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Lorfean

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Everything posted by Lorfean

  1. I spent my first few hours in the History editor because I have saves from several different PoE playthroughs and can't remember all the decisions I made between them. I was impressed with the amount of options in the editor, and it was also a good way to refresh my memory re. some of the plot points / characters. I thought the opening immediately following the Caed Nua intro was very cool and I liked how choosing your history and then creating your character were tied into to it -- felt very natural. After character creation, the transition into the actual start of the game also put a smile on my face. Once I got into the actual game, it was instantly noticeable how much better everything "felt" compared to the first game. I really liked PoE, even loved parts of it, but so far Deadfire improves on it in every way. The presentation, the game systems, the pacing of both dialog and combat... I haven't gotten far enough to try ship combat, so I can't comment on that yet, but I love the world map, how open it is, and the way you explore it. I'm at work now, but can't wait to play more tonight! Edit: Not having backer NPC's everywhere (or *anywhere*, for that matter) is a massive improvement in terms of immersion... Sorry to all you backers who put effort into their stories, etc. -- it was one of the very few things I truly disliked in PoE.
  2. Do people have short memories? I'm honestly curious because part of what ruins any replays for me is basically remembering every single quest and every single outcome after I've played through before. So instead of any sense of awe, I end up reacting like, "And now he'll say this" or "And now this happens next". For me, in this case, it's like reading a good book again - you know the story, but you really enjoy the craftsmanship and as you change through your life, the things you focus on changes as well. So the story kinda evolves with you, if that makes sense? Bingo. Every couple of years I like to replay my favourite games, just as I like to re-read my favourite books. Each time you experience that world as a slightly different you. Not to say the first time isn't the best. Usually it is and I often wish I could suffer a temporary amnesia to recapture that moment. Same here. Back when I was a teenager I replayed games all the time, because 1) there simply weren't as many games coming out, and 2) GOG and Steam sales didn't exist, so you couldn't get a bunch of them on the cheap... I can't count how many times I beat Diablo, Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale, etc. back then, and I loved it! In fact, I got so bothered by the size of my backlog in recent years -- especially after I had my first child and no longer had as much time for gaming -- that I just got rid of a BUNCH of games. I started noticing that the backlog actually stopped me from replaying games that I really loved (like FO:NV) because of some twisted, compulsive sense of responsibility to first finish the games I hadn't beaten yet... So I downsized my collection significantly. I still have a decent number of titles (still too many, probably) but I've beaten the majority of them (~65%) and I've gotten a LOT more selective in my purchases. The idea is to to limit my purchases to about 1-3 games per year, and so get into a situation where I can enjoy replaying some older games every now and then. And yes, I'm a gamer who plays games to beat them -- so while cleaning out my backlog, any games I felt like I would never be motivated enough to beat, I got rid of. /confessiontime
  3. Depending on the changes required for the GoG build it could be many weeks. We probably won't have those discussions until next week, though. Once we have more information about the GoG timeline we will let the community know. This is quite disappointing, considering how the PC release was being marketed as becoming available on both platforms... Did this sneak up on you guys, or? Either way, I really enjoyed the Android version, and I'll be waiting for the GOG version too. Good luck!
  4. This is a strange sentiment to me because the design philosophy behind F:NV clearly makes it a lot more similar to Fallout, Fallout 2, and Obsidian's other titles, rather than Bethesda's stuff. The only thing it shares in common with the TES games and F3 is the engine, really. It's like saying you could never get into Planescape: Torment because of the Baldur's Gateness of it... That said, yes! IMO it's absolutely worth it. F:NV easily makes my top 5 all time favorite games and the DLC are amazing. They are also required for the jsawyer mod which makes the game feel even more like the classic Fallouts.
  5. I'm intrigued but holding off on backing for now. Partly because they're an unknown developer and I've been burned by KS one too many times, but also because the game is getting made regardless of the success / failure of this campaign, which makes it feel more like a marketing tool than anything else. I like what I'm seeing so far though. I was thinking the same. Still -- PoE fans are clearly the target audience here, so it seems like a missed opportunity to not name drop it.
