Update 93: Patch 1.03 - Important Community Fixes

[LadyCrimson]

Any news on improving patch roll-outs in the future to all platforms simultaneously?

I think they've mentioned they're working on a method for people to download patches manually from their site but I have no idea what process that might entail or when it might arrive etc.

 

The thing about GoG is they use their own "installer" and thus have to spend time testing/making sure a patch works with their installer. I don't know techs about that process either, but it's why GoG patches usually take 1-3 days longer, especially compared to Steam's easy to use (for the developer as well as the consumer) insta-process.

 

[surfer_rosa]

The 1.03 patch breaks locked chests and doors.

 

You do not want the new patch if you use a custom character with mechanics skill.

[Kimuji]

And yet the *effect* of the censorship is done: the "offensive" part is gone.

 

Do you know how they did it in communist Poland? They removed content, left blank space corresponding to the amount of text removed, and in the middle it wrote: "Removed in accordance of Law Number 12345678" (and the paragraph in question). So what is different here? That a new joke masks the content that is now *gone* from the piece of art?

 

Yeah that's exactly the same thing, Obisidian is no better than the nazis and the soviet union... That comparison is completly out of proportion.

[Litany]

"Censorship" in the sense many of you are referring to generally requires some sort of authority, typically governmental, removing content deemed inappropriate by the ruling regime.

A video game company altering some dialogue in their video game doesn't really rise to the level of censorship under Communism or Fascism you weirdos. Stop making the comparison; it makes you look insane.

Again, Obsidian seems to agree that the content is offensive, and removed it, while working with the backer in question. You have no grounds to complain and you aren't going to win people to your cause through ridiculous hyperbole.

Of course, what is GamerGate but screaming into the wind about a cause you've already landed on the losing side of?

[LordCrash]

Please, people, just stop. It's becoming ridiculous at that point.

 

Just open the window, let in some fresh air and just take a deep breath. Then close the window again, leave the forum and just do something of value with your life  (like playing the game...) since what most of you do HERE is just a huge waste of time and a fight against wind mills...

 

 

Don't you guys have any REAL problems to worry about? I wish I had your fuc*king lucky life... 

Edited April 4, 2015 by LordCrash

[Litany]

 

I also bought Pillars of Eternity and support what Obsidian did.

You aren't special because you bought a video game.

 

 

What you said is in direct contrast to reality.

 

"So one thing that, um, I really appreciate about Kickstarter is that its sorta given the game development community, um, more options in terms of what content it can produce. What sort of game ideas you can bring to the table, and the fact that it doesn't really have the publisher model involved but we're actually being financed directly by they players, who, we answer to anyway and I'd rather have them as the bosses. Um, that's sorta been a very new way of doing games that's been very, very exciting." - Chris Avellone, Pillars of Eternity Kickstarter video

 

Well, here's the problem with the idea that the backers are bosses: we both bought the game (I'm assuming you did even though you lack a visible backer badge, else why are you here?) so we're BOTH his bosses, right? I think Obsidian made the right choice, you think they made the wrong choice. So we cancel out.

 

Now, unless you think Obsidian should make all future decisions by Backer Committee (and what a cluster THAT would be!) we'll probably just have to agree that Obsidian is a private company that will do what it thinks is best for itself and its consumer, regardless of our individual opinions.

 

WE AREN'T SPECIAL WE JUST BOUGHT A VIDEO GAME. Honestly no one should listen to us because we clearly waste our money on frivolous nonsense.

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

Of course, what is GamerGate but screaming into the wind about a cause you've already landed on the losing side of?

Emailing advertisers so that Gawker now is a wasteland in terms of native ads. I assume hurting Gawker was harmful to women in some way though.

[Litany]

Please, people, just stop. It's becoming ridiculous at that point.

 

Just open the window, let in some fresh air and just take a deep breath. Then close the window again, leave the forum and just do something of value with your life  (like playing the game...) since what most of you do HERE is just a huge waste of time and a fight against wind mills...

 

 

Don't you guys have any REAL problems to worry about? I wish I had your fuc*king lucky life... 

Uhhh excuse me but this is about ethics. Or censorship. Or maybe Fascism?? Really everything hinges on this bad poem. The future of all free speech is at stake.

Edited April 4, 2015 by Litany

[Kibby]

I honestly don't care if it was changed.. infact the changed poem is a pretty funny shot fired but the fact you come in here and say it wasn't vetted, come on now, you know damn well these were looked over.

