Osvir

Great short update tells and shows a lot. This caught my attention, in a "in-between the lines" type of way... Specifically the "Sometimes" in that sentence. Does this mean that there will be people in the world that appear at various locations at various times? I.E. an anamfath might be in the Hall of Heroes when I get there the first time, but for another Player there is no anamfath the first time they get there. Or am I just reading into it?

But will some of this optional content be "time based"? Say, for instance, that I skip a part that is a Level 6 area, but I'm only Level 4 so I continue on the path forward, and when I get to Level 7 or 8 I want to return, but I progressed so far into the story that the Level 6 area got cleared out by another faction or adventuring party. Or is all optional content "set" so that I can pretty much finish the game and then return to a Level 2 area and the enemies there are still all "Hurrdidurr!" and oblivious to the progression of the rest of the world?

Windows 9

Only a few days left for Serpent in the Staglands. Looks like a promising cRPG. I hope they will at least reach their $25K expansion stretch goal. Some news http://kotaku.com/its-another-baldurs-gate-basically-a-pixelly-baldurs-1566974915 And it looks awesome :D

I hope there is some side-quest thing that allows you to choose whether or not to ressurect 1 character or get another reward. Like... being able to bind one of your dead characters souls into an animat or similar. Let's take an example: Cadegund dies. We continue the journey without her, then we find this "location" which allows for ressurrection if we want to. We choose to reanimate Cadegund and now she's an animat. There's 2 ways to do this: A) Simple method: Cadegund is gone (now her true name is Cademat!), the Cademat won't talk in dialogues or intervene in the plot anymore, there's only a soul in bronze armor! The "perk" with having her ressurrected is that Cademat has all her skills before she died, can level up and gain experience. This is the simple method. B) A bit more time-consuming method: Cademat can talk, but she has a new dialogue (due to her predicament). Maybe she or whoever becomes the Animat gets the same dialogue tree which is all spiritual and tormented "Why have you brought me back?". Basically, ressurrecting a dead soul to become an Animat isn't a very nice thing to do. So you pretty much forced someone out of the dead dimension and into the living world again. Existing in the physical realm as a spiritual being from the dead lands could be more seen as a curse than a blessing. Having the same dialogue tree for a ressurrected companion is in my opinion the way to go (if this would be an option Obsidian would choose would they allow for a single ressurrection), otherwise they'd have to write 8 new dialogue trees (for each companion). Why do I think this is cool? Shale in DA:O is one of the coolest companions in my opinion. She's a beast! But you kind of just find her on the way... what if you could make one of your companions into a golem? If there was a choice to make a character into one? I think that would be more interesting than simply finding a finished golem. The same thing with this animat thing. What the reward could be if you choose not to ressurrect a companion (if this could be possible in some side-quest stuff) I don't know. Reputation? An item? Plot-points? I don't know.

I'm trying to attempt to get some more flesh into the story I'm flirtingly speculating that Edair is Edér... like, literally and physically and not just a name-change. Edair being an undercover dude and Edér being the undercover title. I'm probably way off but it would be awesome imo! It's something that imo isn't entirely impossible, but I agree that it might be a bit far-fetched. Multi-faced companions that can take different forms on different playthroughs. @Sharp_One: Indeed it is! And I agree with you that "It's on the official wiki so it should be correct". But is the thing the official wiki pointing at (referencing) saying the same thing? If it isn't, then there's a gap in there that could potentially be filled with some interesting stuff. @Hormalakh: That makes sense. But is a detective or an undercover officer someone who would want things to be known about him? See what I'm getting at? It is of course 100% speculation and some inserted (and hopeful) inspiration.

