rheingold

Expectations are crazy things when you think about them... Everyone's are different. Just like everyone's experiences are different. Compounding the issue is the fact that the old ie games where not that similar, beyond the obvious, as in d&d rules, isometric,party based. But setting and story varied quite widely. Then some people played them purely for combat, some for the story etc, etc.... So while everyone had expectations that pillars would be a throwback to the old ie games, their experiences varied widely on what made an old ie game. People should read or watch more movies https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rashomon_effect

Mostly because I don't have to deal with poopoo from anyone but you alone. Even on the general boards. The politness around here is a small miracle on the internet, which makes you stand out like a sore thumb. lol (No, seriously, this board has much more unpleasant posters than him.) The obs forum is a real pleasure, disagreeing with people is good, it would be hell of a boring if everyone went around agreeing with each other all the time. Now that I think about it, it'd make a great Monty Python skit having a world where no one ever disagrees....But there are some real cesspits out there, cd red's forums, codex, Reddit, 4 chan.... The list goes on. Obs forums, I think work well because the mods do a good job, but also I get the impression that the average age on the forums is, shall I say a tad more mature than many other gaming websites.

Put me in the engagement fan club, I like it, could be better implemented but it makes sense as opposed to characters running all over the screen with no consequences. My major gripe with combat (which I like) is the vfx which is seriously over done. Sometimes you just have to scratch your head and click randomly cause you can't see anything! And if you have a melee rogue Orlan, you're all outta luck, they absolutely disappear in some fights.

Mmm, reckon looking at Candy crush as an example is a major case of survivorship bias, concentrating on them and ignoring the majority of cases where mobile gaming companies make small profits or battle, not to mention the hordes of companies who had the "next great idea" but are no longer around. It's a bit like someone telling you to start writing, because, hey look at how much money JK Rowling has made! It completely ignores the realities of business. We alway hear the success stories, the failures not so much.

Awesome, congratulations, though I'm torn between Witcher 3 and POE. Both high amongst my all time favorites and most definitely the 2 best games I've played in many years.

Don't jest, one of my favourite characters is a boreal ranger with a boar companion - it's not the most efficient build but is awesome from a role playing perspective and makes a change from the usual elven rangers with wolf companions.

Fairy tale theme parties? Snow White and the 5 dwarves! Snow White pale elf wizard. 5 boreal dwarves.... Doc paladin, should be priest but I can't stand them... Dopey ranger Sleepy druid Bashful rogue Grumpy barbarian. Could do a little red riding hood party, need to think about it...

I like kickstarter - I think it has some real advantages for devs. First, it acts as a gauge for how much interest there is in a game. Secondly the money coming in takes some heat off the devs. While it is true that the industry works on risk, I still think just about everyone responds better with the pressure somewhat muted. My main gripe with it though, are the damnable stretch goals. I'd rather they used the resources to work on the game rather than extend it just for the sake of it. I'm ok with the stronghold, and the endless paths are fine. But nothing spectacular, and I reckon if they had been able to use the resources for the dungeon on the story, the game would have been tighter.

I'm all for freedom of expression and criticism but if people really don't like a game hanging around its gaming forum seems a waste. As I repeatedly say, constructive criticism is good, hating not so much. There is a difference.

Yeah, it's not as clear cut as that, because as Cant said earlier it's nice to play around and create different characters/classes first to learn the ropes. Once I have clearer idea, I'm then in for the story though. Of course, if I am familiar with the system then I don't need the learning part, and would skip straight through to finishing the game. Having said that, once I have finished a game a couple of times it's fun to try different classes. Confusing no? And no straight answer

Yup, haters, my pet hate. I do understand: a: there is no such thing as a perfect game. b: constructive feedback is good, really good. c: everyone has different tastes, ideas of what makes a good game. But why, by Woedica's grace, do people who hate a game constantly post vitriol on forums who are by design intended for fans of the game? Sigh, don't even have to watch news nowadays to realize the human race is doomed. On the positive side, and back on topic, hopefully this means POE2 is in the works. I'd also kickstart it, no worries, though also not at the same tier as previously, not because I'm disappointed, but rather because our currency has committed suicide against the US dollar... To make me even more depressed after following news this week, I just calculated how much more I'd have to pay on kickstarter to match my original pledge.