[Eiphel]

Just FYI, I am a trans woman, and I was pretty displeased with that memorial, and was writing to Obsidian about it when I saw this update. I knew immediately which text they were talking about because, no, it's not just one crazy person on twitter - That joke was hateful and mean spirited. Guess I need to be raked over the coals too. Kind of horrified at the bile that's come out of this community in response, too. I may be a fan of the same games, but evidently that is as far as common cause goes.

[junk11]

I'm not mad about censorship, because I am not the guy who wrote it.

But I do feel it is unnecessary.

[Bulivyf]

You spelled "she" wrong. And last time I saw gators talk about Thompson they were saying how great a guy he really was. I know logically consistent arguments aren't gg's strong suit, but really.

 

Sincerely, a backer who made Pillars of Eternity possible. Unlike you mr. sockpuppet. 

 

All these new accounts wihtout backer status coming out of the woodworks suddenly trying to give extra weight to a ****ty position ... typical gg "tactics".

 

I didn't make the image, and technically, if the original creator chose to be politically correct which he may not have considering what passes for political correctness nowadays it would be "lady" not "she" since the original was "guy" not "he", but that's besides the point. I'll admit you are being very consistent, consistently assumptive and accusatory as to who and what I am, which is as you say typical SJW "tactics".

 

What I expect from this thread: The Moderators will claim all of these posts criticizing the removal of the IG backers joke are OFF-TOPIC and either remove them or lock the thread despite the removal of the IG backers memorial being a part of the discussion.

[Shades]

Cats in hats! <3 I should make a new character called Dr Seuss.

 

Regarding the removed backer content... I'm so glad that the backer got to change it to something else rather than just getting nothing when they paid to be able to add something to the game and support it. I'm also glad that said new content makes fun of the whole situation, because it is quite frankly ridiculous (it was a very short, unspecific piece of text and I'm sure anyone could come to a lot of wild assumptions about it by using their imagination).

 

Equally ridiculous is the way on the other side people now seem to be threatening to not buy the game... Excuse me? You mean you're this concerned and outraged... But you didn't actually back the game on Kickstarter in the first place. And you didn't pre-order or buy it once it released... So basically someone who still hasn't bought the game now, is outraged at a tiny thing being changed (which is equally as silly as those who were outraged at the content itself) and will not buy the game. Okay, go ahead. Don't buy it. You miss out on enjoying an awesome game, and I'm sure Obsidian has plenty of other, rational fans who will be willing to help contribute if there is another Kickstarter put up for an expansion or sequel.

 

The good thing about solving this as quickly as possible by changing the content is it stops the angry mob from trying to drag this wonderful game through the mud. Of course now there's a whole new angry mob... But as someone else mentioned. This was backer content that was changed, not Obsidian's own content. I trust that Obsidian would be much, much less likely to change their own actual content due to an angry mob.

 

And now back to the cats in hats, eee! Thank you for the quick patch, and if those cats in hats are a joke please consider making them not-a-joke at some point in the distant future

[Litany]

A moderator already posted in the thread, friend. And half of the people complaining have post counts below five so their posts would have needed mod approval to even appear.

[TuxedoKamina]

"Censorship" in the sense many of you are referring to generally requires some sort of authority, typically governmental, removing content deemed inappropriate by the ruling regime.

 

A video game company altering some dialogue in their video game doesn't really rise to the level of censorship under Communism or Fascism you weirdos. Stop making the comparison; it makes you look insane.

Now, unless you think Obsidian should make all future decisions by Backer Committee (and what a cluster THAT would be!) we'll probably just have to agree that Obsidian is a private company that will do what it thinks is best for itself and its consumer, regardless of our individual opinions.

 

So you acknowledge that Obsidian is the authority ruling the regime (the development of the game)?

[LordCrash]

It still baffles me that there are people who actually read all these memorials.

 

You talk about a poem here but obviously don't give a damn that most of the memorials are just completely out of fiction and don't strengthen the game AT ALL. Hell, even most of the names on the memorial stones are so stupid and out of fiction that they break immersion in under a second. Obviously most backers didn't care about making the game BETTER with their contribution in the first place and now some of you claim that we all have to be angry about one of these stupid memorial stones because there was content on it Obsidian didn't see fit for their game? Hell, you guys suck. You really, REALLY suck. Not because I enjoy cencorship, but because you just make a big drama out of literally nothing, a non-issue, a no-brainer, something not even worth talking about.

