Gromnir

am sad that folks so frequent attribute the entirety o' poe balance issues to josh. from what little we know, tim cain had considerable (equal?) input regarding combat and mechanics issues, and we bet that many other folks at obsidian has had significant contributions. do a disservice to the rest o' obsidians to pretend that josh handcrafted poe. josh is visible and responsive, so he is the piñata for old skool ire? *snort* over the years, we suspect that few folks has been as tough on josh as has Gromnir, but we don't understand the tendency to act as if obsidian and poe design decisions were josh decisions. josh is more mature these days, so is unlikely to happen, but in the past, if he got angry or frustrated, josh might vent a bit on boards such as these. sure, he spent considerable effort defending HoW and IWD2 design choices 'cause that is what a good team member is 'posed to do. older and more mature josh knows that you don't throw the rest o' the team under the bus, no matter how disappointed you might be personally. that being the case, in the distant past, josh would forget the team for a moment and do his best brandon marshall impersonation. in those less dignified moments, we got a glimpse o' how josh felt 'bout working with wotc or his regret regarding shortcuts taken during HoW development. *shrug* josh is visible, so he personal takes heat for obsidian design choices. fine. we get it. even so, it continues to surprise us that folks seem to believe that poe balance were josh's balance. is weird. HA! Good Fun! ps please fix those "known" 3.0 issues sooner rather than later. we ain't played the game for months, but our all-priest party is much hampered by the complete fail o' seal spells for 3.0.

am not talking o' the same thing. anybody who inhales any kinda smoke will suspect that there is something harmful happening. in spite o' movie star ads, we bet that many folks knew smoking were bad for endurance n' such. even so, folks were successful kept in the dark for many decades that the tobacco industry were aware o' a link between smoking and disease of heart and lung as well as various cancers. HA! Good Fun!

am thinking the research hurt itself by including global warming. much like debate over the flatness of earth, there were pretty darn compelling scientific evidence that the earth were roughly spherical as 'posed to being carried 'pon the back o' an enormous turtle... or whatever. the thing is, many folks refused to accept the science or were more convinced by the notion o' four elephants and a turtle supporting terra firma. is not that the scientists were active trying to hide the truth from folks. actual educated folks knew truth and tried to educate their peers for centuries. were no conspiracy (edit: well, the Church mighta been indulging in conspiracy, but even after they relinquished, folks still held to flat earth beliefs.) quite the contrary. also, given how dismissive we is of most conspiracy nut jobs, and the russian media, we hate to bring up tobacco dangers as an alternative. the tobacco industry did a pretty impressive job o' keeping their secret, and is not like vw and their emission shenanigans were exposed 'cause folks inside vw couldn't keep a secret. tobacco's dirty and deadly secret were effective kept for decades. tobacco industry knew o' dangers but pretended otherwise. vw were caught much quicker than tobacco industry, but again, the secret were successful kept by vw while 3rd parties independent discovered the malfeasance. *shrug* am general in agreement that large conspiracies is mighty unlikely. nevertheless, there is evidence that such stuff is possible. HA! Good Fun!

if we were a bit closer to march 17, we woulda' suggested that what you likely saw were two drunken irishmen who fell in the river while arguing 'bout... well, anything. a chaotic mass o' flailing limbs and bloated, moon-pale flesh? could indeed looks like a smallish kraken. HA! Good Fun!

Have you ever considered taking online courses? I've looked into it. Classes in the engineering disciplines are rare in online only education I'm finding. So far I haven't found a sing accredited school that offers a full BS in any of the engineering fields without some classroom or labs. There are a few that offer a MS but the fields of study are pretty narrow. am understanding that the lack of online is bad for you, but we find it reassuring that at least engineering has not succumb to the digital trend o' other disciplines. HA! Good Fun!

as the reviewer notes, torment's numenera is a much more colorful place than were ps:t's sigil and the planes. "torment is feeling much like ps:t, without the ubiquitous gray infused color palette... which we inexplicable miss. (minor aside: in spite o' having new engine and updated visuals, we preferred the ps:t aesthetic. torment is a bit more eclectic than were ps:t, which ain't bad, but the art o' ps:t more effective enhanced mood.)" as an aside, am thinking mike morgan, who also is known for the fallouts as well as ps:t, might not have been our choice o' composer for torment. the torment music is very similar to what we got in ps:t, and the atmosphere it creates is kinda in contrast with the visuals, but am betting most would disagree with us. HA! Good Fun!

