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Preview Pillars of Eternity II Features Trailer + GDC 2018 Preview at PCGamesN

Infinitron

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Codex Year of the Donut Serpent in the Staglands Dead State Divinity: Original Sin Project: Eternity Torment: Tides of Numenera Wasteland 2 Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 A Beautifully Desolate Campaign Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Pathfinder: Kingmaker Pathfinder: Wrath I'm very into cock and ball torture I helped put crap in Monomyth
Tags: Justin Britch; Obsidian Entertainment; Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire

Obsidian have released the new Pillars of Eternity II trailer that Josh Sawyer told me about two weeks ago. They're calling it a "Features Trailer", and it does indeed showcase some new areas, including the lair of a fearsome lava dragon. Shame about the generic trailer music though.



Simultaneously with the release of the trailer, the gentlemen at PCGamesN have published a new preview of Deadfire based on new content showcased at GDC last week. It describes a scenario in which the party must infiltrate a pirate fort to deal with a rival captain. Here's an excerpt:

Our party decides to creep through the dungeon below the fort rather than face an entire faction’s best at relatively low level. While Pillars of Eternity II provides plenty of direction for those wanting a balanced combat experience, it is perfectly happy to let you stumble across enemies far beefier than you are equipped to handle. Britch calls it an “old-school philosophy.”

“If you want to go and explore what’s gonna happen,” he says, “you can find that out for yourself.”

“Too many bad memories,” King mutters.

Well aware that the dungeon represents a potential weak point, the Principi have filled its corridors with guards. In past demos, the party has come face-to-face with patrols and fallen into open combat. This time, King decides to take advantage of Pillars of Eternity II’s improved stealth system, which now tracks the vision cones and hearing radius of your opponents. The noise simulation in particular offers new opportunities - like distracting guards with firecrackers.

Passing by without commotion, the party reaches the cells, discovering what Britch calls the “dirty naked men.” These are not, in fact, a new faction, but a pirate crew that have fallen foul of Benwith’s leadership. Their knowledge of the fort’s layout will be invaluable - but before they will open their mouths, we will have to open their cells.

Pickpocketing is a risky manoeuvre, but made more palatable by another new feature - companions in Pillars of Eternity II can now pool their resources when testing skills. Your second-best thief is no longer a useless tag-along, then, but an effective boost to your party’s overall ability. King manages to procure a key from a nearby guard, and the Dirty Naked Men let us know the whereabouts of Benwith’s ship - a personal weakness that, if threatened, should lure him out from behind his entourage.

To reach the ship, however, the party must face its crew. King begins the battle by targeting nearby barrels of gunpowder, blowing a chunk off the pirates’ health. Fighting in Pillars of Eternity II is much as it was in the first game - a real-time battle system that encourages regular pausing to issue orders. But environmental hazards are new, and so are the deeply customisable AI scripts that govern companions when left them to their own devices.

The crew dispatched, King rings the ship’s bell. Sure enough, Benwith emerges to investigate. There are dialogue options available - like any good pirate, Benwith is willing to barter for his life - but the party opts to instagib him instead.

“We love gibs,” Britch says with satisfaction.

The decision will impact the party’s standing with the Principi. And that matters, since you will need the assistance of one of these factions later in the game’s critical path. This is what distinguishes Pillars of Eternity II from other games that offer sneaky-deaky stealth or blazing guns. Actions make noise, not only in the echoey dungeons of pirate forts, but throughout the Deadfire Archipelago where reputation and consequence carries across the waves with an unmistakable Obsidian timbre.
There's an additional GDC preview at Tom's Guide, though it's far less detailed. It's nice to see that the game exists outside the beta, but hopefully we'll hear more about it this week.
 

Sherry

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Shrine of Compassion
Hi!

Rainbow across waterfalls!

Lightning bolt trap everyone avoids!

Old and new companions!

SHIP CAPTAIN!

Bloody deck battles!

Breathing, reactive world!

Ancient secrets!

Detailed combat!

LAVA DRAGON!!!!! :o

Hunting a cartoon drawn GOD!

ZERO WEATHER EFFECTS SHOWN!

May 8, 2018.

Thanks,
Sherry
 

canakin

Cipher
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May 15, 2011
Messages
421
At least they managed to capture the clusterfuck feeling which is a trademark for rtwp combat systems. For fucks sake.
 
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TedNugent

Arcane
Joined
Dec 16, 2013
Messages
6,329
I need to see some semblance of an improvement with the character building systems and fewer timesink mechanics.

One thing that isn't often written about is just how much fucking time modern games want to drain out of you like vampires doing stupid hamster wheel shit like leveling up in FPS games (????!!). I'll be honest I was intrigued and hooked at the start of PoE, but when I got to the mansion building minigame I honestly sighed, turned off the game and just never got around to it again.