 

If you want to discuss something, discuss why most of the memorials are just plain stupid and break immersion in a second instead of helping the game creating a even deeper and better atmosphere. Get your damn priorities straight. I thought backing this game was about making this game - made and created by Obsidian - the best possible one. We were supposed to HELP them. We weren't supposed to transform our own egos into this game, as were were something special that had to be curated without the possibility of criticism or doubt. The worst part of it is that this is actually just a private matter between Obsidian and that very backer who made that stuff and that nobody else should be even affected by that AT ALL. But I guess some people just want to argue for the sake of arguing. Fu*k the game, fu*k Obsidian, fu*k everything, it's about principles. But let me tell you something: the way to hell is pathed with good intentions based on such principles and you guys are damn straight on the direct way to hell with this stupid discussion. End it. ASAP. PLEASE.

 

Over and out. 

Edited April 4, 2015 by LordCrash

[TuxedoKamina]

Just FYI, I am a trans woman, and I was pretty displeased with that memorial, and was writing to Obsidian about it when I saw this update. I knew immediately which text they were talking about because, no, it's not just one crazy person on twitter - That joke was hateful and mean spirited. Guess I need to be raked over the coals too. Kind of horrified at the bile that's come out of this community in response, too. I may be a fan of the same games, but evidently that is as far as common cause goes.

 

I'm honestly curious, where in the original memorial was the man in bed refered to as trans? The word transmisogynistic has been used to reference it but there is no indication that the man "Firedorn" slept with was trans.

Edited April 4, 2015 by TuxedoKamina

[zip0186]

I feel disappointing with the fans bailing on Obsidian due to the debacle with backer content here, really I am. I mean, is what Obsidian did the best option available? Probably not, however it is likely the safest option they felt they had. Someone starts screaming loud enough about a game company supporting gay bashing and transgender hate and what not, however ridiculous the claims, in the current climate for media it seems to me that's a good way to get sued; or at the very least get a lot of negative press.

 

They went through proper channels, and had the backer submit a new joke/poem for their little bit, they didn't just yank it or completely ignore the contribution, but they were, in my opinion, doing a thankless task to protect their game. Likely knowing it would cause backlash regardless of what they did, they leave it in, people get to drag em through the dirt and will actively start LOOKING for more things that offend them. They probably are anyway, and I don't feel worried that this means we'll end playing a game with a bright happy story line where the first town you're greeted with a tree strung with pinatas and a talking horse.

 

So, personally, everyone bailing is assuming a trend from a single occurrence, where yes it does, or can, set a bad precedent. However I've played Obsidian games for so long that I'm sorry, for the moment, I'll keep faith with them. Seems to me that they're less likely to go the route that might upset the fans if, instead of swearing off their games so your opinion no longer is a reason to not do something, you tell them exactly what you think but you trust them to do the right thing. I feel this was in all honesty a no win situation, SOMEONE was going to get offended, and they had hoped that in doing this they would keep negative press off their game, and their community, and likely hoped the fans would understand. Maybe I'm over thinking it and they don't care that much, but personally, I'd like to think they do, at least for something so closely made with the fans in this case. 

 

So, yeah, while it's, awkward that the poem that got changed, I like the new one and find how the new one came about to be more amusing. So yeah, kudos to you Obsidian, your game is great, and not something I hate, well, other than surprise bear. Though seeing my mage explode into giblets was amusing. Sorry for the wall here everyone its just, saddening to see fans so quick to ditch really, least thats what it seems like. 

[DeathQuaker]

Thanks for seeing about changing the epitaph and listening to your fans who were hurt by it (I wasn't personally but I did see why it was concerning and am sympathetic to those who were)--and also giving the backer a chance to change it himself.

 

Thanks also for the rest of the patch---and for a great game. Proud to be a POE backer and a longtime fan of Obsidian and to remain a fan for a long time to come.

Edited April 4, 2015 by DeathQuaker

[Nerdwing]

Prior to release, we worked with many of our backers to iterate on content they asked to be put into the game that didn't strike the right tone.

 

Good to know the Gamebanshee.com self pat on the back fit with the tone of Pillars.

Yeah whats up with this one?  This was the only one that made me pause and wondet wtf

[SunBroSolaire]

The good thing about solving this as quickly as possible by changing the content is it stops the angry mob from trying to drag this wonderful game through the mud. Of course now there's a whole new angry mob... But as someone else mentioned. This was backer content that was changed, not Obsidian's own content. I trust that Obsidian would be much, much less likely to change their own actual content due to an angry mob.