I've been where you are, I hope you're past the point of no return. so, how many times have you been past the point o' no return? HA! Good Fun!

bruce, as odd as it sounds, this is one case where we would recommend wikis or similar such. find a source that gives you broad stroke outline of the setting and the mechanics, but don't delve too much. torment does a few things different, and that ain't necessarily bad. nevertheless, there is a tendency to favor source material if that is how you learned of mechanics and rules... 'least that is our experience. unless you is serious about playing pnp, just use wiki. HA! Good Fun!

You can't, white males are extinct (this is also true to every other skin-color/ethnicity - gender combination that exist today). Although some could argue that main protagonist look quite bit like white male/female Are you being serious ? I have to be honest I don't consider you as someone who jokes a lot .... Why would they make white, males extinct ? torment is set a billion (or some such silliness) years in future. "caucasian" is therefore meaningless. HA! Good Fun!

the team's win record hardly establishes manning effectiveness. the cardinals won 11 games last year in spite of having the second worst rushing attack in football. andre ellington were 9-2 in those full games he played... for the year he had 3tds, 2 fumbles, and he averaged 3.3 yds per carry. he were in danger o' being benched near every week til he got injured. manning had the 5th or 6th worst qbr in football. denver were effective frequent in spite of manning because defense were that good. HA! Good Fun!

not much consensus save on a few points: is buggy as a beta would be expected to be. combat needs work. ... beyond that, you is gonna get much disagreement. the protagonist appearance can be customized only through gear and choice of sex, which disappoints most folks, if for different reasons. similarly, some folks are disappointed with absence o' visual uniqueness o' the joinable companions. some says torment is too much like ps:t. other folks says torment is not near enough like ps:t. the game appears to be highly responsive to your character development choices such that you will get different dialogue options if you built your character different. the thing is, folks disagree as to whether those additional and different choices is meaningful. some folks like where story seems to be going. others is disappointed. is not dark or grim enough? is too easy? the companions is too sjw (am not joking, that is a serious complaint we seen 'cause there were no obvious caucasian male joinable thus far.) is... too early for us to see much consensus. our feel regarding a general overall impression is that most testers seems to be somewhere between grudging optimistic and optimistic. is few folks overjoyed, but is also few who loathe the beta thus far. *shrug* sorry we can't give more insight insofar as consensus on the good, bad and the ugly o' torment... save that combat need alotta work, and is predictable buggy. HA! Good Fun!

If you mean that boy, he was looking escaping somebody and looking his friend But I believe that most stuff related to him has been cut from beta or not yet implemented. Of course it is always possible that they will not do anything more with him, but those lines that you learn with mind read would imply that there is at least bit more planned for him. you gotta understand that 'cause ps:t is such a sacred cow to some folks that you will not get genuine and honest discussion. too much hand holding and signposting is the flaws o' torment compared to ps:t? point out that ps:t did as much/more hand holding will avail you not. is no longer the degree o' hand holding that is the sin, but the motivations o' the helpers that distinguish torment from ps:t... even if such ps:t motivations were not revealed til end game or were depending on inference rather than writer contribution. is many games that spark this kinda reaction. try and discuss balance issues with a true believer fallout fan. discuss some o' the ridiculous plot holes with a true believer bg fan. am not understanding such game fascination, but is a phenomenon common to crpgs in particular. you managed to get to a point where the complaint is no longer that torment did more hand holding and signposting but rather that subjective appreciation o' motivations makes ps:t's significant signposting and handholding qualitative different. call it a win. HA! Good Fun!