  6. It seems pretty clear to me that Obsidian chose to prioritize the PoE IP, which they own and have full creative control over, instead of pursuing a licensed product. Makes sense considering PoE's success and, seeing how Deadfire managed to raise even more money and is looking f***ing amazing, I'd say they made the right call. That's not to say I wouldn't want an Obsidian Pathfinder CRPG in the future -- I'd love one -- but now is clearly not the right time. I'll be taking a wait-and-see approach to Kingmaker. I definitely want it to turn out great, but I don't know the developers and haven't played any of the games they worked on in the past, and (sadly) Chris Avellone's name is anything *but* an automatic seal of quality these days, after being attached to everyone and their grandma's projects in the past ~3 years. Let's hope they put out a solid Kickstarter campaign. That'll be the first step.
  7. They are not remaking the entire combat system -- I didn't say that and neither have they -- a lot of the core concepts are still there. The system, or specific aspects of it, were points of criticism for a lot of players though, so it makes sense that they are reviewing it en redesigning parts they feel didn't work as well, and the new party size limit was obviously born from this reevaluation. They feel that, within the refinements of the system and how it affects combat and tactics, a party of 5 works best. And right now, we're just gonna have to take their word for it. Also, thanks for acknowledging my argument. I hope it helps some of those in your camp keep a bit more of an open mind.
  8. This is pure speculation. Whether it would have been a bad idea depends on what else was changed (mechanically) between the IE releases, what they wanted to achieve in terms of encounter design, whether they cared enough to actually look into how a potential smaller party would affect the gameplay, etc. etc. Yes, the 6 character party is a staple of the IE games -- that doesn't mean it's the only answer for all party-based (or even D&D based / inspired) CRPG's, ever. This makes no sense. There is no "rebalancing the game for 5". Deadfire is a new game and for it they are designing what will essentially be the 2nd Edition of the PoE rules system, and the game will be build around that. Are you saying they should just leave the system as is? Because there has been a ton of player feedback about it over the past few years -- some of which was addressed in patches and TWM -- and they themselves have been very open about what they felt worked and didn't work. It was bound to be changed for the sequel. This is, IMO, one of the bigger misconceptions -- or at least something that the proponents of the party of 6 are overlooking too easily -- PoE and its system was designed around a party of 6 (largely for nostalgic reasons), Deadfire and its system will be designed around a party of 5 because OE feels that it will provide better, more tactical combat. There's your argument. That is what they are trying to achieve with this change and the new and improved system. And neither of us will know whether they've succeeded until the game is out. You might not like the idea of it but you can't know whether it actually is a bad idea until you play the game. They obviously didn't make the decision lightly. Some might say 5 = your choices re. party composition and character development have more weight and, as a result, are more interesting. Why not 7, 8, etc? Because it would dilute those choices, and make party / character building less interesting as you'd end up with a party that has an easy answer for nearly every situation. Also, micro-management... PoE was already heavy on this and it was a point of critique for a number of players. A larger party would make it worse. And I don't think anyone is saying that the game can't have 6 because of multi-classing being introduced. What they mean is you'll have more flexibility when developing your characters, so you might not miss that 6th character as much as you think you will. But I don't think that is what it's about for many of you party of 6 proponents...
  9. None, because they're not gonna hit 5m. We'll get sea monsters and fishing and we'll be happy with it, dammit. Though you'll be able to fish up a dwarf pirate corpse carrying an unsigned mercenary contract. Addressed to you. He had such dreams and got so close. Poor guy.
  10. I don't mind the PoE system, but I know I enjoyed IWD, BG and BG2's itemization more, which I guess means that I prefer the ~*feeling*~ of replacing my equipment to continuously enchanting the same items over and over throughout the course of the game. And this new, more restricted approach seems like it might bring PoE2 itemization closer to the way things felt in those IE games, which is a positive in my book. *shrug* Then again, I'm not a power gamer or min maxer so I guess I don't feel you guys' pain.