I know Sharp_One, but did they really say "Edair is Edér now" or did they simply present Edér and we assumed it was a name-change? I don't remember 100% if I read a dev comment/update on it or not. Like, literally hearing them say that or if it was only insinuated upon. If the latter, then it isn't entirely true that Edair is scrapped. He could appear as a guardman, an adventurer of some sort, or a captain in barracks somewhere... maybe a warband leader... maybe even Edér's twin brother. I always thought Edair was going to be a Fighter character, a worn-out officer of some kind. Like Captain Basch from Final Fantasy XII. Then Edér appeared and he was a Rogue, and he kind of looks like Edair. I think there could be a potential Sabin/Edgar type of story/plot. Edér is the cool, slightly chaotic guy, a thief from the lower class districts. And Edair, the more lawful character/brother is on the other side of the Law, as an officer of a guardshouse or part of the current "police" force. In that case a detective. Maybe Edér is Edair but he's undercover? Some researching stuff~ Edair is not even mentioned in Update #71 (Kickstarter) when Edér was uncovered. I can't access the [4]th reference (Something Awful), but I looked a bit here (forums.obsidian.net./best-content/ search for "Edér"), and also a little bit over here (SA). Here (Page 21, Devtracker) it is translated to Edér. It is the only place where Edér is mentioned. This quote (Codex/Rock Paper Shotgun/) is the interviewer's own words and assumptions, not Obsidian's words. It's at the bottom of the interview/post: Are we to assume that Edér is/used-to-be Edair based on the Rock Paper Shotgun interviewers words? It's not cited by anyone from Obsidian, it is cited from Nathan Greyson over at Rock Paper Shotgun.

All of the companions from the Kickstarter are subject to change except Edér and Pallegina IIRC. Those two are the only ones that has been "confirmed" (with name and all as well). Sagani, Edair, Aloth, Cadegund and Forton might not be companions, they might be V.I.P NPC's in the world instead. Is Edair scratched and replaced by Edér? Or is Edair still in the game?

I sell fist? Yeah, I don't see that working with fists. I mean, your fists might get renown, but I don't see you selling them. Items used for mighty deeds by mighty people get fame. Simple as that. And it does work for bows too. Bows need to be strong and accurate. Well... someone is making a fortune on hands!

Like I said, it is simply put "convenience". A checkbox at character creation would be enough as well, "Skip Tutorial" type of thing, though I think it would be more fitting with a title of "Skip Prologue" really. It could be greyed out the very first time you play, and having a tooltip box when hovering over it saying "You need to finish the Prologue once before you can use this", and the next time you start from the beginning it'll be open to skip the prologue. The issue I am having with Baldur's Gate and Baldur's Gate 2 is the non-skippable cutscenes. It's just 5-10 minutes out of my life but it gets awfully boring when in your own head you replay the cutscene 500 times before it is even finished. So the issue or topic isn't entirely about "Post-Prologue Chargen", it is also about Skippable cutscenes.

Big Head Mode. It's the solution... I think.

I think the whole "Rogues are just as strong as Fighters in combat" is to be taken with a bit of a situational salt. First and foremost, we are talking about Pillars of Eternity and speculating on how Rogue's are handled in Pillars of Eternity, right? I'm putting this emphasis here, because PoE's Rogues are PoE's Rogues. They aren't the IE Rogues or D&D Rogues and most definately NOT MMO Rogues. They are Pillars of Eternity's Rogues (<- Official PoE Wiki link and I suggest anyone who haven't researched or read up on this for a while should take their time to do so). Moving on then... (Speculation) A Rogue is just as strong as a Fighter in combat if utilized in it's most optimal way, and yes, a Fighter is just as good as a Rogue at sneaking if utilized in just the right way. I could get past a guardsman with a Fighter that only has 50% of the Rogue's sneaking if I am careful and patient. It might take longer times of observation and watching the guardsman's patrol path, but ultimately I will get past the guardsman with my Fighter. Sure, a Rogue might get past him faster, but the Fighter still gets past him... correct? In the same sense in combat, a Fighter in melee combat can stand his ground and act more like a static "Tower" piece on the battlefield. I wouldn't need too much micromanagement, but the Rogue on the other hand would require more of my attention. This means that the Rogue and Fighter gets to be assets used in combat, the Rogue just needs more of my attention in combat. Likewise, the Fighter would require more of my attention in a "stealth" scenario. (/Speculation End)

