Interview Josh Sawyer interviewed at Ragequit.gr and Darkstation

[Sizzle]

I am trying to remember specifically. I think it was a mixture of Thaos dialogue and talking to the other gods in the star chamber. I think Magran and co. stated that Woedica wanted to keep the gods supreme and mankind in the dark about souls. In contrast, the other gods felt that mankind would eventually move past gods and their ignorance.

It has been several months, and I need a refresher with my new playthrough. I just remember that Eothas potentially gave Woedica the finger somehow.

I also seem to remember something about that. Basically, Magran is the goddess of change, Abydon the god of artifice, and Galawain the god of hunt (in all its forms, even the pursuit for knowledge and perfection), so it makes sense for them to want to see all the kith evolve, while Woedica is the goddess of rule, law, oaths - all the things which are immutable, so it makes equal sense for her to want things to stay the same. But I don't remember the part about them saying that kith wouldn't need the gods anymore, and that they were content to just fade.

As for the Watcher thing, I completely agree. The fact that you get to use your powers a bit more in the White March (in interesting ways) was one of the reasons I liked it, but there's still much room to experiment with the idea.

 

[Maculo]

I still need to play the White March content, but I did have my expectations high after Maerwald.

I like Thaos the same way I like the Imperium in Warhammer 40k. Both seem to think the best way to save humanity is to keep it ignorant of the true state of the universe. It felt anti-Star Trek to an extent, which was refreshing. Thaos and his people saw that there was no gods and no real reason behind the state of the world. Hence, the ancient civilization sacrificed itself to empower machines/AI to act as gods, while Thaos stayed behind to keep the system going. I felt part of Thaos' motivation was that if the gods were no longer needed or killed, then his people's sacrifice was in vain.

For me, the twist was not that the people were rebelling against the gods with science, but rather Thaos' own creations were rebelling against their original purpose and him. Eothas, Magran, etc kind of kicked the system that Thaos had carefully maintained.

 

[Irenaeus II]

Wait, the gods are machines now?

 

[Jedi Exile]

Wait, the gods are machines now?

You didn't know? They are soul-powered machines. Some are broken and in need of fixing, like Woedica, some are still operational. And Thaos is just a maintenance man.

 

[Maculo]

That's how I interpreted them. Thaos managed the machine that took the souls of his people and made the gods. Specifically, I remember dialogue where part of Thaos' memory is people waiting in line and giving the okay to activate the machine. Initially, I thought that they were just a collection of souls that formed into gods, but that still seems like an artificial creation, like AI. I think that is arguable though, and I by no means think my interpretation is absolute.

 

[Irenaeus II]

I didn't see any evidence of that. Maybe I need to play again.

But it's an interesting twist anyway, a la AoD. Changes the genre from high fantasy to sci-fi/fantasy cross over. And it's funny since even AIs can have personalities. Ask Prosper.

I guess I'll like the setting even more if that's true.

 

[Maculo]

That's how I viewed the Engwithans/Thaos at least. The Engwithan (however the fuck you spell it) civilization reached sci-fi levels of technology (animancy?) and believed it was a horrible idea. Hence, Woedica and Thaos tried to halt animancy progress.

Edit: I do not think these implications came up until the very end of the game. Moreover, it was not emphasized all that much.

 

[Irenaeus II]

Woedica here being a female HAL9000

 

[ortucis]

Combat in POE is POS.


They should copy Original Sin's combat and learn from Larian on how to make it fun. Fallout 4 is shit story-wise but even Bethesda realized that people will play the game if combat is fun (Borderlands) despite the world being a generic mess.

First Obsidian game I haven't finished. Shit combat, boring world and even more retarded decision to put shit fan-fiction from Kickstarter folks into their game. If I wanted that, I would visit some fan-fic forum, not play a fucking game made out of it.

Also, if they are going to use Unreal 4, I suggest making a sequel to Alpha Protocol. Call it something else, like Beta Protocol or Gamma.. Protocol, whatever.

 

[Sannom]

Wait, the gods are machines now?

What happened in the distant past of Eora is pretty much the fantasy version of what's about to happen to Earth in Deus Ex's "Benevolent Dictator" ending. Fuck, just look at that quote!

That's how I viewed the Engwithans/Thaos at least. The Engwithan (however the fuck you spell it) civilization reached sci-fi levels of technology (animancy?) and believed it was a horrible idea. Hence, Woedica and Thaos tried to halt animancy progress.