  11. I get where you're coming from and it's a nice idea, but IMO not every feature needs a lore explanation and I prefer the practicality of the current implementation. It makes sense to have it in the same window where you hire adventurers, rest, sell your xaurip spears, etc. I also think a cut scene would get tedious.
  12. Well, for PoE they decreased the amount of "trash" fights around patch 3.0, didn't they? I'm replaying the game right now and, if I were to look at the IE games for comparison, I feel it's no worse than what we got in BG or IWD and nowhere near as bad as IWD2. And I'm fine with that. That said, based on the devs' comments, I expect PoE2 to be closer to BG2 in this regard and have less trash fights and more unqiue / scripted encounters. Edit: and yes, I agree that TWM was much better in terms of encounter design, though I don't think the overall number of fights per area was any lower than post-3.0 PoE.
  13. I can imagine some players finding Durance unsettling, or being uncomfortable with him. Hiravias is a more straightforward "rude in a funny way" kind of character.
  14. Tbh I am not even sure if you're being serious, but if you are... Just... No. Good God. Also, Rogue = pick-pocket might be a bit of an over-simplification, don't you think? Her current concept works just fine. Interesting background, a class combination that fits said background, and a solid motivation for being in the region. From the initial Sidekick update: From Obsidian's Instagram:
  15. Agreed, Sagani is super chill. Not to mention married with five kids, you bunch of homewreckers on page 1! Anyone trying to either sacrifice her, or make a pass at her, deserves a Takedown by Itumaak followed by a Wounding Shot to their crotch. As for the OP -- If I understand your first paragraph correctly, you want companions to have a "type" or certain characteristics / behavior that they are attracted to, instead of just bunking up with anyone and everyone Mass Effect-style? I agree and I believe that is a big part of what the relationship system will do, with the big difference compared to your usual CRPG relationships being that they are not limited to just being romantic / sexual. Which will be great. I strongly disagree with your second paragraph -- companions should never be designed as "conventionally attractive" just for the sake of pleasing an imagined part of the player base. When you go down that road you're only a few turns away from BioWare-like ego-stroking shenanigans, and that's the last thing I want in my Obsidian games. Look -- in real life, beauty isn't only skin deep, and relationships succeed and fail based so many more factors than just appearance. Relationships are complicated and that is exactly why (from what I've read) Obsidian haven't really attempted them before. Because they feel the way they have been done in other CRPG's up to this point doesn't fit their style. And I agree. This system has a lot of potential though, and I'm excited to see how it turns out.
  16. Yeah it's a shame paypal wasn't available sooner for the potential backers who have no other methods available. I'm guessing at least some of those will have forgotten about the game by now and will end up not pledging (especially if they're just "casual" fans). As for reaching all the stretch goals -- I guess it depends on how long they'll keep the paypal and slacker backer doors open. 4.5m seems inevitable, 4.75 is the one I personally really hope they'll hit, and 5m... I wouldn't mind it too much if they didn't hit that, tbh. They have talked a *lot* about how much time and resources it takes to properly develop companions and now, with the relationships system, that process becomes even more complex. I really like the 7 companions we have and would prefer that group getting all the attention they need. I don't mind Ydwin -- and I think the outcry over her anime / waifu "qualities" or whatever is kind of ridiculous -- but I wouldn't mind her just staying a sidekick. Though I'm afraid that, because of all the noise, Obsidian will feel like they *have* to make her a full-fledged companion... Meh.
