[[Spoiler] Outlaw healing faster than I can damage him]

My rogue couldn't beat them either...three on one, well, too much to handle for me at that point but ... recruited some folks in Gilded Vale and it was payback time (including the bloody bear! )

[The one thing about the game that has irked me.]

Well, if that's your only complaint about the game...?! Personally, I never cared or do care for these tombstones...quickly read through them, then forgot about them. Not at all an immersion-breaker for me ...

[Whats up with this game? Or is it me? Probably me . . .]

Glad to see I am not the only one kissing the floor all the time (and on normal that)...I already cursed every god available and .. yeah, also the devs, shame on me...but so far I managed to overcome all obstacles ... more or less ...   But haven't entered Raedrics Fortress yet, or Caed Nua ... Guess I'll lose a lot of hair in the coming days...

[thank you!]

Alright, two hours into the game, and one hour alone for char creation! And even though some might argue its too early to really praise a game I cannot do otherwise...I love it already.

 

So I'll join in and want to say: Thank you, that you took the risk to make this game, which hopefully will not only pleasure us BG-veterans but may also show younger folks the joy of a "true" RPG. Not that I do not like other modern takes of the genre as well, but damn...killing my first wolf and solving the first easy puzzle in the first little dungeon, scouting ahead with my rogue and backstabbing foes while my warrior uses a bow from second row and tehn joins the melee?

 

THAT's what I want! And the world also seems to be fairly interesting (and gladly not as "humourous" as Divinity was) and wants me to learn more....and buy the expansion eventually...^^

 

So again, thank you. And thanks to the fellow pledgers!...(and though it's kinda sad to write it but: I also thank myself, as I feel actually a little tiny bit proud that I believed in the game and devs two years ago, and now the product is out and is showered with praise all around...it just feels good somehow....^^)

[Why is release date so close to Bloodborne?]

Too bad Bloodborne is only console, I kinda dig that scenario and looks of the game...but I won't buy a console just for one game, thank you very much ^^

 

And Pillars will (hopefully) keep me busy enough anyway for the next weeks ... and damn Geralt is also coming around again...and maybe at teh end of the year that re-release-ripoff of Dark Souls II might be on sale already on Steam and I might get weak and ... Tides of Numeria is a while still, isn't it?

[Keys ? When ?]

Two years we waited, sulked in the shadows, waited, waited for the game to be released...patience we told ourself, paaaatiencccceee...time will go by, the day will come...

 

But now WE WANTTTSSS IT WE NEEEEDDSSS IT! GIve USSS our PRECIOUSSSSS!!!!

 

Ahem, sorry, just needed a place to vent off my steam ...

[[Merged] Women, Feminism, etc. in PE]

You *want* sexism so you can thwart it.

 

If that ain't fanservice I don't know what is.

 

You can't win - female warriors need to be challenging stereotypes by whupping male ass, attractive females *are* stereotypes and ugly wimmin are merely feeding the misogynistic women-as-the-other sociology bull****.

 

Why not lets have CRPG Baywatch, where every character is smokin' hot?

 

*sigh* Instead of "want" I rather should use words as "like", "wish", "hope" "would be nice to see", "carefully propose"

 

And I do not WANT sexism, I can do without it. I just think sexism is even today in our so-called modern and advanced society a severe problem and issue and also think that armor with boobs is a little more "realistic" in a medieval fantasy setting than that such a kind of world has overcome every gender-prejudice since the cavemen-era...it is just a little ridiculous that every fantasy-setting is so politically correct...

 

But I will admit, I actually don't really get your point, and blame it on the language-barrier and that its quite late around here...I should rather sleep than get involved in earth-shattering diiscussions like this...

[We all like a good 'plot', apparently. So let's talk specifics.]

I guess I won't get a like for this but I'll admit: PST was nice, but I never really put it on the throne so many others did. In fact, even after playing through the games two or three times...in the end the Nameless One's problems with mortality and transcendence were pretty lost on me...It was a nice change though, and yes it got me intrigued for different playthroughs to find out a little more...but after all was said and done, PST didn't left that much of an impact on me...

 

Maybe it is also because I couldn't relate to the protagonist and. especially, could never immerse myself into the world of Sigil that much...

 

That being said: I like the good old stories where a young inexperienced guy/girl gets forced into the world, makes friends and enemies and, concerning the latter, quickly gets a clearly defined antagonist and his ambitions to thwart. And even if the plot isn't all that new and "deep" and innovative I don't care that much, the best stories have been told already anyway over the last thousands of years...

 

But by all that is holy, keep the plot coherent as far as style and tone and topics are concerned. Don't go the Mass Effect road and turn force a pretty straightforward story about saving the galaxy from body-melting mass-murderes into something half-assed philosophical BS that has never been adressed in the previous games and quests...and give us a vllain like Irenicus who appears and confronts us regulalry and who's actions are felt most of the time even if he is not present at the moment...

