Josh Sawyer's tweets and teasers

[injurai]

Oh, I didn't know they had a reason. That's actually a really satisfying reason even if I really want a map.

[smjjames]

Fine, I'll retract the question asking about the map. I'll leave the question whether Ondras Mortar will be visitable ingame (if it's in range) as it sounds like an interesting place.

[Wormerine]

Finally found it. Its not specifically about the map, but I believe it didn't overinterpret their answer too much.

 

 

51:15

[DexGames]

I keep watching & re-watching these Q&A sessions, they're full of informations.

Can't remember answers sometimes, even to my own questions lol (51:15 in that case )

 

Can't wait for July 12th, and I'm gonna make a big bet about this 6th Q&A Session but :

Release Date is set to be Q1 2018, they'll go full Post-Production in August, [Andy's podcast with Kotaku (49:15) : https://megaphone.link/PPY7839856568 (36:55 if you want the full talk)].

So, my guess is that I wouldn't be surprised if they'd announce the Backer Beta this time around, maybe not in this Session but it seems to be pretty close !

 

We'll see 

Edited July 9, 2017 by DexGames

[Wormerine]

Well, thank you guys for asking those question because it is something I am terrible at. I am sure there is plenty of stuff I would love to hear about but when it comes to figuring out what those things are I just can't think of a single one.

[draego]

https://jesawyer.tumblr.com/post/162835265756/hi-josh-i-had-a-question-about-skill-checks-in

 

New info about the dialogue checks. The companion dialogue assist are not as bad as i had envisioned because they wont be a 1:1 assist which is good. It still seems like there could be a small possibility that since the devs have to take into account that you are getting assist from your companions, that your main could invest heavily in a skill (but all npcs have zero in this example) and still not pass a check because the checks have to be higher to take into account the assists. But at least its not 1:1 so it may not be that bad.

 

It also seems wierd that i could have zero skill like diplomacy and then because of companions pass a diplomacy check but again its not a direct 1:1 contributions so the effect wont be that exaggerated. but this isnt as big a deal as the first example.

Edited July 10, 2017 by draego

[smjjames]

I wonder if diplomacy will be an actual metric or he's just using that as an example? I'm sure they'll find the 'sweet spot' where you could hit it most of the time and leave the higher ones for more challenging situations.

[rjshae]

 

 

Question about climate on Josh's tumblr.

 

The Ondra's Mortar place sounds like a nasty place for a ship to be, full of rocky shoals and coasts maybe. Perhaps there are lots of storms and hurricanes/cyclones/typhoons there as well.

 

Lovely, but I want a map Josh... I think I'm going to pose that question in the stream thread... off I gooooooo

Go ahead but they already answered that question. Josh said that they won't do the map, as they want to leave blank space for future creators, if the series will continue. They will vaguely reference places but not define them more than it is needed.

 

During the Renaissance period, the world wasn't very well mapped out at all. Even the maps of explored areas like Europe were still a little dubious. So it makes sense that a lot of the world is currently unmapped and awaiting exploration.

 

[smjjames]

True on the map. And that map is actually pretty good, though the shapes are a little funny in places and Iceland is a hell of a lot closer than it actually is.

[Boeroer]

Smart move with the skill-check-pool. That way you encourage the player to give party members more diverse skill point distribution instead of pushing one party member to the max. This is of course only true if the skill point investment stays the same as in PoE (progressive). 

[Lotti Fuehrscheim]

 

 

 

Question about climate on Josh's tumblr.

 

The Ondra's Mortar place sounds like a nasty place for a ship to be, full of rocky shoals and coasts maybe. Perhaps there are lots of storms and hurricanes/cyclones/typhoons there as well.

 

Lovely, but I want a map Josh... I think I'm going to pose that question in the stream thread... off I gooooooo

Go ahead but they already answered that question. Josh said that they won't do the map, as they want to leave blank space for future creators, if the series will continue. They will vaguely reference places but not define them more than it is needed.

 

During the Renaissance period, the world wasn't very well mapped out at all. Even the maps of explored areas like Europe were still a little dubious. So it makes sense that a lot of the world is currently unmapped and awaiting exploration.

 

 

 

Even in 1339 there were good maps of the Mediterranean world, on which one could navigate with confidence.

 

I have done an error analysis of a Portolan Chart from that date to study the projection method and accuracy

 

https://lottifuehrscheim.wordpress.com/2016/12/06/acquiring-the-data-for-the-portolan-chart-analysis/

https://lottifuehrscheim.wordpress.com/2016/11/28/analysis-of-dulcert-1339-portolan-map/

[Boeroer]

I hope you din't do that just because of this thread...

