Josh Sawyer's tweets and teasers, part 2

[malchiorita]

 

Anybody think getting all the companion in the about the first third of the game sounds a little too late?

 

That's likely around 15 to 20 hours into the game already.

Later than most modern RPGs? Yes. Later than the games POE models itself after? Not at all.

What? In bg2, imoen aside you can get the vast majority of the companion as soon as you step in atkathla... That's.. 30 minutes?

[Wormerine]

 

 

Anybody think getting all the companion in the about the first third of the game sounds a little too late?

 

That's likely around 15 to 20 hours into the game already.

Later than most modern RPGs? Yes. Later than the games POE models itself after? Not at all.

What? In bg2, imoen aside you can get the vast majority of the companion as soon as you step in atkathla... That's.. 30 minutes?

In BG2 you can get all major companions in Act1. No one said that's not the case with Deadfire. It will take a while before you meet ALL companions in BG2.

 

EDIT: Act2. Act1 is super short.

Edited March 11, 2018 by Wormerine

[morhilane]

 

 

Anybody think getting all the companion in the about the first third of the game sounds a little too late?

 

That's likely around 15 to 20 hours into the game already.

Later than most modern RPGs? Yes. Later than the games POE models itself after? Not at all.

What? In bg2, imoen aside you can get the vast majority of the companion as soon as you step in atkathla... That's.. 30 minutes?

 

Outside Jaheira, Minsc, Yoshimo and Aerie which are available in chapter 1, the rest are available in chapter 2 which give access to like 90% of the content of the game.

 

If you can finish the circus quest, Nalia's keep, hunting down Valygar, the Temple of the Unseen and freeing Haer'dalis in 30 minutes...I'll say you are cheating.

Edited March 11, 2018 by morhilane

[Mannock]

Outside Jaheira, Minsc, Yoshimo and Aerie which are available in chapter 1, the rest are available in chapter 2 which give access to like 90% of the content of the game.

 

If you can finish the circus quest, Nalia's keep, hunting down Valygar, the Temple of the Unseen and freeing Haer'dalis in 30 minutes...I'll say you are cheating.

Aerie is act 2. But granted, you can get her pretty much immediately after Act 1 ends.

 

And don't forget Cernd and Mazzy. They take time to get too.

 

Getting all companions in BG2 in 30 mins is bull****.

[Yosharian]

 

Outside Jaheira, Minsc, Yoshimo and Aerie which are available in chapter 1, the rest are available in chapter 2 which give access to like 90% of the content of the game.

 

If you can finish the circus quest, Nalia's keep, hunting down Valygar, the Temple of the Unseen and freeing Haer'dalis in 30 minutes...I'll say you are cheating.

Aerie is act 2. But granted, you can get her pretty much immediately after Act 1 ends.

 

And don't forget Cernd and Mazzy. They take time to get too.

 

Getting all companions in BG2 in 30 mins is bull****.

 

 

Nah, it's doable.  You just need the right turnip.

[JerekKruger]

Getting all companions in BG2 in 30 mins is bull****.

 

Agreed. It might be possible to get any single given companion in within 30 minutes of finishing Chateau Irenicus (though, as you say, doing so for Cernd or Mazzy is pushing it) but getting all of them in 30 minutes is impossible. I suspect that, for non-speed runners* getting them all would take around 15-20 hours, just as the original post that spawned this conversation was complaining about.

 

*Do people speed run games like BG2?

[malchiorita]

I didnt say you can get all of them in 30 minutes. I just said they are available to recruit right away (even for mazzy and valygar you get the quest in atkathla and then you can immediately go recruit them).

 

The point was not the time you need in bg2 btw, it was just to say that is not true that for the standard of these kind of games you have to wait one third of the game lenght...

[Mannock]

I didnt say you can get all of them in 30 minutes. I just said they are available to recruit right away (even for mazzy and valygar you get the quest in atkathla and then you can immediately go recruit them).

 

The point was not the time you need in bg2 btw, it was just to say that is not true that for the standard of these kind of games you have to wait one third of the game lenght...

But it involves meta knowledge to be able to recruit the companions right off the bat in BG2. So when you have meta knowledge of Deadfire, I'm sure you will be able to do lots of things in "optimal order", just as you can in for example BG2.

[Mannock]

Nah, it's doable.  You just need the right turnip.

Doubt it.

 

Even if you break off all the quests when you get the companions, you need to run over a lot of places to catch them all.

