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Your PoE Pros and Cons: 5 and 5


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Howdy!  Returning forum member here.  I haven't followed the game much at all over the last year, aside from skimming a few of the updates.  So, I'd like to know how the game is shaping up, from your perspective.  (Whether you are just some guy on a forum, a backer, a moderator, or even one of the devs!)

 

Please post five things you are excited about/looking forward to in P of E, and five things you're not excited about/wish would be done differently/disappointed were cut/etc.

You must post five of each or you're a bad person.  Critics must post five things that don't look bad along with their complaints, and supporters must post five things that don't seem perfect along with their praise.

 

Please keep each "bullet point" to about thirty words or less in your list.  You may elaborate with longer footnotes at the end of your post.  Also feel free to include links to pertinent threads that go into detail on a given subject.

 

Please also limit your observations to the game itself, not stuff like you hate Steam or you shouldn't have to pay shipping for your collector's box or you don't like the projected release date.  For this thread, we are only interested in opinions about the actual game.

 

I'll give some of mine as examples ... bear in mind that I'm ill-informed, so ...

 

Zombra's Pros

  • Class balance looks incredible.  Controlling a party with such diverse abilities and different strengths and weaknesses looks fascinating.
  • All the stronghold stuff looks very well thought out and fun.
  • The conversation "reputation" system looks exciting; it looks like I can establish a very distinct personality for my PC.
  • Bottomless inventory.  Seriously, this is huge.
  • In the Infinity games, I tended to get kind of sick of all the combat.  PoE looks like it will be far more engaging.

Zombra's Cons

  • The world is an original setting, but they apparently passed up the chance to have truly exotic or "fantastic" PC races and cultures.
  • I remember reading that every class type uses magical soul powers.  Sometimes I prefer characters who hate magic and refuse to use it.
  • The whole soul thing in general.  It's the lynchpin of this new setting, but will I think it's cool or silly?
  • Strong character and combat systems are great, but they mean nothing if the activities in the game are boring.  I don't really know how I'll be spending my time once I'm actually playing.
  • Last time I saw the UI, it looked pretty dated and ugly.  I'm worried that there will be lots of mouse clicking and not enough keyboard shortcuts.
     

Now yours!  Begin!

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Oh crap. He's gone and said the B word.

 

*takes cover* :)

 

Hmmmm, I'll have to think. So many things (at least in pros) to just pick 5.

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Should we not start with some Ipelagos, or at least some Greater Ipelagos, before tackling a named Arch Ipelago? 6_u

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Oh crap. He's gone and said the B word.

Indeed he has. Erroneously, though, so we'll give it a pass. He seems to be defining Balance as a synonym for diversity, which it's not. But Diversity is always a good thing in an RPG, while Balance can often times suck all the soul and replayability out of an RPG.

 

 

Anyway, my list.

 

Pros

 

1)Party makeup choice - It's unusually vast for a game in 2014. 11 classes and 6 races, with the added option to manually build an entire party of 6 via the Adventurer's hall. Can't ask for much better than that!

 

2) Absolutely stunning area maps. The ones we've seen at least. So right from the get-go we're given something tangible to point to that even the most die-hard of the "old-schoolers" agree is a definite improvement from the Infinity engine games.

 

3) Scripted events screens - They make the little pen and paper D&D nerd in me squee whenever I see them.

 

4) A relatively low-medium level campaign. 12th level is the cap? That's perfect. Higher than BG1's constricting level 8-9 cap, and lower than BG2's crazy level 40 cap. I'll take it!

 

5) The fully customizable/toggleable difficulty settings and options. As they describe it, you can virtually pick and choose just about every single gameplay detail you want and don't want. I really appreciate that and often wonder why more games don't do this.

 

 

 

Cons

 

1) No multi-classing. Yes, yes, yes, I know that they did their best to make each individual class as customizable and open ended as they could, but lets face it. there's just no substitute for the real thing. One of the features that made the IE games so breathtakingly replayable, even more than a Decade after the fact, is that there was virtually no limits to build choices.

 

2) The Bottomless Inventory. It stinks of the modern dumb-down disease. RPGs are supposed to be all about choice and consequence and inventory limits are a part of that. For example, If you create a party of really (physically) weak characters, -or- if your party only consists of 1 or 2 characters, you should NOT be able to haul around as much loot as a full party of strong-backed warriors. Period. I am disappointed that Obsidian has decided that "ease of use" has to trump simple reality on this one.

