First impressions thread!

[Namutree]

I'll give the beta a first impression score. So far, the beta has been a 2/5. That's not too bad considering it's a beta and the final product will be better.

 

The combat however; I am certain that part of the game is going to stay a let down. It'll be improved, but I doubt it'll be fixed to be satisfactory. Obsidian went their own way with combat, and it didn't pay off. WAY too much micromanaging required in most battles.

Edited August 19, 2014 by Namutree

[Majek]

Who said heads are too big for the bodies? Weird person.

[PrimeJunta]

@Namutree I disagree. There are two main problems with the combat right now and both are easy to fix: the auto-attack bug and the PAAATHFINDINGohlordpleaseno. Fix those and it'll already work a lot better. The overall rhythm and feel, the abilities, and the general responsiveness are great.

 

Add a few more relatively simple tweaks like clear visual indications of who's engaging whom, and it'll be much better than the IE's.

[warbaby2]

My impresions so far (after roughly 30 minutes of beta):

- General look and feel of the game is nice (all the bugs not withtanding), very infinity engine like

- Interface is abit finicky (loot window not closing automatically, etc.)

- Icons are a ibt mall and non discriptive

- World looks good, characters not so much... then again, still better then in the old engine

- AI still needs alo of work (some charcters not attacking at all, others running into enemies and the environment, endlessly running).

 

All in all, a goodstart...

[Bli1942]

It looks and feels pretty nice, very nostalgic and I'm happy enough with it but there are a lot of issues. I've compiled a list I'll probably post in the bug thread, there is a good 20 things I noticed in the first 20 min playing that should be changed for release

 

Combat is pretty bad but I always thought real time with pause was bad so that may just be my opinion. More of a deal with it thing as they won't be changing it to turn based at this point lol! I mean the AI needs to automatically attack...it NEEDS to, but I'll still find the combat bad anyways

Edited August 19, 2014 by Bli1942

[Bryy]

Love the writing. Love the way it looks and feels. Could use more portraits. LOL at "waning scepter."

 

That's all for now.

It's writing that makes you actually want to read it rather than just skip and get the general jist.

[Kharador]

Looks promising but:

 

- The combat is a completely mess. 0 feedback when enemies are hit, the feeling of playing checkers... The animations are poor, flat and without acting of the characters. Very improvable... A orlan moves just like a aumaua and an elf.

- I expected new intuitive icons. Seriously, 4 million dollars and you can not add new spell icons?

- Poor character creator. 2 colors... 3 heads... The portraits are very poor. I didn't expect an elf in a wig, but thanks.

 

The overall vision of the game is good, but has a long way to be finished.

Edited August 19, 2014 by Kharador

[Doppelschwert]

I agree on the general sentiment here. Atmosphere, world design, quest design, that part is fine. Had a long stroll throug the town, was engaging.

 

Was first playing in german, which was kind of a mess, but that was to be expected. Switching to english helped a lot.

 

The first fight in town felt strange but was ok. Then I horribly died against the beetles. Priest died instantly (which was totally my fault), then everyone else.

Was stupid of me, but it really goes back to bad information flow, like wtf is going on. Besides the stuff that has already been mentioned, there should be a distinction between per rest and per encounter abilities in the way abilties are lined up, just to help you use your stuff more often. For example, some priest spells of lvl 2 have per encounter in their descriptions, others not, so whats the rule here? Even if I know them, the game should still tell them to me transparently.

 

Also, the GUI was oddly scaled for me which proabably goes back to my resolution.

 

Any settings I saved resetted all the time, especially stuff for dialogues. When I had autopause on activate on low stamina, it would activate also on low stamina for the enemies.

 

I'm going to put the demo on halt to the point were at least the auto attack and pathfinding is fixed.

 

I may come off as negative, but I think this can be improved until launch to a satisfactory level. It will take some effort, however, to make combat feel right and transparent. Still, I'm emerged in the gameworld, which is one of the more important things as well.

