Eternity Pillars of Eternity + The White March Expansion Thread

[AwesomeButton]

My proposed solution to restig was implemented in a game in 1992. Difficult to implement, my ass.

"Let's make the game easier to manage for devs and designers" is the D:OS school of game design.

 

[Prime Junta]

Well, duh. I thought that we want quality and that's what Obsidian are aiming for, being easy and high quality is almost an oxymoron, so "let's make it easier on the devs" isn't on the table at all.

If you want quality, how easy it is to develop and test is not only on the table, it’s right in the middle of the table.

 

[Haplo]

Remember: people were complaining that easy mode was way too hard, so they added story mode. This doesn't prevent them from going all out on PotD, with dungeons trapping you inside and you being unable to backtrack to get more supplies, but they seem way too conservative with PotD and I don't know why. They have 5 difficulties, why does each one have to cater to the lowest common denominator of its stated goal? I just don't get it. Have BIG, EASY TO READ LETTERS SAYING: THIS MODE IS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT, DON'T TRY IT IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING. ARE YOU SURE YOU WANT TO CONTINUE? REMEMBER, EXTREME DIFFICULTY!

That would be an insufficient warning. "Extremely difficult" makes people think "enemies hit harder", it doesn't make them think "I will be trapped in this dungeon forever and have to restart the game".

It's not impossible, but you have to play very carefully with anything that can cause a strategic game over in these sorts of games. What if somebody wants harder enemies without being locked in dungeons? It would best be implemented as a separate "roguelike mode" type of thing.

I feel that "locked in a dungeon" and unable to progress OR backtrack is maybe a bit too much. There should be a possibility to escape IMO. Like a teleport or something.
I wouldn't mind a full dungeon reset upon using this escape route though. Except the loot, of course. And the exp to be gained. The latter is not much of an issue in PoE anyway.
Alternatively the entrance could be barred with no possibility of coming back and exploring further.

 

[CptMace]

What about a you leave, you lose mechanic where the player is free to quit whenever he wants but seals the entrance in the process. It fits the quick-save-heavy nature of this kind of games (it's although possible to put an auto-save before you enter the dungeon as suggested earlier), it brings a nice little pressure on the player while he's exploring the unknown and it's the occasion to design some efficient late game challenges. It would give pillars a much welcome contrast between venturing in the wilds and crawling in a dungeon that the first one really lacks.
As a bonus, it would give some purpose to attempting a trial of iron run.

Alternatively the entrance could be barred with no possibility of coming back and exploring further.

Yeah I'm that blind. Anyway I second that.

 

[HeatEXTEND]

The absurdly long load times were more than enough incentive against backtracking in PoE. No way I'm waiting through 3 cumulative minutes across 5 loading screens just to make sure Aloth doesn't fucking die.

This, this and this.

 

[Lacrymas]

Let's hope they have improved the loading times in general, not only lessened the issue by not having loading screens when entering each submap.

 

[Grunker]

Why should be able to tho. It's not like they wouldn't have reduced them if they could in the original. And you got people like Roguey who don't even accept that it's a problem which is baffling to me. Only the original Witcher before EEs had worse loading times relative to amount of loading screens.

 

[Prime Junta]

Why should be able to tho. It's not like they wouldn't have reduced them if they could in the original.

They said they have tho.

As to the "why," that's an optimisation problem. It's possible they ran into a dead end optimising P1 (=couldn't optimise it further without drastic/expensive changes to their data formats or something) and were able to design things better from the get-go for P2. Also, Unity 5, better than Unity 4.

 

[Roguey]

And you got people like Roguey who don't even accept that it's a problem which is baffling to me.

Hey I'd prefer fraction-of-a-second loading times to anything longer, but those seconds of waiting weren't a big deal to me.

 

[Lacrymas]

Individual loading screens weren't a problem, no. It was a problem when they started adding up and, since the maps are so small and claustrophobic, the game bombarded you with loading screens far too frequently.

 

[Jimmious]

So this releases tomorrow along with the FreeLC ... Do we have any more info about it?

 

[Sizzle]

They'll probably talk some more about it in tonight's PoE2 twitch stream (and the backer beta as well).

 

[2house2fly]

Nothing, which makes me imagine that there's not much to it otherwise they would be teasing things presumably. Still, it's free so whatever.

 

[Sizzle]

It looks like a simple way to use the upcoming PoE2 backer beta in order to boost the sales of PoE1, while unifying it under a single installation and giving their fans a little sneak preview (in the form of those extra items) of what they can expect from the sequel.

 

[Iznaliu]

and giving their fans a little sneak preview (in the form of those extra items) of what they can expect from the sequel.

I don't believe extra items will do much to inform players about PoE2; unless they somehow incorporate extremely blatant foreshadowing about the plot or PoE2's mechanics in there somehow. I wonder whether this was forced upon them by Versus Evil; another possibility could be that Obsidian is running out of money, but I find that unlikely.

 

[Quillon]

I doubt VE has anything to with it, if anything it'd be Pdx who could have forced/suggested Obs to make a small DLC to promote def. ed.

 

[PulsatingBrain]

Anyone know if there's a specific time for this sort of thing to actually activate on Steam? As far as I'm aware, the only thing I'll be getting here is the Deadfire pack added to my DLC list, but it is now the 15th here and it hasn't showed up

 

[2house2fly]

Probably morning in Pacific US time, I think that's when all the other Pillars stuff has unlocked

 

[Incantatar]

Does this game run stable on Loonix?

