Sonntam
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Posts posted by Sonntam
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am a bit confused by the repeated announced stretch goal missteps. we had assumed the stretch goals were contemplated well in advance o' the campaign. are we so ahead or behind anticipated funding schedule that obsidian is winging these things? come up with a bunch o' stretch goals in advance, and depending 'pon attainment o' funding milestones reached by date X or Y, the order o' the release o' stretch goals changes. largely automatic. this problem shouldn't be.
no biggie. am simple not understanding how this happens... multiple times.
HA! Good Fun!
I think the problem with thinking things through WAY in advance, is that you end up with several versions of the stretch goal plans. I am going to guess the stretch goals were reshuffled a lot, so it's easy to mix up which one was mean to go where.
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The game will be available on Steam and GoG.
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I love the idea behind the new targeting system! It always was frustrating to me how in many games I had to recast long spells, simply because I had to pick a new target.
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A thread about the goodies you can additionally buy through Fig!
I myself was very tempted by companion figurines, but I guess they just cost too much. However I bought the hardcover lore book, ever since I was very happy with the quality of the first one and it had been invaluable in terms of looking up less known lore. The shipping costs made me cry, but as it is said "no pain, no gain".
I would also like to have vanilla Pillars of Eternity T-shirt. Or maybe even a Pillars of Eternity hoodie!
What would you all like to be added to the add-ons? And what stuff did you buy from existing add-ons?
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Am I the only one who is happy to have more protagonist voice sets? I was not entirely happy about the voice my Watcher got and I hope I will be able to replace it with something more fitting.
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Watercolor portraits are okay, but I think I like the lineart without color more than with color.
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No. Attributes/talents/spells should do what they say they do and what they say should be clear. If intelligence still says it increases AoEs and durations it should affect everything with an AoE and/or Duration period.
I kind of hate this about Tyranny which does things like giving you 'spell power' without being clear with what spell power actually does, which is not as the name would imply increasing the power of all spells.
Tyranny explicitly tells you there is spell power and there is ability power. I think it would be nice if tutorial tips said that in RED AND IN CAPS, because I made the mistake of thinking it's one and the other.
Otherwise it really comes down to labelling things properly and making more extensive tooltips to avoid scenarios like that one.
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3) A party of six characters should be allowed, at least make it optional for users who enjoy these games (primarily) because of their roleplaying options and the character dynamics and interactions and not because they expect a perfectly balanced tactical gameplay. So while I understand that a party of 5 might be optimal for gameplay I don't think it should be a hard limit, especially since the 6-character-party does not only have nostalgic value but because it also allows for taking characters along which you maybe don't like for their combat abilities (due to class, skills etc), but even the more for your roleyplaying experience. E.g. it can be quite fun to take another paladin with you when your PC is a paladin as well. The less party members you’re allowed to have the less such "badly-balanced" parties are possible. For a story-rich RPG like Pillars that'd be a huge loss imo.
This means completely changing the design strategy. Looking at backer goals I get the feeling this is not feasible. Obsidian seems to prefer to make less companions but with more diverse backgrounds/ideals/classes. Two characters filling the same role would be a "waste" under current design ideology. If anything Obsidian seems to prefer to have less companions and then to get more "depth" for them.
This is how currently all RPGs I know try to handle companions. Less is more. Bioware had a lot of companions in ME2 and said that they regretted it. PoE has comparatively many companions and yet party interactions are fairly shallow. I think if PoE 2 had more companions it would not end well. Or at least, Obsidian would not be happy with the result.
4) Combat shouldn't be the only solution to most conflicts and non-violent options should be available in most situations. Of course there can be conflicts that are central to the storytelling that require a violent solution (e.g. because your enemy attacks you no matter what). But if combat is the "standard way" of solving conflicts the whole game imo becomes too much focused on combat and systems and ignores other aspects of traditional roleplay. Ifear that without MCA around the series will become even more combat-focused and therefore even more narrow in terms of narrative design.
Obsidian said they wanted to cut down on trash fights, so if I had to guess there will be less and not more fighting. I also did not have a problem with lack of peaceful solutions in PoE. I very often solved conflicts by talking my way out of problems (especially when confronted by sentient beings).
I also think that if even one third of encounters in PoE 2 can be solved in a peaceful way I will be completely satisfied.
5) more unique and creative gear that can be matched by the normal stuff you find everywhere (think Lilarcor)
Very much necessary.
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What about 3 returning companions? How are they gonna explain their level drain?
If they were at the keep at the time, then it should be fairly easy to explain. "Oh, hey we came to visit, what's u... OH MY GOD WHAT IS THE STATUE DOING?!"