Edited August 19, 2014 by Doppelschwert

[Bli1942]

Yep I'm not going to keep playing for a bit, I'll put my bug reports up and wait a while. My quests just disappeared whenever I got them, then later on I couldn't even pick up quests. It's a nice world but a lot of small issues make it impossible to play at the moment. I understand it's beta but there seems to be a big job to fix it all if the game's coming out in 3-4 months

[Namutree]

@Namutree I disagree. There are two main problems with the combat right now and both are easy to fix: the auto-attack bug and the PAAATHFINDINGohlordpleaseno. Fix those and it'll already work a lot better. The overall rhythm and feel, the abilities, and the general responsiveness are great.

 

Add a few more relatively simple tweaks like clear visual indications of who's engaging whom, and it'll be much better than the IE's.

I hope you're right, but I don't think you are. Maybe I'm just too pessimistic.

[Volourn]

My first impression is that if they get a complete game out in 3 months I'll be really impressed. there's a lot of good in here and the game can shine but as Sawyer said himself, there's A LOT  of work to be done before things get finalized.

 

I would not be shocked if they give us the 'bad' news of it being postponed until next year....

[Quillon]

• When I click on an NPC to speak to, it appears that my created character (in slot 1) is always the one who "does the talking," meaning that character's attributes are what determines which conversation options are available, even if I have a different party member selected when initiating the conversation. Is that intentional? In the final game, if my created character has low Intellect, can I use another party member's higher Intellect to affect the conversation? I'm not sure what method would be best, but I hope it is made clear when we play (with a tutorial message or something similar).

 

Yours is the pc and they are npc, they can intervene/suggest things at most.

 

Having 2 PCs in D:OS is what I don't like about that game.

[Theomen712]

Whew... 4 hours in... 2 of which i spent doing nothing but die as i tried out multiple classes on Hard mode... And Obsidian this beta has bolstered the faith i had in you years ago when you said you wanted to make a game to pay homage to BG 1&2 and PS Torment. Lets begin my rant.

 

1) Pro - The music: I am a man who enjoys an orchestral score and the ambiance of PoE is so natural. In Town the world feels alive, and the melody is one that begs you to start a new journey, and test fate. It invokes the inevitable feeling of adventure. The Battle music is awesomely epic and terrifying when coupled with the game's merciless difficulty. I wasn't paying attention to the map during my play thru and the music started playing as i ran into that spider that drops stalactites on the party...it insta-killed my fighter and i now have an instinct to flinch when that particular theme plays....

 

 

2) Con - The Pacing: I think everyone on the forum pretty much agrees the game is too fast. Too fast to strategize correctly, too fast to recognize when you and your party are in trouble, too fast to maneuver right ( i send my Rogue to draw out some bugs and they are on him before i can tell him to run back and my fighter to run forward). Attack animation could be slowed down, or just slow down all of combat to a near BG level becuase currently if you arent paying attention to the info around your party AND their hp at the same time people die fast. Adam experienced that first hand at the beta reveal ... (If its any consolation the animations are BEAUTIFULLY done, i appreciated the reloading animations and the spell animations are gorgeous and this is just the beta)

 

3) Pro - The Dialogue: I need to visit Obsidian's studio and shake each writer's hand. That was top quality conversations. Like i was won over by a single dialogue choice

(Spoiler but not really) The "Cruel but kinda diplomatic" solution for the Ogre's residential dilemma... R.I.P. farmer...

 

4) Con - Screen Panning: No. Its too slow. The screen inches along and it isn't any faster when you use the direction keys. A simple speed up is all it needs  

 

5) Con - Responsiveness: Everyone else already nailed this one. We need our characters to listen to us. Its pretty explanatory.