That said, it looks pretty. I like the new Infinity Engine. The scenarios look kind of neat and fun. Just give me a tight, neat narrative and don't waste my time with pirate bullshit or whatever minigame shipbuilding is going to take me away from the main quest arc without providing meaningful combat or writing.
 

Nael

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Indy
If I had a decent video game for every time an ad or trailer said "Living breathing world" then... every game released since Olibion would have been a decent video game.
 

a cut of domestic sheep prime

Guest
Who is your character?

Why is he there fighting?

When is this set?

Where is it set?

Who is the villain?

Why should we care about he villain?

Are the supporting characters interesting?

Is there romance?

What is the story?

BUT NO YOU GET TO DO ALL THIS STUFF LIKE CLICKING ON A SHIP (YOUR SHIP)
IN THIS STATE OF THE ART PIRATE RPG (INSPIRED BY BALDURS GATE THO)
HUNT A GOD
BE A DRAGON
ENSLAVE NATIONS WITH YOUR POWERFUL NECROMANCY
YOU CAN GIVE US YOUR MONEY AND WAIT OVER A MONTH TO PLAY IT
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Kyl Von Kull

The Night Tripper
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Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag.
Who is your character?

Why is he there fighting?

When is this set?

Where is it set?

Who is the villain?

Why should we care about he villain?

Are the supporting characters interesting?

Is there romance?

What is the story?

BUT NO YOU GET TO DO ALL THIS STUFF LIKE CLICKING ON A SHIP (YOUR SHIP)
IN THIS STATE OF THE ART PIRATE RPG (INSPIRED BY BALDURS GATE THO)
HUNT A GOD
BE A DRAGON
ENSLAVE NATIONS WITH YOUR POWERFUL NECROMANCY
YOU CAN GIVE US YOUR MONEY AND WAIT OVER A MONTH TO PLAY IT

Meh. It’s a pointless ad but some of this stuff they shouldn’t reveal. I don’t think BG2 marketed itself by talking about a quest to save your sister and your soul or going into detail about Irenicus.

As an aside, I just made lamb chops for dinner in a nice red wine reduction sauce. Delicious!
 

a cut of domestic sheep prime

Guest
I don’t think BG2 marketed itself by talking about a quest to save your sister and your soul or going into detail about Irenicus.
bg2 marketed itself when PC exclusive was still a thing ad there weren't thousands of games already out and decent looking. There weren't cell phone games, Facebook games, etc and every kind of interweb porn you can imagine to compete with.

It was a time when demo discs were still a thing, when people actually bought and read PC Gamer, when all you had to do to sell a game was queue up a bunch of game cutscenes and stick some music behind them.

Because screw it, what else are people going to play?

But now, frankly, I need a little more to get me interested. And I don't think knowing overall subject of the main plot is too much to ask. Especially when you want $60 for it.
As an aside, I just made lamb chops for dinner in a nice red wine reduction sauce. Delicious!
Tasty! Remember, kind sir, a vote for Lamb is a vote for tastiness!
 

Glop_dweller

Prophet
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Messages
1,164
...companions in Pillars of Eternity II can now pool their resources when testing skills. Your second-best thief is no longer a useless tag-along, then, but an effective boost to your party’s overall ability.
picard2.jpg
 

J_C

One Bit Studio
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Project: Eternity Wasteland 2 Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag. Pathfinder: Wrath
Who is your character?

Why is he there fighting?

When is this set?

Where is it set?

Who is the villain?

Why should we care about he villain?

Are the supporting characters interesting?

Is there romance?

What is the story?

BUT NO YOU GET TO DO ALL THIS STUFF LIKE CLICKING ON A SHIP (YOUR SHIP)
IN THIS STATE OF THE ART PIRATE RPG (INSPIRED BY BALDURS GATE THO)
HUNT A GOD
BE A DRAGON
ENSLAVE NATIONS WITH YOUR POWERFUL NECROMANCY
YOU CAN GIVE US YOUR MONEY AND WAIT OVER A MONTH TO PLAY IT
Are you a fucking idiot? Stop being an edgy cunt, just for the sake of being an edgy cunt. No games should spoil these questions in the trailer, go and play the game if you want to know the answers or just don't play it and shut the fuck up.
 

TedNugent

Arcane
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Dec 16, 2013
Messages
6,329
But now, frankly, I need a little more to get me interested. And I don't think knowing overall subject of the main plot is too much to ask. Especially when you want $60 for it.
Sir, I think you're missing some gre8 benefits from pre-buying our game
TrumpSmug.png


Let me list them out for you straight from our fabulous marketing dept

v2PoE2_PreOrderGraphic_3Items.png

STEAM dot COM!!! said:
PRE-ORDER TODAY to get your FREE digital items:

Beakhead, the Hawk (In-Game Pet): Beakhead, the white hawk, took a liking to your ship soon after you arrived in the Deadfire. Captains in the Deadfire are only as effective as their crew, and with this jaunty first-mate by your side you're bound to find success at sea.

