Eternity Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Pre-DLC Thread [GO TO NEW THREAD]

[Riddler]

While I certainly noticed the overabundance of females in traditionally male roles and thought it was a bit funny how obvious the bias of the writers was here, it didn't really bother me since the women weren't really "strong women" (tm) and felt reasonably normal.

You don't have to be a raging sexist to notice this..

Is there really any (traditionally)strong male at all in a leading role in this game? Eothas maybe but he is an artificial god so can you really say if he really has a gender?

Are you joking? Eder is as traditionally strong as it gets

He is not in a leading role he is in the support cast. He is not a villain and doesn't represent any of the major factions. He is just some dude who happened to tag along and is barely connected to the plot.

Still like him though.

 

[santino27]

it just seems that there are a lot of sheltered American young adults with no world perspective whatsoever writing in this game.

Isn't that most American young adults?

 

[Sentinel]

Sad part is that there's still plenty of room for PoE2's systems to grow and develop into more fun things but with these tranny-tier sales I'm pretty sure Feargus is gonna move for the Skyrim-clone next.

 

[FreeKaner]

it just seems that there are a lot of sheltered American young adults with no world perspective whatsoever writing in this game.

Isn't that most American young adults?

It's, but you expect writers to be a bit better than average person when it comes to understanding and expressing human perspective.

 

[Infinitron]

Where was Bobby Null on PoE1? Seems like an overall good job on his part in PoE2 so far as Lead Designer.

He was the "Lead Level Designer" of PoE1. Seems he only found his groove near the end of development when he created Raedric's Hold. And then he did some of the best stuff in White March like the Stalwart Mines.

 

[FreeKaner]

Yes, this is what instantly struck me as possibility and made me think dialogue in this game will be low in quality when I first read the beta text and it had bunch of foreign words put in random places. This is not how bilingual people speak, this is what American middle-class monolingual people think they speak like. It all looked like it would be filtered through lenses of this sheltered American middle-class with no social or historical knowledge.

There is an argument to make that creole languages can develop in which there is a filtering of a language through another. However that happens as an afterstage where a population's main language changes that they retain their originally native now secondary language. Like with natives who speak Spanish in Americas, French in Africa etc.

 

[Lacrymas]

Well, okay, worded that way it makes more sense.
But is still besides the point. We aren't complaining that they're so successfull in their brainwashing. We're complaining about the "on purpose" part.

Nothing written in a game, or wherever else, can be not on purpose. "Oops, I accidentally wrote a hot heterosexual love scene! How clumsy of me!" is not how it happens in works that feature those. What Obsidian and Bioware are doing is simply reacting to the current climate, and so will never be able to write something striking as long as it is like this.

 

[santino27]

it just seems that there are a lot of sheltered American young adults with no world perspective whatsoever writing in this game.

Isn't that most American young adults?

It's, but you expect writers to be a bit better than average person when it comes to understanding and expressing human perspective.

Unfortunately, I know too many writers to believe that is true. That may be true of the good ones, sure... but those are few and far between.

Edit: Just to elaborate... spend a few hours on Twitter browsing accounts of writers and literary agents--not the internationally renowned names, but people who are mildly successful in their genres or are just starting out--and you will see what I mean. The barrier to being a writer is so low these days that it often doesn't even require being able to handle basic concepts like maintaining tense or utilizing correct grammar. For many of this crowd, it's ALL about broadcasting their own viewpoint, irrespective of what is going on outside of their shallow bubble.

(Also note... I think a lot of that is just youth, inexperience, and the fact that today's society promotes sticking to your own kind or safe place. The more people interact with other perspectives, the better their understanding of the world as a whole, and (one would hope) the richer their writing.)

 

[Perkel]

Random thought 3:

Considering amount of ways you can finish each quest roleplaying character could be very viable as you have ample reason and outcomes for each dialog and quests. Also playing with very small party should be fun experience or even solo. Especially considering that each quest falls into several factions outcomes and usually 2-3 neutral outcomes.

Playing as evil character also have some potency.

 

[Riddler]

Deadfire is miles better, game hooks you from the start and won't let go.