[JerekKruger]

Even in 1339 there were good maps of the Mediterranean world, on which one could navigate with confidence.

 

I have done an error analysis of a Portolan Chart from that date to study the projection method and accuracy

 

https://lottifuehrscheim.wordpress.com/2016/12/06/acquiring-the-data-for-the-portolan-chart-analysis/

https://lottifuehrscheim.wordpress.com/2016/11/28/analysis-of-dulcert-1339-portolan-map/

 

 

That's exceedingly cool! Thanks for sharing that with us.

[MaxQuest]

https://jesawyer.tumblr.com/post/162835265756/hi-josh-i-had-a-question-about-skill-checks-in

 

New info about the dialogue checks. The companion dialogue assist are not as bad as i had envisioned because they wont be a 1:1 assist which is good. It still seems like there could be a small possibility that since the devs have to take into account that you are getting assist from your companions, that your main could invest heavily in a skill (but all npcs have zero in this example) and still not pass a check because the checks have to be higher to take into account the assists. But at least its not 1:1 so it may not be that bad.

 

It also seems wierd that i could have zero skill like diplomacy and then because of companions pass a diplomacy check but again its not a direct 1:1 contributions so the effect wont be that exaggerated. but this isnt as big a deal as the first example.

That's interesting. Atm I am just putting 1 point in athletics, and rest in lore (6, 8 or 10) and survival (4, 8, 10 or 14)  on everyone except the mech guy.

And the new system has potential to lead to more unique spreads.

 

Although, what if a character plays solo?

Edited July 11, 2017 by MaxQuest

[Lord_Mord]

 

Although, what if a character plays solo?

 

Well than he's solo and can't rely on the help of a group.That's the drawback of going solo and the reason why you should always at least have a wookie with you.

[FlintlockJazz]

Hmm so there's social skills like Diplomacy now?  Not sure I like that, I quite liked not having social skills for the reason they gave for Pillars 1: they end up being 'auto-win' buttons that players expect to work because they have invested the points in it.  Kinda liked having a range of skills and attributes provide different options that may or may not help depending on the situation.

[MaxQuest]

It's also interesting what actual skills there will be

 

For Diplomacy, skill pool makes sense. But for something like Stealth, Athletics or imagine for the sake of example Run Speed, already not that sure.

Edited July 11, 2017 by MaxQuest

[rjshae]

Hmm so there's social skills like Diplomacy now?  Not sure I like that, I quite liked not having social skills for the reason they gave for Pillars 1: they end up being 'auto-win' buttons that players expect to work because they have invested the points in it.  Kinda liked having a range of skills and attributes provide different options that may or may not help depending on the situation.

 

If you had polished your social skills, wouldn't you expect to have additional discussion options not available to a clueless lout?

[FlintlockJazz]

 

Hmm so there's social skills like Diplomacy now?  Not sure I like that, I quite liked not having social skills for the reason they gave for Pillars 1: they end up being 'auto-win' buttons that players expect to work because they have invested the points in it.  Kinda liked having a range of skills and attributes provide different options that may or may not help depending on the situation.

 

If you had polished your social skills, wouldn't you expect to have additional discussion options not available to a clueless lout?

 

No, because 'polishing' social skills only applies to those who are following the same etiquette you are developing.  I can see skills like High Class Etiquette, which would help in specific social situations, but which would also be a hindrance if used in the wrong situation such as when talking to street thugs who think you're being snobby to them as a result of it. In that case, street etiquette or streetwise as it is more commonly known would be more applicable but using that on a noble would make you look like a lout.

Edited July 11, 2017 by FlintlockJazz

[rjshae]

 

 

Hmm so there's social skills like Diplomacy now?  Not sure I like that, I quite liked not having social skills for the reason they gave for Pillars 1: they end up being 'auto-win' buttons that players expect to work because they have invested the points in it.  Kinda liked having a range of skills and attributes provide different options that may or may not help depending on the situation.

 

If you had polished your social skills, wouldn't you expect to have additional discussion options not available to a clueless lout?

 

No, because 'polishing' social skills only applies to those who are following the same etiquette you are developing.  I can see skills like High Class Etiquette, which would help in specific social situations, but which would also be a hindrance if used in the wrong situation such as when talking to street thugs who think you're being snobby to them as a result of it. In that case, street etiquette or streetwise as it is more commonly known would be more applicable but using that on a noble would make you look like a lout.

 

Nope. All you're talking about there is applying specific situational modifiers. You still should expect to have more options overall when you've enhanced your social skills.

[Baltic]

I wonder how the diplomatic disposition will tie into the diplomacy skill. Will all diplomacy checks count towards that disposition? Will there be options that increase the disposition without increasing the skill?

