Zitchiock

ALL funding was important and the backers were promised NPCs with their chosen stories as part of the finished game - no way is it acceptable to place a toggle removing them from the game - period - especially when they are nothing more than NPCs standing around in populated areas that have no impact what so ever unless you CHOOSE to click on them and look at their story. I think I'll just respectfully disagree. I think it would be acceptable, for many of the reasons that Teioh_White mentioned. It's not game breaking, no, but it would be nice. The Backers who were promised NPC's were given their promise. And, people would have the option to CHOOSE to utilize the toggle (just like they would choose to ignore the fan fiction). So, I've begun digging around with the modding and I was speaking to some users over at the Pillars Nexus. I am starting to get confident that I'll be able to create the toggle! So, this way, everyone wins. The fan fiction can remain in the base game, but those of us who would rather not see a godlike in every town, will have the option, too. Stay tuned for updates as I progress. Thanks!

As a side note, I have significant modding experience from the Total War Series. I was involved in some large projects for several of those games. I am going to work on a mod which adds a toggle (or just removes) the Backer NPCs. If anyone with experience in modding the Unity engine would be willing to share some tips, I would love to set-up a chat. If I can put something together that I am comfortable with, I would be happy to share it with the community.

Ha, clever. If you want to think about it in terms of funding, consider this. There was far more money raised at the lower tiers - with no "make your own in-game distraction" reward tier. Far and away more. If that audience hadn't supported Pillars, there certainly would be no game. It seems disingenuous to say that the game is owed to those who opted for the NPC tier, and as such, there feelings are paramount for the fine-tuning of a multi-million game. So, I feel that if there is a large group of users wanting a toggle, it should be implemented. Thanks.

I don't think that is polite @TheisEjsing @Ohioastro This is all about opinion. Dismissing another's opinion in a cavalier manner isn't helpful in an open forum. Discussion is great, but complaining about reminding others that your opinion differs from there's isn't adding to the conversation. Given that this has come up many times, as your post suggests, it only clarifies for me the need for some sort of Backer NPC Toggle. If a large group of players feel this would add to their gaming experience, it should be considered.

I fault Obsidian for not finding a better way to encourage funding than something that detracts from the game. Being able to toggle them off should have been a given. Are there mods that do this?

I completely agree, particular with the backer NPC's. They are awful.

Gotchya, thanks for that info. I didn't know that the Graphics toggle was for AA. I'll turn that down to the lowest setting. What other settings can be turned down or off to increase performance?

Performance option on video? I don't see a video menu. I don't see any toggles under Graphics, either, which is where I figured I'd find it. Where should I look? Cool avatar by the way. What is the icon in the bottom right?

Has the options menu toggle been introduced yet? Back in April/March, several developers mentioned that a toggle would be introduced to turn off Anti-Aliasing. As of now, the console command is disabled between areas. This great impacts my performance. I downloaded the latest patch but still don't see the toggle. Please advise.

Hm, I didn't realize that GOG patches were slower than Steam. Ah well. Looking forward to the 1.03 patch, mostly for the anti-aliasing toggle. Having to command enter it in after each transition is a bit bothersome.

This should be stickied. I had the same bug and the console trick (msaa 0) worked like a charm. It also greatly improved the performance of my game. Not sure why. Thanks a bunch.

I would support Obsidian for another campaign on Kickstarter if Pillars of Eternity is a lot of fun and lives up to its promises.

I wouldn't be surprised if Obsidian releases a 'demo' that is similar to the backer beta at some point, likely after the game's launch. Just sit tight!

Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale (both cited as being inspiration for Pillars of Eternity's design goals) allowed players to create party members at will, for no cost. I don't ever, in all the years I have been playing these games and reading about them on online forums, recall someone stating that using these freely generated characters as meatshields, or in a "kamikaze" manner was exploitative. I don't think that has ever even come up. Am I wrong? Why is that not the case here?

If the "Ranger" is only meant to be ranged, perhaps the class should be renamed "Archer".

Hi all, I found another article that is similar to the one shared by the op. This one comes to us from PC Gamer magazine Enjoy. http://www.pcgamer.com/previews/pillars-of-eternity-hands-on-a-beautiful-detailed-ode-to-the-infinity-engine-era/

Did you know that Shar-Teel and Viconia used the same model?

Fun idea. I would support this!

I am not a fan of the current state of the inventory screen. After a single encounter, such as taking care of Medreth and the band waiting by the bridge, picking up their loot requires utilizing a whole host of party members. It seems that the size of the inventory per party member is very small. If all of the character’s inventories are housed on one screen, with very little distinction between who is holding what, why even have separate inventories? It would seem to me that having one large pool for items would solve this annoyance. That said, I would still prefer the IE style of inventory where each party member has their own inventory screen. The key here is that each party member has the ability to carry more items. I liked the inventory micro-management where I had to give my heavier items like swords and full-plate armor to my stronger characters and gave my scrolls and light-weight items to my weaker characters.

It feels to me like the current UI in-game is a copy-paste job from Temple of Elemental Evil. Seriously. Take a look: http://pcmedia.ign.com/pc/image/greyhawktoee_060503_026_640w.jpg I would much prefer a UI like this: http://static.strategyinformer.com/r/game_images/thumbs/647x/0132/0026545.jpg

May 15, 2015 5, 15, 15

Nice finds!

One issue I have with the "Per Encounter" abilities is that they felt like necessities to use. Sensuki mentioned Knockdown for Fighters. As I can use this ability in every fight and it is very powerful, not using it just seems wasteful. I should begin every single fight with a Knockdown. When you are having to perform the same commands each fight, a sense of monotony can set in. If Knockdown were "Per Rest" (which could be justified by saying how much exertion it takes to Knockdown a creature, requiring rest before the character can muster the strength to do it again) than I wouldn't feel the need to use it in every combat. This would promote more combat strategy diversity. My two cents.

I love this thread. I wasn't sure what it was that I didn't like in the game until I saw this! Yes, the characters feel very weightless and spectral. Justinian provided a few great examples of how lighting, shadow, and borders can enhance this feel and make the characters feel more part of the world (and less like they are ghosts, floating by). Also, this is slightly off-topic but it was mentioned earlier -- those combat "dots" look very RTS/Command & Conquer-like. Is that something that could be addressed?