Will this release be the "final" version to play

[AstroCat]

​I am a kickstarter backer but haven't followed every day of development. I have backed several CRPGS, Shadowrun, Divine Divinity, Wasteland... etc... and they all had a release but then many upgrades, and in the case of Wasteland 2 a "super" version coming. I think DD has a "super" version coming too.

Here's the problem for me. I don't have tons of time to play games over and over. I'll probably play through once maybe at the most twice (although unlikely) so I want to make my play through count.

Will PE be ready to have the "full" experience on release or should I put it away for months (years?!) like Wasteland 2 and Divine Divinity waiting for the "real" "final" version?

Thanks a ton for the advice! ​

Edited March 17, 2015 by AstroCat

[Marky]

Pillars of Eternity is probably gonna go through the same route as those games. An expansion pack was already announced back during the kickstarter.

[danielkx]

There will be several patches to the game over the first few months... This is already planned by the devs and some patches will contain fairly significant changes to the game.

 

If you are wanting to play through the game just one time I would suggest waiting a few months so the game can be patched.

[AstroCat]

Yeah, that seems to be the trend. On one hand, awesome for the continued support, on the other a bit of a bummer having to wait for a game you were looking forward to. In this case I'll wait for sure. Thanks for the information, appreciated. 

Edited March 17, 2015 by AstroCat

[danielkx]

No problem. However there will be a day 1 patch and the game will be more than playable on release. Since I intend on playing this game a bunch of times I have no problem not waiting for a more complete version.

Edited March 17, 2015 by danielkx

[Zazzaro]

When you say "fairly significant changes over the first few months" what exactly do you mean? More companions added? Additional dungeons? Combat mechanic tweaks? Or just your standard bug fixes?

Edited March 17, 2015 by Zazzaro

[Gromnir]

am gonna do our captain obvious impersonation.

 

for any major (and for most lesser) release o' game software, it is in your best interest to wait six months to a year to purchase and play the title.  waiting a significant amount o' time post release to play a title will result in you enjoying a more stable product.  you are also likely to enjoy tweaks and balances and other developer improvements that were not included in the day 1 release.  furthermore, the price o' virtually any game release drops precipitously after some unspecific point in time, but rarely exceeding one year.  wait a year and you get a better game for less money.  tackle this conundrum is not gonna win you a fields medal.

 

that being said, you already paid for the game-- the question, as you already observed, is moot.

 

ok, what do we win?

 

HA! Good Fun! 

[Bryy]

Yeah, that seems to be the trend. On one hand, awesome for the continued support, on the other a bit of a bummer having to wait for a game you were looking forward to. In this case I'll wait for sure. Thanks for the information, appreciated. 

I am holding off on finishing Dragon Age 3 due to the DLC, but other than that, I don't see how a lack of patches make a game less complete. Would you rather bugs stay in? And before anyone says, "I'd like for there to be no bugs", that's literally impossible when dealing with not only a technical product but also a creative one.

[danielkx]

When you say "fairly significant changes over the first few months" what exactly do you mean? More companions added? Additional dungeons? Combat mechanic tweaks? Or just your standard bug fixes?

Can't say specifically what they will change but they have talked about things like individual stealth instead of party stealth.

[jonirenicus1002]

Some polishes maybe, but no major change or new contents I believe.

At least one expansion will be coming though.

[Voss]

Pillars of Eternity is probably gonna go through the same route as those games. An expansion pack was already announced back during the kickstarter.

That isn't what he means.  Wasteland has gotten multiple 1+ gigabyte patches (with at least one more to come) to make the game functional post release.

 

Hopefully PoE will only need relatively minor bug fixes. 

But supposedly the first expansion will rework some things, like the stealth system.

[morhilane]

 

Pillars of Eternity is probably gonna go through the same route as those games. An expansion pack was already announced back during the kickstarter.

That isn't what he means.  Wasteland has gotten multiple 1+ gigabyte patches (with at least one more to come) to make the game functional post release.

 

Hopefully PoE will only need relatively minor bug fixes. 

But supposedly the first expansion will rework some things, like the stealth system.

 

A small bugfix in PoE will require a gigabyte patch via Steam, that's because of how Steam is packaging the files to do the update (unfortunately).

[Zazzaro]

 

When you say "fairly significant changes over the first few months" what exactly do you mean? More companions added? Additional dungeons? Combat mechanic tweaks? Or just your standard bug fixes?

Can't say specifically what they will change but they have talked about things like individual stealth instead of party stealth.

Yeah this is def a major bummer. I have wanted to play Wasteland 2 for the longest time and it has just been sitting in my steam collection because of all the bugs and not completely polished I heard at release. Well.. A few weeks ago they released another huge patch fixing tons or bugs so I finally was getting ready to fire it up and...... Wasteland 2 game of the year announced with a move to a better engine and tweaks to gameplay people had issues with. Now I'm stuck on the fence again wondering if I want to wait another few months for this next round of updates/polish/patching or just play the freaking game which I have wanted to play for quite some time .