The right answer in these situations is always to ignore the chronically outraged. Internet outrage needs attention to feed off of, and this would have been forgotten in a few days if Obsids hadn't thrown a heap of fuel on the fire.

[ChipMHazard]

 

Just FYI, I am a trans woman, and I was pretty displeased with that memorial, and was writing to Obsidian about it when I saw this update. I knew immediately which text they were talking about because, no, it's not just one crazy person on twitter - That joke was hateful and mean spirited. Guess I need to be raked over the coals too. Kind of horrified at the bile that's come out of this community in response, too. I may be a fan of the same games, but evidently that is as far as common cause goes.

 

I'm honestly curious, where in the original memorial was the man in bed refered to as trans? The word transmisogynistic has been used to reference it but there is no indication that the man "Firedorn" slept with was trans.

 

 

It quite obviously didn't have anything to do with transgender and if it did then it's so vauge that its hard to argue that it was. 

Edited April 4, 2015 by ChipMHazard

[KEK7go]

Disappointed by the decision, but this hardly changes anything in the main game.

 

I am just sad that this cheapens real trans-phobia that real people face in real life.

[Dexter111]

"Censorship" in the sense many of you are referring to generally requires some sort of authority, typically governmental, removing content deemed inappropriate by the ruling regime.

You might want to look up what such words mean before you further make an ass out of yourself, just saying.

https://www.aclu.org/free-speech/what-censorship

 

 

Censorship, the suppression of words, images, or ideas that are "offensive," happens whenever some people succeed in imposing their personal political or moral values on others. Censorship can be carried out by the government as well as private pressure groups. Censorship by the government is unconstitutional.

 

In contrast, when private individuals or groups organize boycotts against stores that sell magazines of which they disapprove, their actions are protected by the First Amendment, although they can become dangerous in the extreme. Private pressure groups, not the government, promulgated and enforced the infamous Hollywood blacklists during the McCarthy period. But these private censorship campaigns are best countered by groups and individuals speaking out and organizing in defense of the threatened expression.

 

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/censorship

 

 

the system or practice of censoring books, movies, letters, etc.

 

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/censorship

 

 

The suppression or prohibition of any parts of books, films, news, etc. that are considered obscene, politically unacceptable, or a threat to security

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship

 

 

Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication or other information which may be considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, politically incorrect or inconvenient as determined by governments, media outlets, authorities or other groups or institutions.

 

What was done is literally censorship by all definitions.

 

Here are two short essays by two famous authors (George Orwell and Ray Bradbury) on how some of the worst censorship doesn't come from the government, but from society e.g. people like that Twitter **** or the laughable "gaming journalists" that support them:

http://www.rjgeib.com/thoughts/451/451.html

http://www.brainpickings.org/2013/08/16/the-freedom-of-the-press-george-orwell/

 

Also an interesting article in relation to games: http://venturebeat.com/2014/12/17/anti-censorship-group-sees-apples-steams-control-over-expression-in-apps-and-games-as-dangerous/ with the NCAC answering questions to confused people like you: http://ncac.org/

[Litany]

 

"Censorship" in the sense many of you are referring to generally requires some sort of authority, typically governmental, removing content deemed inappropriate by the ruling regime.

 

A video game company altering some dialogue in their video game doesn't really rise to the level of censorship under Communism or Fascism you weirdos. Stop making the comparison; it makes you look insane.

Now, unless you think Obsidian should make all future decisions by Backer Committee (and what a cluster THAT would be!) we'll probably just have to agree that Obsidian is a private company that will do what it thinks is best for itself and its consumer, regardless of our individual opinions.

 

So you acknowledge that Obsidian is the authority ruling the regime (the development of the game)?

 

If you like, buddy. Self-censorship isn't really censorship in the sense people are using it, though. It's not an outside force imposing this on Obsidian. They could easily ignore the complaints and it would go away, the same way they're not paying much heed to your complaints, and you will eventually move on to the next outrage.

 

Honestly, the only difference between the so-called "SJWs" and the people who oppose them is what they find outrageous. It's the same tactics and often the same sense of entitlement.

 

Of course, the SJW group is responding to discrimination, whether real or perceived, while the anti-SJW group is claiming that listening to the SJWs will lead to the Fourth Reich, so one group strikes me as the more reasonable of the two.