I'm calling it quits

[Nasdaq7]

Mind you I am 40, so a younger child might persist. My view of the game? It's good, it's excellent. What I would have done differently:

 

1. Start the game off in the city areas, they are the most spectacularly designed areas in the game. Let viewers view and those areas first. Then if they want more dangerous and rewarding adventures, go wander off in to the wild forests and caves.

 

2. The most hindering part for me of the game, which made me quit, was you have to do this or that to open up the map. I love open world exploration. I hate talking to 10 people doing 20 things in a specific order before the map opens up to me. The combat in the forests and caves and dungeons was wonderful, the city areas was interesting but ultimately boring in terms of combat. I loved climbing through windows with rope and grappling hook to secret areas. There could have been 20 times more of those types of surprises in the game.

 

3. I quit around the part where I couldn't get to that last part of the map - the road from Stormwall Gorge to Hearthsong wasn't open.

 

4. Another part that was not as much fun, was not being able to buy the right ingredients in the shops to enchant weapons and armor. I would suggest leaving say 20% of the most important stuff in the wild and on enemies. But please allow 80% needed to be in the shops. I spent days ( literally ) traversing the maps looking for ingredients.

 

More battles please!

 

My recommendations:

 

1. Create more factions - I want to see my keep at war with other keeps. I want to see WAR! 

 

I want see siege machines. Wizards! Armies of 20, 30, 100 men slogging it out, with my RPG guys in the middle of it.

 

2. Create far more unique items.

 

3. Create far more merchants, traders and items. And they have to be quite different.

 

There's too many quests in the game. Give direction to the game and let it carry itself. To do tasks for someone non-stop throughout the game, is like work.

 

I couldn't find people in the game I have just visited. I wish the game would list every character in each city, in a list, once I have made contact.

 

The greatest surprise in the game was the stronghold. Very interesting. Very exciting.

Build and develop that idea with 3 or so other factions that have their own stronghold and that is at war with your faction and each other. Let things

happen in real time. In other words, you don't know when your party will be attacked by any of the other factions.

 

I loved the Raedric's Hold quest.

 

The game also needs an item sorter.

 

In summary: the quests take far too long and is too serialized: do this to open that part of the map. Walking across entire maps to do too many quests is a chore! Keep the quests to one city. Zig zagging across huge maps, being unable to find a specific person - you meet hundreds. You forget people's names. Give us battles man! Especially in the cities. Dungeons and monsters. Every area had to have one epic battle.

 

[Ink Blot]

I've not progressed that far into the game, but doesn't the Journal cover most of the issues with where to go/who to find? If not, you can always make your own notes as well.

 

As for the maps, isn't it like BG in that you open up the map on the edge from which you exit the previous one? What I mean is if you're on Map A and go to the west edge to exit, the map there will be open, but not the map directly east. To get that one open, you have to exit to the east. Is this not the case? It seems so from what I've played so far (I keep restarting, so haven't progressed beyond Defiance Bay in any run yet).

 

I like the idea of the war amongst keeps, but not sure it fits with the story as is.

 

As for the quests, you don't have to do them all. It's fairly easy to distinguish between critical path and side quests, so you can fairly easily pick and choose if you find them too tedious.

 

Item sorter: yeah, that would be cool (I realize you can highlight certain item groups, but there's no way to easily sort alphabetically or otherwise within the groups).

 

Ingredients: I'm of a similar mind as you. Common ingredients, let me buy 'em. The real rarities? Have to go find 'em.

[sim-h]

Haha you don't really expect us to believe you've quit do you? You'll fire it up again within a week...

[MReed]

I'm pretty sure that this simply isn't the right type of game / series for you, as I suspect that a large number of backers would consider many of the changes you are requesting to be "in the wrong direction" (e.g. make the game worse).  It sounds like you are looking for something closer to Bethesda's open-world RPGs (Skyrim and related games).

 

Nothing wrong with that, but that's simply not the game that Obsidian set out to make, so it isn't uprising that the game fails to meet your expectations.

[Tartantyco]

2. The most hindering part for me of the game, which made me quit, was you have to do this or that to open up the map. I love open world exploration. I hate talking to 10 people doing 20 things in a specific order before the map opens up to me.

 

What are you talking about? You can go pretty much anywhere you want. I can't think of a single place where an area wasn't available to me if I went there on foot.

[Tigranes]

He means the two specific gatings that happen in the entire game: between Act 1 and 2 (defiance bay), and between Act 2 and 3 (twin elms). 

[Vadász]

I stopped reading at the part of the stronghold...

