sorophx

I'm not saying we shouldn't criticize what parts we think are poorly implemented or outright bad, and just blindly sing praises to Obsids. but browsing through this forum alone, reading thread titles I get the impression that people just hate this game. imagine what it feels like to have worked on PoE and then come here to see what your fans are saying and be greeted with this flood of "your combat sucks!", "your system sucks, I could do better!", "where are my romances! this is not a true IE experience without them!". I think one could get the impression a lot of fans disliked PoE. and god forbid the devs read what the chaps from RPGCodex have to say, their PoE release thread is just vile.

I'll try not to repeat what others already said in this thread. but I will reinforce points I think are very important. a perfect expansion to PoE would be something similar to Mask of the Betrayer, i.e. a shorter adventure for levels 12-20 or so with only one quest hub, crazier party members - less of them, but richer character development and quests (reactivity is a given), crazier locations, weirder and more powerful enemies. it could take place in this world's version of hell or something, with demons jumping out of every corner. oh, as for the story and the main quest they could go for something similar to Hordes of the Underdark, where you meet Iovara and she joins your party, and she's this very deeply thought out character with something she really needs to be done, but instead of saving the world (again) you're trying to save her immortal soul or something (she gives me this Jeanne of Arc vibe in PoE, I really wish to know more about her). most importantly - no filler combat. yeah, dungeons need to be populated so they're not just a walk in the park, but I'd rather have a smaller dungeon with tough fights than a huge multi-level dungeon where each level has the same bunch of typical enemies and a handful of "bosses". basically, give me IWD. special encounters would be nice (think Fallout 2 and the Holy Hand Grenade - that kind of stuff). and polish the rough edges, tweak the game's mechanics and presentation (things like the minimap which is too damn dark, more icons for weapons, so I can tell Fine and Exceptional weapons apart etc.). so, to recap: I want a MotB/HotU/IWD hybrid (three of my favorite games from each engine iteration).

check this out: https://github.com/CosmosOS basically, it uses CIL for everything low-level, so you don't have to write in Assembly. you could, though. there are many fairly cool OSes build with Cosmos. hell, I hate Assembly, but even I made a simple OS with a crappy GUI (had to make fonts and everything) using Cosmos. has its own bootloader built-in.

that's my main concern, really. I remember reading about how bad developers can take negativity towards their work they poured years of their lives into. and since this forum is pretty much all about criticism (often times unwarranted), I am attempting to start a fire, kind of, an avalanche of positive threads, so the devs know we care

so, been playing all weekend, come to check out the forums in my downtime and the whole board is swarming with complaints, praises are few and far in-between, all the while the game is doing exceptionally well on Steam and with reviewers. so, I'm guessing people who like it are playing the game and not wasting their time on these forums. this thread is a call to action, then. if you like the game, make a thread about it. preferably describing what exactly you like about it. here goes my part of singing praises to Obsidian. first of all, PoE is fantastic. it looks great, plays great, sounds great, not too short, not too long, delivers the proper Black Hound experience and is nominally worse than New Vegas (really, good luck surpassing that game, which is pretty much the greatest RPG of the last decade). anyway, great job, guys! now for details. I'll start with combat, which has been the soar point for a lot of you, fellow forumites. I think it's absolutely fantastic. yes, some of the mechanics it relies on are bugged, but it's still enjoyable, when the encounter design permits it (that's a big caveat, though). a lot of people are bashing the combat based on two things: pathfinding and disengagement attacks. personally, I think they complement each other quite nicely. it's so satisfying to see enemy AI get intercepted by my tanks when the enemy is bee-lining for my back line, it's so cool to see enemies change their mind when they see they're being overwhelmed and switch targets. the whole system just clicks, I don't know how else to explain it. the only downside is lack of diversity in enemy types. most of them are either humanoid or wildlife with no unique abilities that make an encounter unlike previous ones (with a few notable exceptions *waves at Shadows*) it's still miles better than Baldur's Gate. where PoE falls a little short is combat encounters. too many of them (at least on Normal) are easily resolved with nothing but per encounter abilities. which makes them a chore. but, there are quite a few encounters that actually made me consider my choices carefully, it's certainly not IWD level of awesome, not even IWD 2 level (which is what Obsids should've been shooting for, since PoE is such a combat-heavy game), but still fun. really, for me the fact that encounter design is better than Torment's combat is good enough. I'll skip the progression system, because I think it's good at what it's trying to do. next, locations. they're gorgeous, and most of the dungeons have at least two ways of going through them, coupled with the fact that you don't get combat XP and the only incentive to explore the whole thing is PHAT LEWT, this gives me the chance to go straight for the objective, which is a nice change of pace after games like BG 2, where I can't stop myself from killing everything just to squeeze out an extra level up or two. I'm really running out of things to say, because I love just about everything about this game. yeah, there are a few things I'd like to see changed, but I'll post that in another forum (the feedback one).

C# is a very powerful language. the fact that it uses a virtual machine doesn't make it a "toy" language. I guess you'll say the same thing about Java. actually, you can write an operating system in C#, that's how powerful it is

They appear in the hall because they ascend from od nua. And I do get to loot them after the fight

Durance isn't a druid though, is he? Obsidian... never change I keep getting Icewind Dale 2 vibes from this game, mainly in Act 3, the locations and some quests look very similar. and below - a very nice sequence, really enjoyed it:

I'll raise you also, final scene of act one was pretty intense (though, predictable)

same as Pakistan in this respect also, then

wait, did the US actually declare war on the Yemeni government? I remember the US pouring millions of dollars into Yemen's military programs. attacking Yemen would be similar to attacking Pakistan - stupid.

I wonder how strong that weapon would be... is it worth to wipe out an entire colony for it? EDIT: reloaded to see what I'd get not too shabby, although damage is a bit on the low side, considering my second answer was something about crushing stuff with all my might. I guess one's class has more effect on the outcome

can somebody tell me how to forge a weapon in that quest? I killed everything except for the colony matriarch (whatever that thing was), and I don't see any ways to progress

I loved this sequence from the Sanitarium, best set piece in the game so far

you poor thing, you probably have Carpal Tunnel syndrome, sitting at that short desk all the time

I'll tell you in 4 hours, once it unlocks

But who are the winners?('▽'〃)

ok, this is not for myself, I already have a key thanks to our awesome forumite mute688. my friend wants to have a shot at a key as well, so here's his haiku (don't judge too harshly, he's from Russia ) Climbing to the sky these pillars bring me higher They seem eternal if he does win by some miracle, GOG is his preferred platform

you know, haikus follow certain rules, they have to have a certain number of syllables

you guys need to see this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ixxz4jJI2zQ

here's another one: AK made of paper https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c53pfO8iJFg took him a year to make

I really disliked the makeup in Nightbreed. wasn't out-of-this-world enough.

what's up with all the weird angles. those game makers are creepy

it's a stand-alone game that is, at its core, an expansion. very little content in the beta