 

6) Con - Too much info on screen: You brought back the Uninjured/barely injured/injured/ badly injured/ near death display and i was SO PROUD that you did...but then there was these dots over everyones heads...and the auto attack reset timers... why? I mean we can already see our allies hp   and to be honest the dots tell us the same thing that the injured display does and its less or a clutter since we just have to hover over them. We can't enjoy the thrill of combat when we can barely see it. Half the kids and adults here grew up on the injured system and i doubt anyone would complain if it were the ONLY system displaying hp in Pillars.

 

7) Pro - Armor models: Yeah....like....HELL YEAH...Great friggin job! I did not expect my Cipher to look so cool in her first piece of plate armor. I cannot wait to see unique armors!!! and weapons!

 

Lastly and sadly a Con - Attributes: They are...kinda frustrating as you kinda need them all. They ALL work towards combat in one way or the other...there's no focusing without hurting yourself. I made a Cipher with tons of Resolve and intelligence but then i remembered how a Cipher generates focus so i put 10 points into both Constitution and Might...but then i remembered that dexterity controls accuracy and i can't generate focus unless i'm hitting things...and then i realized my Cipher is going to be the one talking to everything in the game so i have to have some kind of Perception or ill get duped all game long           You may have woven the stats together too tightly. You gave us 50ish starting points which is unheard of in any RPG because there isn't a single stat that i can see being unimportant for any class. Its not BAD but its certainly not good. It makes it hard for Infinity engine veterans to understand and REALLY difficult for people new to the genre. Im still testing the risk and reward of attributes. Hopefully i'm wrong.

 

Regardless of my Con to Pro ratio THIS GAME IS FANTASTIC ALREADY. You have a satisfied backer in me.

[TheisEjsing]

I only have one thing to say so far! LION COMPANION, YEEEEEAH! :D

[PrimeJunta]

Agree about 1, 2, 3, and 7. Never noticed problems with 4, 5, or 6.

 

Strongly disagree about attributes. On the contrary, I think it is way cool that you have to make actual trade-offs. Why even have an attribute system if, for each class, there's only one right way to distribute your stats? (-> looking at (A)D&D here.)

[Smoker]

Solid so far. Only a few superficial things I'd like to see added if it's possible.

Really the world looks good, the font/conversation looks good and the combat looks good. 

Only real complaint - Pathfinding for your characters to attack in a 5 on 1 battle is buggy. Autoattack?

But I'd like to see

1. Sheathing weapons. 
2. Adjustable opacity for circles around characters.
3. The world not freezing during conversations
4. More idle animations, I saw a few but it would be nice.
5. Higher res grass textures (not a problem)

[Bryy]

- The combat is a completely mess. 0 feedback when enemies are hit, the feeling of playing checkers... The animations are poor, flat and without acting of the characters. Very improvable... A orlan moves just like a aumaua and an elf.

- I expected new intuitive icons. Seriously, 4 million dollars and you can not add new spell icons?

- Poor character creator. 2 colors... 3 heads... The portraits are very poor. I didn't expect an elf in a wig, but thanks.

It's a beta. Come on.

[Theomen712]

Agree about 1, 2, 3, and 7. Never noticed problems with 4, 5, or 6.

 

Strongly disagree about attributes. On the contrary, I think it is way cool that you have to make actual trade-offs. Why even have an attribute system if, for each class, there's only one right way to distribute your stats? (-> looking at (A)D&D here.)

I'm still feeling it out but the very first Cipher i made was horrible and wasn't any use in battle because i prioritized what i thought was important ( the ability to generate Focus through Might and Dexterity and the ability to deal dmg with my Soul abilities through Resolve) I ended up with a great concentration level, but no hp, no ability to hit anything, and if i disengaged combat i'd die from a couple of glancing blows. I spread out my stats almost perfectly even the third time around and now my Cipher functions but feels like a jack of all trades :/

[Namutree]

Strongly disagree about attributes. On the contrary, I think it is way cool that you have to make actual trade-offs. Why even have an attribute system if, for each class, there's only one right way to distribute your stats? (-> looking at (A)D&D here.)