[FlintlockJazz]

 

 

 

Hmm so there's social skills like Diplomacy now?  Not sure I like that, I quite liked not having social skills for the reason they gave for Pillars 1: they end up being 'auto-win' buttons that players expect to work because they have invested the points in it.  Kinda liked having a range of skills and attributes provide different options that may or may not help depending on the situation.

 

If you had polished your social skills, wouldn't you expect to have additional discussion options not available to a clueless lout?

 

No, because 'polishing' social skills only applies to those who are following the same etiquette you are developing.  I can see skills like High Class Etiquette, which would help in specific social situations, but which would also be a hindrance if used in the wrong situation such as when talking to street thugs who think you're being snobby to them as a result of it. In that case, street etiquette or streetwise as it is more commonly known would be more applicable but using that on a noble would make you look like a lout.

 

Nope. All you're talking about there is applying specific situational modifiers. You still should expect to have more options overall when you've enhanced your social skills.

 

You should have more options from having grown up on the streets.  You should have more options from having an high level education.  You should have more options for being really smart. 

 

Having a specific 'social' skill just creates a obligatory skill your main character is often required to take to get the best options from dialogue.  Whereas having skill in Streetwise not only lets you have options in street situations but also lets your character know other things like dangerous areas, which gang controls which areas etc while High Society lets you know how to fit in as a nobleman, identify the power players in a situation etc.  Things a character would need to know anyway to fit in with the group he is trying to socialise with. 

 

A Face character could then even have more nuance than "the guy with the speech skill" as you develop the areas they are good in, or split them off to characters that actually suit them better, like the aforementioned streetwise skill could go instead to the street tough party member who know how to get around the mean streets instead of the poncey bard-type who wouldn't have a clue how to live on the streets.

[blotter]

 

 

You should have more options from having grown up on the streets.  You should have more options from having an high level education.  You should have more options for being really smart.

 

Lore's being broken down into more specialized fields, providing options based on education in more focused areas such as religion and metaphysics, Intellect is still going to be a stat that will presumably feature in dialogue options, and Streetwise has already been listed among the examples of passive skills being planned for inclusion (http://pillarsofeternity.gamepedia.com/Pillars_of_Eternity_II:_Deadfire#Features).

 

There's no indication that Diplomacy will function to the exclusion of these options at this point.

[FlintlockJazz]

 

You should have more options from having grown up on the streets.  You should have more options from having an high level education.  You should have more options for being really smart.

 

Lore's being broken down into more specialized fields, providing options based on education in more focused areas such as religion and metaphysics, Intellect is still going to be a stat that will presumably feature in dialogue options, and Streetwise has already been listed among the examples of passive skills being planned for inclusion (http://pillarsofeternity.gamepedia.com/Pillars_of_Eternity_II:_Deadfire#Features).

 

There's no indication that Diplomacy will function to the exclusion of these options at this point.

 

Yep that is why I used Streetwise as an example, as I knew it was already there, I was using it to point out that lots of things can and should provide more options in dialogue in response to rjshae's statement that 'polishing' social skills should be expected to add options. 

 

I do not think that Diplomacy will function to the exclusion to others, I was just expressing a concern with the skill being there and previous statements by Obsidian regarding social skills when developing PoE 1.  Their statements I agreed with and hope it does not show 180 degree change in their approach, as social skills often end up being a "I win" button for social encounters, while forcing players into a particular style of character if they want to do well at social stuff.

 

I liked how in PoE 1 you could create your character how you want, and the dialogue options flowed from there.  You weren't pushed into being a charismatic character type, instead you could play an intelligent character and got options for that, or a strong guy and get Might options etc.  Sure, some had more options than others, but that was a minor problem at most.  Diplomacy has always been too wide a skill for me, along with Intimidation (that has so many different forms of intimidation used by completely different character types, like the physical towering over intimidation of tall strong characters to the subtle implied intimidation delivered with a smile) and others. 

 

Think I've said my piece on the matter now, as I've said its just a concern of mine that I wanted to voice.

[smjjames]

A few multiclass names got revealed:

 

 

Three more:

 

The multiclass combo for fighter/rogue is swashbuckler.  Wizard/rogue is spellblade.  Rogue/ranger is scout.

https://jesawyer.tumblr.com/post/162878811586/are-you-still-taking-suggestions-on-sub

 

Though spellblade could also fit with wizard/fighter.

 

Also this tweet: https://twitter.com/jesawyer/status/884818321681534977 "serafen frenzy-ing, unloading two pistols, then switching to sabre and hand mortar, ftw #deadfire"

 

Serafen must be quite the damage dealer, heh.

Edited July 12, 2017 by smjjames