Corr Correctomundo it's not the first complaint about that poor lost xaurip but as people have said: A it's optional B the game is not balanced for solo C if you come from a different direction on the world map you can arrive from a different side and not encounter the xaurip. Think it's from defiance bay direction. So not sure why the devs should change/move encounters physically because of a tiny minority. Also might add, I appreciate landing on a new screen and engaging immediately in combat, we should get ambushed more often.

The problem that Obs have is that some people really like ranger chick and paladin.

Maybe I'm missing the joke, but they've already stated that the expansion is coming in January (in that very same update they opened this thread for, in fact)?Yup I know, I'm just winding them up a bit Besides the devs probably don't have anything better to do. I'm sure they are just sitting around the offices playing solitaire.

Come on Obs, hurry up and finish the expansion If you release it in 2 weeks it'll be perfect timing for the holidays!

Hmmm, interesting, in particular the part about the stronghold not having as much attention as it needed. It definitely is one of the weakest parts of the game, that and the whole 15 levels of Caed Nua. Really surprised though at his influences, fair enough I get the whole historical influence, but seriously, was Zelazny's Lord of light not a massive influence on the story. Be a huge coincidence if that was the case. To much of a coincidence in fact, there are way to many parallels.

The fact that a hatchet can be used defensively is not the issue, it's the fact that the game mechanics make it the best defensive option. Hatchets are axes, and axes by their very design at less well balanced than, say, a sword, since the majority of their weight is concentrated at one end. This makes them good at delivering powerful blows, but less quick to change direction. If we assume that the main way a weapon is used defensively is to parry or deflect enemy blows (the name deflection supports this) then a weapon than is quick and agile is going to do a better job of this. This, I think, is the root of my problem with hatchets being the defensive option. I should add that this is not something that bothers me overly. If this remains forever in PoE I am not going to rage quit. That said, I'd like to see it change in PoE2, though I won't veto the game if it doesn't Whilst still a "hatchet", Rêghar Konnek has a model much closer to what I imagine when I hear the word tomahawk. It's also a pretty good weapon now that attack speed is fixed. If you wanted to build a tomahawk wielder that might be an option. I'm really stretching here - not an expert on medieval combat at all, but the argument could be that hatchets can potentially snag and catch other weapons? Latching on and hooking weapons could account for it? To be honest it makes no sense, but I'm trying to find a justification for the deflection bonus.... EDIT: that's a nice weapon there - thanks. Will go nicely with a dual wielder.

Once again, positive for Obsidian, not necessarily a positive thing for some groups of players. A small group of players who unless they are willing to pay a substantial amount of money each, will not keep a gaming developer afloat - and won't get to play many games....

I did. actually - you weren't there. The response to my concerns about the system design was that it was too late to make changes and the thing I've previously re-iterated twice. Due to the fact that they were not going to change any of that stuff, I did not bring it up again until post-release. I also don't think there was really anyone involved in the beta that predicted that the combat across the game would be as repetitive as it is. I'm not the only one making these claims, I've seen posters at Something Awful and badgame.net, people who *hate* me say exactly the same things as I have. If you're really interested in what I did and didn't do, feel free to search my post history, specifically threads created. "Over a million dollars a month" is from a Feargus interview. Infinitron or someone else from the Codex should be able to back up that statement, having also seen the interview. Obsidian outsourced the majority of their Wilderness Area Environment Art to a company in Portland. They said (quote is available somewhere) that Outsourcing is expensive. What exactly are you suggesting that they outsource ? I don't think it's a gloomy scenario for most people, and you keep bringing up my ignored suggestions when you have absolutely no idea what I suggested or what was ignored. You're simply following on from something Gromnir said. I didn't imply a change of horses, simply a broadening of the fanbase. The fanbase of Pillars of Eternity is not the same as the group of people that crowdfunded the game. It is pretty obvious simply by seeing who posts on this forum that the majority of people are new, non-backers. Isn't a broadening of the fan base a good thing? Yes it can be detrimental but if also can be positive. Having a larger fanbase brings in more resources, it doesn't necessarily mean a drop in quality. I guess it all depends though, if you trust the devs or not... Regarding the majority people on the forums - that's pretty irrelevant to the discussion. So what if they are not backers? Again, surely that's a positive thing?

