white march news

[Sannom]

As for the Stronghold I want it to be something I can be proud of not a sink hole for money nor a gold mind but a true Lord's dwelling.  A place that will attract people both good and bad.  A place for settlers to come and want to live in its area of influence, raise their families, crops and livestock.   At least in my imagination.  

I think that's somewhat Gromnir's point about the gold sink thing : the Stronghold should be attractive to some players not because of the gameplay advantages it brings but because of the "bragging factor", so that players want to continue developping it despite its gold sink status and the poor return on investment it provides.

[Gromnir]

you post dictionary definitions but don't understand?  using an infinite number o' rests to illustrate a point and you still don't get it?  is it possible for an ordinary player to actual transform the stronghold from a well to a sink?  dunno.  is an imaginary problem at this point. at some unspecified and unknown number o' rests, a player might be able to exceed a kinda rest v. turn threshold to transform the stronghold from a well to a sink. your experience doesn't support.  neither does Gromnir's.  if the number o' rests needed to transform from well to prohibitive sink is not reasonable, then you don't have a genuine problem.  is hypothetical regardless.

 

...

 

why can you not be reasoned with?

 

and you continue to miss the forest for the trees.

 

HA! Good Fun!

Edited July 7, 2015 by Gromnir

[Nakia]

 

As for the Stronghold I want it to be something I can be proud of not a sink hole for money nor a gold mind but a true Lord's dwelling.  A place that will attract people both good and bad.  A place for settlers to come and want to live in its area of influence, raise their families, crops and livestock.   At least in my imagination.  

I think that's somewhat Gromnir's point about the gold sink thing : the Stronghold should be attractive to some players not because of the gameplay advantages it brings but because of the "bragging factor", so that players want to continue developping it despite its gold sink status and the poor return on investment it provides.

 

To clarify a little further.  I do not think it should be either a sink hole for money or a gold mine but should break even.  It should support itself at least after completion.  Hypothetically (couldn't resist) it is the place to which the player's character will retire.   It is a fortified place and so a refuge to the surrounding kith in time of danger, a residence in times of peace and should be able to support itself.  It should be a bragging spot but should also serve a utilitarian purpose as a center of influence.  I can imagine all kinds of things.  My character has settled down, married, had children grown old and no longer goes adventuring there fore a sink hole for money would be an albatross.  The Stronghold is an investment in the future not to bring in loads of money but in its own way to provide peace and prosperity to the area.  That is how I imagine it.

[Gromnir]

 

As for the Stronghold I want it to be something I can be proud of not a sink hole for money nor a gold mind but a true Lord's dwelling.  A place that will attract people both good and bad.  A place for settlers to come and want to live in its area of influence, raise their families, crops and livestock.   At least in my imagination.  

I think that's somewhat Gromnir's point about the gold sink thing : the Stronghold should be attractive to some players not because of the gameplay advantages it brings but because of the "bragging factor", so that players want to continue developping it despite its gold sink status and the poor return on investment it provides.

 

in our links we observed that we understand that the player will want to see return on investment.  that is natural.  you pay and want something in return.  the thing is, you are paying for power.  the folks who do the stronghold, the folks who have the disposable copper, have likely already completed a substantial number o' side-quests and are necessarily gonna be stronger than a critical path player.  if the stronghold offers tangible benefits that increase player power, it simple exacerbates the problems o' excess gold.

 

now keep in mind that we don't see much need for the developers to find creative ways to sink excess gold.  strikes us as a whole lotta effort on the developer's part.  unfortunately, the stronghold offers considerable payoff, particularly through the bounties.  the value of equipment and experience from the bounties alone is difficult to quantify.  the crafting resources, which is time rather than turn sensitive, is also having considerable value and the potential to increase player power.   and yeah, the stronghold generates money for Many turns, money which can be spent to acquire better equipment making the game even less challenging.  the stronghold is a well rather than a sink.  

 

taken to an as yet unspecified number o' rests, the stronghold may, depending on individual players, become transformed from a well to a sink, but as it now stands, the stronghold increases player power.  seems to us like a wasted opportunity.  am understanding why folks want more power from their gold investment, but that actual is having a tendency to make the game easier for those folks who is already likely to be having greater relative power.  the critical path need necessarily be balanced for the critical path player.  the more power you give to folks who do tangential fodder such as the stronghold, you necessarily increase the gap in power 'tween the critical path player and the completionist.  