I don't think the Engwithan believed that their level of technology was a bad idea, it's more that anyone reaching their level in the future could lead to the secrets of the gods being exposed, and they don't want that.

 

[Maculo]

Wait, the gods are machines now?

What happened in the distant past of Eora is pretty much the fantasy version of what's about to happen to Earth in Deus Ex's "Benevolent Dictator" ending. Fuck, just look at that quote!

That's how I viewed the Engwithans/Thaos at least. The Engwithan (however the fuck you spell it) civilization reached sci-fi levels of technology (animancy?) and believed it was a horrible idea. Hence, Woedica and Thaos tried to halt animancy progress.

I don't think the Engwithan believed that their level of technology was a bad idea, it's more that anyone reaching their level in the future could lead to the secrets of the gods being exposed, and they don't want that.

Your interpretation probably is more accurate. I got the implication that Thaos and his civilization regretted searching for the gods in the first place. Then again, nothing is 100% explicit in the dialogue, and I would not be surprised if Obsidian took it in a different direction at a moment's notice.

 

[JustMyOnion]

The companion I wrote, Pallegina, is one of the most disconnected. I think their connection to the central plot could have been stronger and there could have been better reactivity among them to both your choices and each other's' actions.

Amazing, this was exactly what I thought, specifically regarding that companion. I was just doing side quests and exploring, suddenly she appeared and acted like I should care about her problems and shit, I thought I've skipped something and accidentally triggered a quest that wasn't supposed to be available until later. That was probably the point where my subconscious decided not to start up this game again.
Companions in general seemed to have less of a connection to me than a random PUG in an MMO. Good on him for recognizing that, I guess.

 

[Irenaeus II]

You know you can ignore companions and side quests right? Did you ever play a RPG?

 

[Sizzle]

The companion I wrote, Pallegina, is one of the most disconnected. I think their connection to the central plot could have been stronger and there could have been better reactivity among them to both your choices and each other's' actions.

Amazing, this was exactly what I thought, specifically regarding that companion. I was just doing side quests and exploring, suddenly she appeared and acted like I should care about her problems and shit, I thought I've skipped something and accidentally triggered a quest that wasn't supposed to be available until later. That was probably the point where my subconscious decided not to start up this game again.
Companions in general seemed to have less of a connection to me than a random PUG in an MMO. Good on him for recognizing that, I guess.

While I agree that companions could have been more integral to (and integrated in) the story, remember that one of the tenants of the game was that they would be completely optional.

Even so, I consider them a step up from BG's NPCs. Only a few of them were really interesting to me - Durance, obviously, Eder (mostly for his chill vibe and voice acting), Sagani (I haven't played much with the White March NPCs, so can't comment on those yet), but even at their worst, none of them rose to the obnoxiousness level of, say, Nalia, and all of them serve a purpose in establishing the setting a bit more. Also don't understand all the hate that Pellagina gets. She's definitely not the most exciting character out there, and her quest is very basic and not all that interesting, but she does get some good and funny dialogue, and the paladin class can be useful.

 

[Irenaeus II]

Hiravias the most underrated companion.

 

[Xeon]

Better than BG2's NPC? BG2's NPCs fight each other and sometimes don't agree with the protagonist and if you don't do their quests, they leave you to go and do it themselves.

Eder when you go to the Ducal palace and talk to the archivist and don't mention his quest to him, he just makes a sad remark or something and that's it, same with Aloth, you can tell him, you are busy and he'll apologize and that's it.

I do love Eder tho, he is a great dude. doesn't complain and kinda of an easy going dude.

 

[Sizzle]

Sure, the BG NPCs fight amongst themselves, have more banter. They also have romances and whine and bitch all the time. If given a choice between a professional and more subdued NPC and a wacky, lol NPC like Minsc, I'd always choose the former.

Hiravias is a very good implementation of a character who's unsure whether or not he's good enough, and tries to mask his insecurities with bad humor, really liked his entire story arc.

 

[Xeon]

Man, its pretty much what Irenaeus said and it applies to BG as well and to most games if not all, you can just ignore it and tell them to stfu if you are not interested in an npc or romance, you can create an all costume party.

I do agree about Minsc, he sucks and I never take him but there are still a lot of good characters I think, I just don't like how NPCs in PoE are kinda of, don't know if one dimensional is an appropriate word for it, but they go a long with whatever you the PC decides, at least let them complain or something. granted its probably like the strongholds and Avalone's Durance and Griving Mother's cut content or something but yea.

