Reasons this game is un-finished

[Katarack21]

 

 

 

I don't get the bugfest accusation. I'm 20 hours in and haven't experienced a single bug yet.

 

Good for you. There are however numerous people that did experience bugs and some of them were game breaking.

 

The only game-breaking bug I've seen with any frequency is the Raedrics Hold bug, and a lot of people didn't even get that.

 

What other game-breakers have you heard about?

 

 

Disapearing items.

 

Disapearing companions.

 

Stats changes (disapearing advantages, stacking bonuses etc.)

 

Game crashes on some maps and transitions.

 

Seriously there are topics on this forum with those bugs, acting like they are not existing is insulting to the customers.

 

The game crashing on maps and transitions is, as far as I know, mostly Raedrics Hold. According to the developers that is already fixed and ready for the patch next week.

 

The rest of those are actually a decent point. I missed the threads about the companions and the stats increasing. Seems there is some kind of issue with the way the save game system works.

 

That being said, when did anybody promise this game would be bug-free? I expect bugs in every game released by every major studio.

 

What I said in the past is that this game won't be buggy like KOTOR 2 or NWN 2 were buggy--this game will be playable at launch for the majority of people. And I was right about that.

Edited March 30, 2015 by Katarack21

[TheisEjsing]

There will be another patch in a few days. It should iron out the worst stuff. Did Obsidian ever claim, that PoE would be bug free because they didn't have a publisher? Might be, I just haven't heard it. The game is pretty smooth, it works fine for me atleast. But if people experience bugs, they shouldn't be attacked, just for mentioning them.

[Katarack21]

There will be another patch in a few days. It should iron out the worst stuff. Did Obsidian ever claim, that PoE would be bug free because they didn't have a publisher? Might be, I just haven't heard it. The game is pretty smooth, it works fine for me atleast. But if people experience bugs, they shouldn't be attacked, just for mentioning them.

True. Nobody should be attacked for a bug report.

 

However, the OP wasn't a bug list. It was a list of design decisions he didn't like and which he claimed made the game "unfinished and broken". A bug report is a statement of a problem, not a value judgement against the game or the publisher. When somebody comes in and says "This game crashed at a map load when I saved and then tried to leave", that's one thing. When somebody says this game is unfinished because arrows and ammunition aren't tracked, that's not the same.

[RottenBrain]

Game crashes on some maps and transitions.

 

 

If the issue is the same as with Wasteland 2, and as far as I've heard it seems to be, it's because you're running a 32bit Windows and can easily be resolved with a short command prompt command. Not a big deal really. And as someone else said, they are currently working on resolving that in a patch.

 

I honestly don't know where all of the butthurt is coming from. Yes, the game has bugs. Can you play it, despite them? Yes, you can.

PoE is, for all intents and purposes, an indie title and it works damn fine for something that was just released - can you point to a recent triple A title that's playable at this level upon release?

 

No one is arguing that Obsidian had really buggy games in the past, but they've gotten progressively better over the years. Hell, forget about PoE - check out The Stick of Truth. It's a great title and I didn't encounter any bugs whatsoever, or at least none that would spoil my enjoyment of the game.

 

A lot of you are acting like you're on a thread about Assassin's Creed Unity - get some perspective.

[santanzchild]

 

 

Game crashes on some maps and transitions.

 

If the issue is the same as with Wasteland 2, and as far as I've heard it seems to be, it's because you're running a 32bit Windows and can easily be resolved with a short command prompt command. Not a big deal really. And as someone else said, they are currently working on resolving that in a patch.

 

I honestly don't know where all of the butthurt is coming from. Yes, the game has bugs. Can you play it, despite them? Yes, you can.

PoE is, for all intents and purposes, an indie title and it works damn fine for something that was just released - can you point to a recent triple A title that's playable at this level upon release?

 

No one is arguing that Obsidian had really buggy games in the past, but they've gotten progressively better over the years. Hell, forget about PoE - check out The Stick of Truth. It's a great title and I didn't encounter any bugs whatsoever, or at least none that would spoil my enjoyment of the game.

 

A lot of you are acting like you're on a thread about Assassin's Creed Unity - get some perspective.

I am getting the transition crash in the hold with 64bit so not sure where that came from. But that's separate from the issue being discussed here...

 

Continue

[PaintingInAir]

It seems like all your issues are related to roleplaying. I get the impression that Obsidian wanted to focus on gameplay and story over roleplaying.

[ilitarist]

There are some real bugs in a game and those require fixing. Please, don't steal developer's attention from really important issues with your pathetic attempts on game design analysis.

[Bryy]

1. Broken stealth mechanics that need to be changed to individual stealth.

 

2. Not being able to drop items out of inventory or on to the game world ground.

 

3. Seeing all npcs in the game world walk but you cant unless its a game movie scene.

 

4. No options to bash open or break locks on chests , doors, or cabinets.

 

5. No ammunition for ranged weapons. This is very strange.

 

6. No option to pass time.

 

If these issues were fixed this game would be amazing.

All these are personal preferences. 

 

That doesn't mean the game is unfinished.

 

An extreme example, but going by your logic, according to some users, the game is unfinished because there are female warriors.

Edited March 30, 2015 by Bryy

[Monte Carlo]

^ What Bryy said. There are a stack of design decisions I really don't like but they are definitely planned, finished and in many cases polished.

[Sheba]

No offense to the OP but none of those things mentioned have ever even been considered a annoyance (to me) feature yes annoying no?  Then to further classify them as something that makes this game incomplete well sorry have to respectfully disagree!

Edited March 30, 2015 by Sheba

[dmhancock]

There's a few exceptionally minor bugs there, granted. I am thoroughly enjoying the game, and I reckon Pillars is still a solid 9/10 in my opinion. 