[jf8350143]

I say this because in my first play through of PoE1, I didn't get GM until I almost finished Act 2, and getting Sagani even later(somehow I didn't see her when I travel across that map).

 

It was OK in PoE 1 because I don't really miss anything. But based on the relationship system they talked about, I imagine that companions will have more reaction to the main quest  and each other. So if I get a companion after one third of the game, I'm missing part of the content.

 

I don't need to get all the companions right away, but maybe not put them in a place like Dyrwood, where you normally won't go there until the half into the game.

[malchiorita]

 

I didnt say you can get all of them in 30 minutes. I just said they are available to recruit right away (even for mazzy and valygar you get the quest in atkathla and then you can immediately go recruit them).

 

The point was not the time you need in bg2 btw, it was just to say that is not true that for the standard of these kind of games you have to wait one third of the game lenght...

But it involves meta knowledge to be able to recruit the companions right off the bat in BG2. So when you have meta knowledge of Deadfire, I'm sure you will be able to do lots of things in "optimal order", just as you can in for example BG2.

Hope so, i remember that in poe, the first time i played it, i decided i wanted to ger pallegina as soon as possible, but still it took a lot.

[VincentNZ]

I am kind of divided on this subject. I think the characters you receive in BG2 are appropriate in time, especially if you play a neutral or good character, so that you can finish Korgans quest, for example, or if you want to experience the Viconia romance.

 

Characters introduced late in the game can be of critical value gameplay-wise, by giving you something that is missing in your party, especially if they are powerful niche companions. However in a long story-driven adventure new characters really have to score upon meeting them so that you would actually swap one of your companions that you have spend a dozen hours with, started or finished their quest, romanced them or simply got to know their personality really well.

I met the grieving mother rather late in PoE, when I was already fond of my companions and with the glum attitude I was not really fond of her. Had I met Kana or Aloth later, both that offered more to me in the first encounter I probably would have recruited them.

[Madscientist]

Since the discussion has gotten that way:

 

In BG1+2, NWN2, DA:O and some other games you wanted to get party members as early as possible because they were your level when you find them and they level up automatically. So the earlier you get them the more choice you have in how to level them up. Usually their auto level up is so bad that most players want to take something else.

For example in NWN2 I want to get the druid before lv6 and give her the talent dinosaur companion because her badger is completely useless. BG1+2 has less choices, but you want max HP rolls and the right weapon profiencies.

 

This leads to a conflict, at least in some games. When you get potential party members at low levels and they get only exp when they are in your party, other members will be very weak if you need them for a specific quest. it was a problem in BG1+2, but later games avoided it by giving all party members exp (even when they are not in your active party) and you can spend the points however you want when you visit them. I like the new approach ( everyone gets exp) much more than the old one (only exp when in active party).

 

These problems are mostly resolved in PoE, because chars will have your level when you meet them, they get exp when not in your active party and you can deactivate auto leveling up. The ability to retrain chars or use hirelings come on top of that, but I never used this.

 

I have no problem if the chars are spread out all over the map. The only condition is that it must make sense that they can be found there. Spreading them all over the map just for the sake of it would be bad, but I think obsidian knows this good enough. In my first playthrough I just follow the story as I like and take companions as I find them. I assume that they will be rather easy to find, like in PoE1 ( as opposed to some chars in PST, like Nordom and Ingus ). When I play it again, I can go right after my favourite companions from the start, if I like to do so.

 

PS: I am a kind of old school player, so I do not mind some well hidden things like in PST. While the main story (including most companions) should be found without problems ( it is relatively clear what you want to do next ), it would be nice if some things can be found by exploring everything without someone telling you to go there or putting a huge arrow on the map.

[Yosharian]

 

Nah, it's doable. You just need the right turnip.

Doubt it.

 

Even if you break off all the quests when you get the companions, you need to run over a lot of places to catch them all.

...

[Madscientist]

I am kind of divided on this subject. I think the characters you receive in BG2 are appropriate in time, especially if you play a neutral or good character, so that you can finish Korgans quest, for example, or if you want to experience the Viconia romance.

 

Characters introduced late in the game can be of critical value gameplay-wise, by giving you something that is missing in your party, especially if they are powerful niche companions. However in a long story-driven adventure new characters really have to score upon meeting them so that you would actually swap one of your companions that you have spend a dozen hours with, started or finished their quest, romanced them or simply got to know their personality really well.

I met the grieving mother rather late in PoE, when I was already fond of my companions and with the glum attitude I was not really fond of her. Had I met Kana or Aloth later, both that offered more to me in the first encounter I probably would have recruited them.