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Know what, yes, that's a stretch goal I want:
1.8 million - Fix our ****
If we reach the stretch goal of 1.8 million, we'll sit down and fix the **** that's broken in both Tyranny and Pillars of Eternity on the level of their engine. This goal means we'll finally bring you a technically competent product! Rejoice!
Well, they did say that loading times will be reduced since everything will be pre-loaded in background.
I won't be as optimistic about pathfinding though...
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Ok, backed. Looks like everything will be improved in the sequel. A few questions though:
-Will there be pets and will they have stats bonuses this time?
Pets are one of the backer rewards, so they will definitely are still a thing.
Not sure about stat bonuses though.
How is Aloth alive? He kept slipping into a pool of blood in my games *coughs*
Obsidian said that if someone died in your playthrough, they will definitely not be returning in the sequel. So if you import your save, Aloth won't be a possible companion. Instead he will be a bloody puddle in some dungeon.
Ok, backed. Looks like everything will be improved in the sequel. A few questions though:
-Will there be pets and will they have stats bonuses this time?
Pets are one of the backer rewards, so they will definitely are still a thing.
Not sure about stat bonuses though.
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I am having troubles identifying the various races and characters. To the very right is Pallegina, then next to her Aloth (?), next a Coastal Aumaua (a hunter, if the red bird flying over her shoulder belongs to her), Eder and as last a pistol dual-wielding ferocious Orlan (what's up with the fur color though?).
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Durance would fit in well for the new storyline. DURANCE VS. EOTHAS REMATCH. WHO WILL WIN?!
I also hope Maneha will come back. I enjoyed having her around and she fits my party very well. At the very least I'd like to have a cameo of her.
Speaking of cameos: I hope we get to see the Adra Dragon. I did not spare it just to never hear from it ever again.
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I'm looking forward to it. If there's any sign that makes me apprehensive of the game based on the trailers and gameplay videos, it's that a) I don't like the look of the interface at all, it feels very flat, unappealing and messy, not as immediately understandable and as idiosyncratic with the game's artstyle as the likes of Pillars of Eternity's; and b) many of the character and place names, particularly those of the soldiers, sound very silly, and I fear I'll be seeing eventually names the likes of Bloodsend Killshadow and the Clocktower of Undead Dispair, that try extremely hard to sell the impression that this is a DARK WORLD and that the characters inhabiting are BAD GUYS. This aside, I like what I've seen, the areas look lush and the concept of a story that can potentially branch out to many different paths is very interesting. Can't wait to acquire a copy and see for myself!
Scarlet Chorus seems to be both a) pretty dumb and b) giving nicknames to each other spontaneously. I think we will run into one or two "Killmurder" or "Slaughter Fiend" on our journey.
Disfavored are a lot more serious, so probably just stick with them. Did not see a single weird name at their camp.
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The whole problem with elves/dwarves is that on the one hand they had been done to death, but on the other hand the moment you make a fantasy setting people go "ok, but which of those races are the elf/dwarf stand-ins?"
People just love to have them and they are a basically one of the staples of fantasy, along with the middle ages + magic.
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One thing that kinda bugs me in fantasy in general is the apparent lack of politics (in the broad sense of the word) within intelligent monster races. In PoE, Vithracks are perfect example of this. I picture Vithrack colonies to be organizationally akin to human nations. How realistic would it be for a human nation to dispatch a small group to search for something that is advertised as being of vital importance for the nation itself (I'm referring to the adra expedition in Od Nua's dungeon)? Who makes the call about the mission's relevance, and about the size and nature of the team who should handle it? Is there no dissent at all? No other opinions (even among those chosen to carry out the mission)? All Vithracks are nationalists with a blind faith in each other and their colony? Everyone thinks seeking the secret of adra is a priority and a good thing for the colony? When they're back, a very small group made a massive difference for everyone?
I thought the Vithrack expedition was very well done.
1. You would not send on a dangerous mission people who are known for dissent.
2. Some Vithracks there can try to backstab you, because while the leader is fine with making deals with outsiders, not everyone is on the same page.
I would not expect to see more than that, though. Even if Vithracks disagree with each other, infighting on such a dangerous mission and (even worse) showing that kind of weakness to some stupid animal passing through? That would be very silly.
The way you talk, one would think the Vithracks that got sent on the missions were just some passerbies picked from the streets. No, they should be trained and well trusted to stay focused on the mission. To expect politics to shatter the group would be like expecting a spec ops team break under the pressure, because they are working in foreign terrain and things got dangerous. It can happen, but it does not have to happen.
Besides, we see that Vithracks are basically under siege there. They are well aware that the moment they start to fight each other, they won't get out of there alive. That kind of thing tends to keep people together.