 

3) No EXP for killing stuff. This is an issue that I was initially on the fence about, but the more I began thinking about it over the past year, the more I've grown to dislike it. This will be a combat-centric game with a 15 level mega dungeon, and they've decided to eliminate one of the key motivators for engaging in combat: EXP rewards. Imagine the ramifications: You're out exploring the wilderness and you come across a pack of really tough Bears. It's a long and drawn out fight. You're forced to use up valuable consumables and your per-day talents. You eventually emerge victorious. Congratulations. You're rewarded with.... NOTHING. No EXP. But here, have some bear pelts (basic crafting components) for your trouble. Rejoice!

 

4) Stamina = Health, and Health = Health. A bizarre attempt to please modern gamers who are used to seeing their bars go back up instantly after a fight, while at the same time, trying to please the IE game fans who believe that you should have to rest to regain lost health. So lets make a system that incorporates both concepts simultaneously. The end result is an overly convoluted brain-sore that requires a lot of explanation and creative redefining of the word "stamina" in order to make any sense.

 

5) Rogues = Heavy Hitters. I'm open minded on this one, and am willing to defer judgment until I see rogues actually play out in-game, but as of right now, I'm worried about the implications. IMHO, no one should hit harder with a weapon than a warrior.

Edited by Stun
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Might as well enjoy this before it goes tangential and subsequently turns into a ****storm that had nothing to do with the original post.

 

Obviously speculation is rampant within, and I reserve the right to be wholly wrong on some or all of my assumptions.

 

Pros:

 

1. It's isometric.

 

Some people will doubtless scratch their heads at this, but it's an absolutely key thing for me. It seems to me that too many rpgs over the years have had good gameplay or ideas that were spoiled by having to battle the camera (NWN2 is the worst of many offenders). Isometric is awesome because it allows for clear control of your party and removes the unwanted fiddly bit that is designed to make things look better and yet practically makes things look worse.

 

2. It has a wide selection of classes, with a wide selection of sub-builds.

 

3. It has a statistic system seemingly without dump stats

 

4. No combat exp - if this is done well, it should reward clever play rather than just repetitive actions

 

5. It offers tactical combat within the rpg field, which feels like something that has been missing in my rpg games over the last decade.

 

Cons:

 

1. I feel that a lot of the narrative focus so far is on the wider world, rather than the characters within. My personal preference is characters as primary, world secondary. Cultures, lore and even languages are being created, and yet the details of the individuals within seem comparitively scarce. That IWD and its sequel are being voiced positively for their story and characterisation troubles me greatly, because these for me were exercises in how not to use exposition and establish characters.

 

2. Similarly, the game feels like it is adopting a more moody G.R.R tone than the J.R.R. tone I would prefer.

 

3. The character attribute system is, whilst admirable in its function, somewhat more abstract in its appearance than my old friend SPECIAL Might appears independant of Strength, for example. It's by no means a deal breaker, but it would've been nice for a system that whilst allowing for distinction within classes also allowed for distinction between them.

 

4. None of the character classes truly stand out for me as my class. Perhaps it is for the better that I cannot take the old Kjaamor avatar, the dual-wielding fancy swordplay glass cannon who knows subtlety like a haddock knows dry-stone walling, but it seems unfortunate that none of the current classes accomodate this particularly well.

 

5. There has so far been no mention of horses. Not as mounted combat (which is best left to M&B), but as in the classic five party combo Fighter/Cleric/Rogue/Horse/Wizard. Am disappoint.

Edited by Kjaamor
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Good post Op

 

My Pro's

 

  • Its a new fantasy game so we will see some changes to the standard usage of your classic D&D ruleset.
  • Obsidian are very skilled at creating games in known fantasy worlds and because its a new IP they will have more latitude at being innovative in how the new fantasy world is designed
  • All the new monsters, new lands to explore and all the lore to understand
  • The narrative, how can we not be excited about the story and what PoE will be about. I love the thought of being part of some epic journey
  • I am looking forward to interacting with my party members and learning there stories

My Cons

  • No Romance
  • No Romance
  • No Romance
  • No Romance
  • No Romance
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"Abashed the devil stood and felt how awful goodness is and saw Virtue in her shape how lovely: and pined his loss”

John Milton 

"We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” -  George Bernard Shaw

"What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead" - Nelson Mandela

 

 

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  • Bottomless inventory.  Seriously, this is huge.