St. Drogga's Skull: the green flame of St. Drogga's Skull will not only guide you through the darkest reaches of the Deadfire but serve you in combat as well. Crafted from a sabre and the skull of a martyr, this deadly implement will both slash and burn enemies in combat.

The Black Flag: This flag is said to have been flown by a mysterious and rowdy band of seadogs from a far-off land, who dyed their sails black with a stain made from ground-up dragon glass. Dark and intimidating, but somehow attractive, nonetheless.

pre-order-items.jpg


If this is not enough to whet your discerning palappetite, perhaps this will?

v2PoE2_Deluxe_Edition_Final.png


Okay, I give up, how many fucking in-game pets do you want???! Oh, I get it. How about an in-game Pokemon minigame with your digital collectible pets???!
 

thesheeep

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Codex 2012 Strap Yourselves In Codex Year of the Donut Codex+ Now Streaming! Serpent in the Staglands Dead State Divinity: Original Sin Torment: Tides of Numenera Codex USB, 2014 Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 BattleTech Bubbles In Memoria A Beautifully Desolate Campaign Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Pathfinder: Kingmaker Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag. Pathfinder: Wrath I'm very into cock and ball torture I helped put crap in Monomyth
...companions in Pillars of Eternity II can now pool their resources when testing skills. Your second-best thief is no longer a useless tag-along, then, but an effective boost to your party’s overall ability.
picard2.jpg
I don't see how that is necessarily a bad thing.
Always found it weird in some party-based RPGs that only your main char's stats would count in situations where one of your companions could realistically do the deed. I remember Storm Of Zehir being much better in that regard.
 

Elex

Arbiter
Joined
Oct 17, 2017
Messages
2,043
Who is your character?

Why is he there fighting?

When is this set?

Where is it set?

Who is the villain?

Why should we care about he villain?

Are the supporting characters interesting?

Is there romance?

What is the story?

BUT NO YOU GET TO DO ALL THIS STUFF LIKE CLICKING ON A SHIP (YOUR SHIP)
IN THIS STATE OF THE ART PIRATE RPG (INSPIRED BY BALDURS GATE THO)
HUNT A GOD
BE A DRAGON
ENSLAVE NATIONS WITH YOUR POWERFUL NECROMANCY
YOU CAN GIVE US YOUR MONEY AND WAIT OVER A MONTH TO PLAY IT

Meh. It’s a pointless ad but some of this stuff they shouldn’t reveal. I don’t think BG2 marketed itself by talking about a quest to save your sister and your soul or going into detail about Irenicus.

As an aside, I just made lamb chops for dinner in a nice red wine reduction sauce. Delicious!

iirc bg2 was marked as... “the 2”, i mean the entite point of bg2 was being the second game and continue the story, the most hypedfeature was probally the save import feature, the fact that you don’t ger delevelled to lvl 1 and you have to face stronger enemies, dragons, lich, vampires

more a chapter 2 than game 2.
 

Diggfinger

Arcane
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Jan 6, 2014
Messages
1,200
Location
Belgium
Seems the game is getting alot of press (thanks to the pirate features, AHOY MATEY!!!)

Hope this means **big BUCKS** for Obsidian:keepmymoney:

...so they can purchase golden Lamborghinis for Leonard Boyarsky and Tim Cain:love: (plus an new bike for Sawyer:troll:)
 

ArchAngel

Arcane
Joined
Mar 16, 2015
Messages
19,886
Last edited:

Parabalus

Arcane
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Mar 23, 2015
Messages
17,432
...companions in Pillars of Eternity II can now pool their resources when testing skills. Your second-best thief is no longer a useless tag-along, then, but an effective boost to your party’s overall ability.
picard2.jpg
This has existed in D&D at least since 3.0 and I would guess even before.
In which PC games though?

There are some where a teammate jumps in occasionally, but anything systemic I can only recall in those with full party creation.
 

ArchAngel

Arcane
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Mar 16, 2015
Messages
19,886
...companions in Pillars of Eternity II can now pool their resources when testing skills. Your second-best thief is no longer a useless tag-along, then, but an effective boost to your party’s overall ability.
picard2.jpg
This has existed in D&D at least since 3.0 and I would guess even before.
In which PC games though?

There are some where a teammate jumps in occasionally, but anything systemic I can only recall in those with full party creation.
Does not matter if they didn't implement it before, that is the problem of those games.
There is no reason why other people cannot help with your task as long as it is reasonable like in PnP.
 

Parabalus

Arcane
Joined
Mar 23, 2015
Messages
17,432
...companions in Pillars of Eternity II can now pool their resources when testing skills. Your second-best thief is no longer a useless tag-along, then, but an effective boost to your party’s overall ability.
picard2.jpg
This has existed in D&D at least since 3.0 and I would guess even before.
In which PC games though?