people is Not forgetting manning injuries. exact opposite. injuries and age is the reasons given for manning's drop in ability. hell, comments 'bout age is inextricable linked to injury as older players do not recover as quick from the ordinary and predictable every-game hits that occur on sundays. is not lack of will. is not lack of knowledge, but physically he is not what he was, and that is why his stats for the year were terrible. is not that his qb stats were a bit off. manning were one of the least effective qbs in the league this year. heck, manning qb rating for year were 67.9... which were his worst ever, including his 3-13 rookie campaign in which he threw 28 interceptions. manning had a number of good games this year. we got no doubt that if the planets align, manning can still squeeze out a game in which he plays not bad. unfortunately, predicting the old and injured manning's good games is like predicting a lightning strike. lightning hit v. detroit... and green bay. heck, with the way the denver defense has played, manning hasn't needed to play anything other than competent, and even that has been too much to ask much o' the year. if the broncos win this year, it will because the defense were fantastic and because manning managed to play relative mistake free. manning will deserve to hoist another lombardi if the broncos win. that being said, is more than a few games that the broncos won this year in spite of manning's qb performances. the super bowl is unlikely to be one such game. HA! Good Fun!

speaking as a former d1 db, more than a few denver receiver drops this year were attributable to peyton's weak passes and the changes in qbs. the qb changes likely need no explanation as qb and wr timing is a well known aspect o' the football passing game, yes? however, while less publicized, the wobbly and slow motion manning passes not only made interceptions more likely, but such passes made receivers far more likely to be on the receiving end of filling rattling hits. catching a football is more 'bout concentration than anything else. is so much more difficult for a receiver to catch passes from weak qbs 'cause the receivers is fully aware that the fraction o' a second difference between strong and weak passes is all a decent safety needs to posterize a guy. as a receiver, how could you not have head on a swivel? example o' what it musta been like to be on receiving end of manning passes most o' the year. this year, any receiver for denver deserved a hazard pay bonus. HA! Good Fun!

no, it weren't actual Gromnir that brought up the qualities you mention. others did... though am not seeing significance o' who were first regardless. we observed that finding torment on the short end o' such comparisons were a mistake. you disagreed. and off we we went. it seems you do wanna talk 'bout ps:t after all. whenever somebody says they don't wanna talk... HA! Good Fun!

you think self paranoid for such thoughts? Gromnir sees eventual merger of microsoft and disney as ultimate inevitable, leading to near monopoly o' popular entertainment, tech and culture in much of west. Disnesoft, unlike illuminati, will not need hide. a cyberpunk nightmare realized. am only sorta kidding. HA! Good Fun!

yesterday we had some folks we know from chicago genuine angry with us 'cause we observed that the best keilbasi/kielbasa we had eaten in the US were not from a polish place anywhere in chicago. the suggestion that anyplace other than one o' the well-known polish shops w/i cook county could produce the bestest kielbasi offended sensibilities... sorta reminded us o' the ny v. chicago pizza thing. am doubting many is genuine curious, but our all-time #1 for kielbasi in USA is from https://www.facebook.com/NanticokeKielbasa/ they do ship and their prices is actual reasonable. HA! Good Fun! ps if you is ever in plymouth, pa in august (why would you do such a thing?) we recommend the kielbasa festival... seriously, a festival for kielbasi. http://www.plymouthalive.org/kielbasafestinfo.html

well, am moderate surprised. is not like we thought that this ne team were world beaters, but after the last couple games by ne and denver, we didn't expect a broncos win. congrats. that being said, am thinking whoever wins nfc is gonna be a major favorite. HA! Good Fun!