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^^ Think that is pretty harsh. For example, I'm no Obsidian fanboi, the only game of theirs I've played before is Neverwinter Nights 2, and I gave up on that before the end because I got bored. I think Pillars of Eternity is a good game, but not a great one. There is *something* missing, or aspects missing the target, which is kind of hard to put my finger on. The story is a little bit off perhaps, and the end of the game felt a little rushed. I would have preferred more NPCs. The game world and lore was interesting, but also confusing or hard to wrap my head around. Then there was that huge info dump at the end of the game, with a somewhat odd story, so all in all it didn't quite hit the mark for me. That said, I still enjoyed the game and am glad I bought it. It's a solid RPG that is made for PCs, instead of all this consolitis scourge we see everywhere, so that alone makes it stand out quite a bit. Hopefully they improve on some of the faults/weaknesses for PoE2, but keep the focus on PCs and don't dumb down features or gameplay to cater to the inferior console technologies and user interface.
The difficult thing with games is that sometimes we don't know what we want, until we have played something and know whether it had that "right" feeling or not. To capture that "magic" experience from Baldur's Gate is extremely difficult, and one can't just clone the gameplay in a new game world either. Ultimately I think they did a lot of right things with Pillars of Eternity -- but not everything.
The underlying problem to me is that the game is simultaneously trying to tug nostalgia strings and be avant-garde and it clashed. Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale are *fun* but not particularly philosophically deep. A lot of RPG devs seems to principally want to be philosophically deep rather than fun anymore. They want to *say* something instead of wanting to let players *do* things.
Basically, I think the writers are more frequently thinking in terms of what is fun to write than they are in terms of what is fun to *play.*
This is why Skyrim is so dang fun. Granted it's thematically emptier than even I would like, but it's whole design premise is around "is this enjoyable" and not "is this challenging/thought-provoking/meaningful, etc." and it shows.
I think Pillars of Eternity shows well what kind of writers Obsidian has attracted: people who like philosophy, like monsters, like new ideas and talking about religion.
After Kotor 2, MotB, F:NV (especially the DLCs), it's no big surprise either that Obsidian writers became a pretty homogenous lot who love all the same stuff.
It has the advantage of players knowing what to expect. For example, I would be sorely disappointed if the next Obsidian game would not provide thought-provoking content. That's what I find interesting and fun.
Obsidian is also one of the few companies who consistently provides that. It would suck if they went into a different direction at this point.
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I live in Germany and got the game today!
Check your emails, you should get the email about the delivery of the game soon.
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Paradox makes a huge announcement in about 4 hours on their livestream... anyone else hoping it's a WoD game by Obsidian?
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The quest with recovering the scrolls of Wael shows gods can just pop up and say hi to anyone pretty much anytime they want though.
"Anytime they want" is the key phrase here. They are elusive little bastards and sure, if they want to talk to you it's easy. But if you want to talk, good luck convincing them your cause and your questions matter.
Watcher is lucky in this regard that Leaden Key and Hollowborn matter a lot to the gods, so it's a little easier to get their attention.
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Hi! I have a question about translation in other languages. Would you mind if I translate the stories into Russian to share it with the russian fan community? I don’t know much about author’s rights, but I surely know I must ask you before doing such things. And there’s a lot of people who would love read these stories, but don’t know English.
1. I'm 99,999% sure that it's more than okay. After all the short stories are non-commercial and it's only to Obisiian's benefit if more people get to read them.
2. The short stories had already been translate to Russian (yay!)
Pretty sure you are from same place as I am, aka diary.ru, but here are the links just in case: 1, 2, 3, 4 (you need to log in/register to see the translations).
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I would have given it GOTY, but then Undertale came out...
I still love PoE dearly, though. It's not even my most favorite game of Obisidan (Kotor 2 takes the crown), but I'm very excited for this franchise. I got from PoE the fantasy experience I wanted and it makes me happy to know that this is only the start of a long, wonderful journey.
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The battle: easiest encounter in the game. Sounded hard in the narration, but the red circles just stood there, did nothing, my guys wiped them out without a scratch. Not scripted well?
I think it depends on how many allies you recruited beforehand. In my case I got all possible allies and full mercenary set + elites. All melees engaged each other, then I only had to kill the archers and the main boss, because Emery was on my side.
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Wait, you can no longer rest wherever / whenever you want? Did they re-institute the dedicated camping locations in the latest version?
No, but you are simply forbidden from resting in a couple locations, for example in the Iron Flail comander tent.
List of Subclasses as we learn about them.
in Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire General Discussion (NO SPOILERS)
Posted · Edited by Sonntam
Wrong thread.