Marceror

Druid is another class that I haven't really considered for PoE, but I have always enjoyed playing. I haven't seen anything yet as to whether they will have an animal companion. A druid without an animal companion is like a day at the beach without sunshine. I'm hopeful that this will be included. And by animal companion, I'm not talking about a creature that gets summoned from a single combat and disappears. I'm talking about a persistent animal friend, that we can name and that gains power as we level. If we could customize it a bit with some magical gear, that would be even better, but it shouldn't count against our 6 party slots. I guess we'll find this out tomorrow.

Anything is possible, but not everything is likely. I think this falls into the unlikely category. They have no obligation to give us such details, so why should they feel bothered to do so, and potentially get it wrong. That said, a little more communication from OE about such things would greatly appreciated. We easily could have gotten something from Josh last week to the effect of "Hey backers, I know you're excited to get your hands on the beta demo. We expect to have it available by 10AM Pacific on 08/18. We'll let you know if that changes." But did we get that? Negatory. I half think that OE enjoys making us suffer a little.

Not a fan of heal on level up either.

A game that proves multiplayer can be implemented well. Of course multiplayer can be implemented well. Was that ever a question? Certainly not from me. That's why nearly every other game is doing it. But as stated by the devs "design concessions" must be made to the single player game in order to create a strong multi-player experience. I'm here for the single player experience, and just for freakin' once, I don't want to have to suffer said design concessions. I want to play a game the is conceived, optimized and perfected as a single player only game. This is what I'm getting, and incidentally, what you'll be getting also. I can respect that you'd like to see multiplayer. I can also respect that someone else might want to see this game totally streamlined and more mass-market friendly. But I'm extremely thankful that OE isn't doing either of those things with PoE. I likely wouldn't have backed the game otherwise.

I too will point out that I'd be okay really with any of the options around this. If Obsidian wants to make it so that leveling up is an event that requires a level of focus, and must be done in a safe place like an inn, I can certainly roll with that.

Hey there Raistlin82. I sure hope that your post is a joke. I have no idea what you're on about, but when I suggested that you stop overreacting, you kind of went the opposite direction that I was hoping. I never attacked you. And if this is the way you're going to conduct yourself, I will be ignoring you entirely henceforth. Take care, and have a nice day.

Yes, I also noticed several racial bonuses/negatives in the Gamescom videos. I actually paused for each race to look at them. Not sure if they are actually reflected in the game. I guess we'll find out soon, but I'm choosing to be optimistic about that.

It's nice to see such refined sensibilities from a rat in a cage.

Agree that this would be a poor benchmark, since it's largely two separate target audiences for each. I read that the CEO of Paizo indicated that a cRPG would be part of the partnership. The question now is, are we going old school with this, or more in the aRPG direction? Hope its old school, since Pathfinder would lend itself so well to that. It could be basically the IWD2 system reborn and improved.

Pretty much, out of combat. That's what I'm used to in cRPGs. In P&P we usually waited until we rested and were at full hitpoints, but honestly I find that a bit onerous. If I'm more experienced in the middle of a dungeon, than I see no reason I can't level up at any point. I exclude combat, because combat should be focused on... combat.

It's good as it is. Leveling up is supposed to be a special, even sacred event. It deserves its own dedicated screens.

Pet piglet? No I never saw him. Would you like some more of this delicious bacon?

With those definitions in mind, I will simply respond by saying fair enough.

Too bad we didn't get the "kennel" stretch goal!

Hahaha! :D Look who's talking. "Some people" can't even understand when they're making fun of themselves. That being said, as I mentioned in my answer to the user who asked me, no... unlike you, I wasn't judging solely by the picture. Anyway... I have my own criteria, you have yours. You can't account for taste, so sure as Hell you shouldn't be judgemental of other people's preferences. =____= Hahaha yourself! I was fully aware of what I was saying. I haven't made a final judgment about Forton. I simply mentioned that there's something about his picture that I like. Please stop overreacting.

The perspective of one of the developers: because their opinion on the matter will have a lot more weight than my own. PoE was designed to be a single player game. Could it be morphed into a MP experience? Of course it could. But the single player game would suffer (according to develop Bobby Null and apparently also developer George Ziets) in order to make the game excel in this regard. The alternative is to tack it on, but the quality will not be what it should if OE does that. Then all the reviewers will come in and want to review multiplayer, and trash the game for having crappy multiplayer. I would *MUCH* rather that PoE remain one game in thousands of MP capable games that is strictly focused on providing the best single player experience humanly possible. And if you're dying for multiplayer, holy hell, go play D:OS! Pillars of Eternity is a single player game. Single player. Period. End of story.