I like the attribute system too. 

[Theomen712]

 

- The combat is a completely mess. 0 feedback when enemies are hit, the feeling of playing checkers... The animations are poor, flat and without acting of the characters. Very improvable... A orlan moves just like a aumaua and an elf.

- I expected new intuitive icons. Seriously, 4 million dollars and you can not add new spell icons?

- Poor character creator. 2 colors... 3 heads... The portraits are very poor. I didn't expect an elf in a wig, but thanks.

It's a beta. Come on.

 

You literally already saw what the beta looked like days ago... How much of it did you think they were going to change between Gamescom and today? You paid these people to build a game and you're crying about the unfinished product? Give constructive criticism without attacking them and being sarcastic and they might fix things...

[WotanAnubis]

I've only got into one combat, with the group near the river, and it quickly turned into a chaotic mess. The rather drab colours of everyone combined with the fact that the circles around people's feet indicating whether they are friend or foe were difficult to make out meant that the conflict was little more than an incomprehensible ball where I couldn't tell who was doing what to whom or even who was involved. I noticed the term "Boar Companion" popping up here and there, but was completely unable to actually see any boars.

 

In the end, I won only because I was playing on Easy and not because I had any idea what I was doing or what was going on, because I didn't. The Priest and my own character still went down.

 

So I think combat might need some polishing so that at least it becomes more clear who's who and what's what.

[Ganrich]

Agree about 1, 2, 3, and 7. Never noticed problems with 4, 5, or 6.

 

Strongly disagree about attributes. On the contrary, I think it is way cool that you have to make actual trade-offs. Why even have an attribute system if, for each class, there's only one right way to distribute your stats? (-> looking at (A)D&D here.)

 

I couldn't agree more.  Nothing is more boring than having a class that has 1 or 2 stats that you HAVE to focus on in order to be playable in any normal sense.  The attribute system is easily one of my favorite changes, and it is one of the best ideas for an attribute system in many a game (PnP or Video Game).  All we need is to figure out how to spruce up Resolve and Perception to be on the level of the other 4 stats and we are golden.

 

 

My first impression is that if they get a complete game out in 3 months I'll be really impressed. there's a lot of good in here and the game can shine but as Sawyer said himself, there's A LOT  of work to be done before things get finalized.

 

I would not be shocked if they give us the 'bad' news of it being postponed until next year....

 

I expect a delay as well.  Perhaps they will surprise us on the first patch pass on the beta and fix a lot of the issues. 

[PrimeJunta]

If anybody cares, I like the IWD2 icons. I hope they'll keep them. :nostalgia:

[Stun]

Lastly and sadly a Con - Attributes: They are...kinda frustrating as you kinda need them all. They ALL work towards combat in one way or the other...there's no focusing without hurting yourself. I made a Cipher with tons of Resolve and intelligence but then i remembered how a Cipher generates focus so i put 10 points into both Constitution and Might...but then i remembered that dexterity controls accuracy and i can't generate focus unless i'm hitting things...and then i realized my Cipher is going to be the one talking to everything in the game so i have to have some kind of Perception or ill get duped all game long           You may have woven the stats together too tightly. You gave us 50ish starting points which is unheard of in any RPG because there isn't a single stat that i can see being unimportant for any class. Its not BAD but its certainly not good. It makes it hard for Infinity engine veterans to understand and REALLY difficult for people new to the genre. Im still testing the risk and reward of attributes. Hopefully i'm wrong.

Yes. I suspect that the day me and my inner Power Gamer decide to do battle with this game's Chargen, we're going to get our asses kicked.

You can tell right a way that this game is NOT designed for min-maxers.

[sparklecat]

If anybody cares, I like the IWD2 icons. I hope they'll keep them. :nostalgia:

Me too!

 

Except some of them get resused for different spells at the same level, which is kind of confusing.