Marceror

Wish Obsidian all the success, and many more games in the vein of IE/PoE! Same goes for Colossal Order and Paradox.

Sure, they break immersion a bit, but I have been finding a lot of them rather entertaining. I think they add something pretty special to the game, in truth. I have been making it a point to read all of them. And for what it's worth, the tombstones in BG were often about the developers and would "break character". Ironic, that in so doing they actually added character to the game. So too in PoE, I feel.

I make lots of saves as well. I do this with all games that I play these days. A lesson hard learned over the years.

For my part, I'm certainly not saying or even implying this. I think publishers are fine with creativity. They just tend to prioritize it below the bottom line. As long as an idea is sure to make a bajillion dollars, it can be creative all day long. And certainly, different publishers differ in their priorities. Paradox being a great example of a publisher with a true gamer's heart. While I could be wrong, my impression is that during the Infinity Engine era creativity came first. Of course, games had to make money but that wasn't the point. The point was making that great game that the developers wanted to go home and play during their free time, hoping that the fans would feel likewise and buy lots of copies.

I did see some pretty disheartening bugs during the Backer Beta, for what it's worth. Honestly, I didn't really even enjoy playing the beta due to bugs (I know, I know, betas aren't meant to be "enjoyed", but still).

I check my stats pretty regularly and so far haven't seen anything out of whack. It all feels pretty balanced, though certainly the difficulty meter is up several notches from BG, which I'm totally happy to see. I'm still relatively early, somewhere in Act II and still exploring Defiance Bay, and haven't even finished a single level of the Endless Paths. Party members are level 5 and 6. So hopefully I won't be in for a rude awakening later on.

As for Bioware, I won't say that they make bad games (though DA2 had many major disappointments)... they have just gone the route of mass market action RPGs, which isn't my preferred style of game. Yeah, it sort of hurts more that they once were my favored gaming company, the guys who I believed "got me" as a gamer. But add in a major publisher like EA and what are you going to do? I don't wish them ill, and on a slow gaming day I still might pick up one of their games. I've stopped saying things like they are "dead to me". The "break up" happened long enough ago that I don't need to make such dramatic statements. Now I simply accept that they are part of the gaming Borg that I generally try to steer clear of.

I refuse to run with naked characters, even if it's technically more efficient for certain characters. The idea just rubs me the wrong way. And running with a party of armored characters isn't stopping me from winning fights, so it's all good.

Yeah, of course I know that. Publishers, and demographic studies... and lots and lots of metrics. All the stuff that creativity is born of. But no where on the entire planet did any "anomalies" slip through for more than a decade? It's kind of crazy when you consider how much greatness was just waiting to be created.

Seriously, for the first time in around 15 years I feel like I am playing an Infinity Engine game without having to replay one of the Infinity Engine games for the umpteenth time. Pillars of Eternity has delivered on so many levels. I know that I wasn't always the most positive voice during the backer beta. Well, early on the game really had a long way to go, but more than that, it lacked so many of the key components that made the IE games great. This was largely on purpose, I acknowledge, and understand. But - it's what I had at the time to provide feedback on at the time. With the full release of PoE, we now have those missing ingredients, in spades. An excellent story (so far at least), memorable companions, a massive world to discover and explore, and an absolute boat load of quests. Combat has really progressed since the beta, and while it is quite different from combat in IE, I'm rather enjoying it. Mr. Bell did a great job with the soundtrack, very much adding to the ambiance. The 2D painted backgrounds are absolutely beautiful, and it's amazing how Obsidian really brought them to life. Lighting effects. Animated water. Fog! I.E. 2.0 indeed! Several hours in and I haven't had a single crash, significant bug or performance issue. It's not that I don't still have things that I'd like to see changed... but those are for another post. My only serious question is how did Planet Earth allow so much time to pass before a worthy successor to the IE games was created and released? It boggles the mind, really. But I'm extremely hopeful for the expansion and for future installments in the series. Between Obsidian and inXile, quality cRPGs with old school sensibilities are back on the menu boys! It was an honor to shake hands with Josh and Feargus at the launch party last week. Icing on the cake. Oh, and after seeing how physical rewards went down with Wasteland 2, having nearly all of my physical rewards within 2 days of game release was a real treat -- well done Paradox! My signed collector's edition box is truly a treasure.

I'm guessing it's the Obsidian Order cloak. Too bad I found enough magical items very early in the game for my party, that this cloak was relegated to the stash very quickly. Would be nice if it had some sort of stat bonus that it offered, because it sure does look cool.

Love the signed box. I don't even want to open it. There's a signature on the left that is "you". Wonder who wrote that.

I spoke too soon. My box must have been dropped on the porch within the last 30 minutes or so. NICE!!

/sigh Posted at 2:27PM. Edited at 2:27PM. Is that really necessary to call out?

Nice. Goes and checks mail. No pretty cardboard box /Marceror sad

I think the OP may have gotten off at the wrong bus stop. I'm sure there's a good FPS out there that would suit him better. More perplexing is that he's a backer. I don't think he paid close enough attention to key details like real time with pause, 6 characters in party just like the infinity engine games. Clearly wasn't paying attention.

Uh, yeah, the good ole "advance time" feature from... the BG series. Of all the features BG didn't have but we are going to pretend it did, this one is among my favorites!

Digging the writing too. Though I fully expected it to be top notch.

The documentary and the novella aren't ready yet.

Make that plural. No Steam achievements--of any sort, at all, for this game. Plural would not have been "in character" for that post.

No Steam achievement? Impossibruuuu! Money back pweez.

Minecraft graphics are awesome! (said a guy in 1988)

Look in the tech support forum- there are plenty of people who've run into bugs that made the game unplayable. Seriously, guys, I have zero incentive to hate. I've been behind this game (almost) since it game out. Almost since it came out? You realize that it came out just over 12 hours ago, right?

I hate the game. I hate it because it has taunted me viciously all day as I've worked and been unable to play. So friggen' rude!! Stuck in traffic on my way home but hope to launch game soon, wherein I fully expect hate to become a love affair. Hopefully my wife won't become jealous.

The games can be bought digitally and therefore should not sell out. What? That's not what you meant? Incidentally, I can't wait to play Pillars in First person mode. On my XBOX. Yeah!!!