PoE expansion: The White March part 1

[macadam]

I'm curious how these two parts will work out. I suppose since you could enter the area at any given time after Caed Nua there won't be a chapter intro (if they're numbered, will it be II.a?). Will there be a transition from part 1 to 2 via area unlock or through new quests only?

[zered]

nvm

Edited July 1, 2015 by zered

[wookinpanubb]

i have been playing this work of art since beta and am still amazed and entertained.cannot wait for the expansion.

[Nakia]

I'm curious how these two parts will work out. I suppose since you could enter the area at any given time after Caed Nua there won't be a chapter intro (if they're numbered, will it be II.a?). Will there be a transition from part 1 to 2 via area unlock or through new quests only?

This is strictly a guess on my part but since this is not part of the main quest I doubt that it will be numbered.

[Eisenheinrich]

Any news on the release-date? I'm pausing my second run through the game right now, because I want to wait for the 2.0 changes. This game, while good from the beginning on, gets better and more polished every week. 

Edited July 1, 2015 by Eisenheinrich

[swordofthesith]

So, from the E3 trailer we know that there'll be:

 

- a higher level cap

- more abilities

- durgan steel

- new companions

 

 

Is anyone else pumped? I'm pumped.

 

PUMPED.

[Lord_Mord]

This is a little bit off-topic, but I'm curious: Why do so many people want party AI? Isn't that sort of game about micromanagement? Isn't it boring to control just the main character? I find it annoying too, that my party members stop attacking, when their target is dead, but for me it would be enough, if they would continue with their last given task until I tell them to stop.

[Fardragon]

I see party AI as a quality of life issue. The game has a lot of easy, repetitive, boring fights in between the significant encounters. Some of them I just blast through with auto attack, but that feels a bit unsatisfactory. I don't think anyone expects AI that can compete with direct player control in difficult fights.

 

 

The is also the issue of "Baldur's Gate has it".

Edited July 1, 2015 by Fardragon

[Nakia]

I am one with Fardragon on this.  Plus use of party AI is optional.   You can set your tank to a AI and maybe a ranged member to one.  Micromanage your wizard and other party members.  I think it a much better option than using auto-attack for those boring bugs.

 

And as said 

 

 

The is also the issue of "Baldur's Gate has it".

 

[macadam]

 

I'm curious how these two parts will work out. I suppose since you could enter the area at any given time after Caed Nua there won't be a chapter intro (if they're numbered, will it be II.a?). Will there be a transition from part 1 to 2 via area unlock or through new quests only?

This is strictly a guess on my part but since this is not part of the main quest I doubt that it will be numbered.

 

 

Thank you.

 

I'll gladly make use of the party AI if only to have it beat me at the opaque combat mechanics I still haven't grasped entirely (put Eder in a doorway and you're set).

 

Fitting, given his wooden shield; likely the devs anticipated it.

[Uni]

I think i wouldnt personally make ai cast spells for me but that option existing doesnt bother me. It is also quite interesting in role play aspect, as you can choose to let your story companions fight as they "want". That could be quite a ride of greatly added difficulty and some might enjoy the party members being more like other people instead of mind controlled puppets.

 

In general im very happy for this because i find the lack of automatically attacking very frustrating in thrash fights. Its tedious to constantly wake up party members that just stand still doing nothing and select all+click is a very suboptimal maneuver.

[huang]

If I want to have the same experience with StarCraft 2, I need to buy *three* games. Of course you might be okay with this, depending on what you like in this game, but *I* feel like Blizzard is trying to rob me.

 

This is wrong because of several reasons. I'm not happy that they take so much time between games either, but the campaign of each game is as long as the campaign in the original game or any RTS game. What you are saying would only be valid, if the campaign in SC2 would be 1/3 the length. It is not. Another severe mistake here is, that even in the first campaign, you do play as other races in a few missions. You are way off track here.

[Zwiebelchen]

I wouldn't really compare Obsidian to Blizzard games at all - they are making different types of games. I have been happy with the value of products I have bought from both companies.

 

Actually, the games aren't so different at all.

 

Granted, I consider PoE more of a hybrid between RTS and RPG, not a "true" RPG.

Combat is just way too important in this game to consider PoE a full-fledged RPG. So the comparison to SC2 is not that far-fetched.

 

And let's be perfectly honest: If there is one thing Blizzard is masterclass at, then it is polishing games. Everything, from the 1-second-menu-sounds to the animations of each single unit in any of Blizzard games is thought-through ad absurdity. The consistency of art-style in WoW over the life-span of almost a decade is unparalleled in game history.

 

There is a lot and I really mean a ****ing huge lot to learn from blizzard games in terms of look & feel. And if we get back to the SC2 example, then the most obvious things we can learn from this game are:

- intuitive and "responsive" UI

- pathing algorithms (like ... literally. SC2 has the smoothest pathing algorithm I have ever seen. And that with several hundreds of units at the same time!)

- consistency of art style

- modularity and modding support (actually, they went a little bit too far here, overwhelming the players with possibilities and flexibility that is impossible to handle for inexperienced users)

- optimized session length (most games are over in 20 minutes, which is kind of the magic number)

- fantastic animations that provide clear visual feedback on what is happening in just the blink of an eye.

Edited July 1, 2015 by Zwiebelchen

[Kogorn733]

I'd be happy with party AI, but the more pressing issue is with ENEMY AI. Right now the enemy is waaaaaaay too predictable, and other than shades, fampyrs,and certain bosses, none of them have ways of really challenging the player other than through increased damage. 