 

2/10

 

Ttoo obvious.

[deama]

I agree with the OP on most parts but I think he's not harsh enough with the game.

[Nasdaq7]

What is OP? Who is OP?

Edited April 8, 2015 by Nasdaq7

[Atheosis]

I agree with the OP on most parts but I think he's not harsh enough with the game.

 

You people don't know a good thing when you see it.  I feel sorry for you.

[Rosbjerg]

What is OP? Who is OP?

 

Original Poster, ie you,

[Nasdaq7]

Look I can be tough on them, but having run a business myself, I understand that everything is difficult. If I can't get my own business perfect after 10 years, then how can I expect someone else to do it. Someone that needed a kickstarter project funding. I might try something like this game someday. As a programmer, I can see how it was done. Very cleverly, very intelligently.

Edited April 8, 2015 by Nasdaq7

[Lord Wafflebum]

What is OP? Who is OP?

It stands for Original Poster, so that would be you.

 

edit: Ninja'd

Edited April 8, 2015 by Lord Wafflebum

[Lord Wafflebum]

Look I can be tough on them, but having run a business myself, I understand that everything is difficult. If I can't get my own business perfect after 10 years, then how can I expect someone else to do it. Someone that needed a kickstarter project funding. I might try something like this game someday. As a programmer, I can see how it was done. Very cleverly, very intelligently.

Then as a business owner I'd think you'd be more understanding of what can be done with a budget. This game is phenomenal considering what they had to work with. Is it perfect? No, but it's very good for what they had to work with. This sets them up to make even better expansions and sequels.

 

I understand many of your criticisms, but this game was designed for everything to be possible. If you want free, unhindered exploration your game is gonna be Skyrim. These IE style games are about story as much as exploration, and following what very little you have to do to progress the main plot isn't asking much. 

 

I'd recommend trying to play the game as it is intended. Who knows, you might even have fun.

[Strigoi]

Although I disagree with most of what you said, to each his own. Come back later, after a few patches, or maybe try a different/unusual party composition.

[DIIscIIple]

I always like that OP means two different things because anytime anyone refers to me as the OP I think 'yes, yes I am the op'.

[Nasdaq7]

I have no problem with the game. I'm busy with my own business and deadline projects. I abandoned Skyrim 2 too to do work, if it will make you feel better.

 

If you don't want to take my advice on the stronghold, leave it. Don't do it.

Edited April 8, 2015 by Nasdaq7

[LadyCrimson]

1. Create more factions - I want to see my keep at war with other keeps. I want to see WAR!

I want see siege machines. Wizards! Armies of 20, 30, 100 men slogging it out, with my RPG guys in the middle of it.

Seems to me that certain RTS strategy/sandbox games might be more to your liking, at least in this regard.

[Lord Wafflebum]

I have no problem with the game. I'm busy with my own business and deadline projects. I abandoned Skyrim 2 too to do work, if it will make you feel better.

 

If you don't want to take my advice on the stronghold, leave it. Don't do it.

My problem is that based on the criticism you have barely played the game and haven't given it a chance. If you don't want to have to defend your criticism you could have sent a private message to one of the devs, yet you posted in an open forum.

[Nasdaq7]

Take some constructive suggestions and criticism. Man. Show some toughness. Be tough. Be open-minded.

I'm merely suggesting, open up those 2 areas. There is a bottleneck in the game. That's all I am saying.

"He means the two specific gatings that happen in the entire game: between Act 1 and 2 (defiance bay), and between Act 2 and 3 (twin elms). "

I believe you...​ everything you have said.

 

Instead of thanking me, you attack me.

Edited April 8, 2015 by Nasdaq7

[Whatever6669]

Take some constructive suggestions and criticism. Man. Show some toughness. Be tough. Be open-minded.

 

I'm merely suggesting, open up those 2 areas. There is a bottleneck in the game. That's all I am saying.

 

"He means the two specific gatings that happen in the entire game: between Act 1 and 2 (defiance bay), and between Act 2 and 3 (twin elms). "

Mother of all edit! You changed quite a lot your tone between those two edits, I'm proud of you.

[Nasdaq7]

I'll remove the topic if it's such a pain.

[wanderon]

Quits? bye bye!

[Nasdaq7]

Bye bye! Yourself. I'll see what's in the latest patch thank you!   

[Lord Wafflebum]

Take some constructive suggestions and criticism. Man. Show some toughness. Be tough. Be open-minded.

This is literally what I'm asking of you. You mistake directness for aggression.