 

Yeah..a villain/antagonist. I think having a good one is quite a big helper to get a story moving and keep the player/reader hooked up.

[[Merged] Women, Feminism, etc. in PE]

So you want more fan service wish fulfilment in a world full of equally stereotypical sexist men. What if female soldiers are utterly normal?

 

Then it would be okay for me, why not? I am a bit puzzled, I merely stated what I would like to see for a change, as I think the typical political correctness medieval fantasy world with absolute gender-equality is a little overdone, that's all. But if they go that route I'll be fine...

 

EDit: And what is fanservice-wish-fullfillment anyway?

[The "Unofficial" P.E. Relationship/Romance thread]

So, I don't think you can talk about CRPG romances the way you do purely literary ones. The point is that it's a subjective experience. The character of the protaganist is 90% in the players head. Someone watching you play the game won't have the same experience you will. And yes, the romanatic interest will always respond the same way to the same inputs, but I think that's a feature, not a bug. As you define your own character, so to do you define (in part) the romantic interest, since your actions tell you what it is they're attracted to.

 

I think this is a very important point, at least for me. No matter what CRPG I played, with more or less background provided by the game for my character, in the end the romance, if one was possible, was fleshed out mostly in my head anyway, which was and still is far more fun anyway. So, if they do not really implement a true romace in PE than at least I hope that the different NPCs etc get enough Character and personality that I can relate to them enough to maybe make up a romance for my chars in my head...

 

And in a way I just realize that a game like PE might be even more suited for a truly interesting romance than the current Bioware-Games. Sure, PE will lack the *sigh* dry-humping-underwear-PG13-sex (I think the true reason why Wardens can't have children isn't the diseasing blight they are afflicted with...), but it will offer the players the chance for far more diverse answers and options during character-interactions. At least I hope that, though reading m post again I am not sure if I can get my point across...ah well, I'll add it anyway to increase my post-counter a little

[Are we there yet?]

Prepare for these topics for the next year and beyond...and I'll post this every time I swear! *evilgrin*

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vi0tje6xfWs

[I want to be a dragon]

I want to ride a dragon...but not in PE, I'll wait for the next DLC for Skyrim, maybe it'll come true...

[[Merged] Women, Feminism, etc. in PE]

It has already been said: With the engine used in PE I do not think the On-screen physical depiction of women will be much of an issue. And from the artwork so far, if they go that route for the portraits also, I think Chainmail-bikinis won't be seen. And for everyone not liking this I am sure portriats will be customizeable and moddable enough so Louis Royo will find his way to PE too...

 

I am far more interested in how PE will depict women in general in this world...not their looks, but how they are treated/viewed like. Will female warriors something totally normal, like in most if not all RPGs? Or something very special and outandish...?

 

I prefer to play female main chars, and I would actually like if the enviroment would look differently at genders.."A female warrior? What will they come up with next"...while "A female mage? Nothing special, the only independent profession for a female despite...*cough*...."seamstress"...?

 

Even Dragon Age sometimes at least came close to these old gender-roles, though often contradicting itself when characters sometimes were suprised the wardens accepted women among them, but then there were plenty of female soldiers in the Battle of Ostagar to see (a minor example)

 

I would like my female warrior to be confronted with some of these stereotypes, and nullifying them with cold steel and iron will...

[Romance and friendship?]

Wow, was Anomen Delryn (lol, he had an surname) that bad as a character? i never had him for long in my party (sorry anomen, but Edwin's gotta take your place) so i really cant say much about him (a problem i am currently facing, since i have no ideia for a banter between him & my NPC mod)

 

Yeah, the mere fact I know this after a decade makes me feel a little ashamed. His portraits annoyed me, he looked like the slimy brother of Cmdr. William Riker from Star Trek, and his whole attitude was so whiny...if you had Paladin Keldorn with you the difference in quality of these two men was so obvious it hurt. Okay, Anomen got a little more bearable later, and they say love sometimes equals suffering.

 

Still I used a little patch later and made all romances available to my female chars...*sigh*...Anomen made them lesbians...Viconia was kinda cool though...

 

Anyway, this might also a problem with romances...it is kind of hard to please everyone and their tastes. Some love Ashley from Mass Effect, I hate her with passion (only the Ghostchild gets more hate from me). Some think alistair is unbearable, I think Morrigan is way worse and never liked her...And Romances in Dragon Age 2 were all sucky, because I couldn't envision a relationship for my Hawke with any of these emotional trainwrecks...

[Romance and friendship?]

[

I don't think BG or FO has romances though, at least as we currently understand them.