But is it because of the writing? Thing that hooks me is the setting and the exploration. There's just so much stuff to do and discover, and a lot of it is genuinely delightful -- the locations, the items, the fights, the sheer variety of everything, plus the way the world feels like it exists on its own terms and not just as a theme park for your benefit (more than in most cRPGs anyway). I can't think of many games since BG2 that have given the feeling that there are secrets to discover behind every door and under every rock. So I'm really digging the worldbuilding and the way it's hooked up to a whole bunch of game systems -- the faction reputations, the impact that has on party relations, and so on.

Conversely, I'm not really that interested in what's up with Eothas, nor have I developed any particularly strong fee-fees (pro or con) for any of the companions. (But then TBH that's the case for BG2 as well -- apart from a few turnip jokes and some really well-delivered monologues for Irenicus, the writing isn't anything to write home about either.)

This. Much of the game is really good except the balance and the writing. Which is kind of dissapointing since writing has traditionally been what I have been looking for in obsidian games.

This is still quite enjoyable though and by leagues and bounds superior to DivOS 2. If it fails commercially as some speculate then it is a fucking shame. This is the game that should sell, not DivOS 2...

 

[Parabalus]

Deadfire is miles better, game hooks you from the start and won't let go.

But is it because of the writing? Thing that hooks me is the setting and the exploration. There's just so much stuff to do and discover, and a lot of it is genuinely delightful -- the locations, the items, the fights, the sheer variety of everything, plus the way the world feels like it exists on its own terms and not just as a theme park for your benefit (more than in most cRPGs anyway). I can't think of many games since BG2 that have given the feeling that there are secrets to discover behind every door and under every rock. So I'm really digging the worldbuilding and the way it's hooked up to a whole bunch of game systems -- the faction reputations, the impact that has on party relations, and so on.

Conversely, I'm not really that interested in what's up with Eothas, nor have I developed any particularly strong fee-fees (pro or con) for any of the companions. (But then TBH that's the case for BG2 as well -- apart from a few really well-delivered monologues for Irenicus, the writing isn't anything to write home about either.)

My take is that the story+background lore is very compelling, but the delivery is still lacking, mainly because of cringe.

 

[bataille]

It's all a huge horse before the cart thing. The alarm is false. Because no one can seriously push any sort of agenda when he is so inept at saying even the things he is explicitly charged with saying. None of those literary geniuses is capable of weaving an agenda into his writing. The peak of creativity is making your character do gorilla sounds and point to his genitals. Look at me, I can do it with boys and with girls!

This is exactly what I was going say. The prose, themes and characters are too impotent to successfully push any kind of agenda, even if such an agenda exists, which I don't think it does. I know they are inserting gay people and powerful womyns on purpose, but it's not an agenda, it's more like being filtered through the zeitgeist. It's kind of hard to explain.

It's actually pretty simple: some people bear the divine spark while some don't. The contemporary is the filler for the soul; hence the vapid cultural echoes in place of a narrative. Deadfire is a very poignant word to describe what I've read in the game so far. All those ghosts, vague shapes, and flowing images are telling as well.

 

[deama]

Alright so I played deadfire for a couple of hours now and my overall impression is that it's better than 1st one in every way, but the combat is still... meh. I think I'll leave it for now, because original sin ruined me with its combat, so...
To be fair though, I had more fun with BG2s combat, so idk, stay safe kids.

 

[Jenkem]

Is it better than divos2 at least?

 

[Parabalus]

Deadfire is miles better, game hooks you from the start and won't let go.

But is it because of the writing? Thing that hooks me is the setting and the exploration. There's just so much stuff to do and discover, and a lot of it is genuinely delightful -- the locations, the items, the fights, the sheer variety of everything, plus the way the world feels like it exists on its own terms and not just as a theme park for your benefit (more than in most cRPGs anyway). I can't think of many games since BG2 that have given the feeling that there are secrets to discover behind every door and under every rock. So I'm really digging the worldbuilding and the way it's hooked up to a whole bunch of game systems -- the faction reputations, the impact that has on party relations, and so on.

Conversely, I'm not really that interested in what's up with Eothas, nor have I developed any particularly strong fee-fees (pro or con) for any of the companions. (But then TBH that's the case for BG2 as well -- apart from a few turnip jokes and some really well-delivered monologues for Irenicus, the writing isn't anything to write home about either.)

This. Much of the game is really good except the balance

Did you try switching to PotD? I'm not feeling much of a difference from PoE1 difficulty wise, but there is no tedium more with endless mob packs.

 

[Grampy_Bone]

I'm actually getting lots of Darklands vibes from it. That's not bad.

