also good/great (Thorton himself was a bit bland but I can understand their thinking). Funny thing is that those two, along with Vampire Bloodlines (which is *fantastic* in terms of voice acting) had voice talent that were directed by one Margaret Tang. Someone needs to get a hold of her for the next games because she seems to do a great job with the actors.

I'm of the complete opposite opinion. Well, maybe not. A good voice can mean good things for a character of course but yeah... I like reading more than listening.

Yeah, the Conquest thing was very cool. Great way to customize the world and great to make some "high level" decisions right off the bat.

I'm enjoying the game so far. Playing on Hard, I don't feel it's particularly... hard, as of yet But maybe that will change. PoE felt more challenging at first in that you could get yourself in trouble quite early at the Eothas temple but yeah, different approaches. The best thing about the game is the conversations coupled with the fact that you are in a position of power. People will still talk back to you at times but it feels like a noticeable difference from most games. The "collar grabbing effect" of Mass Effect feels awesome here. Some complaints: -The voiceacting really does nothing for these characters. I don't know if it's due to the voiceacting company they employ or what but most characters just sound like a bunch of dorks when they should feel threatening. Graven Ashe and Nerat in particular are just... bad, and some of the companions as well. It's not helped by the fact that the voices are recognizable from PoE, so you have Kana playing the role of Barik and it just... no. I hope they can switch their approach for PoE2 because it's just not good enough to have these characters come to life I think. -Some of the choices feel a bit too "WILL YOU SUPPORT FACTION A OR FACTION B?". Wish there was content outside of that split because it feels a bit "forced" for lack of a better word. And while I think the factions are generally interesting, they kinda come across as idiots also. Too much bickering, especially between the leaders. -I find the UI pretty hard to read, especially compared to PoE. I also hate that they got rid of the Map screen. I'm enjoying it so far though. Like I said, playing the role of a Fatebinder is especially awesome, and there is a lot of nice reactivity even this early on. All in all, I'm more a fan of PoE's more "open" and large approach though, especially when it comes to character development and that stuff.

Just played through the Conquest and then up until the first big "plot conversation". Don't think I'll enjoy the combat that much as pretty much all the changes from PoE are negatives in my book regarding the character systems and all that... but I'm really enjoying the tone of the game and the conversations are fantastic so far.

No reviews yet but apparently the streaming embargo was just lifted: https://www.twitch.tv/directory/game/Tyranny Now you can watch your favorite annoying person play the game.

Could not get into that one at all. So many people praised the "natural dialogue" but I just thought it was extremely... boring. And not in a "we're building up the suspense" way, just plain old boring.

God I hated that shouting butthole in Whiterun. Was always first on my kill list whenever I got there.

Sigil is definitely one of my favorites as well. Varied and with great density to it. Interesting sights. Vizima from Witcher 1 is fantastic. The atmosphere is just outstanding. From the ghetto parts to the lush Trade Quarter in Chapter 3, it's great. A joy to explore. There is a mod for NWN1 called Almraiven with a city called... Almraiven. It had an approach where most areas where very small parts of the city, like an alley or a small part of a port. It was very succesful in this I thought, the modmaker did a fantastic job.

I could not stand Sunless Sea. Great premise but completely crap execution if you ask me.

On the Civ 6 train. There are some problems here and there for sure but I'm surprised at how solid it feels considering it's a day 1 Civilization. Pretty impressed all in all.

Congrats! And I hope you will be able to continue to do some work and eventually return full-time. Your stuff in New Vegas and Pillars was some of my favorite content in those games, really think you have a gift for it. Enjoy the change of pace!

Threw together some cocoa, milk, cold coffee and kahlua. And put some ice in it. It's tasty.