Pillars of Eternity Thread [Pre-Expansion]

[Grunker]

I don't believe you know what that word means. "Reason to care" is different from needing a clear-cut "go kill this guy." It's the oldest rule in writing that just because you say to people "THIS IS REALLY COOL" doesn't make them think something is cool. Show, don't tell.

But then, I believe that what you write in that link might be my biggest disagreeance with you ever. Have fun playing Forgotten Realms 3rd Edition Campaign Setting: The Game, then.

Yessssssssssss, Josh and I remain one and the same. Nothing could ever possibly make me care, so don't bother wasting time coming up with a reason. I'll do the content because it's there, as always.

But that's my whole point you blathering woman. The content is good, the context is not. I'm not dismissing the content on account of the context as you seem to suggest (or was it a willfully employed strawman?), I'm saying you judge what is presented to you, and the context presented to you is weak.

Otherwise why have a story at all? Why not just play strings of code manipulating other strings of code? It's not my fault the game has a story, and it's not my responsibility the structure works. It's Josh's.

 

[Grunker]

(also it's formalist nonsense to say that contextualising stuff well is a waste of time if the content can stand on its own: it's simply one more tool you can use to show the player interesting things)

 

[Spockrock]

i'm sitting ildly with tears in my eyes, watching as my fucking rogue tells me to fuck myself when i try to reposition her.

This is the biggest issue I have with this game. You will get owned because of moving characters "accidentally" and breaking engagement - yeah I'm not sure if this is good kind of difficulty.

1. you can't move a character "accidentally", unless you're not paying attention to who you have selected at all. if you're subject to a disengagement attack the cursor will look differently. the game actually signals you, "hey, you move - you get stabbed in the back". I can understand that some people might not see the distinction, but it's there.

2. your rogue (as well as your mage) can reposition in combat without getting a "pat on the back" by using his skills/talents/whatever (for example, rogue has instant invisibility).

maybe it's because I'm playing on normal, but I have yet too see how disengagement breaks combat. this combat is certainly better than in BG, where I could just kite enemies for hours cheesing every tough battle

 

[Duraframe300]

I don't believe you know what that word means. "Reason to care" is different from needing a clear-cut "go kill this guy." It's the oldest rule in writing that just because you say to people "THIS IS REALLY COOL" doesn't make them think something is cool. Show, don't tell.

But then, I believe that what you write in that link might be my biggest disagreeance with you ever. Have fun playing Forgotten Realms 3rd Edition Campaign Setting: The Game, then.

Yessssssssssss, Josh and I remain one and the same. Nothing could ever possibly make me care, so don't bother wasting time coming up with a reason. I'll do the content because it's there, as always.

But that's my whole point you blathering woman. The content is good, the context is not. I'm not dismissing the content on account of the context as you seem to suggest (or was it a willfully employed strawman?), I'm saying you judge what is presented to you, and the context presented to you is weak.

Otherwise why have a story at all? Why not just play strings of code manipulating other strings of code? It's not my fault the game has a story, and it's not my responsibility the structure works. It's Josh's.

It is? It would be even more Fenstermakers as Josh

Anyway, not started yet, but would you say its similiar to New Vegas where the game kept you free to choose your own motivation instead of spoonfinding it to you?

Because in that case I will vastly prefer it. I hate when crpgs dictate your motivation. A strong motivation is only necessary in a game if it doesn't offer (or limits) the option to have your very own charachter.

Mentioned before but its my personal big beef with Fallout3. Ofcourse, the argument can be that NV went too far in the other direction but I prefer it this way (Not saying you may not have a point)

 

[made]

Shame there's no full party creation, but I assume that can/already has been modded?

Well, it's not exactly full party creation, but you can create your own companions at the inns (for a prize). I thought everybody knew that by now.

Well, first time I checked out the inn I didn't have enough cash to recruit the "level 1 adventurer", and the in-game tip said something about sending them on adventures which I assumed was some kind of retarded minigame so I never bothered trying what it really does. Good to know for a future playthrough though.

 

[Grunker]

How are people playing with regards to reputation/personality traits. I started with them on but have played with them off a while. I have to say I vastly prefer it.

