Let's call a Spade a Spade, the dialogue in this game is not good...

[Verde]

I hate to say this because I appreciate all the effort put into full VA, and all the different variables, but it doesn't seem like Obsidian played through the game. This is why:

 

1. Quest resolutions / decisions - really obvious dialogue choices are not present or require a weird work around. In many situations you can go into length about a subject and then get the introductory dialogue, which is required to complete a quest.

 

2. Who are THESE PEOPLE?! Omg if I have to look up another person I haven't met but I'm referencing in dialogue, I'm going to lose it. So I don't know Alkemyr but I can talk to Concelhaut about him. I don't know the former chief of the Tikawana tribe, but I can go into detail about him with various people.

 

3. Why can't I tell key people things? It seems that doing quests in a different order than intended really screws with them. Uziako for example you can learn quite a bit about in varying paths but doesn't seem like you can bring it up with key people.

 

4. Sure, everything at face value - so you can't challenge Eder or Xoti or Palli or really anyone much on their beliefs. Same with the Gods. Sure a few dialogue options here and there, but for a game with focus on Gods and religion it sure sidesteps most of these question. Palli - your precious company is a bunch of soul-sucking slave traders, but oh well.

 

So anyway needed to vent after returning for a second playthrough. Maybe you feel different but it's been nagging at me.

Edited June 18, 2018 by Verde

[Wormerine]

I think I can agree with most of your complains. I avoided most of issues raised in point 2&3 as I didn't explore areas I didn't have quest for. There was once instance when I was praised for doing something I didnt do just yet. Opening the world so much is fine, but you need to design around it - allow quests to start in the middle and adjust dialogue to reflect it. Or somehow gate access to certain areas if its impossible.

Point 4 - yeah, i feel they went very BG2 style, which overall I like, but as those are more challenging characters it felt very off not to raise certain issues, especially, never being able to mention to Xoti what I think about Gods, or what I know about Gods. Again, why do I play as a Watcher, if events of PoE1 have little to no bearing on the sequels story?

 

EDIT. At the same time I am currently doing my 2nd playthrough and I find myself enjoying certain encounters much more now. Maybe expectations? Maybe because I am roleplaying less and I am exploring dialogue trees to their fullest instead of saying what my character would say. Oh, Aloth's made up background story was so funny. 

Edited June 18, 2018 by Wormerine

[Verde]

I totally get this could be my expectations or lack of patience, or maybe I missed some things. But otherwise I see this items pop up consistently and it's frustrating because it is an enjoyable and ultimate very playable game.

[Mari]

I completely agree.

 

I really screwed myself by, you know, exploring the open world they gave us. I can only assume I missed a lot of dialogue by doing quests out of order because lots of things made no sense. Like, during the trial of Castol, Governor Alvari acts like I will support her when I only talked to her once? Also the whole thing with Alkemyr. The whole convo with him if you kill Concelhaut first is so bad. Why even create an open world if players are forced to do a linear path in order to not break the quests???

[Verde]

Killing Concelhaut first completely broke the quest for me. The journal entry said meet Alk in his study, but he was in his basement staring at his pool like an idiot, with no dialogue. I couldn't even select the pool. So I slaughtered his weak butt and got some decent goodies haha.

Edited June 18, 2018 by Verde

[Celan]

I had that bug- encountered Concelhaut first and my character said "Arkemyr sent me" even though I hadn't encountered Arkemyr at all. Later I got a message to meet Arkemyr. Found him in his basement and had a strange interaction with a pool then got a quest from him. I had no idea what was going on.

 

This isn't really "bad dialogue," though, it's continuity bugs. I thought the dialogue was good, though often frustrating with companions specifically.

[Tick]

As Celan said, it's not bad dialogue.  The dialogue itself is well written, smart, usually pretty reactive and usually allows you to make a variety of different responses/interactions based on temperament.  It is kind of messy continuity.  One of the bigger issues with the game mechanically.  I love that they tried to make the game let you do anything, no matter where you go first, but the implementation needs some fixing, and the quests might need some more reactivity based on what you've done around them.

[Verde]

You're right. It's the continuity not the quality of the writing.

[Wormerine]

I wonder if Obsidian took "PoE1 is too restrictive" to literally. Sometimes feedback you get isn't exatly the feedback you need. White March is a fairly restrictive enviroment as well, yet I never felt constrained or felt desire for more freedom - it gave me well constructed areas and quest with enough ways to approaching them.

I remember W3 did a pretty good job with reactive quests, were many quests you could activate from the middle and game would adjust - complete a monster hunt with no quest giver by simply stumbling on it, and Geralt would say "someone in the nearest camp must be willing to pay me for slaying that thing".

Similarly, after doing the Concelthaut quest the game should adjust too: "I am sure Arkemyr might want to hear about it". Fixing that would take a lot of examination of each quest, and doing programing/writing/recording to support it. 

[OldViking]

Point 4 is what pisses me really off.

There is not even an illusion of choice in this game. I can't call my companions out for behaving like an idiot>Edér, like an stupid religious zealot>Xoti, Pallegina dares to threaten me,

if i not solve a problem peacefully and i can not response? I can't shut up Edér when he goes all creepy with Iselmyr? The list goes on.

 

Smells like the writers are protecting their pets.

 

Edit: That is the reason why i don't take any of the cast with me and rather make my own adventurers

Edited June 19, 2018 by OldViking

[AeonsLegend]

What annoys me the most is that when you are having a talk with someone and you are presented with 6 answers, 5 of those are the same.

[OldViking]

What annoys me the most is that when you are having a talk with someone and you are presented with 6 answers, 5 of those are the same.

Reminds me of a certain game from Bugthesda...

[Verde]

So went back to Port Maje and everyone reacted nicely to me returning. Loved it! That's the warm fuzzy feeling I hope for when progress is made