*snip* am also not gonna take much further save to note that you are seeming arguing backwards. you distinguish the ps:t companions by noting that you don't understand their rasion for helpfulness 'til later in game. am gonna disagree, but even if that were the case, it should make the ps:t handholding even less subtle rather than better. the torment companions has reasonable and plausible motivations right from the start... which makes more sense. if handholding and signposting is a crpg sin, then have random folks helping you for no discernable reason is somehow better? example: the ravel incarnations exist, in large part, to hold your hand. ei-vene, mebbeth, marta and ravel herself are unapologetic signposting and handholding. we liked ravel very much, but if there is a complaint to be made about signposting and handholding, her incarnations are a terrible perpetrator o' such flaws. also, while we will not spoil, from our pov, there is as much mystery in torment protagonist and companion motivations as were in ps:t. again, am very limited as we will not risk spoiling, but am finding difficult to embrace your pov. the main difference we has seen is that at least initial plausible motivations for joinable companions exist in torment, which were clear lacking in many/most ps:t companions. similarly, distinguish specialness o' snowflake also strike us as peculiar. undead and zombie-like is unappealing, and therefore less offensive to you? that is a question rather than condemnation. am honest trying to figure out the rationale. being an incarnation o' the lord o' murder is a negative, or so we assume, thus we would guess that it don't offend your aesthetic, but we cannot say. am not sure where revan and commander shepard would rank. more objective, tno is the most static o' all, so the story is by necessity more his story than any other o' the examples we has given. is a he with very little opportunity for physical customization, and entire game is spent uncovering tno past as well as writing your own (albeit fixed) story. is necessarily static. however, if is only a matter o' grimdark appeal, then we s'pose lord o' murder scion would be most dark while commander shepard would be most appealing? but again, to distinguish this way is very touchy-feely and subjective and we honest cannot predict how any other game protagonist would be ranked. regardless, use ps:t as the example o' how to do such stuff better and different strikes us as a bit curious. ps:t handholding and special snowflake aspects is very similar to torment. is to quibble o'er slight differences in shades of gray rather than identifying a complete different color palette. HA! Good Fun! ps for sake of full disclosure, we has stated many times that ps:t is our favorite crpg, but that it were a game with many flaws. all too often we has seen folks attempt to explain ps:t flaws as strengths, which strikes us as unnecessary. ps:t were a great game, but it did many things poorly... starting with combat, balance, clumsy navel-gazing, etc.

have not played poe since release o' white march. we refused to play half an expansion as we felt such would be impossible for us to judge fair. so, white march I and II is at top of our list. torment xcom 2 (will wait six months post release) swtor new chapters... though interest is waning. we would add me: andromeda, but we ain't yet worked up the will to play da:i. as is our habit for non-crowdfunding games, we wait to pay. for bioware releases, we now hold off 'til game of the year release becomes available. got goty da:i for under $30 in december o' 2015. am suspecting we do similar for me:andromeda. HA! Good Fun!

once every six month or so we check out one of these gamergate threads to see if there is anything new happening. no such luck. we will once again make two points and then disappear, kinda like swallows o' capistrano. sadly, we will be back at some point, if only to take a peek. 1) naivete am not sure why anybody takes game journalism serious. is the pro wrestling o' journalism. gamers rose up in anger when they discovered that game journalism were not maintaining any real ethical standards? sudden discover that the personal and business relationships game journalists got is affecting their reviews and stories? do some o' the unwashed gamers also still believe in elves, gremlins and eskimos? we do not understand the hoopla. makes no sense to us anymore than discovery that a particular pro wrestler uses hgh. 2) distraction am admitted annoyed by many o' the sjw crowd and the gg crowd as well. on its face, the original gamergate cause should have nothing to do with sjw issues. nevertheless, in this day and age, everything becomes a sjw issue. regardless o' initial point o' contention, one o' the underprivileged will be the target o' misogynist or racist comments, at which point the initial issue (as pointless as it were in this case) will be lost. is an annoying predictable outcome in the current generation and gg and sjw folks is equal complicit. the gg folks, as a whole, did not comport themselves with much dignity. should come as no surprise that the admitted liberal media reacted poorly to gg given how much hate and vitriol were being spewed. should gg be judged as a whole 'cause o' the actions o' a loud minority o' miscreants and reprobates 'mongst their ranks? wake up. it's 2016 and that is the way the world works. if were only a small handful o' folks on the furthest flung edges o' al gore's interweb frothing and clawing like a tangle o' rabid squirrels, most sane folks would dismiss such nonsense. unfortunately, as the internet provides a certain anonymity and insulation, those rabid and squirrelly misogynists and racists were all too common. gg were a collection o' individuals. as such, there were no obvious way to reign in the more extreme, and all too common, elements o' the movement. that being said, we got equal derision for the sjw folks who happily turned the game journalism issue into a platform to promote their own agendas. ... as a minority, am am gonna concede that we initial feeling some sympathy for many sjw causes. other than the true psychopaths amongst us, we all have some level o' natural empathy, yes? should be axiomatic that is easier to empathize with people who has similar backgrounds to our own... people who endured similar problems. ... the problem for Gromnir is that we feel like we have little common ground with the current sjw crowd. anita sarkeesian and manveer heir doesn't have backgrounds similar to Gromnir. we did not come from a similar place. we did not fight similar battles. am admitting that we is slight embarrassed by such folks even if we is compelled to fight for their right to speak. racism and misogyny exist in 2016 US, but the battles o' the sjw involved in the gg fight stain the real issues. there is indeed still a legacy o' systemic racism that makes life more difficult for the average american black man than for the average white man. and yeah, in some professions and fields, women doesn't get same opportunities as men, even in 2016. that being said, it takes a special kinda idiot to believe that reducing the size o' b00bies in video games will make easier for women who is striving to become chief o' surgery at the John H. Stroger, Jr. hospital of cook county. have the new "commander shepherd" for mass effect 4 be a latino man or a black woman will not make one bit o' difference for the indian guy who is trying to get a loan from the bank. yell "racist" at every guy who likes mass effect 3 or label any man who enjoyed tomb raider as misogynist is not helping the cause o' minorities and women. but again, is all so pointless, and six months from now we will be back to see if anything has changed. gl. am not certain what the fight is even about anymore, but am certain that we is mildly embarrassed by the pervasive... silliness. HA! Good Fun! ps the eskimos reference were an admitted obscure nod to the simpsons.