You are absolutely correct Mor. That prelude is amazing for instance <3 gives me all kinds of goosebumps. I myself am merely just throwing out items of various sounds in an attempt to inspire or give Justin ideas I like the Dyrford sound style and feeling, the only thing it lacks is the sound of the environment of the area (nature, the watermill, the river, bugs/crickets? Animals? Are people walking around or is it empty of life? Wind? Etc. etc.). The tune tells me a "Story/Lore" of the area, it does not tell me if there is "Life" in the area. EDIT: I also have a question for Justin, which I forgot to ask: Do you do any field work outside the office? Like, go outside and record nature sounds outside, or do you have a big library of different sound effects that you use and mix?

Thanks for pointing that out. It sounds very different in that context. I completely forgot but you are going to want to lower the volume on the Rain and the Nature sound so that it doesn't overwhelm the Dyrford theme (Rain+Birds=50%-75% 10%-20%, and Dyrford = 100%). Sound levels are really important, and you don't want the emphasis on the Dyrford theme to disappear in the noise of the other stuff. Also, this one might be better instead of the Rain one (more fitting, it is a gentle River sound). And here's a "village" sample (birds, horses, bells ringing). Conceptual only really, not very fitting with the images of Dyrford and the general feeling of it, merely a conceptual sample. EDIT: Oh cool I found a cool little website http://www.pond5.com/sound-effects/1/windmill.html I guess Obsidian probably have all their assets and tools themselves to create sounds effects but thought this one could be useful. Pond5.com. You need to buy the items to remove a copyright thing (I think) which appears in there (a woman's voice who keeps saying "Pond5.com" every 5-6 seconds or so). This is what I was looking for, Windmill Watermill sound effect (YouTube). Not the best example but it fits fairly well. I like the sound of these 4 together (A bit of a repeat, they are in the links above, but just to organize it a little bit): 1. Dyrford (100% Volume) 2. Water-Mill (5%~10% Volume) 3. Gentle Stream (10%~20% Volume) 4. Ambient Medieval (20%~ Volume)

Awesome! :D Btw, try playing these 3 at the same time for a sample conceptual ambience (or mix and match). Don't need to listen to the Rain or Nature for all those hours of course. Dyrford Theme Rain/Watery Sound Nature/Bird Sound I get the feeling that the Dyrford is a slow place. A kind of "soft" and calm area where not much is really going on, and the pictures also portray ruins and that in itself portrays a form of sadness, or abandonment. Someone else mentioned "desolation" and I agree there too. Like that granary (is that a granary?), the building that has no roof, why wasn't it repaired? Is it an area of some unrest or... are people simply poor or heavily taxed here? The sound style does remind me of Arcanum somehow though... Arcanum Wilderness Theme https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ajap5zmDog8&list=PL4C09A3D352D273F1

I believe it could work fairly easily: 1. Regular Longsword equipped 2. Slaying Captain Concept 3. Add Description+Buff/Enchantment+Raise Currency Value When you have the Regular Longsword equipped and defeat Captain Concept with it, the gold value for the Regular Longsword could rise. "This is the sword that defeated Captain Concept". Not only that, it could gain some trait from Captain Concept (an enchantment or whatnot, stat boosts and so on). Potentially explainable that some of Cap' Concept soul latched onto the sword (what with cutting the mans flesh and bloodying the sword as well). It could add a row in the description of the Regular Longsword, at the bottom of it "- Has slain Captain Concept = +1 X thing". If you slay a strong soul or a character with a strong soul, perhaps even a sword could get "cursed" or we could even get the whole "Talking Sword" thing we discussed a long time ago. The only real issue I can see with it is the Player and situations where: "I wanted to take him out with my Fighter's weapon but I accidentally took him out with my Ranger's weapon... gaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!". This doesn't make the mechanic bad, in my opinion, it's merely an affirmation from the Player's side that they made a mistake. Also, you bind souls and magic to the material "bronze" (IIRC), so in my speculative mind we might already see some Bronze Weapons that becomes stronger and better the more they slay.