 

HA! Good Fun!

[Gromnir]

 

 

As for the Stronghold I want it to be something I can be proud of not a sink hole for money nor a gold mind but a true Lord's dwelling.  A place that will attract people both good and bad.  A place for settlers to come and want to live in its area of influence, raise their families, crops and livestock.   At least in my imagination.  

I think that's somewhat Gromnir's point about the gold sink thing : the Stronghold should be attractive to some players not because of the gameplay advantages it brings but because of the "bragging factor", so that players want to continue developping it despite its gold sink status and the poor return on investment it provides.

 

To clarify a little further.  I do not think it should be either a sink hole for money or a gold mine but should break even.  It should support itself at least after completion.  Hypothetically (couldn't resist) it is the place to which the player's character will retire.   It is a fortified place and so a refuge to the surrounding kith in time of danger, a residence in times of peace and should be able to support itself.  It should be a bragging spot but should also serve a utilitarian purpose as a center of influence.  I can imagine all kinds of things.  My character has settled down, married, had children grown old and no longer goes adventuring there fore a sink hole for money would be an albatross.  The Stronghold is an investment in the future not to bring in loads of money but in its own way to provide peace and prosperity to the area.  That is how I imagine it.

 

until the developers complete the expansions, we doubt they will know how many stronghold turns they need contend with.  the turn clock makes sense to us 'cause both good and bad events is keeping pace with the player's advancement in the game, and advancing progress in the game may be reflected different on Gromnir's calendar as 'posed to nakia's.  conversely, the paying o' hirelings being set to a calendar does discourage exploitative resting behavior, which also strikes us as beneficial from a gameplay pov.  however, a hypothetical solution to nakia's concern can be implemented once the expansions is finished.

 

the developers should be aware o' a maximum # o' turns based on total available quests in the game.  once a player reaches 90% turn completion, and assuming they has completed all building options, have a major domo or chief steward hierling option available.  hire the chief steward functional puts you in retirement.  no more paying taxes or dealing with annoying visitors or whatnot.  use the stronghold for resting and shopping, but stronghold is effective complete at this point.  

 

good enough?

 

HA! Good Fun! 

[Nakia]

As a completionist I have to admit that I do not feel sorry for the critical path player.  We each have our own style of play and that is our choice.  No one forces me to complete every quest possible or explore every inch of a map that is my choice.  The developers of a game can force you to do certain things by the way they create the game i.e. repair the Eastern Bastion. 

 

There is no way developers can make 100% of the players happy 100% of the time.

[Gromnir]

you shouldn't feel sorry for the critical path player. nakia getting more power has 0 impact on the crit path player.  unfortunately, the reverse is not necessarily true.  the crit path player can be a loadstone on nakia's gameplay.  the crit path player is the one being catered to when balance is being considered by the developers.  the crit path player is the necessary benchmark for balance. in spite o' the grognards who rejected any scaling options during the beta, the expansion will have a scaling feature.  good. am hopeful some scaling has been added to the core game, but regardless, the game needs be balanced for the crit path player.  the more powerful a completionist becomes relative to a critical path player, the more likely the completionist is gonna notice a decrease in the game's difficulty, yes?  seems axiomatic, but we s'pose some folks would argue. 

 

regardless, is not a matter o' feeling sorry for the crit path player.

 

HA! Good Fun!

[Nakia]

A story doesn't end just because a game ends.  If the game has brought the characters in it to life for me it goes on.  The Stronghold exists and will continue its influence unless it is destroyed in some future expansion or sequel.  The descendants of my character will play their part in its future.

 

Life continues on not only for my character but for every surviving NPC in the game.  Gods or no gods the cycle of continues.   The world of Eora does not end because the game has ended.  Nature has given to me the ability to dream, imagine, fantasize.  To  me how many times I can rest in the Stronghold is unimportant.  It is the fantasy, the dream that is important.  Whether the Stronghold is a well or a sink hole depends on the stewardship of my character and  his or her descendants.   

[Gromnir]

the mostest funny aspect o' the hypothetical problem put forth by gk is the ridiculous paltry sums we is talking 'bout and the obscene number o' additional rest opportunities needed to transform this from a joke problem into a genuine one.