I see what you did there ;)

 

---

 

Ok, here's a try:

 

Pros:

  • All the classes look like they have fun aspects to their play so there'll be replay value
  • True-RTwP combat that sounds well-b....brought into being :p
  • Interesting Lore and attention to world-building
  • Attributes are all useful for all classes so varied builds of the same class are possible.
  • It simply IS (in the sense of they've finally made a new isometric tactical rpg with what's likely to be a great story with great characters)

 

 

Cons: (no major gripes, but these I'd have done differently)

  • Attributes don't work intuitively for all classes (e.g. intelligence governing AOE for Barbarians)(but RTFM and you're good to go)
  • So far we haven't seen any truly unique Druid-Spiritshift forms with also use outside of combat. (Mostly just were-mammals I think so far)
  • Bottomless inventory - sorry, just prefer the IE style of making some choices.
  • Not having a companion for each class (though I understand the budgeting reasons)
  • It's not installed on my PC right now
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*Casts Nature's Terror* :aiee: , *Casts Firebug* :fdevil: , *Casts Rot-Skulls* :skull: , *Casts Garden of Life* :luck: *Spirit-shifts to cat form* :cat:

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Pros:

  1. Obsidian owns the IP. This is huge. If the game is a success, they will be able to make sequels and new games without paying extortion money to rights holders.
  2. The game is beautiful - even the "unpolished" stuff that we've seen so far already looks great.
  3. RTwP, isometric and party of six - why aren't there more of these being made? 
  4. Good writing instead of shiny crap.
  5. Good faith attempt to design out some of the rough edges of the IE games and rule sets (but also see cons below).

Cons (these are mostly concerns rather than actual bad things):

 

  1. The IE games had very a simplistic alignment/reputation system. PoE will be more complex with gray areas. That's probably good but when I want ethical dilemmas and complex social situations there's real life - let's not overdo the complexity.
  2. No pre buffing. That could be good unless it isn't. I think PoE will be more tactical and less strategic than the BG games.  
  3. No kill XP. I think this will be ok, but one way in which it might not be is that the objective XP might make the game less flexible (especially for a small party or solo). Then again, if done well, it could be better.
  4. This space intentionally left blank (oh, and happy holidays to all of our readers).
  5. This game is just too awesome. I have things to do. I can't be spending 100s of hours on this. Damn you Obsidian!!!!!
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.

  1. This game is just too awesome. I have things to do. I can't be spending 100s of hours on this. Damn you Obsidian!!!!!

 

 

 

:thumbsup:

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"Abashed the devil stood and felt how awful goodness is and saw Virtue in her shape how lovely: and pined his loss”

John Milton 

"We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” -  George Bernard Shaw

"What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead" - Nelson Mandela

 

 

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Howdy!  Returning forum member here.  I haven't followed the game much at all over the last year, aside from skimming a few of the updates.  So, I'd like to know how the game is shaping up, from your perspective.  (Whether you are just some guy on a forum, a backer, a moderator, or even one of the devs!)

 

I remember reading that every class type uses magical soul powers.  Sometimes I prefer characters who hate magic and refuse to use it.

 

The Fighter's, Barbarian's and Rogue's abilities are all mundane, but you can buy optional magical talents. Your concern there is the very reason why they've been designed that way.

 

The whole soul thing in general.  It's the lynchpin of this new setting, but will I think it's cool or silly?

Pretty sure "animancy" will be like the main theme of the game if not one of them. Obsidian's writing is generally their strong point.

 

Strong character and combat systems are great, but they mean nothing if the activities in the game are boring.  I don't really know how I'll be spending my time once I'm actually playing.

Pretty much the same as what you'd be doing in something like Baldur's Gate 2 ? Walking around talking to people, doing quests, exploring environments and combat.

 

Last time I saw the UI, it looked pretty dated and ugly.  I'm worried that there will be lots of mouse clicking and not enough keyboard shortcuts.

Nope. Everything will have keyboard shortcuts, and the UI looks like this:

 

yAcbMj9.jpg

Edited by Sensuki
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Cons:

 

1. I feel that a lot of the narrative focus so far is on the wider world, rather than the characters within. My personal preference is characters as primary, world secondary. Cultures, lore and even languages are being created, and yet the details of the individuals within seem comparitively scarce. That IWD and its sequel are being voiced positively for their story and characterisation troubles me greatly, because these for me were exercises in how not to use exposition and establish characters.

 

I wouldn't worry about this one. I think the reason we've heard so little about characters and so much about the world is that Obsidian is being very wary of letting story spoilers out into the wild. Even the E3 demo invitees were writing about the demonstrators hastily clicking through text before they had a chance to read it. Also I don't remember any of the devs praising the IWD storylines (although Josh has written glowing things about their art style/level design).