 

I am just saying do not underestimate how all consuming and destructive romances can be from a storytelling perspecitive. I don't mind if they are there and will enjoy them if they are but they need to be small optional content not become this huge consuming thing like with the Bioware games. But generally I like how Obsidian has handled these things in the past so I probably should not be worried.

 

Something I would like to see for a change, considering that PE hopefully becomes a franchise using the same hero as import, is a romance that has truly grown. Not just like "Hey, I am the hero, lets make out before we kill the endboss!"...but that evolves over time. And please, no showering with gifts to increase the love-level...either connect a relationship to the story and dialogue, or not at all.

 

Bioware actualyl had the chance for this with Mass Effect...but sadly they decided not to make a coherent trilogy, but three games simply labeled Mass Effect, and rather added a cohort of pointless side-characters instead of focusing on the already established ones...

 

Don't know if a romance like that is possible/wanted in PE, but it could become a powerful tool for transporting emotions. You know, for many people it really is something different to see a character in danger that their hero is in love with than...Randomcharwarriorhalforc.

[Romance and friendship?]

Well, if there are no romances I still would buy the game...wait, I already have!

 

But really, I don't get it why some people are so against it. Reminds me of some threads and post at the Bioware forums about DA3..or any other Bioware game.

 

As I see it: Romances so far always were optional. You didn't have to make out with Morrigan or Alistair if you didn't want to. And yes, I am a cynical romantic, I even added the "Marriage Celebration Mod" for Alistair and my female Warden...got me over my ME3-Depression!

 

A little "sexual" or romantic tension in dialogues in PE...Why not? It is a natural thing, a pleasant thing. It doesn't need to be the main focus of the game, but a little flirting here and there, maybe a kiss...what is to say against it? Every RPG tells a story, and most stories have a little romance in it (even Conan the Barbarian flirts around .. and worse ... after beheading some people!)

 

But please, for all that is holy: I never EVER want to see a charactrer like Anomen Delryn from BG2 as the only possible option for a female char. Than rather no romances at all for anyone...

[What kind of content you want in the ENDING!]

Won't it cause bad luck to talk about the ending of this game before it even has begun? )

 

Anyway, ME3 patched or unpatched was the worst ending to the franchise you could do. The EC didn't help much either, because the entire premise of the ending was screwed, at least right from the point we reach Earth, maybe even earlier.

 

And despite what is said in my signature about happy endings I can deal with a little darkness in them. But then, and again ME3 is adressed, you need to make the rest of the story fit with what you want to say in the ending...and keep in tone with the topics, backgrounds and lore you established.

 

If you establish an enemy so vile as the Reapers you CANNOT deny the player not to at least have one ending where we kick their butts and make them feel the pain they had inflicted upon the galaxy multiple times. That was my major gripe beside how Bioware treated Shepard in the end (like a moron who totally forgot what had happened since ME1...)

 

So, I hope that PE will be mature, yes, and a little dark, yes. But I want the ending to be climatic. I want a villain (established early on and frequently met/confronted in the game) to be truly vanquished or defeated, and to feel a sense of triumph when the credits roll, and satisfaction about the fate of my hero and his/her comrads.

 

What I don't want is some philosophical bullshiat forced upon me without any indicators in the story prior to that end, and no sudden fade to black with a whole questions totally unanswered. Some yes, for the sequel, but not rendering everything we did the whole game through pointless!

 

And just for the record: I was somehow okay with Planescape's dark ending, but really, the Nameless One had this one coming, we learned that throguh the game and got prepared that this would hardly be a romantic ride into the sunset for him and Annah in the end. But I never felt Shepard to be a tragic hero bound to die, yet to achieve the impossible! Conquer both the Reapers and death! The message was hammered into us so often throughout the games I still am amazed so many players say they always knew Shepard would die...that "message" was obviously totally lost on me up until the last ten minutes...

[Kickstarter is over, welcome everyone]

So...the funding time is over...now lets see how we pass the next year(s?)...

 

Somehow I fear that it might become a little like this:

 

(And no, no races like THAT in MY PE please!)

 

Just kiddin'...I just love adding youtube-clips to my posts. Its a bad habit!

[Update #24: Less than 30 Hours to go! Life and Death, and Audio CD Soundtrack!]

We'll see how it plays. Nothing's set in stone. I've just observed too much post-quest Black Ops slaughter to believe that players are going to behave differently when they can squeeze 1xp out of a peasant's head.

 

Hmm...I remember many years ago how a lot of players of Morrowind proudly claimed to have eradicated all life on Vardenfell just for fun. And I am sure they did the same in Cyrodill and Skyrim. Killing doesn't net you any XP in the Elder Scrolls series...