 

has been a while since we paid attention, but poe has a 5 day week, yes?  for the sake o' argument, am gonna assume that Gromnir topped out our turns with any given play o' poe so that any additional rest would result in a potential increase in hierling pay w/o generating tax revenue from turns.  no quest advance = no turns. again, we don't know what is the actual max turns, so am creating a hypothetical scenario to be illustrating. so, if we spammed rests so that we could generate 4 additional hierling paydays, that would require us to burn 60 additional rest opportunities.  depending on hierlings, we see that our paydays from 4 different characters is endgame costing us anywhere from 150cp to 300cp. our 4 weeks o' nothing but resting would thus result in a 600cp to 1200cp shortfall? 

 

...

 

so, given how much revenue were generated by the stronghold, just how many additional rests would it take for Gromnir to see the stronghold as a whole convert from being in the black to being in the red? 

 

HA! Good Fun!

Edited July 8, 2015 by Gromnir

[Doppelschwert]

"Obsidian Entertainment to host unique panel at San Diego Comic-Con! Join the award winning team at Obsidian Entertainment, Eric Fenstermaker, Josh Sawyer, Jorge Salgado, Kaz Aruga, and Bobby Null for a unique interactive experience where you, the audience get to participate in the process of creating part of the upcoming expansion for Pillars of Eternity: The White March - Part II. Obsidian is going to make you, the audience part of the design process and walk you through what they do to create something in the game itself. This is a unique fun, opportunity for anyone who loves video games and wants to take a peek behind the curtain and help make the magic happen.

Saturday, July 11 • 7:30pm - 8:30pm
Room: 7AB
SDCC: http://tinyurl.com/ndurgxh "

 

HA! Good Fun!

[Gromnir]

good info.

 

manifested is in san diego, and we suspect there is a few boardies who make their yearly pilgrimage to comic-con.  

 

HA! Good Fun!

 

ps am genuine envious that our name cannot be shortened to something kewl like "Kaz." 

[macadam]

ps am genuine envious that our name cannot be shortened to something kewl like "Kaz."

 

"Grom" is fine, though.

[tinysalamander]

"Grom" is fine, though.

 

Bonus points for that being “thunder” in Russian :}

[wanderon]

 

"Grom" is fine, though.

 

Bonus points for that being “thunder” in Russian :}

 

 

Loud noise?   

[Amentep]

Don't have a dog in this horse race, as I do think in general at some point a Stronghold should become self-sufficient after a certain tipping point, but...
 

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/hypothetical

The meaning Gromnir appears to be using is referenced in this link:

Logic.
(of a proposition or syllogism) conditional.

In this case the syllogism is IF you have hired hirelings AND IF you rest an infinite number of times THEN you will expend all of your money on hirelings.

 

"Not Hypothetical" in this context would be "I rested 9,5028 times and having hired hirelings, I ran out of money"

 

Note that based on the programing, this hypothetical situation is true (both in given propositions and in conclusion). The real question is whether the probability of the true, hypothetical situation is such that it creates a real problem, or is the probability on the level of being struck by lightning and therefore for 99% of the players the effect of infinite resting while having hirelings will never be apparent. 

Edited July 8, 2015 by Amentep

[Gromnir]

The real question is whether the probability of the true, hypothetical situation is such that it creates a real problem, or is the probability on the level of being struck by lightning and therefore for 99% of the players the effect of infinite resting while having hirelings will never be apparent. 

as noted afore,  certain folks were missing the forest for the trees.  am much relieved that amentep recognizes the actual problem... or the absence o' a problem. 

 

HA! Good Fun!

 

ps if you explicit explain the error, a person will be less likely to learn.  he gots to make the connection, or the exercise is pointless.

[ManifestedISO]

good info.

 

manifested is in san diego, and we suspect there is a few boardies who make their yearly pilgrimage to comic-con.  

 

HA! Good Fun!

 

ps am genuine envious that our name cannot be shortened to something kewl like "Kaz." 

 

The convention is now a reservation for industry insiders. No longer does locality guarantee inclusion. That's my fancy way of saying if you don't win the ten-minute ticket sell-out lottery in February ... SOL is all you get. Which I already have plenty of. I shoulda called myself ManifestedSOL.

 

Was forced to drive downtown this morning for work, today being the first preview day of SDCC, although work had nothing to do with it. I made it out by 2pm without too much hassle. Public parking quadruples this week, from ten bones a day to $40 per. I'm a nerd and I love comics and cosplay but they need to expand the convention center so normal people can visit Artist's Alley.