Saw this on the annoying orange: And thought: "That's kind of true in every game" Topic: Could the value of an item grow as you defeat V.I.P enemies? Modding thoughts/reflection: Not to mention the modding opportunities for it, could potentially reach Fable levels of weapon molding. Why do I bring up modding? Because I don't know how hard something like this could be to implement if there's no script, code or trigger for it to happen. If Obsidian would entertain the thought and implement it in maybe 3-4 instances (bosses?), it would be easier for modders to copy+paste the existing ones and modify it even further. Thoughts?

You have to consider their different skill sets and abilities. If "Everyone is a winner" then every single fight should end in a draw. There's so much emphasis on the Player in these discussions, but what about the enemy Rogue and the enemy Fighter? Sure, AI can never be as good as the mind of a Player, but that doesn't mean that an enemy character (statistically) is at 50% of a Player characters potential power. If you can create a powerful Fighter, that means there will be powerful enemy Fighters. Same thing applies to the Rogue. Let's say I roll a Fighter, and I'm walking some backstreets in the night. Would I survive an encounter against a Rogue? I agree that if a Fighter and a Rogue would not be using their abilities and just auto-attack each other face-to-face, then the Fighter should win every single time. But if both of them start using their abilities and their different advantages against each other... who can say who would win? Balance means more tactic and more strategy. Chess is one of the most balanced games that exist, both Players have the exact amount of equal strength. By your definition of balance, does that mean that both Players win? Because "balance = everyone is a winner"? Finally, balance doesn't only affect the characters, balance lies in the world, the economy in it, monsters, quests, abilities, gear, droprate/loot, experience. To draw a parellell to Chess again, balance lies in the game board, not in a single Queen, Pawn, Tower or any of the sort. You have to utilize all your assets to win. What difficulty will you play or looking forward to play Volourn?

I read this as "deep stash", in such a way that the stash itself is very philosophically or spiritually deep. In a "That's deep man" kind of way. .............. for the record: Osvir is very tired today.

Well it is convenient. I start a character, get to this point, the game Auto-Saves perhaps. Next time I want to play with a new character, I just load this save (skipping the prologue/tutorial) and I can create a new character.

Chargen = Character generation What I'm wondering is a typical "Are you fine with all the choices you've made?" type generation. We see it in Fallout 3 and New Vegas, as well as in Morrowind, Oblivion and Skyrim. Let's say I make a character, I do all the tutorial and prologue stuff, then I'm not entirely liking my character... will I have to start from the very beginning or could I get an option to change class, appearance and so on?

Well, combat experience is pretty much null.. maybe trash-quantity-wealth is null in PoE as well in a conceptually similar fashion? - Objective Experience - Objective Economy? (Wealth is accumulated from Stronghold/taxes, Quests & Tasks, Faction-work, Bounties etc. etc.) A store with few weapons in an isolated area in a forest might buy weapons for a higher price when bandits are hanging around in the nearby area. Or underarmed caravan merchants, though they would probably pay better price just hiring you as an escort rather than paying for some shoddy, dented & used swords. Could this work?

- I did not search the forums for a similar topic. First of all: Divinity: Original Sin just had a massive update! (UI, Options, Features, Mechanics, Presentation, Background pic in loading screen now, previously control bindings) And it is awesome *nod* Regardless, I went into their options and messed around a little bit with it. One thing I noticed was that they use lots of horizontal scrollbars. Example: Sound Options - They range from 0-100 - A slider My suggestion is to have number inputs as well, 3 decimals. A small box where the number is shown. It is a minor detail that's not really necessary, but I thought about it and reflected on Pillars of Eternity and wanted to hear some thoughts.

Should create some focus group where people can transform that pissy attitude to creative attitude. One way to make people play like you is to create content/mods for people, and no one has to become angry about it