You mustn't be reading my posts man, I said a few pages ago that the character system is fun. Bit hyberbolic there. Anything and everything can be improved but what I consider very good or better: Some of the Environment Art, Scripted Interactions/Interstitials, some of the UI design, some of the character system, Durance, Grieving Mother, Eder and Aloth. The soul detective quests are pretty cool/unique and the hollowborn storyline is the most interesting part about the plot even if it's only a side piece of it. Good: Majority of the Environment Art, Character/Creature Art, Weapon system, portraits, some of the music, most of the animation, unified attack resolution system, attribute design etc etc No. It's just putting two and two together. Obsidian are a mid-sized developer making RPGs. There are not many of these companies left in the world, let alone indepedent ones. They have a burn-rate of over a million USD per month to be able to afford to pay their staff. A mid-sized project like a Pillars of Eternity sequel will need to make a significant return on investment, and Feargus Urquhart has already gone on record saying that most of the time, sequels are a sophomore slump as far as sales are concerned. Feargus is also a man who plays it safe. To make the ROI that Obsidian needs on the sequel, they will need a wider audience and to get that audience they will most likely need to make the game more accessible, easier and aim a bit more for the lowest common denominator - at least that is the 'safest' way of getting such an audience. The Story Time mode is one example of this, this is a mode that will allow people who are very, very bad at RTWP combat to get through the game without getting so frustrated that they might return the game on Steam. A slower combat speed is also another thing that will make the combat more manageable for such people. Game journalists will be laughing as they demolish everything in their path when playing for review, if the default settings are Story Time and the default combat speed is slow. "9.5/10 great gaem, finished it in three days and now I've got two days off!!". For the sequel I think you'll see a better story, better environment and character art, better load times, possibly better performance. I think you'll see less trash mobs. The character system will likely be simpler. The UI will probably be super-over-the-top transparent and handholding (possibly detrimentally so). I don't have too much hope for better quest or encounter design but the combat system probably won't be worse. mmmm, I'm not sure Obs would want to change horses mid stream - by going after a new customer base as opposed to the one they already have would be a really bad decision, (not that companies don't make bad decisions all the time) but common sense would be for them to concentrate on keeping their current base happy first. Going story time is really not a big deal, it is so far from dumbing down - it's just a good compromise between keeping the hardcore crowd happy and getting new customers. Not sure why everyone is freaking out by an easy mode - it takes nothing away from the other gamers experiences, in fact if it introduces new people to the game it's a massive positive.

Having a look at the link with the military tomahawks I really, really want to play a tomahawk dual wielding rogue. Unfortunately the term "hatchet" ruins it for me. Reminds me way too much of unprepared, lazy campers shuffling around hacking frantically at wood, fingers, toes... anything really in range. It's not the deflection bonus that bothers me, but rather the name and visual design that's lacking.

DId I miss something in those first couple of days when Pillars was released? One day Sensuki was keen on the game the next he loathed it. It was rather sudden, too sudden... Makes me think that it is personal. Was he offered a job by Obs who reneged, or was he hoping for a job which never materialized and now he is upset with them. It goes way beyond normal though. There are plenty of things out there that disappoint me - games, books, movies, but you accept that and move on. Or not as the case may be

Big news for chanters, sounds awesome!

Aaaaarrgh! End of Jan is so far away. I'm desperate to start another playthrough. Oh well, I'll try and finish DAI or OS EE in the meantime.

"I know it's just an option and that I don't have to use it - I'm not stupid But the option itself is, in my opinion, problematic enough. Maybe not me or you or anyone else here on this forum, but many people will still be tempted to just switch to "easy mode" when they encounter difficult fights instead of learning from it and master the mechanics. And I'm not traumatized or something, I just think that way to many games tend to be easy as many developers consider hard games as risky business and that concerns me." Mmm, see your point but I also think that the more difficulty options a dev offers the more likely the game is going to have a true range from really difficult to easy. Put another way, the fewer options the game has, the easier the game would be - it would have to cater for the masses. Dark Souls is different in that it caters purely for hard core gamers. But most companies would do the opposite - they would attempt to cater for as many people as possible, so one or two difficulty levels would invariably mean easy gameplay for everyone. Whereas having 4 options would give the devs much more freedom to run the gamut between easy and fiendishly difficult.