 

I'm also envious ... I'd like to shorten my insufferably long name to short and kewl. I'll think of something, I didn't get this English degree for nothing. No, yes I did.     

[Gromnir]

 

good info.

 

manifested is in san diego, and we suspect there is a few boardies who make their yearly pilgrimage to comic-con.  

 

HA! Good Fun!

 

ps am genuine envious that our name cannot be shortened to something kewl like "Kaz." 

 

The convention is now a reservation for industry insiders. No longer does locality guarantee inclusion. That's my fancy way of saying if you don't win the ten-minute ticket sell-out lottery in February ... SOL is all you get. Which I already have plenty of. I shoulda called myself ManifestedSOL.

 

Was forced to drive downtown this morning for work, today being the first preview day of SDCC, although work had nothing to do with it. I made it out by 2pm without too much hassle. Public parking quadruples this week, from ten bones a day to $40 per. I'm a nerd and I love comics and cosplay but they need to expand the convention center so normal people can visit Artist's Alley.

 

I'm also envious ... I'd like to shorten my insufferably long name to short and kewl. I'll think of something, I didn't get this English degree for nothing. No, yes I did.     

 

well, am guessing we lost nerd cred.  had no idea that sdcc were so exclusive.  that is san diego comic-con and not san diego city college, right?  

 

back in the early 2000s, we went to a sdcc. we got a friend who builds all kinda star wars stuff including replica lightsabres, blasters, stormtrooper armour and genuine looking costumes o' all kinds.  the guy is a serious craftsman, though we typical refer to him as being an accomplished "seamstress" when speaking o' his hobby.  the seamstress invited us and while the convention itself had middling appeal, we like san diego, so we went along.  it were a fun experience. regardless, our friend continues to go to sdcc every year.  we had no idea that he needed a special "in" to get invited.

 

HA! Good Fun!

[ManifestedISO]

 that is san diego comic-con and not san diego city college, right?  

 

HA! Good Fun!

 

 

 

 

I recently learned the average GPA of UC freshmen is 4.14 ... probably not so much for City College students. My meager persona is from State. Not SDSU. 

 

I'm not sure how most people get in to the convention. Association seems likely. I just know that modern average humans need to pre-register online, in order to be eligible to register online, to be able to have a chance at buying tickets. It's unbelievable. My fondest wish would be a separation of access between the mega movie/media panels and the regular joes/josephines who merely want a commission from their favorite comic artists. 

[Gromnir]

http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/campuses/index.html

 

well, we looked at freshman profiles for all o' the UC campuses and we did note that the gpa averages is, across the board, mighty impressive, but the sat scores don't look all that different than what we recall from ancient times when Gromnir did matriculate.   there were no essay requirement in ye olde days, but 1380 sounds 'bout right for Cal for math and verbal.  we would need ask hurl if grading has been skewed upwards in the past decade(s).  

 

in any event, we suspect that manifested could start a blog and become an industry insider by next comic-con w/o too much effort... even as a state school grad.

 

HA! Good Fun!

[Eisenheinrich]

*bump*

So, any news? 

What's "soon"? 

 

[Luckmann]

*bump*

 

So, any news? 

 

What's "soon"?

I'm sure there'll be news soon.

[Tennisgolfboll]

 

 

 

I don't think the writers on either KOTOR fully understood the universe they where writing in.

Is that why they're the only good entries in the EU?

Myself being german I think germany is quite a good entry in the European Union. Your mileage may differ, of course.

Myself being Swedish, I don't think any country is a good entry in the European Union.

 

Least of all Sweden.

 

Kick us out.

 

Please. D:

 

The EU is getting retconned.

Hey man, even if Greece leaves the Eurozone, it's not like we're all just gonna pretend it never happened.

If Britain leaves the Eurozone, I'm going to pretend that the EU never happened.

When britain leaves. Not if.

 

After that the EU will never be the same.

[Luckmann]

Britain leaves, then France gets spooked and leaves, and oh god it's the communist domino effect all over again, quick, invade something while we still have the chance!

[Eisenheinrich]

Putin will invade germany in that case. Given the desolate state of our military, the russian army will be at the Rhine in no time. But maybe it's not for the worst.

Edited July 15, 2015 by Eisenheinrich