There are some where a teammate jumps in occasionally, but anything systemic I can only recall in those with full party creation.
Does not matter if they didn't implement it before, that is the problem of those games.
There is no reason why other people cannot help with your task as long as it is reasonable like in PnP.

I agree, guess the idea was to place more importance on the hero/PC, while in PnP/party creation there are multiple PCs. Probably harder to balance too.
 

Van-d-all

Erudite
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Jan 18, 2017
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Standin' pretty. In this dust that was a city.
...companions in Pillars of Eternity II can now pool their resources when testing skills. Your second-best thief is no longer a useless tag-along, then, but an effective boost to your party’s overall ability.
picard2.jpg
This has existed in D&D at least since 3.0 and I would guess even before.
In which PC games though?

There are some where a teammate jumps in occasionally, but anything systemic I can only recall in those with full party creation.
Does not matter if they didn't implement it before, that is the problem of those games.
There is no reason why other people cannot help with your task as long as it is reasonable like in PnP.
Alright, I'll give you that, some occasions indeed come to mind that would benefit from such mechanics. Like for instance pooling knowledge about something from several characters, but the example given, like pooling a purely manual precision skill like thievery sounds weird. Going further down the rabbit hole this idea ends up with dedicated cheerleader characters in the party... And let's be honest - it's meant to make non viable builds viable, by just mashing up all the uniqueness of individual party members into one big fuckheap that steamrolls every test thrown in its general direction.
 

thesheeep

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Codex 2012 Strap Yourselves In Codex Year of the Donut Codex+ Now Streaming! Serpent in the Staglands Dead State Divinity: Original Sin Torment: Tides of Numenera Codex USB, 2014 Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 BattleTech Bubbles In Memoria A Beautifully Desolate Campaign Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Pathfinder: Kingmaker Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag. Pathfinder: Wrath I'm very into cock and ball torture I helped put crap in Monomyth
And let's be honest - it's meant to make non viable builds viable, by just mashing up all the uniqueness of individual party members into one big fuckheap that steamrolls every test thrown in its general direction.
There is no such thing as a non viable build in PoE. At least, there wasn't in the first part.
You could roll your stats randomly and even roll the dice on what to select on level-ups and you could still finish the game just fine on any but the very hardest difficulty (and even there, it only matters for maybe a handful of fights).
There might be optimal builds, but everything else was still viable... unfortunately. I don't see a reason to assume it will be different in PoE 2.

Also... if you have in your party characters that cover all skill areas, then why the hell shouldn't you be able to succeed in tests of those skills? It just makes sense.
Though I have to agree the given example is weird as hell. Pooling pickpocket to steal from a single guard? Wut.
Would make more sense to have a combined check of pickpocketing and whatever social (one char serves as a distraction).
 

ArchAngel

Arcane
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Mar 16, 2015
Messages
19,886
That is why I used word reasonable in my post. In PnP you got a DM to stop idiot players that want to aid others in pickpocketing by pickpocketing themselves (or he just evil laughs, raises difficulty behind the scenes because players are retarded and busts both idiots).
Obsidian has to program to stop non reasonable usage of aiding party members.
 

Van-d-all

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Standin' pretty. In this dust that was a city.
And let's be honest - it's meant to make non viable builds viable, by just mashing up all the uniqueness of individual party members into one big fuckheap that steamrolls every test thrown in its general direction.
There is no such thing as a non viable build in PoE. At least, there wasn't in the first part.
You could roll your stats randomly and even roll the dice on what to select on level-ups and you could still finish the game just fine on any but the very hardest difficulty (and even there, it only matters for maybe a handful of fights).
There might be optimal builds, but everything else was still viable... unfortunately. I don't see a reason to assume it will be different in PoE 2.

Also... if you have in your party characters that cover all skill areas, then why the hell shouldn't you be able to succeed in tests of those skills? It just makes sense.
Though I have to agree the given example is weird as hell. Pooling pickpocket to steal from a single guard? Wut.
Would make more sense to have a combined check of pickpocketing and whatever social (one char serves as a distraction).
It's a bit more nuanced. Normally you would specialize characters to cover various occurrences, hence the base D&D classes that gradually evolved to allow more variety. But, even with multi-classing and whatnot it still meant that every one of those characters also gained some kind of weakness, thus opening actual cooperation like combat positioning, or picking a right character for the job and that's where their personalities got a part to play. The whole classic RPG idea is somewhat built around this concept. But with their stats pooled it actually sounds reasonable to make a party of sameish clones, that aren't particularly bad at anything, yet great at everything together and ultimately plays like some gestalt cell simulator that defeats the purpose of even having a party based game in the first place.
 

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