The First Impressions Thread

[Sedrefilos]

For ours and the developers convinience, I decided to open this thread dedicated to first impressions, so they are gathered in one place.

 

So here's mine:

I played the game up to the first settlement, so it was two to three hours if you include character creation and restarting because it couldn't find my old saves I wanted to import so I had to do some improvization.

 

Needless to say, I had a blast. The game is so much improved over the first one in literally all its aspects. Well, I haven't dived into combat a lot 'cause the first encounters were very easy so I'll have to recomment on this if I change my mind.

 

The best thing up to now is the writting. It. Is. So. Way. Way. Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay better than Pillars 1 that I just want to find people to converse! Straight forward, smart, con-sis-tent. And of course the full voicing (which is itself great) boosts it up even more.

 

The second best thing up to now is the relationship mechanic, although I haven't seen much of yet. But I like how it works. I have Eder and Xoti with me. Both like joyful people. So during a conversation with Xoti, she said something funny and the game notified me that Eder liked that and gain a "+1" towards Xoti. That wouldn't have happened if I hadn't spoke with Xoti AND brought that topic up. Cool, huh?

 

Pacing is so much better too. At first I feared it'll start with a 2 hour walking and talking introduction but, thankfully this wasn't the case. The rest was even better. Exploring the land map was great with mini encounters here and there etc. It felt like travelling and I loved the openess and the non-linearity even for this first area.

 

Graphics are great and the best part is the effects. I knew about the lighting effects which I loved but there are more. I went in a piratey cave dungeon and the water reflections were amazing.

 

So, that's it for now. Just waiting for time to pass and get back home and continue the game. It looks super promising.

 

Oh, one other thing. Although the devs said you don't have to finish Pillars 1 and the game lets you make up your history, it just isn't the same if you had played it. The history creator just doesn't and can't give you enough info of what you're chosing is about. So, yeah, strongly recommend playing Deadfire AFTER finishing Pillars 1.

Edited May 9, 2018 by Sedrefilos

[enric]

Glad to hear that, if yesterday im sure to play PoE1 before PoE2 with your "fast" review its more clear. Thanks bro!

[daven]

I used the history creator thing, seems alright. There's quite a lot of stuff to choose from.

[Skazz]

Still very early into the game. I liked how Eder ended up being the one companion who kept his vigil by the protagonist's side after their supposed "death".

 

It struck me as a very Eder thing to do.

[Sedrefilos]

I used the history creator thing, seems alright. There's quite a lot of stuff to choose from.

There is, but if you haven't played Pillars already, you can't know what it is that you're choosing. Who's this? What's that? Why did I had to do this? etc It's just choices no backstory of what's happening. Even I that have played Pillars and tried the history maker had to open the wiki to remind myself of some people and places. Imagine one that has no idea of Pillars whatsoever.

 

Anyway, the feature is cool, of course, and helps a lot, but even if you make all those choices, if you haven't played Pillars so to experience each one and know who all these people are adn what their actions did, you'll encounter the outcomes in Deadfire but won't mean anything to you.

 

That's why I suggest and recomend a full Pillars playthrough before Deadfire. I'm sure, though, that Deadfire is good enough to grip you by its own, for what it is.

Edited May 9, 2018 by Sedrefilos

[Mikeymoonshine]

I'm just past the first island. 

 

The start of this game > the start of POE1 

 

They have really made big improvements to the graphics and lighting. For the most part the game looks amazing, it's just a shame that occasionally there are things that don't look as good as the rest of it. CC is improved though it's still not amazing. 

 

Everyone of note having a portrait and a voice really helps make the side characters seem more unique and the world seem more immersive, though annoyingly some of them seem to have player character portraits. I haven't come across one with mine yet but if I do that will bother me.

 

I like all the companions so far, the returning ones seem like the same people but they have also noticeably changed based on their experiences, and the new companions I have met seem great.  

 

I find the ship stuff a bit messy and confusing to be honest but maybe I just need to get used to it. 

 

The game is far too easy, I am playing on hard and have not had a party wipe yet. Occasionally an enemy hits hard enough to KO someone. I read that they are going to patch it and that it's really only the crit path that is like this atm so if I find side area's harder i'll leave the difficulty where it is but I like to save attempting POTD for when I really know a system and for it to actually be really challenging. 