[huang]

This is a little bit off-topic, but I'm curious: Why do so many people want party AI? Isn't that sort of game about micromanagement? Isn't it boring to control just the main character? I find it annoying too, that my party members stop attacking, when their target is dead, but for me it would be enough, if they would continue with their last given task until I tell them to stop.

 

But party AI doesn't stop you from using micromanagement. You can still order them around in whatever way you want, even if you don't outright turn it off.

 

I liked the combat so far and had no real problems with it, but being able to equip my guys with more complex routines they can also execute automatically might really come in handy.

[Kriber22]

Yes, what huang said above. I'll probably set my companions to auto-attack and use per-encounter abilities, but I'll keep my hand firmly on the controls of the per-rest spells and abilities. It keeps down the clicking between characters for ability use, especially in the less important encounters, while still letting me micromanage the stuff I personally feel needs micromanaging. And those who want more (or less) personal control can simply adjust the settings to reflect this. A win-win scenario in my book.

[Varana]

Combat is just way too important in this game to consider PoE a full-fledged RPG. So the comparison to SC2 is not that far-fetched.

Umm, if we actually look at videogames that get called RPGs, combat is far and wide the most important thing in almost all of them; the games where it's not are rare exceptions. Combat is what you're doing most of the time, combat is what most of your character's stats and abilities refer to, combat is what wins you the game in the end. Early RPGs aren't much except combat, with a little bit of dialogue thrown in to provide a semblance of context for why you're killing stuff.

Your points on UI and polishing are still very valid, esp. because PoE's combat is quite similar to that of RTS games. But in a videogame context, PoE doesn't have "too much combat" to be an RPG.

 

---

 

I find the argument "they split it, so it's DLC, and DLC is BAD!!!" quite odd. As long as it's the same content, why does it matter whether it comes in chunks or in a big package?

[Rosveen]

I find the argument "they split it, so it's DLC, and DLC is BAD!!!" quite odd. As long as it's the same content, why does it matter whether it comes in chunks or in a big package?

I never said DLC are bad, but I prefer one uninterrupted game experience. I also play Telltale games when all episodes are out, binge watch TV shows and read shorter novels in one sitting.

Edited July 2, 2015 by Rosveen

[Zwiebelchen]

 

I find the argument "they split it, so it's DLC, and DLC is BAD!!!" quite odd. As long as it's the same content, why does it matter whether it comes in chunks or in a big package?

I never said DLC are bad, but I prefer one uninterrupted game experience. I also play Telltale games when all episodes are out, binge watch TV shows and read shorter novels in one sitting.

 

 

Episodic content keeps you interested in the franchise for longer than if you had full releases, hence why so many companies do that nowadays.

 

It's basicly the old "a candle that burns twice as bright lasts half as long" principle.

 

 

On topic: I'm fine with having two episodes for the expansion, as long as there is a clear destinct cut between the episodes so that it feels like it's making sense.

So, for example, if the expansion is split into a optional TotSC-like side-content episode, and an afterstory episode that extends the content after beating the big bad of the main game, then this is fine to me, because then, there is a clear disconnect between the two parts.

 

What I wouldn't want is to see a "to be continued" screen after beating the first episode.

Edited July 2, 2015 by Zwiebelchen

[Lord_Mord]

 

Lord_Mord, on 01 Jul 2015 - 11:55 AM, said:

This is a little bit off-topic, but I'm curious: Why do so many people want party AI? Isn't that sort of game about micromanagement? Isn't it boring to control just the main character? I find it annoying too, that my party members stop attacking, when their target is dead, but for me it would be enough, if they would continue with their last given task until I tell them to stop.

 

But party AI doesn't stop you from using micromanagement. You can still order them around in whatever way you want, even if you don't outright turn it off.

 

I liked the combat so far and had no real problems with it, but being able to equip my guys with more complex routines they can also execute automatically might really come in handy.

 

I didn't say it would stop me, I just wondered, why anybody would use it. There are, at least in my opinion, more urgent matters. But I got my answers and I think, I understand now. I always thought of it as a game playing itself, but I missed the point. I still wouldn't use it, but at least I know, why people wanted that.

[Silent Winter]

 

On topic: I'm fine with having two episodes for the expansion, as long as there is a clear destinct cut between the episodes so that it feels like it's making sense.

So, for example, if the expansion is split into a optional TotSC-like side-content episode, and an afterstory episode that extends the content after beating the big bad of the main game, then this is fine to me, because then, there is a clear disconnect between the two parts.

 

What I wouldn't want is to see a "to be continued" screen after beating the first episode.

 

I doubt they'll be adding content after the final battle - this is TOTSC style side-content - just split in two.

They'll probably get you as far as the forge / other significant area, then simply bar access (like between Acts 2 and 3 in the main-game - some (un/)natural barrier that prevents further progress.)

Meaning you'll be able to use that 'point of no return' save again to come back and finish the expansion later...then beat the final endgame again again.

[Dinky Dino]

How long are you guys assuming each part will be in gameplay hours?

[Nakia]

My guess is roughly twenty hours each.

[Doppelschwert]

20 hours seens mighty optimistic to me. It took me about 50 hours to completely finish the main game, so i'd guess it will take at most 5 hours for each episode for me.

 

Nevertheless, since the add-on increases replayability, I will start over again, so replaying the game in 60 hours is more than enough to keep me occupied for a long time given my time available for video games.

Edited July 3, 2015 by Doppelschwert

[Nakia]

Yes, I am being optimistic but I base my value of a game on a one to one basis; one hour of play for every one USD I pay for the game or expansion.  I haven't seen any reports of what the expansions will cost.  Based on what expansions for other games have cost I doubt strongly that the cost will be five USD for each expansion, a total of ten USD for both.

 

Game Play style also varies, some move quickly through a game others more slowly.