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rheingold

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Posts posted by rheingold

  1.  

    Off topic I'm afraid. But does anyone know if there are any decent pollaxes this time around? It's compulsory for my Dwarven berseker, and would be nice if it was any good in comparison to greatswords.

     

      Yes https://i.imgur.com/CLB4lv1.jpg

     

    I'm curious though, why poleaxe in particular?

     

    I have no real answer other than I really like poleaxes, and they seem to fit dwarf barbarians, though some would say its a bit of cliche...

    I just don't fancy any other weapon type for him. And the first game had some fantastic greatswords, but no decent 2h axes. (excluding the one in Adra dragon quest - never killed the dragon hunter - and it came really late) so it's nice to know that I can hopefully run with them this time and not feel slightly gimped because of fashion reasons... :dancing:

  2. First impressions: good, but not as good as the first. Writing seems to be the weak point, reckon they spent to many resources on the "open world" which for me, at least, has compromised the story. Reminds me a lot of Storm of Zehir to be honest. Still it seems to be a good game, maybe even a very good game, just not necessarily what I wanted for a sequel. I was kinda hoping for a Pillars 2, not an update of SoZ...

    But before everyone gets there knickers in a knot, I am really enjoying it, just not as much as the first.

  3.  

    I have zero faith in reviewers to be honest. Most of the time they can't be bothered to finish the game. And it's pretty obvious in spite of their claims to the contrary.

    OS 2 is a perfect example - it's an absolute dogs breakfast of a game - story is a mess, gameplay garbage, level design appalling BUT if you only played the first act - Fort Joy you would think its one of the greatest games ever, the problems only manifest after that... when they get exponentially worse, so much so, that by the end of the second act, what started as a promising, potentially great rpg is an absolute mess. I couldn't even finish the game - got to Arx and that was that. And there are very few games I can't finish. Reading the reviews it was abundantly clear that pretty much all the reviewers didn't get much past Fort Joy.

    Because even if you loved the game you'd have to admit that it had issues as time went on - and none of the reviewers raised any issues - the game was perfect in their eyes - which is absolutely crazy. The reviews were way, way to good, frankly unbelievable.

     

    My favourite review though, had to be one of DAI - from a well known website, just can't remember which, where he absolutely loved the game, and praised it extensively for the fact that you didn't start at level one, and had some cool abilities because of that - which meant he didn't play past the intro scene - 2 minutes in the game... ;(

     

    So frankly I will read the reviews out of interests sake - but I've long since given up on expecting any honesty or integrity from the reviewers.

     

    Having said that it would be nice if there are glowing reviews which would drive some good sales.

    As a former reviewer of a print magazine I feel I have to defend the profession a bit. :)

     

    I agree that most likely, very few reviewers finishes games like long RPG's and the like. The reason for this is that from the time you get a copy in your hand (back in the days, when I reviewed, it was actual physical copies, those were the days my friends) to the time you have to submit the review usually ranges from short to very short. I can imagine the hellish time table the lads and lasses have reviewing Deadfire (if they want a review out on release day, that is, which most wants).

     

    I remember reviewing Storm of Zehir and there was no chance in hell that I had the time to finish the entire game, and that was just an expansion. You do the best you can to get a feel for the game.

     

    With that said, of course there are reviewers who are more interesting than others, in the way they describe the game and their experience. Some are better and some are worse but that is true for every job out there. It's just a matter of finding the one's you find interesting and follow or subscribe to. I think it's unfair to bash them all and claim the lot of them as without integrity and dishonest. It's a pretty unfair statement.

     

    Unfortunately the problem is that you can't review a game or anything else without finishing it. I understand the time issue, but games often get worse as they progress. If you are only playing the first half of the game you are getting the wrong impression of the game.

    Regarding ethics - well this is a major problem for reviewers. In theory, there should be no gifts, no limited access and you should pay for your own copy of the game.

    Every other reviewer, from films to food pays for themselves and most importantly access is not an issue. Whereas for game reviewers - you get on a companies **** list you are not going to get early access, either for previews or for the actual review. Why do you think it's almost impossible to find a bad review of a game produced by the large companies? Whereas you get plenty of bad reviews for smaller companies (even taking into account that they are smaller - have less budget, experience) there are still way to many good reviews from the major companies.

    Bottom line - they have to much control over access - and if you as a reviewer can't get early access to a game you are finished...

  4. I have zero faith in reviewers to be honest. Most of the time they can't be bothered to finish the game. And it's pretty obvious in spite of their claims to the contrary.