 

EDIT: These are the guys who gave us Atton, Kreia, Cass, Steven Heck, Gann and many others. It'll be fine.

Edited by MasterPrudent
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+

  • after years it's the first true isometric crpg with rtwp and zero camera fiddling. and it looks gorgeous!
  • there's no worry about the writing, because obsidian. plus tons of text, different factions and sparse dubbing.
  • the mix between pre-generated cohorts and access to the adventurerer's hall to create the whole gang.
  • CYOA screens!
  • no xp for killing things. all xp is quest driven which frees you from mass murdering sprees and gets you creative about overcoming obstacles.

-

  • modding support and possibilities are totally in the sky.
  • no overland map to walk on.
  • no party chat.
  • while the pre-rendered screens look beautiful the world will be static. besides opening doors and looting different containers there is hardly happening any interaction.
  • it ain't the black hound :(
Edited by Semper
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  • no xp for killing things. all xp is quest driven which frees you from mass murdering sprees and gets you creative about overcoming obstacles.
Just a note here: PoE is not an adventure game. Obsidian has made no bones about the fact that it is very much a combat-centric RPG. And while there's going to be tons of scripted, skill based problems to solve, Combat is still the giant elephant in the room. You will not be "free" from it.

 

So the lingering issue remains: You're halfway down the Mega dungeon. You've killed scores of monsters to get there, and you'll have to kill many, many more to get to the end.... But you're not getting EXP for doing so. Don't know about you, but that's a jarring notion for me. Especially since it's not just the Mega dungeon. Josh has repeatedly stated that Exploration is going to be a focus of this game. So imagine hiking through all the Wilderness areas, all caves, and all the other dungeons. Unless Loot is your sole, driving motivator, you're going to tire of engaging in literally unrewarded combat after several hours of exploring the wilds.

 

There's also the logic factor. Logic dictates that the more you do something, the better you get at it. But the no-xp-for-kills system goes against this. You're level 1. You run off for some combat practice. You kill 1000 zombies in the cemetery but doing so doesn't make you become any better at killing things..... Unless someone asked you to kill those zombies (ie. killing them was a quest objective). Silly.

Edited by Stun
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Nice thread!

 

So here's my personal list:

 

PRO:

 

  • Attribute/statistics system seems to be pretty versatile. I love the freedom it implies and how they managed to simplify D&D without dumbing it down to casual gaming
  • 6 races and 11 classes and enough party slots fo really create an interesting group. Awesome!
  • The reputation system is a refreshing change to bring in some actual roleplaying into dialogues. I can finally play a stoic or sarcastic character if I want
  • No kill XP. I can finally play an RPG where I don't have to murder everything-that-walks-and-their-cats and can play as diplomatic or sneaky as I want.
  • Ironman mode. Bring it, bitches! Just make sure there won't be any gamebreaking bugs that can kill your entire party instantly (hello XCOM teleport bug ... who is a little ****? yes you are... yesshh you are!)

 

CON

 

  • Stronghold system and out-of-party-adventures so far sound like a lifeless bunch of dialog windows and RNG calculations ... I hope it will be more than that in the end
  • Only 8 companions. The adventurers hall is interesting and all, but I like to have characters with a story to tell, so 8 companions is not enough in a game where I'm allowed to take up to 5 with me at the same time. But I'm okay with more companions being delivered through expansions
  • The image-with-text choice intermissions ... I have some serious concerns that it might break the gameflow and immersion if the game constantly swaps between isometric view and scribbly images. Why couldn't they at least use 3D renders to make it match optically?
  • From everything I've seen and everything that has been said in the previews, the animations and SFX are seriously lacking. I hope this will change until the final release, but considering it's only some months until then, I seriously doubt there will be a major overhaul.
  • Some of the backgrounds from the news updates look very flat and lifeless. I hope the final paintover process will improve on that. I feel there is some love for detail missing compared to Icewind Dale II backgrounds.
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  • no xp for killing things. all xp is quest driven which frees you from mass murdering sprees and gets you creative about overcoming obstacles.
Just a note here: PoE is not an adventure game. Obsidian has made no bones about the fact that it is very much a combat-centric RPG. And while there's going to be tons of scripted, skill based, problems to solve, Combat is still the giant elephant in the room. You will not be "free" from it.