Anyway, not started yet, but would you say its similiar to New Vegas where the game kept you free to choose your own motivation instead of spoonfinding it to you?

It's nothing like New Vegas, actually. In New Vegas every place you go to shows you its lore through the characters and their conflicts, there are next to no large infodumps that I can recall.

I guess what you're getting at is that they're similar in structure, building on Roguey's point that Josh can wash his hands? You would have a point if not for the fact that Josh probably had a hand in the overall structure of each location as well.

I hate when crpgs dictate your motivation

Like I said to Roguey, you can establish characters and themes and thus give the player a reason to care without dangling a "LOOK FOR YOUR FATHER DUDE" thread in front of them.

"Reason to care about something" doesn't mean "clear-cut personal motivation for PC".

 

[Diablo169]

I think the game definitely lacks an initial hook. Watching bad men do some weird shit that possibly affects you isn't really a strong story hook.

 

[Zed]

I've played intuitively, like, picking what I want with little regards to what it does to my reputation.

I think I have about 2 in everything. Aggressive 2, Honest 2, etc.

I've only recently has any use for them in dialogue.
(on my way to Twin Elms at level ... 8? don't know, maybe higher – I've done all the side content that I've could)

 

[Konjad]

writing in this game is on the icewind dale level.

 

[Duraframe300]

How are people playing with regards to reputation/personality traits. I started with them on but have played with them off a while. I have to say I vastly prefer it.

Anyway, not started yet, but would you say its similiar to New Vegas where the game kept you free to choose your own motivation instead of spoonfinding it to you?

It's nothing like New Vegas, actually. In New Vegas every place you go to shows you its lore through the characters and their conflicts, there are next to no large infodumps that I can recall.

I guess what you're getting at is that they're similar in structure, building on Roguey's point that Josh can wash his hands? You would have a point if not for the fact that Josh probably had a hand in the overall structure of each location as well.

What?

Credit where credit is due, dude. You should know me well enough by now to know I don't bullshit in that regard.

Also I said that as the narrative lead (and the one who wrote the main story, dialouge and structured it into acts) Fenstermaker probably had even a bigger hand in it than Josh. Thats what we actually know, not what we assume. To Joshs specific role in the location infodumps and structure we'd have to ask. At no point did I say Josh can wash his hands.

FFS

Roguey getting to you?

 

[Lone Wolf]

As things are engagement and movement in RT are destroying positioning and tactics. Not completely and you can still use those but the whole is seriously degraded because of these two very unbalanced features.

I won't quibble about balance, here, but my own personal experience playing on Normal is that I've party-wiped, come back retooled (formation/spells/items) and won out by doing things smarter. Engagement is a factor on the battlefield, but not the factor. How you shield your back line, how you engage, when you use your per-rest and per-encounter powers - these all matter a great deal. Sometimes it feels like watching a game of NFL, when the offensive line and the defensive line collide and the offense/defense behind those lines try to make a play. Engagement, in that sense, represents the linemen tying each other up, because no one likes a defensive tackle bursting your line and swatting your quarterback. Or, conversely, a power back smashing through and running down your gullet.

Fighting Raedric, my mobile pieces (Aloth, Durance, Sagani) were dancing around positioning while my Rogue, ranger pet and Fighter tied down those Champions/knights. Raedric's priest and Archmage were doing the same on the other side, and it was an interesting game of cat and mouse for a good 20-30 seconds (felt like an eternity - no pun intended). Durance buffed/healed/AoE'd and Aloth tried to get his cones of fire to not hit poor Eder and PC Rogue.

 

[Owlish]

You have to be quiet. Noise brings the hungry people.

They mostly come at night, mostly.

 

[Darth Roxor]

writing in this game is on the icewind dale level.

*nods* [stoic]




(if only)

 

[Duraframe300]

"Reason to care about something" doesn't mean "clear-cut personal motivation for PC".

Well yes. That may be why I wrote right afterwards that you could argue FNV went too far in the other direction. You might have glossed over that.

In terms of extremes I just prefer one to the other.

 

[Grunker]

I did gloss over that, fair enough.