[JimBobbo]

Wait... OP is annoyed that he can't walk? Seriously? That's a complaint?

[KingNee]

Wait... OP is annoyed that he can't walk? Seriously? That's a complaint?

 

Let's be fair, I'd be annoyed too if I couldn't walk. 

[barakav]

I was always disappointed about the fact there weren't any bathrooms in any of the old IE games...

 

Whats the point of having sewers under those cities if there aren't no toilets in any of the houses?

 

It seriously breaks immersion for me and looks so artificial...

 

I think that POE is totally unfinished until they will  give us the ability to take a dump!

Edited March 30, 2015 by barakav

[Ohioastro]

People who get all angry about minor bugs should not play games on release.  Relative to dozens of other games this release has been remarkably smooth, especially for a Kickstarter game with a low budget.

 

This is something that everybody knows or should know.  I waited months to buy Fallout New Vegas because of reports of numerous bugs, for example. 

 

For the record: zero bugs here, and the design choices listed in the OP don't bother me in the slightest.

 

An aside: what is it with the entitled people who write critical public posts on a forum and then get angry when people respond?  Is the Internet new to them?

[takamorisan]

The only bug that I bumped into was the one that you double click the gear and it make your racial bonuses disappear.

 

The rest is all right, 43 hours in the game progressing normally.

[hlidskialf]

I was always disappointed about the fact there weren't any bathrooms in any of the old IE games...

 

Whats the point of having sewers under those cities if there aren't no toilets in any of the houses?

 

It seriously breaks immersion for me and looks so artificial...

 

I think that POE is totally unfinished until they will  give us the ability to take a dump!

Untrue sir! There were several fine outhouses and a couple commodes in those games. Granted, your character couldn't sit but the thought was there.

[barakav]

Where?

 

I looked all over BG and athakala for one and couldn't find anything!

 

You just shocked my world. Is it possible that those games were finished at launch?

Edited March 30, 2015 by barakav

[Ineth]

1. Broken stealth mechanics that need to be changed to individual stealth. - True, plus I do not like how scouting is also tied to perception, which makes me crawl everywhere using double speed so I don`t miss hidden stashes.

 

Better than in the IE games where in dungeons you always needed repeat the routine of "move just a few steps, then stand still for two seconds" in order to not run into traps.

 

I PoE you can just activate stealth/scout mode, and move around freely - and traps should be detected before you trigger them.

 

 

4. No options to bash open or break locks on chests , doors, or cabinets. - This one is definitely something that is missing. You even have prybars in game that would be great for this. And game even has fatigue, so you could just let players to open some doors and containers with it and suffer fatigue depending on their athletics skill level.

 

There are already two alternatives for opening locks: With high Mechanics, or with lockpicks. Adding a third option would dilute that carefully balanced tradeoff. And repeatedly attacking a container 'til it breaks wasn't really a fun aspect of the IE games.

 

[Ineth]

5. No ammunition for ranged weapons: I actually prefer this as opposed to having to sift through my inventory to find 5 different types of ammo for various different critters. No thanks.

 

Actually you didn't need to open the inventory to switch ammo in the IE games; you could just right-click the associated weapon slot in the main HUD.

[Ineth]

1) Why is there no option to turn off the fog of war?

 

Because it's a central mechanic for simulating exploration, and the way enemies are placed and how their AI works relies on it.

 

Unless they'd also implement NPC schedules (much extra work for little gain), it would look really weird and immersion-breaking to see far away enemies keep standing in place doing nothing.

 

If anything, turning off fog of war should be a cheat code, not an official option.

 

2) Why is the priest I rolled up from the Inn armed with a melee weapon, and why do they insist on using this weapon in melee as a default instead of using spells?  

 

3) Why do I have to micromanage every spellcaster because they don't use the appropriate spells?

 

Where would be the fun in watching the game play itself?

 

What the "appropriate spell" is at any given time (and where exactly to target it) depends heavily on the situation at hand, and on how you (as the player) want to play your characters.

[jivex5k]

I'm sad that we can't bash in locks, or at least attempt to, but I'm still having a great time with the game.

[aiqidar]

 

2) Why is the priest I rolled up from the Inn armed with a melee weapon, and why do they insist on using this weapon in melee as a default instead of using spells?  

 

3) Why do I have to micromanage every spellcaster because they don't use the appropriate spells?

 

Where would be the fun in watching the game play itself?

 

What the "appropriate spell" is at any given time (and where exactly to target it) depends heavily on the situation at hand, and on how you (as the player) want to play your characters.

 

 

For me, it's not so much that I want to watch the game play itself, but rather, the fact that it's inconsistent with the basic feeling the game wants to project. The whole point is that you have one central character who's "you", and that these companions have minds of their own. That's certainly the case for social interactions (I don't get to choose what Eder or Aloth will or won't say) and it should ideally be true for combat as well.

 

Now if it was a game like Icewind Dale I'm perfectly happy micromanaging things like that because the understanding is that "I" am my entire party rather than just a single character. I.e I fully control every character, I get to choose who they talk to and what they say, I choose their race and class and their entire levelling scheme. So it feels natural to have the same level of control over combat.

Edited March 30, 2015 by aiqidar

[SeekDWay]

I have a lot of gripes with the game, but I not only like everything that the OP hates, but also think that the game great. Yes its buggy and riddled with ... but it's still a great game. but... but...

[Darth Trethon]

There was supposed to be a day one patch but it got delayed a little bit....and I mean "little bit" in the most literal sense of the word seeing how Obsidian is intending to launch it this week....so let's just be calm and patient and wait for it. Are things going to be perfect after the patch? No, but that doesn't matter at all right now because this game is insanely amazing.