*chuckle* is our habit to at least initial respond to posts rather than people. some folks take too personal... or so it seems. (we could link earlier posts in this thread as examples.) nevertheless, if we keep see posts mistaken attribute qualities to a game, we will respond, but only as long as there seems to be a point in doing so. we honest didn't give a thought to nonek personal over last few pages save for once when perplexed by his seeming misuse o' "hand holding." we is quite happy to keep impersonal if he wishes to return to such a dynamic. HA! Good Fun! ps we would avoid spoilers if at all possible. is bad form to share specific details 'bout beta.

as torment is intended to appeal to the ps:t fans, am not surprised by the comparisons. unfortunately, as ps:t is an old and well-loved game, it is not remembered for what it actual did well... and what it did poorly is typical forgotten. for example in the mortuary alone, morte, dhal, ei-vene and deionarra all provide you with help and/or direction. by the time you leave the mortuary you know about pharod and your many deaths and dozens o' other details. "And PST was better at making the player the center of the story while tying everything in without making it obvious." ... in ps:t you are playing tno, who is the protagonist o' a crpg. your face, his face, is on the box. ps:t, more than any other ie game, were having a story tied to a relative static protagonist, and there were never any doubt that ps:t were his story. ignore the multitude o' npcs in the game who instant recognize you or the plethora o' necessary coincidences? stale mary just happening to be able to teach you to speak with dead and willing to give you entrance to silent king throne while you is in dead nations? how many more examples o' coincidence do you wish? and there were nothing subtle 'bout the way tno were made pivotal to ps:t. am not having an issue if folks want less handholding in their crpgs, or wish that the protagonist story be less integral (ala iwd) but to use ps:t as the example o' how such stuff is done different or better is more than a little peculiar. ps:t is a relative "linear" game that has you following chrisA's tno story from start to finish. regardless o' your intent or desire for ps:t story, you is following in the footsteps o' tno and you is uncovering parts o' his past. the shortcomings some is seeing in torment likely exist because torment is too close replicating ps:t. bothered by crpg stories that focus on a highly defined protagonist who is a special snowflake? ignore that ps:t is such a game is inexplicable. HA! Good Fun!

well, because shady's love o' star trek is a pure and eternal phenomenon, whenever we hear sabotage on these boards, we think star trek. go figure. couldn't they find a kid with natural blond hair? and 'cause beastie boys is somehow inextricably a star trek thing... HA! Good Fun!

am suspecting that this topic has been addressed any number o' times in any number of threads. http://forums.obsidian.net/topic/66060-update-76-music-in-pillars-of-eternity/?p=1440492 HA! Good Fun!