 

[FreeKaner]

Random thought I had now. It's common to insert foreign words into a language if you are aware that other person also speaks that language to broaden the range of expression, especially if the other language is richer in vocabulary. This is how English came to have so many French words for example. It was also how Turkish came to have so many Arabic and Farsi words. Over time foreign phrases can even infiltrate enough to replace common words and expression, such as "touché" or "vis-a-vis" in English for example.

It might specifically be that the example in Deadfire is uncomfortable because there are two languages used, one is a real world language that works exactly like the real world language, that's English. Then you have a) a completely made up language and b) a real world language derivative. Specifically, the real world language derivative that's vailian combined with real language English makes for an extremely jarring experience, because it expects 3 layers of suspension of disbelief. They could have avoided this somewhat by making one of the in-world languages literally English while having other languages that are made up or derivative. The constant switch of expectation of what you are reading makes it hard to digest and accept.

 

[IHaveHugeNick]

After clocking 20 hours and switching to PoTD, Deadfire wipes its ass with PoE1.

That is all.

 

[Riddler]

Deadfire is miles better, game hooks you from the start and won't let go.

But is it because of the writing? Thing that hooks me is the setting and the exploration. There's just so much stuff to do and discover, and a lot of it is genuinely delightful -- the locations, the items, the fights, the sheer variety of everything, plus the way the world feels like it exists on its own terms and not just as a theme park for your benefit (more than in most cRPGs anyway). I can't think of many games since BG2 that have given the feeling that there are secrets to discover behind every door and under every rock. So I'm really digging the worldbuilding and the way it's hooked up to a whole bunch of game systems -- the faction reputations, the impact that has on party relations, and so on.

Conversely, I'm not really that interested in what's up with Eothas, nor have I developed any particularly strong fee-fees (pro or con) for any of the companions. (But then TBH that's the case for BG2 as well -- apart from a few turnip jokes and some really well-delivered monologues for Irenicus, the writing isn't anything to write home about either.)

This. Much of the game is really good except the balance

Did you try switching to PotD? I'm not feeling much of a difference from PoE1 difficulty wise, but there is no tedium more with endless mob packs.

I did but I fear it is too late. It seems like the balance completly breaks once you access some of the higher level abilities/spells.

 

[FreeKaner]

I cannot afford it.

 

[Jenkem]

I cannot afford it.

have fantadomat buy it for you

 

[Maculo]

It all looked like it would be filtered through lenses of this sheltered West Coast American middle-class with no social or historical knowledge.

Hell, it's not even stuff I think Carrie Patel wrote, it just seems that there are a lot of sheltered American young adults with no world perspective whatsoever writing in this game.

Fixed for accuracy. Also, anyone who saw the pitch materials for Tyranny should have seen this coming. The writer's concept of culture and evil is so shallow as to be cute.

 

[Shadenuat]

The Deadfire company and Huana are both ruled by women, Fleetmaster/Queen, but the real power is with the male Secretary/Prince. Both women are kinda "alpha" and the men cold and calculated.

Just like in Tyranny I play by taking a shot every time I meet female lieutenant/military leader, double if she's black, triple if she also seems bisexual.

Suffice to say even russian liver has hard time standing against californian fangirls master writing.

'hic

 

[Jenkem]

since beta is out I'm gonna start a new game but unsure if I should do veteran or POTD.. I've played mostly on POTD when checking out various builds and never had a problem with the combat (except once when I died because I wasn't being careful on a new map) but the thing that annoyed me on POTD is that I would graze/miss a lot in the beginning, even with shit that has like a 10% accuracy boost... does that get better as you level/gear up? I'd like the battles to be more difficult due to the nature of the AI not because they have boosted stats that just prolong the fight and make me constantly miss/graze..

thoughts?

 

[Parabalus]

since beta is out I'm gonna start a new game but unsure if I should do veteran or POTD.. I've played mostly on POTD when checking out various builds and never had a problem with the combat (except once when I died because I wasn't being careful on a new map) but the thing that annoyed me on POTD is that I would graze/miss a lot in the beginning, even with shit that has like a 10% accuracy boost... does that get better as you level/gear up? I'd like the battles to be more difficult due to the nature of the AI not because they have boosted stats that just prolong the fight..

thoughts?

That graze/miss effect kinda disappears once you leave the first island and get around level 5. If you get annoyed with PotD you can always switch later with the console.