 

So the lingering issue remains: You're halfway down the Mega dungeon. You've killed scores of monsters to get there, and you'll have to kill many, many more to get to the end.... But you're not getting EXP for doing so. Don't know about you, but that's a jarring notion for me. Especially since it's not just the Mega dungeon. Josh has repeatedly stated that Exploration is going to be a focus of this game. So imagine hiking through Wilderness areas, caves, and other dungeons. Unless Loot is your sole, driving motivator, you're going to tire of engaging in literally unrewarded combat after several hours of exploring the wilds.

It is not impossible that they award xp at certain points mid-dungeon. I feel like you are picturing the worst possible scenario.

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I'll do it, for a turnip.

 

DnD item quality description mod (for PoE2) by peardox

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So imagine hiking through Wilderness areas, caves, and other dungeons. Unless Loot is your sole, driving motivator, you're going to tire of engaging in literally unrewarded combat after several hours of exploring the wilds.

 

 

so who said that there won't be quests where you have to kill the big bad monster at the end of the tunnel? the xp is quest driven and imo that's better than simple xp rewards for killing. it's also less prone to abuse without a ton of scripting involved.

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So imagine hiking through Wilderness areas, caves, and other dungeons. Unless Loot is your sole, driving motivator, you're going to tire of engaging in literally unrewarded combat after several hours of exploring the wilds.

 

so who said that there won't be quests where you have to kill the big bad monster at the end of the tunnel? the xp is quest driven and imo that's better than simple xp rewards for killing. it's also less prone to abuse without a ton of scripting involved.

 

I'm sure there will be quests like that. Probably many of them. And if there is, has the "mass murder spree" issue been solved? Nope.

 

I just don't see what benefit eliminating Kill XP brings to the equation. Every one of the IE games had both quest XP and kill XP. Even Planescape Torment which wasn't combat focused at all. Was it some huge problem that had to be addressed so ham-fistedly?

Edited by Stun
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I'm planning to write such a list AFTER I get my hands on the game. I see little point in scoring mental constructs of how the game actually plays.

The Seven Blunders/Roots of Violence: Wealth without work. Pleasure without conscience. Knowledge without character. Commerce without morality. Science without humanity. Worship without sacrifice. Politics without principle. (Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi)

 

Let's Play the Pools Saga (SSI Gold Box Classics)

Pillows of Enamored Warfare -- The Zen of Nodding

 

 

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Unless Loot is your sole, driving motivator, you're going to tire of engaging in literally unrewarded combat after several hours of exploring the wilds.

 

 

If exploring the wilds and killing the things in it is not rewarding enough in and of itself, then perhaps you should do something else that you actually enjoy?

 

I personally don't enjoy combat grinding, so I am ok with no combat XP.

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PROS

1. This may seem strange but, um, the Death Godlike heads are so weird and creepy that it makes me really excited to play as one of them.

2. Being able to play around with six party members at any one time. There aren't a lot of party RPGs out there and I'm getting kind of sick of most of them limiting me to four party members at the very most.

3. The loot system. I know this has been derided as an option that panders to "casuals" (yeah, right, the casuals who play 50+ hour rpgs) but for me this is ideal. I'm one of those guys who tends to loot everything and put it into my inventory and I've never played a game in which constantly deciding what to keep and what to drop wasn't tedious and fiddly. This way I can keep the stuff I want to use, send rest to my stash and never worry about it again.

4. The painted 2D backgrounds and stylised multiple choice screens. I love that these buck the current preference for near photorealism in videogame graphics but aren't obnoxiously nostalgic in the way that I feel the 16 bit look is.

5. The strong sense of a unique history that all the lore brings to the world. Just from reading the updates this place feels lived in and real.

 

CONS

1. The setting, world and characters are probably not going to be as strange as my ideal fantasy RPG but I guess that's what Tides of Nuwhatsit is for.

2. Stronghold management. I'm worried about whether this is really going to tie into the main story or whether it's going to feel like a minigame that just sits in one corner of the world. I'm also hoping it isn't as inconvenient as constantly returning to the thieves guild in BG2 was - that just felt like work.

3. Portrait choice. I'm a sucker for a wide variety of portraits and I think that between painting NPCs, Party members and so on they're going to have their work cut out for them when it comes to getting a bunch of these in the game. I also wonder to what extent the little models are going to be able to mirror the portraits (SR:R had some weird disconnects imo). But I guess that's what the portrait import function is going to be for.

4. Sidequest quality: On one hand I'm a compulsive completionist. On the other hand I feel like almost all sidequests in RPGs are flat out boring (I think P:T is the only RPG I've played which had consistently interesting sidequests) so I'm hoping PoE can buck the trend.