 

 

I agree about the history creator, I did play pillars 1 more than once but I don't remember every specific choice I made I just remember the outcomes but for some reason it only tells you the outcomes for some of the choices, I also noticed some of the choices were not available. I only used the history creator because one of my major choices did not import for some reason so I tried with the creator and that worked. 

[Isometric Chicken]

So I walked around inside a cave, found a skeleton walking around, and decided to try knockdown. Next thing I know, the skeleton literally explodes, my character went with a rather cheery "Oh, THAT gotta hurt!", and I almost fell off the chair from laughing so hard.

 

Other than that, I'm really enjoying the game. I had to use a grappling hook to reach a woman early on, which impressed me quite a bit. I know it's not a huge thing on its own, but it shows a bit how creative the game can be. Or finding a pond inside the cave I mentioned, and wondering if I should swim (potentially to my doom) underwater, or try to scout ahead for pockets of air before committing to the dive. The only thing I could complain a bit about was me not noticing I wasn't using a weapon set (have two sets equipped, but a third unlocked), so the boar I found took forever to kill. Turned out I was punching it with my fist, rather than saber. And speaking of sabers, I found a magical one that looks far more than a torch, and can only be used in the off-hand. Kinda weird, and a bit annoying as I use a saber in the main hand, and dagger in the off-hand. But it's no big deal, really.

[Kirk]

I played Deadfire for four hours and I'm impressed. This is huge - the world, the overall feel of it, trees, ocean, everything. I do love final fantasy like movement on the world map, I do love companions AI (it's like gambits in FFXII) and I do love writing - banters, things that NPCs say and the way they say it. I admire animation of water (boat rocking on water in the Port Majo harbour <3). There are lots of things to add a flavour - naming the ship (mine is called AAARGH!!!), hiring the crew and possibilities - one can pay for release of your new crewmate, steal keys or even blow up the prison's wall. Everything feels wider, bigger and spacier.

 

But there are things that works strange to me, or I should grow accustomed to them. The pacing of battles, new party stash, new way of gathering spells. I'm not sure if these changes are for better or for worse, but for now they don't bother me much.

 

There are, of course, bugs. Orlan baby case (it should be on the strand, but there is none), Eder's past (in my PoE save he was mayor of Dyrford, here he is a member of eothasian cult) and other minor things. Nothing big, but annoying. Hope the devs fix them as soon as possible.

 

I love the new game and I love it southern seas feel, miles away from pseudomedieval setting of Dyrwood. I adore the voice acting and I was immersed in that world from day one. But there is one thing missing, that keeps me a little ambigous of the game. The loss of this strange, sad and bleak feeling one had in Act I in first game. The general tone of that part of the world, not multicolored and radiant, but grey and a little misty. I don't feel the weight of things that happened to me, I don't feel the need to rush and to search for Eothas. I feel little bit directionless and, oh well, stranded. But maybe that is the way the devs meant me to feel at the beggining. 

Edited May 9, 2018 by Kirk

[daven]

 

I used the history creator thing, seems alright. There's quite a lot of stuff to choose from.

There is, but if you haven't played Pillars already, you can't know what it is that you're choosing. Who's this? What's that? Why did I had to do this? etc It's just choices no backstory of what's happening. Even I that have played Pillars and tried the history maker had to open the wiki to remind myself of some people and places. Imagine one that has no idea of Pillars whatsoever.

 

Anyway, the feature is cool, of course, and helps a lot, but even if you make all those choices, if you haven't played Pillars so to experience each one and know who all these people are adn what their actions did, you'll encounter the outcomes in Deadfire but won't mean anything to you.

 

That's why I suggest and recomend a full Pillars playthrough before Deadfire. I'm sure, though, that Deadfire is good enough to grip you by its own, for what it is.

 

Good point, I was thinking that when I was doing it. It was a good thing I understood everything it asked me a new player would have no chance. But I suppose that's why there's like 6 or 7 premade backgrounds.

[Wormerine]

Same as you Serdefilos. Exploring 1st settlement. Enjoying it a lot so far. The only thing which really buggs me is how broken save import is. Half of the time it's incorrect, and its inconsistant! It claimed I did a different choice at one point, and then game me an item recognizing the right choice. Companions appearing and mentioned with wrong endings. That's a really odd thing to miss for release. 