 

With all the great games that keep releasing along with my love for sandbox games, which go on forever because they have no true ending, and also games like Path of Exile which also can be played for years and years.... I really only have time to play these types of RPGs once. Plus, once I know the story and puzzles with an RPG that actually has an end game and conclusion, those things also greatly impact my desire to play through RPGs like that more than once because again... My time for gaming is limited. It drives me nuts because I feel like ill get a better experience waiting for the the updated Wasteland 2 but man I will have waited pretty much one year after release for a game I wanted to play on release day. I also waited a couple months to play Divinity Original Sin but apparently did not wait long enough because they ended up adding new companions and stuff to that game as well. It's sort of frustrating honestly but what can you/I do? Complain about developers supporting and bettering their game after release? Hell no.

Edited March 18, 2015 by Zazzaro

[AstroCat]

Yeah, I totally feel the same way. I want the continued support but I also want to be able to play a "final" game at some point, or at least one that will not be needing major updates or fixes before I play it.

 

Oh and I think Divine Divinity is getting one more "mega" patch later this year too. So I've got PoE, W2 and DD :OS all waiting for me to play "some day". Oh and Dragon Age 3, for the same exact reasons... ugh!

 

 

 

 

When you say "fairly significant changes over the first few months" what exactly do you mean? More companions added? Additional dungeons? Combat mechanic tweaks? Or just your standard bug fixes?

Can't say specifically what they will change but they have talked about things like individual stealth instead of party stealth.

Yeah this is def a major bummer. I have wanted to play Wasteland 2 for the longest time and it has just been sitting in my steam collection because of all the bugs and not completely polished I heard at release. Well.. A few weeks ago they released another huge patch fixing tons or bugs so I finally was getting ready to fire it up and...... Wasteland 2 game of the year announced with a move to a better engine and tweaks to gameplay people had issues with. Now I'm stuck on the fence again wondering if I want to wait another few months for this next round of updates/polish/patching or just play the freaking game which I have wanted to play for quite some time .

With all the great games that keep releasing along with my love for sandbox games, which go on forever because they have no true ending, and also games like Path of Exile which also can be played for years and years.... I really only have time to play these types of RPGs once. Plus, once I know the story and puzzles with an RPG that actually has an end game and conclusion, those things also greatly impact my desire to play through RPGs like that more than once because again... My time for gaming is limited. It drives me nuts because I feel like ill get a better experience waiting for the the updated Wasteland 2 but man I will have waited pretty much one year after release for a game I wanted to play on release day. I also waited a couple months to play Divinity Original Sin but apparently did not wait long enough because they ended up adding new companions and stuff to that game as well. It's sort of frustrating honestly but what can you/I do? Complain about developers supporting and bettering their game after release? Hell no.

 

[PrimeJunta]

Yeah, I totally feel the same way. I want the continued support but I also want to be able to play a "final" game at some point, or at least one that will not be needing major updates or fixes before I play it.

 

Well, BG2 is still receiving updates so it might be a while...

[Messier-31]

By the way, anyone knows how these patches and updates to the game are going to be applied? The game will have some cool jazzy launcher checking for updates? Or maybe there will be some files to download on your own through Obsidian website? Something completely different?

[Shdy314]

 

Pillars of Eternity is probably gonna go through the same route as those games. An expansion pack was already announced back during the kickstarter.

That isn't what he means.  Wasteland has gotten multiple 1+ gigabyte patches (with at least one more to come) to make the game functional post release.

 

Hopefully PoE will only need relatively minor bug fixes. 

But supposedly the first expansion will rework some things, like the stealth system.

 

Yeah but W2 was an overrated mess with an atrocious skill system and hilarious unbalanced combat. PoE isn't perfect but it'd be hard to be as screwed up as W2 was at release.

Though hilariously they both share an armor system quirk where it's sometimes better to not wear armor.

[AstroCat]

I asked this before release... and from what I can tell from playing the game the answer is yes the game is playable on release. I'm not super far but at least so far it seems like it is in good shape.

[smite]

Interesting day 1 has come and it seems we do not have or really need a patch.

[Tigranes]

Day 1 patch was already applied.

[Matt516]

By the way, anyone knows how these patches and updates to the game are going to be applied? The game will have some cool jazzy launcher checking for updates? Or maybe there will be some files to download on your own through Obsidian website? Something completely different?

 

Either downloaded automatically through Steam or a patch file uploaded to GOG (that you then download and install). Can't see why they'd do it any other way.

[PaintingInAir]

I'm about 10 hours in, and don't have any major issues with the game. If you want to play now, I'd say go for it.

[AstroCat]

I'm about 10 hours in, and don't have any major issues with the game. If you want to play now, I'd say go for it.

Totally agree.

[Gairnulf]

​I am a kickstarter backer but haven't followed every day of development. I have backed several CRPGS, Shadowrun, Divine Divinity, Wasteland... etc... and they all had a release but then many upgrades, and in the case of Wasteland 2 a "super" version coming. I think DD has a "super" version coming too.

 

Here's the problem for me. I don't have tons of time to play games over and over. I'll probably play through once maybe at the most twice (although unlikely) so I want to make my play through count.

 

Will PE be ready to have the "full" experience on release or should I put it away for months (years?!) like Wasteland 2 and Divine Divinity waiting for the "real" "final" version?

 

Thanks a ton for the advice! ​

One year from now, the Expansion, is my guess for the what the Gold PoE will be

 

I've only reported 4 bugs, none of them cruical, for 8 hours of playing, so it's better than I thought.

Edited March 28, 2015 by Gairnulf

[smite]

Thanks for the information. I had no idea!