Fixed. This is not a demo, it is a beta. Well, a beta demo. This is sort of awesome. You came in to disagree with me, and say that you "fixed" my comment. And then conceded that what we're getting is a beta demo (which means a demo that happens to occur during the beta period). So even you admit that it's a demo, yet you crossed out the word. That's rather inconsistent of you. [off topic] At any rate, yes, I'm disappointed by the demo/beta/whatever you want to call it. Why? Because it's not in my opinion something that will represent the best interests of the game. We're going to get this small sliver of the game, which feels like its about the size of a demo. What value are we going to provide to the developers here? As far as I can tell, it's going to be feedback on the classes/races and 4 non-essential quests. Okay, so getting the classes/races right is important. I get that, and appreciate that the backers will have the chance to help with that. That's going to make the game better, I'm sure. It's the rest of that missed opportunity that I'm disappointed by. There's SO MUCH MORE that we could be helping with. But apparently some vocal forumers and/or Obsidian have opted to look at this "beta" through the lens of "oh noes... we might spoil people." I look at it from the lens of, let me play as much as possible, so I can rip it apart and provide feedback, identify bugs, and help shape the many, many, many game decisions that aren't related to classes/races. So that when the rest of the world gets the game, it will be a far, far, far better game. And incidentally, OE will make a good deal more money from it, I would expect. Yes, there's a bit of sacrifice on my part, on everyone's part, in doing that, but it's one I am personally happy to make. That's why I backed the game, rather than just waiting to buy it after release and I've read half a dozen reviews. I'm willing to forego some of my enjoyment of the final game in order to achieve a better overall result, for the greater good. But apparently I'm largely alone in this view, so instead I will studiously focus only on classes/races when the time comes. [/off topic]

There's a lot more content that you get from the Stronghold vs. the house, so the Stronghold is a more exciting option from that perspective.

"Your player house is located within the boundaries of the stronghold, but it is its own building with its own upgrades/benefits." "I think physically splitting the house and the stronghold increases the likelihood that the player will choose to not visit one or the other (most likely, the house) over the course of the game." -Sawyer. http://forums.obsidian.net/topic/64350-update-63-stronghold/?p=1368432 Thanks Leferd for linking that. I guess that settles that question. Wow, I've missed a lot by largely ignoring these forums for the last 18 months! I was out with my family when I saw your post. I was at first bothered by that response, but after a good 30 minutes to think about it, I'm okay with that direction. On the one hand, it would have been cool to have each location separate and distinct, just like the stretch goals were separate and distinct. On the other hand, if Obsidian couldn't come up with a good way to manage that, I guess it makes sense to effectively merge the two together. If I recall from the Kickstarter, I think when the house stretch goal was announced, Obsidian didn't think we'd have a chance of making as much money as they did, and never expected to be able to offer a Stronghold. So I guess what we're getting is a Stronghold with some additional options in our sleeping quarters/house. At the end of the day, I'm okay with that.

I think it's a foregone conclusion that there will be a place for the party to sleep in the stronghold. This shouldn't represent 2 stretch goals.

You're going to need a *Strong Hold* to relocate THAT water wheel... Am I doing it right? Ha ha ha ha ha.... hah... hah..... Heh..... *burp*

During the Kickstarter we unlocked two stretch goals related to in game dwellings. One was for a player house. The other was for a player stronghold. I think we know just a little about the stronghold, but I haven't heard anything about the house. This thread is for people to share their opinions about how these will differ, or how they should differ. What purpose should the house have that the stronghold doesn't? And vice versa? Will it just be a geographical benefit? You know, the whole "I have a cozy cottage in Malibu, and a castle in San Diego" type thing. I'm closer to Malibu, so let's go crash there. Or will there be mechanical differences where the home offers it's own set of benefits, and the stronghold others. Or do we get the home early, and the stronghold largely renders it unnecessary when we attain it later in the game? What do you all think and/or hope for? OE, feel free to chime in!

Wait, what do we know about them other than pieces of concept art? Nothing. I think some people are just quick to judge a book by its cover. Based on the picture alone, I immediately dug something about Forton. He looked like a tortured soul to me, and this was long before I knew about monks and their wound mechanic.

Jennifer Hale has voiced every female character in every game, ever, I'm pretty sure. I think she started her career as the voice of Mrs. Pacman, who didn't even have a voice. Wow, I hadn't realized just how prolific she was. That's a reasonably impressive track record.

Are antelope companions confirmed in? I assume they are, since how are we supposed to play this game without antelope companions! ANTELOPE!!!!!! Oh, wait, I was thinking of cantaloupe. Will there be cantaloupe companions?