Nonek

If I remember correctly it is neither, rather a vanished country and culture formed of multiple species, that is now protected by the Glenfathans. I may be misremembering however.

One minor quibble, is not Poe's spell system more appropriately compared to BG1's? They are both after all low level games with a quite low level cap, whereas in BG2 we are beginning to attain a measure of power that dwarfs the prequel. Just a thought.

Reminds me I haven't read the Jewel in the Skull in years, must remedy that.

Ah maybe I am overreacting to this area looting, I can certainly see why the team decided to implement it, seeing it as a popular feature of the new alternate editions of BG and IWD. I can't help but retain my distaste for it however, it is to me just a further step on the road to handwaving everything away for the sake of convenience, and Kickstarter was what I hoped would signal a reverse of this harmful trend. However I will simply have to accept it, no game can be tailored to one individuals tastes, and at this point options are obviously rather set in stone and other matters prioritised. I would humbly ask that if possible in a future patch or expansion that we do recieve an option to disable this feature however, but I will not be enormously put out if we do not.

Hello Yaerius, may the Grue never find you.

I sometimes wonder whether an Egyptian crafting a Senet board by the Nile millenia past had the same thoughts? Whether one approves or not gaming and entertainment have probably been with humanity since before we were humans, apes and monkeys certainly indulge in games and frivolous passtimes.

This handwaving away of mechanics is really beginning to bother me, where does it end, and was clicking on a corpse really so egregious? I'm currently playing Fallout and i'm not at all upset or bothered by clicking on a fallen opponent, in fact there's a little thrill when I see what he was carrying or if I need any of the items. I like the little things that speak of verismilitude, and I really object to shortcuts that make absolutely no sense, such as teleporting loot and invisible backpacks. We're losing so much of the little details in worlds and design for the sake of convenience. I want to play the game, not have it automate everything for me, I am in no way, shape or form incapable and I adore little details in games.

You can distribute from the stash? I thought that was only available at campsites and the stronghold or somesuch.

I'd just like to add that I am not a member of the esteemed RPG Codex. I simply far prefer to choose what items I pick up, avoid cursed items, assign items to my various different party members, and manage my inventory rather than have the game play itself. It also adds far more to verisimilitude.

Seconded, really degenerate feature that I dislike intensely.

Thank you for the sneak peek. It must be very morale boosting to have such an unequivocal vote of support from ones market as the Kickstarters response, I can't help but picture Sally Field at the Oscars stating, "You like me, you really like me." Past the hype, the marketing and the miasma of game journalism I personally find that I do like Obsidian, and this is based on the quality of their work. They have been ambitious, reactive to the player and somewhat more nuanced than the rest of the genre since the beginning. I remember sitting back when I had finished Dead Money, listening to Vera say her goodbyes and then clapping as I shook my head. For anyone to wring such an emotional display from such an unfeeling and stoic Englishman as myself, well it's a sure sign that you had done something very right. Continue to do so and i'll keep on buying.

I've found a small statuette of a Vault Boy in Vault 15 in Fallout, it was in the last room on the lower right side of level 2. I have absolutely no idea what use this is, or why it's there. Most intriguing, I assume it was added by Fixt, however my Google Fu brings up nothing.

If I remember correctly Mr Bell did say that the Dirge, as used in the original Kickstarter pitch, would be included in the game.

My brother in law, a rather rough and ready fellow, once told me of his training partner telling him the same thing. He promptly punched the fellow in his jacobs and while he was bent over wheezing said, "You're welcome." Rather appropriate I thought.

Endure, in enduring grow strong. Learning the rules, adapting them to ones situation and overcoming challenges is for me a very important part of any game. I don't wish to be merely entertained or rewarded, I wish to also be punished, challenged and forced to innovate and improve. There is a bloody minded satisfaction in this, and it is quite exhilarating for me at least.

Oh it was definitely the industry closing ranks and trying to cover up Mr Grayson's unethical behaviour, the sexist talk about Ms Quinn's own self admitted rape and adultery was just a convenient scapegoat, as we've seen the sexism and harassment of a few used to condemn the many by game journalists throughout this. They wrongly believed that a good offense is the best defense, but unfortunately after years of corruption and collusion they had not a leg to stand on when self righteously preaching and judging others, whom they held to be untermensch. One could say that sexists and harassers spoiled the legitimate grievances we held, but this was proven untrue when GG tried to stop them but anti-GG embraced harassment and intimidation.

Strawmanning lowers us both. Indeed it does.

Thank you Mr Stun, much appreciated.

Personally i'm fine with Ms Sarkeesian serving as a mouthpiece for Mr McIntosh's idiocy, however what i'm not content with is the fact that no one seems to challenge or critique her/his obviously moronic statements and fallacies. The gaming press are of course unfit for purpose, this is obvious, but there seems to be an almost industry wide reluctance to call out the lies and cherry picking she regularly spews. Good criticism can exist and will remain relevant, but poor criticism must be brought to light and its flaws highlighted, or we get a poor public perception being worsened by an idiot and an actress' lies. Let them all exist, but don't zealously defend one as untouchable and beyond reproach when it is untrue tripe.

Which all gamers everywhere did, the disgusting untermensch!

Personally I want more fact based criticism, objective analysis, dispassionate argument and level headed criticism. No cherry picking facts or arguments purely shaped by ideology that are not relevant to the game in question, or parroting what ones writers have provided when one has not even played the game in question. In other words for game journalists and critics to simply do their jobs, like full disclosure and ethical behaviour, it's hardly a difficult task nor onerous.

One thing to bear in mind is the long term return on investment that RPG's typically provide, sales may not be at Skyrim or Diablo levels but usually they keep selling year after year. I certainly hope Poe does for the good people of Obsidian, they've had more than their fair share of hard times.

There are points in games where I always feel the temptation to tell my companions to get their lives in order, cut out the needy whining as it does nothing and no one wants to hear it, and not expect me to nursemaid them. It was so refreshing in the Witcher 2 to have Roche, Iorveth and all the other characters be independent, self motivated and although grateful for the protagonists help, in no way useless without it. That was a step in the right direction for me. Nordom in Torment comes to mind immediately as a great example of a character whom is both interested in and provides useful information and feedback on the protagonists situation.

I love the smell of dragonfire in the morning!

Nice to see other developers standing up for consumers, and making a stand against Schafer's thinly veiled accusation that there are no women or ethnic minorities in gaming. His poor, childish and witless joke seems to have only served to ridicule him and his anti consumer bias. Edit: We're back on the topic of sex workers again? In my opinion if you have to pay for a womans attentions, or force yourself upon them sexually for money then you have big problems and rather than posting inane, repetitive drivel on a forum should be self examining and wondering why you are so socially stunted that you can't interact with women in a normal and respectful manner.