 

So, I guess whether or not Kill-XP is in: "Some men just want to watch the world burn..." Peasant-Heads will roll for sure...

[good and bad from Arcanum]

I remember playing that game a long time ago...I am getting old...

 

But I really liked the most that my ugly sociopathic half-orc (who later had no qualms on destroying the world *cough*) was treated so ddifferently than my beautiful half-elven mage (who did the right thing of course...whatever that was)

 

I also liked the unusual approach of the setting, and maybe PE will slightly go in that direction. Stuff like Orcs being used by the capitalistic gnomes as cheap laborers, the conflict between the oldfashioned/outdated magic and the great new age of steamworks and guns. I really with someone would visit that world once more, with a better graphic and battle-system

 

But yeah, the weakest point surely was the party/companions (beside the battles). Don't even remember a single one by name...

[Potions Suck and Here's Why]

No matter what game I played, no matter if it were potions, med-gel or poultices I always end up hardly ever using them anyway. Well, except for the healing-stuff, though that depends on the game...

 

I just think "no, better keep that potion of giant's strength for the next boss, it might be handy!"...and then the credits roll...

 

Yet I like it if the party had to carry some medicine-stuff etc around with them if they go on a journey. There should always be the risk of getting sick or poisoned, and then you are better prepared or say goodbye to your char.

 

But I can do without potions of superstrength, firebreathe, etc...keep it simple but vital, and don't make sipping potions consuming half the time in battles, then I am fine I guess...

[A cynic could say that money in RPGs is often almost meta-gamey with little to no influence on the story/progression. Why not do more with it?]

Yeah, money and RPGs...

 

It is strange, but when I recall some nice fantasy-books I read in my life the hero(s) that embark on journeys always had to struggle with money...earn some cash for the next tavern, food, clothing. My Shepard in ME1 had enough credits to buy the Citadel, and when I look at my current characters in Skyrim I guess they need a Plug-in addding a horse-cart carrying the massive amount of gold they have gathered during their journey...

 

I guess the main problem is that in most RPGs you don't have that much expenses, like food, water, beds...all you buy now and then are magical items and maybe potions (and in games like Dragon Age Origins I didn't even needed that, so many potions you find their and hardly ever use...)

 

Yet a simple unmagical Breast-Plate made of decent material should be worth to gather money for. I still remember how I desperatly looked for money in BG1 to buy a Full-Plate for my warrior. Good times. And lodging should become more important in this game than recently in Bioware or Bethesda-Games.

[Update #24: Less than 30 Hours to go! Life and Death, and Audio CD Soundtrack!]

So far, I like some of the concepts about death and dying. But I guess it is always a little complicated to do it right...I mean, in recent games it is only game over when the whole party is down, then it is restart/quickload. Alright, now with party-members having a chance to actually die "for real" and no way to resurrect them it at least sounds more realistic and daring...

 

But I'll be the voice of honesty here: If one of my party-members falls and death is acertain for her/him, it is a quickload for me anyway. It even was with D&D-resurrections...never used those spells or temples anyway, rather played the battle once more to do it "right" this time...

 

So, I appreciate the concept of death not being a minor setback like in D&D, as death should be more than just a nuisance. And like that death always felt in the D&D-settings..at least for me. When every little priest can cast such a spell I always wondered why anyone was even afraid of getting killed...

 

Also, I truly hope that this also means the gods won't run around "in person" in the world of PE...I never liked that aspect in Forgotten Realms and stuff...so many gods...it sometimes felt more like "Discworld"

[Do I see guns and gunpowder ? I hope not :S]

Some years ago I would have hated the idea of firearms in "my" fantasy game, but today, I actually like it. As long as it feel better implemented than in Arcanum I am in for it. After all, as I see it, a pre-musket firearm/arequebuse won't be much different to a slow-loading crossbow in terms of gameplay anyway. And the smoke-effects might be nice to look at, too!

 

The whole setting looks more closely to "renaissance"times ayway, which might be a nice change of feel to the usual high-medieval-settings. Though I would bite off my right left arm for a more "savage" setting a la Conan...nobody wants to kickstart something like that? No? A pity...

[Paladins and Bards]

I like both types of classes. Most of my Bioware/Blackisle chars were paladins, though I would prefer them a little less strict and usually saw them less as religious fanatics/fighters, but more like honorable knights bound to a code (not a god) I would like that for paladins in PE

 

Bards however...I like their "lighthearted" approach, I like the kind of characters you can imagine with such a class (scoundrels, womanizers, saga-poets), but for me they shouldn't be "rogue/mages". I see them more of a "side-class" to normal rogues, with a tendency for swashbuckling and persuasion, rather than sneaking around and lockpicking etc...magic abilities, if any, should be limited to songs, and hopefully they can still do something else while singing...