EDIT: Yeah, relationship system is great. I had a serious talk with Eder for stealing from Eothesians. :-P

Edited May 9, 2018 by Wormerine

[Sedrefilos]

Hmm, I haven't experienced many problems with save import thus far but if anything occurs it will bother me a lot. Maybe the history creator is more reliable a the moment?

[IndiraLightfoot]

The dialogue, the presentation, the adventurous pacing, the UI, the exploration - during my first 7 h, well they exceed the quality of PoE1 by miles and miles!

 

Extremely lovely start! Already shaping up to be a true classic of a CRPG.

[master guardian]

My First Impression

 

Yeah its awesome. Im pretty immersed in it. Still ealy days though i have only completed the first island.

 

Its definitely a lot better then the first game. Significantly better. 

 

It is currently way to easy on POTD but that is getting fixed apparantly.

 

The only problem i have with Deadifre is the narrative and plot arent as good as what they could be. If Obsidian did a game like this again i would highly recommend they get a new Narrative director for the story plot and script writing. This is where they have fallen short i think in this area, i give them about a 5/10 for narrative and all other areas probably close to 10/10.

 

I think the game exceeds BG2 in all aspects apart from the narrative and plot. These are two very important parts though so unfortunately i dont think deadfire is overall better then BG2.

 

BG2 had the luxury of tapping into Forgotten Realms lore. IF only Obsidian had the chance to do the same ......................

 

Overall i give it an 

 

8.5/10

Edited May 9, 2018 by master guardian

[IndiraLightfoot]

 

 

The only problem i have with Deadifre is the narrative and plot arent as good as what they could be. If Obsidian did a game like this again i would highly recommend they get a new Narrative director for the story plot and script writing. This is where they have fallen short i think in this area, i give them about a 5/10 for narrative and all other areas probably close to 10/10.

 

I think the game exceeds BG2 in all aspects apart from the narrative and plot. These are two very important parts though so unfortunately i dont think deadfire is overall better then BG2.

 

So far, I'm not getting a plot of MotB quality. It's somewhat basic, but genuinely nice and enjoyable. But, yeah, I agree, for PoE3, they need to write a really intricate and more gripping and urgent plot for the game, if that makes sense. From what I can tell of the plot itself so far, I'd give it 6 out of 10 (mostly because of good pacing and lot of generically fun stuff.)

Edited May 9, 2018 by IndiraLightfoot

[Merany]

Was super excited to give a try today (was coincidentally on a day off) but the save import bugs are just killing it for me... Will wait until they fix those.

The first two hours were great though so I hope patches won't be delayed for too long

[Wormerine]

Hmm, I haven't experienced many problems with save import thus far but if anything occurs it will bother me a lot. Maybe the history creator is more reliable a the moment?

Dunno. Here is a bug report thread on which I report every import bug I encounter. There was one reference to Durance, which to be honest, I am not sure if it was correct or not... could be both ways. If someone would tell me that importing a save doesn't work at all I would believe.

https://forums.obsidian.net/topic/97592-thats-not-what-happened/?do=findComment&comment=2009653

[IndiraLightfoot]

I had so many playthroughs of PoE1 that I opted for the history maker, and so far my picks there are correctly reflected in game, including Durance.

[Sedrefilos]

I had so many playthroughs of PoE1 that I opted for the history maker, and so far my picks there are correctly reflected in game, including Durance.

Yes, the problem comes, supposedly, when you import save. History maker is more reliable, they say.

Edited May 9, 2018 by Sedrefilos

[daven]

2 and a half hours left at work then can finally play more than 40 stinking minutes.

 

GAHHHHHHH!

Edited May 9, 2018 by daven

[Merany]

I had so many playthroughs of PoE1 that I opted for the history maker, and so far my picks there are correctly reflected in game, including Durance.

Did the same and Eder is incorrect, right off the bat. Was supposed to be a mayor, instead went back to his family. First dialog I had with him. Maybe that's just unfortunate and the only issue in the whole import thing but I doubt it, so I'll wait for a bit.

Edited May 9, 2018 by Merany

[PatrioticChief]

Love it so far. The voice acting adds a ton of value and the environments are such an enormous improvement. I really liked the relationship ui but I am a little worried that you lose and gain relationship too easily. We will just have to see as it goes. 