  17. I liked the tone of PoE and the humor that was there usually made me chuckle -- but it all comes down to personal taste of course. One thing I am pretty confident in is that they won't take it to BG or F2 levels in terms of silliness and references. Carrie's comment of "this isn't dead baby world anymore" was immediately followed by sth along the lines of "but we're not gonna go full Baldur's Gate either". Seems a pretty clear indication of their preferences. And, really, the BG games were super campy. I liked it as a teenager, and I'm used to it as part of that series, but nowadays I prefer the more mature tone Obsidian tends to go for in their games. KotOR2 and F:NV (OWB and the Wild Wasteland stuff aside) were similar in that regard -- more mature, intelligent, sophisticated, whatever you want to call it -- and you can still have humor in games like that, without going campy or silly.
  18. Edér is a total bro and one of the faces of the franchise, so no, he should never be downgraded to sidekick. Why would you want Cadegund anyway? The whole Priest of Magran thing was done in an awesome way through Durance -- no need to go there again...
  19. Yeah, I don't get the sci-fi complaint either -- it's not like she is the only soul-bound-to-an-inanimate-object you encounter and there is a ton of lore and even questlines involving this concept and its practices. I thought she fit the setting. I also liked her as a character and thought she was excellently voice-acted, so yeah -- I'm gonna enjoy having her along for the ride. I understand your issues with her implementation though -- or rather, the stronghold upgrades system. It did feel a bit like a mobile app / mini game and I also would have preferred a more realistic / involved way of doing things. It didn't bother me *that* much though *shrug*. And who's to say that the implementation is gonna be the same in Deadfire? Maybe you can only talk to her / upgrade your ship when you're actually on the ship? That would make a huge difference already. Would be nice to have some more information on her role and how they're planning to do do ship upgrades, etc.
  20. I get it -- I haven't bought any of their "enhanced editions" either, and i dont plan to. Even ignoring all the things they did to the IE games that I disagree with, they just don't sit well with me as a company, so it's a principle thing for me too. Though I was lucky enough to have gotten the classics on GOG years ago, when they launched them... I have to wonder if removing the classics from their store was part of Beamdog's demands for them selling their games -- it seems out of character for GOG, especially because the fanbase is clearly quute devided on the EE's.
  21. @Sking I imagine there might be more, smaller, fixes in the future, but can this be considered the final patch for PoE in terms of gameplay / balance changes? I've been waiting with my second playthrough for the "final" version of the game
  22. Obvious question maybe, but did you save the campaign (s) after changing the party limit?
  23. ​1. This is partly due to the difference between isometric 2.5D and full 3D -- meaning facial details are basically wasted in a game like PoE because the only place you get to enjoy them is the level up screen, and even there they're not super close up -- and partly (or maybe even largely) budgetary / resource constraints which, you might be forgetting, is where PoE and your average AAA title are on completely different ends of the spectrum. 2. PoE does this to a certain extend by having different starting armor and weapons depending on the region you chose, which is a nice detail IMO. Monocles, eye patches, etc. would (again) be wasted details in a 2.5D isometric game, though really IMO there *is* actually a very nice amount of variety in the looks of the gear you can find and especially the rarer pieces look extremely good. I have to say though, the more I wrote here the more I felt it was kind of ridiculous to compare these two games. Not just because they're vastly different games in terms of what you do, how you obtain gear, etc. but also because PoE is a kickstarted indie title and XCOM 2 is a full blown AAA sequel to a very successful game. The differences in budget, team size and resources is astronomical, man... It's not fair to compare them. Let alone poll them like you did.
  24. Not sure if you're trolling but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. Multiplayer was nowhere near the biggest draw in the IE games -- story, exploration, combat, companions and graphics are the main features most people point out when talking about the appeal of these games. MP was a bonus. Some people reply enjoyed it, yes, but it was never a focus or main feature. It was for the NWN series. Not for the IE games.
  25. Yeah, because Obsidian always makes down to earth companions... Seriously -- soul constructs were a central theme in several important questlines in Defiance Bay, and there were also multiple encounters with characters who'd had their soul transported into inanimate objects like statues, thrones, etc. A companion like this is a great fit for the setting *and* for Obsidian's track record.
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