Submissive is probably more appropriate word maybe.

 

[Morality Games]

Man, its pretty much what Irenaeus said and it applies to BG as well and to most games if not all, you can just ignore it and tell them to stfu if you are not interested in an npc or romance, you can create an all costume party.

I do agree about Minsc, he sucks and I never take him but there are still a lot of good characters I think, I just don't like how NPCs in PoE are kinda of, don't know if one dimensional is an appropriate word for it, but they go a long with whatever you the PC decides, at least let them complain or something. granted its probably like the strongholds and Avalone's Durance and Griving Mother's cut content or something but yea.

Submissive is probably more appropriate word maybe.

Well, that's part of it. They're on the rails experiences whose stories are mostly separate from the game. Unlike PS:T or Kotor II, there's very little sense of accomplishment in talking to or learning anything about them. Inter-party relationships aren't very dynamic or interesting either, limited entirely to banter where everyone rips on Durance to a large extent and each other to a lesser extent. Relationships between companions on PS:T and Kotor II felt much more alive.

Definitely one of the most phoned in aspects of the game, although I qualify again that I enjoy Pillars of Eternity.

Worth noting that Baldur's Gate II companions worked mostly the same way as Pillars of Eternity, but were written in a much more naturalistic way. The way the protagonist encounters his old companions (held prisoner with him by Irenicus) and the way he encounters Nalia are completely different. Not to mention, sometimes you complete a companion quest *before* you recruit them. Like the companion is an NPC who you just happen to unlock the ability to recruit due the way a quest gets resolved.

In Pillars of the Eternity, the narrative feels more heavy handed about the sort of thing.

 

[Dragula]

Also, if they are going to use Unreal 4, I suggest making a sequel to Alpha Protocol. Call it something else, like Beta Protocol or Gamma.. Protocol, whatever.

Since alpha is an earlier stage of development than beta, your idea is fucking stupid.

 

[ortucis]

Also, if they are going to use Unreal 4, I suggest making a sequel to Alpha Protocol. Call it something else, like Beta Protocol or Gamma.. Protocol, whatever.

Since alpha is an earlier stage of development than beta, your idea is fucking stupid.

 

[Irenaeus II]

Location:
Svíþjóð

 

[Morality Games]

I still need to play the White March content, but I did have my expectations high after Maerwald.

I like Thaos the same way I like the Imperium in Warhammer 40k. Both seem to think the best way to save humanity is to keep it ignorant of the true state of the universe. It felt anti-Star Trek to an extent, which was refreshing. Thaos and his people saw that there was no gods and no real reason behind the state of the world. Hence, the ancient civilization sacrificed itself to empower machines/AI to act as gods, while Thaos stayed behind to keep the system going. I felt part of Thaos' motivation was that if the gods were no longer needed or killed, then his people's sacrifice was in vain.

For me, the twist was not that the people were rebelling against the gods with science, but rather Thaos' own creations were rebelling against their original purpose and him. Eothas, Magran, etc kind of kicked the system that Thaos had carefully maintained.

To be honest, although Thaos tends to talk about it as a voluntary sacrifice, I doubt the Engwithians as a whole elected to sacrifice themselves to create the gods. At an organizational level that doesn't make sense. Thaos used his probably high influence in Engwithian society (as an important animancy researcher) to build the soul harvesting machines in his nation's territory because he didn't have the influence to build them anywhere else. I imagine they experienced a more severe version of the Hollowborn Crisis and were gradually displaced by competing cultures as their population declined and the power of the gods increased.

This served the double purpose of eliminating the people who had the insight to challenge his assertions that he had discovered the true gods, as Engwithians were the foremost users of animancy and rival researchers could have divined the true origins of the gods eventually. '

 

[commie]

How did it do? This is an honest question. I didn't see anything while googling or to a quick glance in the inxile section of these forums.

From the sales of incline thread:

The star means it's the first week it entered the charts, so yeah, pretty terrible.

Well it did better than Divinity OS...just....

Maybe inXile and Larian will give up on that dead end?

Though even these positions may be enough to make it worthwhile given the size of the console base. Depends on the cost of conversion really.

 

[Severian Silk]

I think the PoE series got too epic too early. There's not really much left to discover about the setting's pantheon. I wish Obsidian had limited the scope of the games more to what you find in the earlier portions of the game.