[Mikeymoonshine]

Same as you Serdefilos. Exploring 1st settlement. Enjoying it a lot so far. The only thing which really buggs me is how broken save import is. Half of the time it's incorrect, and its inconsistant! It claimed I did a different choice at one point, and then game me an item recognizing the right choice. Companions appearing and mentioned with wrong endings. That's a really odd thing to miss for release. 

 

EDIT: Yeah, relationship system is great. I had a serious talk with Eder for stealing from Eothesians. :-P

 

This is good to know that it's not just that some of the choices are importing wrong as I gave up on importing and created a history and then someone in the game accused me of making a different choice to my selected history. :/

[Mikeymoonshine]

 

I had so many playthroughs of PoE1 that I opted for the history maker, and so far my picks there are correctly reflected in game, including Durance.

Did the same and Eder is incorrect, right off the bat. Was supposed to be a mayor, instead went back to his family. First dialog I had with him. Maybe that's just unfortunate and the only issue in the whole import thing but I doubt it, so I'll wait for a bit.

 

 

I had him going back to his family both when I tried to import the Mayor ending and when I created a history and selected what should lead to the mayor ending.

Edited May 9, 2018 by Mikeymoonshine

[Jayngo]

My first impressions (4 -5 hours in, still on first island):

 

- The game looks beautiful. The detail to environments or even hand held items in game look amazing. This is by far the prettiest CRPG I've ever played.

- I love the all spoken dialogue. Didn't think I'd be a fan of it, but I truly love it. Also, VA is top notch so far. Also, despite everyone else, I loved the narrator!

- Storytelling is very good and far less convoluted. I believe this is because of A) Returning players have a better feel for the world and lore. PoE 1 had A LOT of world building. B) The Tyranny "hover words" that explain in detail help immensely. C) The VO work brings the story to life. D) Well placed humor (Eder "Sooie!" anyone?)

- More variety of items. So far, in my short time playing, the items I've come across this early in game are really neat. Not just boring +1 Longsword stuff.

- While I haven't got to sailing or ship battles, I played the Beta and know what to kind of expect. I loved that touch. Such a major change from your typical RPG.

- The Empower ability. I haven't used this yet, but I LOVE the idea.

- The Reputation system. I simply love the Rep ring and how it works, especially when it comes to companions.

- The continuation and expansion of the "choose your own adventure" moments (when the story book thing pops up and you have to choose what to do). I love how this has evolved and is a little more in-depth now.

- The dialogue faction/lore/attitude being displayed. I love how there is so much of this and how it plainly affects rep.

 

 

Still up in the air:

 

- 5 party members vs. 6 party members. I was not a fan of this decision. I only have two other party members currently, so I'm looking forward to how this plays out when I have the full five member party.

- Length of game. In PoE 1 (including WM 1/2) I put in 96 hrs. I've read reviews saying this game is 40-50 hrs long. That seems a tad short imo. Everyone plays these games at a different pace, and I usually play at a slower pace, exploring everything, doing all side-quests, etc; so I expect to get more time than that out of it. Still, I was hoping to break toe 100 hour mark. Maybe the DLC/Expansions will put me over this mark. I believe PoE 1 minus the WH expansions clocked in at 60 hrs. I hope Deadfire is at least this long.

- Number of maps. I've read through a review or two that this game has less locations/maps than PoE 1. I'm not sure I believe this. Time will tell.

 

 

Anyway, I am very happy with the game so far, even if it lacks the classic CRPG setting that I love so much. The Deadfire looks beautiful and I can't wait to explore all of it.!

Edited May 9, 2018 by Jayngo

[morhilane]

My first impressions (4 -5 hours in, still on first island):

 

----

- Length of game. In PoE 1 (including WM 1/2) I put in 96 hrs. I've read reviews saying this game is 40-50 hrs long. That seems a tad short imo. Everyone plays these games at a different pace, and I usually play at a slower pace, exploring everything, doing all side-quests, etc; so I expect to get more time than that out of it. Still, I was hoping to break toe 100 hour mark.

 

I saw people claims the game has just 32 hours of content (then that person confessed he didn't do all side content), while another took more than 70 hours to finish their game (not idea if they did everything or not). I think like POE1 the rushed (34hrs) vs leisure (190hrs) divide is going to be wide. It depends too much on difficulty level, party composition and if the players use the accelerated speed all the time outside of combat or not.