 

Yes, thats right.

Many players stick with the companions they meet first, because when you find later companions you have already established a relationship to the companions in your party and you feel bad when sending them away. But putiing most of them in one place (the tavern in BG2) does not feel good to me.

 

Given the geography of the deadfire archipelago, I think spreading them all over the map is good. The first time you find them in a random order (because you do not know who is where) but when replaying you can collect them in any order you like). The only thing is that you should not be forced to go through lots of stuff of the main story before meeting a new companion. There is a high chance that nobody will ever take him or her at that point.

[Blades of Vanatar]

That was the problem with the WM for me. I preferred to play it upscaled content style but that meant going there early as possible to build my party. Devil was a bitch to get to. I would of preferred picking her up in he town, maybe on a mission to add a second smile to someone’s, just located a little lower in the neck.

[morhilane]

 

 

I didnt say you can get all of them in 30 minutes. I just said they are available to recruit right away (even for mazzy and valygar you get the quest in atkathla and then you can immediately go recruit them).

 

The point was not the time you need in bg2 btw, it was just to say that is not true that for the standard of these kind of games you have to wait one third of the game lenght...

But it involves meta knowledge to be able to recruit the companions right off the bat in BG2. So when you have meta knowledge of Deadfire, I'm sure you will be able to do lots of things in "optimal order", just as you can in for example BG2.

Hope so, i remember that in poe, the first time i played it, i decided i wanted to ger pallegina as soon as possible, but still it took a lot.

 

If you go straight through (picking Aloth, Edér, Kana and Durance along the way) the only bottleneck to Pallegina is clearing Caed Nua to open access to Defiance Bay and doing a small quest.

 

In fact, once you open the way to Defiance Bay, you have access to all the companions, you just need to find them.

Edited March 12, 2018 by morhilane

[theBalthazar]

Each time I do the game :

 

Aloth / Eder / Durance hyper easy to get.

 

Doable before do anything.

 

Kana is also ok, if you sneek a little.

 

You + 4 = 5.

 

Pallegina and others is more complicated. Because there are battles impossible to skip in caed nua.

 

I am a big fan of custom characters but if you are not, no way to have 6 party members before a long time.

 

But more : the topic of all declarations is more : in WM2, they are often a the end of the game. (people do generally these extension at the end.)

Edited March 12, 2018 by theBalthazar

[JerekKruger]

 

 

Nah, it's doable. You just need the right turnip.

Doubt it.

 

Even if you break off all the quests when you get the companions, you need to run over a lot of places to catch them all.

...

Given Mannock's avatar, my thoughts exactly.

[Mannock]

 

 

 

Nah, it's doable. You just need the right turnip.

Doubt it.

 

Even if you break off all the quests when you get the companions, you need to run over a lot of places to catch them all.

 

...

 

Given Mannock's avatar, my thoughts exactly.

 

I assumed it was a serious post about catching all the companions in under 30 mins. I'm getting too old for this s**t.

[JerekKruger]

I assumed it was a serious post about catching all the companions in under 30 mins. I'm getting too old for this s**t.

 

Just in case it wasn't clear I wasn't criticising you for thinking that, I was just a bit surprised that you didn't catch the turnip part

[George_Truman]

I say this because in my first play through of PoE1, I didn't get GM until I almost finished Act 2, and getting Sagani even later(somehow I didn't see her when I travel across that map).

 

It was OK in PoE 1 because I don't really miss anything. But based on the relationship system they talked about, I imagine that companions will have more reaction to the main quest  and each other. So if I get a companion after one third of the game, I'm missing part of the content.

 

I don't need to get all the companions right away, but maybe not put them in a place like Dyrwood, where you normally won't go there until the half into the game.

Funny that you say that because the companions you meet outside of the Dyrwood are typically the last companions you meet!

[JerekKruger]

Funny that you say that because the companions you meet outside of the Dyrwood are typically the last companions you meet!

 

I believe all companions are found in the Dyrwood. None are found in Eir Glanthath, and to the best of my knowledge the White March is part of the Dyrwood.

[Yosharian]

 

I assumed it was a serious post about catching all the companions in under 30 mins. I'm getting too old for this s**t.

Just in case it wasn't clear I wasn't criticising you for thinking that, I was just a bit surprised that you didn't catch the turnip part

Hey now, catching turnips is a tricky business. That's one dangerous vegetable.

[DexGames]

Godlike Species Nature :

https://twitter.com/jesawyer/status/973323231410012160