 

[Infinitron]

Released: http://store.steampowered.com/sub/220633/



https://af.gog.com/game/pillars_of_eternity_definitive_edition?as=1649904300
https://af.gog.com/game/pillars_of_eternity_deadfire_pack?as=1649904300

Bringing the flavor of the Deadfire Archipelago to the Dyrwood, the Deadfire Pack adds four all-new, soulbound items for players to equip and level up as they play Pillars of Eternity, along with a bevy of pirate outfits and weapons, all inspired by the upcoming Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire.

Included in this DLC:

Soulbound Items:

• Company Captain's Cap
  
• War Club of the Mataru
  
• One-Eyed Molina's Gold-Fingered Spike-Finger
  
• Belt of the Royal Deadfire Cannoneer

Other Unique Equipment:

• Pirate Outfits:
  
• Helmsman's Uniform
  
• Deckhand's Uniform
  
• Boatswain's Uniform
  
• Sabre of the Seas
  
• Fulvano's Blunderbuss

 

[Infinitron]

 

[ga♥]

Ultra-Gay Wallpaper on the background monitor.

 

[Dux]

So I finally finished PoE.

Pros:
-Some welcome gameplay refinements to the IE-type genre to make life a bit easier.
-Going around doing a few of the side quests, as well as exploring some of the Endless Paths, were reasonably interesting.
-The ability to create additional and mercifully laconic adventurers to fill out your party is a welcome addition in an Obsidian RPG. Silence is golden.
-I stowed a bunch of creatures in my backpack during my travels: a cat, a happy labrador, a miniature blue guy and a docile spider. They were my true friends in all this.
-I jumped into the pit at the end without really thinking. Got impaled on a spike and then the credits rolled. It might have been one of those unintentional funny moments but I laughed all the same. If I weren't a completionist I would've just let it end there. It was kind of perfect, and hilarious.
-That one dude called Thaos who is apparently the main villain. I gibbed him in the end. He didn't have a smarmy out-of-body retort to that, now did he?
-I created a monk waifu to hold down the fort while I was out earning that bread, namely...
-Bounties, simply because I was actually motivated to do them. Money and XP. Also a bloody head in a sack which I gave to the pipe-smoking dude in the hut who was real chill. I liked him.

Cons:
-The absence of pre-buffing and the short durations of buffs in general, which means you have to cast every 15 seconds or so. For most battles it isn't that noticable but for others it becomes a royal pain in the ass, especially considering it takes so long for characters to actually do what they're told to do.
-The companions. The ones in NWN 2 were atrocious for sure but at least they had something going for them - at times. These ones were like tumbleweeds blowing across a damn desert. Durance was sort of okay, I guess. One chief thing which bothered me, even though I'm no longer surprised, is the palpable servility in your average Obsidian companion. It's like they glance tentatively your way every time they are about to make a decision or speak up - just to make sure it's okay. It sickens me and made my aversion towards my weak-kneed allies all the more intense.
-Thaos. The most pathetic villain yet. Didn't help that the storyline places you (except not really you) and this uninteresting nutsack at the centre of everything. He was annoying. What other traits did he have, exactly?
-The writing. I skimmed through pretty much everything by the end. You couldn't pay me to read any more Obsidian-patented verbose drivel that goes nowhere. Never have I played a game with so little to say but still insisted in bombarding me with words. It's a downer in game form, without a doubt. By the end I didn't even know what the fuck I was doing, nor did I care. The filthy people in the Derpwood can finally squeeze out some disgusting children - happy days.
-Adra dragon. Don't even know what to say about this one. Challenge is one thing but this is entirely different. Firkraag in BG2 was challenging. He hit hard and could wipe you out if you came unprepared, so you had to dig in. Did he one-hit your entire level-capped party with one incredibly broken and pretty much unavoidable attack move, though? No, he didn't. Because that would be fucking retarded. Didn't help I was burned out by this point.
-Let's have a long chat before the inevitable big fight that most likely will require reloads.
-Can't leave area when in combat. Because reasons.
-Boring loot. A lot of unique stuff but none of it stood out.
-I didn't even notice the music at times. Very forgettable.
-I'm pretty sure I saw some imposter hobbits walking around.

Lots more to say, I'm sure, but there's no real point. I draw parallels between this game and Dragon Age: Origins. Both BioWare and Obsidian decided to do their own thing in the fantasy genre, except they didn't really do anything fresh or interesting to warrant an entirely new setting. This game almost demands you to learn its ins and outs in order to get the most of the experience. That means it's important that I stay invested. I never was invested, though. There was nothing compelling me.

I GIVE THIS GAME 36 HAPPY LABRADORS OUT OF 69. That's more than fair.

 

[2house2fly]

Lol I saw Royal Deadfire Cannoneer and thought "ooh sounds cool" and then saw "belt" and got deflated

 

[AwesomeButton]

You should have seen it before the patches, mate.

Years from now, I know I'll be reinstalling and replaying BGII, IWD, IWDII. You know who will be reinstalling and replaying PoE five, ten years from now?

Fucking nobody. And that's the main difference between a good game and, well, a derivative.