    OS 2 is a perfect example - it's an absolute dogs breakfast of a game - story is a mess, gameplay garbage, level design appalling BUT if you only played the first act - Fort Joy you would think its one of the greatest games ever, the problems only manifest after that... when they get exponentially worse, so much so, that by the end of the second act, what started as a promising, potentially great rpg is an absolute mess. I couldn't even finish the game - got to Arx and that was that. And there are very few games I can't finish. Reading the reviews it was abundantly clear that pretty much all the reviewers didn't get much past Fort Joy.

    Because even if you loved the game you'd have to admit that it had issues as time went on - and none of the reviewers raised any issues - the game was perfect in their eyes - which is absolutely crazy. The reviews were way, way to good, frankly unbelievable.

     

    My favourite review though, had to be one of DAI - from a well known website, just can't remember which, where he absolutely loved the game, and praised it extensively for the fact that you didn't start at level one, and had some cool abilities because of that - which meant he didn't play past the intro scene - 2 minutes in the game... ;(

     

    So frankly I will read the reviews out of interests sake - but I've long since given up on expecting any honesty or integrity from the reviewers.

     

    Having said that it would be nice if there are glowing reviews which would drive some good sales.

    • Like 2
  5.  

     

    I think there is a preload? 

    On Steam preload starts on Friday. Plenty of time to download the game even if you have crappy internet connection.

     

     

    Really? 

     

    With the pre-purchase?

     

    Which is the best package? Standard, Deluxe, or Obsidian?

     

    Can't really say anything about which is the best package. My experience is they tend to over complicate the issue, and there are always extras that I have no use for.

    Best to look yourself and decide.

    • Like 1
  6. I though DA Origins and NWN 2 were great, at least as good as Shadows of Amm.... Shock, horror. But then I also liked the Icewind Dale series.

    Bit worried about Deadfire to be honest, hope they haven't stretched themselves thin, and the writing is up to their usual standard. 

    But it wouldn't be the first ( or last ) time I'm wrong. So here is to holding thumbs.

  7. ****ing hell. DLC largely exists because you need to make content freezes in order to establish the project's scope. A ton of potential content is devised during pre-planning, content that looks to be increasingly un-viable is cut as the project advances.

     

    Josh Recently had a great discussion about crunch and over-time and how you can actually loose productivity from Crunching. So to avoid those scenarios you need to establish a realistic scope of the project and design the project in a way where you can cut away content in order to salvage the major and most important parts of a project.

     

    Once the artists and designers are done with the main-game and the game is moving into it's final development and testing stages. They can then jump back into the production pipeline on either new content (so they aren't idle) or pickup where they left off on cut content (once again, to not be idle.) That content will never be ready for the final game, but it was selectively cut because it was some form of side-content.

     

    Obsidian also knew in advance that they we're making DLC for this game, so it's no surprise that they might over-plan side content, with the the anticipation that some of it would be cut and would be reworked into sizable meaty chunks of content that could come out later. At least this way whatever future content that they come out with, it's gone through a degree of work and refinement during the largest pre-planning stages. Just as all world builders should do, you design more than you write about.

     

    Let's not imply cutting content is a way to create "to be sold later DLC content." Let's not wax-concerns over some none-existent dubious nature of Obsidian's development.

    Please refrain from bring logic into this! You're interfering with a darn good rant. :dancing:

    • Like 2
  8. While I really liked Witcher 3, the idea that they did DLC "properly" and other studios should follow them is misguided to say the least. Most of the free dlc, was cosmetic or made really minor changes, and if they had attempted to charge for it - there would have been hell to pay. In fact, the whole free 14 pieces of dlc was quite a cynical (and successful marketing ploy). Not that I minded, it was free after all...

     

    Regarding the expansions, they were great, but no better value for money than White March.

    Exactly how the Deadfire dlc is going to turn out is all speculation at this point. I do, however find it really hard to believe that Obs are going to attempt to rip off their customers by selling sub par dlc. If nothing else, that's a incredibly bad business decision, and they have been making games long enough to understand their base.

     

    So personally while I don't like the idea of 3 small dlc packs as opposed to one large one I reckon they will work out just fine.

    • Like 4
  9. Won't wait. Like some others, my first play through is for the story, so I'd play on normal and not be fussed about balance. As long as it arrives in the same state as Pillars did, I'll be happy. If I enjoy it as much as Pillars I'll play through on harder levels, and then I'd want balance and bugs to be worked on.

    Having said that, with my internet access being as slow as it is, it's going to take a couple of days of downloading anyway, so hopefully anything completely broken will have been fixed by then!

  10. Would really like a large expansion to play after Deadfire. The problem with White March was that it was split into 2 which probably didn't help sales and took place in the middle of the game. Overall, it was a great expansion, in spite of being poorly structured. Hope these dlc's don't end up midgame. It really makes it difficult from a narrative perspective - and doesn't help the balancing....

    • Like 1
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