5. It's not on my hard drive right now.

Edited by MasterPrudent
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If exploring the wilds and killing the things in it is not rewarding enough in and of itself, then perhaps you should do something else that you actually enjoy?

 

I personally don't enjoy combat grinding, so I am ok with no combat XP.

Aah. So wanting XP for engaging in your class's profession means that you support combat Grinding.

 

Really? Are you guys, like, 5 or something? It doesn't mean any such thing. And you know it. Try coming up with a better argument. Actually, Try coming up with a better argument while at the same time admitting that you didn't enjoy any of the IE games, which were all about getting XP for killing things.

Edited by Stun
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I'm sure there will be quests like that. Probably many of them. And if there is, has the "mass murder spree" issue been solved? Nope.

 

yes, because players can stealth or speak their way to the target without falling behind in power. if the game grants xp for killing it's balanced around those encounters, and you have to kill them if you don't want to be too weak later on.

btw you still have the option to kill everything, if that's the way you want to play your char - nothing is stopping you. your complaint sounds like you give **** about the rpg aspect and simply want your precious xp.

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Pros

 

1. Finally a CRPG made by some of the best CRPG-makers out there (NWN2 + expansions prove this beyond any doubt)

2. All the possible combos with heaps of classes, races, skills, weapons (even the Godlike can cap any race). I'll go crazy with this!

3. I know that our choices will matter, and that they will affect the story we weave with our party. Replayability FTW!

4. The Adventurers' Hall: After my first two playthroughs I'll use that exclusively, I reckon

5. The scripted drawn screenies screaming FF-books! I simply love them so much, in advance!!

 

Cons

1. This game will cost me lots of time and money (but I refuse to budge)

2. I have this feeling that PE will be a bit too episodic and that content/areas will be blocked in earlier levels

3. I fear that there still will be too many magical items in the game

4. I really hope that the objective xp is intuitive enough and naturally flowing, as it were, compared to standard combat/quest xp

5. No modding kit. If this was included (for free, no need to buy Unity) NWN-style, I'd be very happy indeed

Edited by IndiraLightfoot
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*** "The words of someone who feels ever more the ent among saplings when playing CRPGs" ***

 

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I'm sure there will be quests like that. Probably many of them. And if there is, has the "mass murder spree" issue been solved? Nope.

 

yes, because players can stealth or speak their way to the target without falling behind in power. if the game grants xp for killing it's balanced around those encounters, and you have to kill them if you don't want to be too weak later on.

btw you still have the option to kill everything, if that's the way you want to play your char - nothing is stopping you. your complaint sounds like you give **** about the rpg aspect and simply want your precious xp.

 

It would be an RPG aspect if the option to kill everything yielded the same (or relatively similar) XP rewards as "pacifying" everything. Because therein lies meaningful choice. But as it stands, this will only be the case when an enemy(s) is part of a quest objective. And even THAT would be fine with me, if it wasn't for the fact that this game is also exploration heavy. You have a world to explore. And lets say you're role playing a wandering, individualistic-minded Barbarian who enjoys killing things. So here's your "choice":

 

1) Go off and explore the wilderness before anyone gives you a quest objective to do so. Result: you miss out on tons of XP because you end up killing things without an in game quest objective to do so

2) Break character and become a patient and obedient mercenary who only kills when asked, and only explores when he's given a reason to by someone else

 

 

Lets see....I'm a role player, but I'm no LARP'er. I'll be doing #2. It'd be a stupid waste of time to do #1, since there's no XP for kills.

Edited by Stun
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There are many pros, but I will post the ones that I can think of off the top of my head.

 

Pros

  • Original setting. I don't mind the D&D settings of the IE games, but it will be fun to see something new, even if some things will be reminiscent of other fantasy settings.
  • Big focus on dialog. Lots of reading required.
  • Love the storybook sequences we have seen so far.
  • Party based combat in isometric view. This was the most important part of my backing this project.
  • I am very much looking forward to learning about how to best make good use of the new rule system.

Cons

 

  • No multi-classing. This is a very subjective subject, but I like it.
  • I thought George Ziets was on-board for the whole development period, not only pre-production.
  • I don't like what I have seen from the UI so far.
  • Character portraits have been a mixed bag so far. I like some of them.
  • Still unsure about the Stamina/Health system. it's not a big con, but this is one thing about the new systems that I will have to try out for myself to see if I like it or not.
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