 

[Darth Roxor]

so i just cleared out the stronghold and watched maerwald suicide on his own fireball

then i [devour soul]'d to gain his immense knowledge and had a vision of a room with walking suits of armour

wut

such knowledges


Also, it's starting to annoy me greatly how little diversity there has been in items and enemies thus far

 

[Grunker]

How are people playing with regards to reputation/personality traits. I started with them on but have played with them off a while. I have to say I vastly prefer it.

Anyway, not started yet, but would you say its similiar to New Vegas where the game kept you free to choose your own motivation instead of spoonfinding it to you?

It's nothing like New Vegas, actually. In New Vegas every place you go to shows you its lore through the characters and their conflicts, there are next to no large infodumps that I can recall.

I guess what you're getting at is that they're similar in structure, building on Roguey's point that Josh can wash his hands? You would have a point if not for the fact that Josh probably had a hand in the overall structure of each location as well.

What?

Credit where credit is due, dude. You should know me well enough by now to know I don't bullshit in that regard.

I think you misunderstood me. I only meant that if you're right, it's not really Josh's fault the way I see it.

 

[Konjad]

i got to a fucking new area, saved the game, quick saved, moved forward and the game crashed. Now none of my saves work because they all crash. I'm 12 hours into the game.

 

[Grotesque]

playing on hard with just two fuckin camp resources makes some interesting and desperate battles!

 

[Duraframe300]

How are people playing with regards to reputation/personality traits. I started with them on but have played with them off a while. I have to say I vastly prefer it.

Anyway, not started yet, but would you say its similiar to New Vegas where the game kept you free to choose your own motivation instead of spoonfinding it to you?

It's nothing like New Vegas, actually. In New Vegas every place you go to shows you its lore through the characters and their conflicts, there are next to no large infodumps that I can recall.

I guess what you're getting at is that they're similar in structure, building on Roguey's point that Josh can wash his hands? You would have a point if not for the fact that Josh probably had a hand in the overall structure of each location as well.

What?

Credit where credit is due, dude. You should know me well enough by now to know I don't bullshit in that regard.

I think you misunderstood me. I only meant that if you're right, it's not really Josh's fault the way I see it.

We!l it still would be

A: Through his project director role / final decision maker

B: Through his role in writing the lore. An argument can be made that he should have pulled to have it expressed correctly not in infodumps.

Add to that Joshs Slide and he said during/after the kickstarter that he/they wanted to ban exposition from dialouge (I actually made a thread back then that banning it entirly isn't ideal also)

So he certainly can be held partly responsible.

 

[Frusciante]

6/10 incoming from gamespot:

Argleblargle. Quick! What is the best way to calm yourself after you realize a bug might force you to restart a long game?

Not sure if a patch can restore points spent on passive bonuses that have since been lost, however. Game-ruining bug

So angry right now. C'mon, Obsidian. What a total killer. Praying for a patch that at least restores racial passives.

Goddamnit. I don't want to have to lose all this time in Pillars of Eternity. Totally game-breaking.

PSA: Do not double click items in your inventory to equip them in Pillars of Eternity. Your character will lose all buffs, forever.

Source: https://twitter.com/fiddlecub

 

[Shannow]

How are people playing with regards to reputation/personality traits. I started with them on but have played with them off a while. I have to say I vastly prefer it.

Those notifications get incredibly on my nerves. And sadly, turning them off only turns off some of them, not all
Totally ruins ma immershun. Really, they should be off by default, all of them. (I do like that you can switch between on and off though. If OE just hadn't made such a biowarian job of it.)

As far as info-dumps go, I agree with you. But it's also the first game in a completely new setting. So I'd cut them some slack.

 

[Athelas]

How are people playing with regards to reputation/personality traits. I started with them on but have played with them off a while. I have to say I vastly prefer it.

Those notifications get incredibly on my nerves. And sadly, turning them off only turns off some of them, not all

Which ones can't you disable? You should be able to disable everything from stat/skill checks to reputation modifiers.

 

[Darth Roxor]

lul only just now realised that i fell victim to the gear swapping bug as well

fortunately all those talents are so shit it doesnt matter anyway

 

[Zeronet]

I'm finding myself disappointed with the cruel and aggressive options. They seem to be a mix of just being a complete douchebag (making fun of people for being in a bad situation, lol your dog is dead hahahaha) and a idiot. There's no suaveness, bleak walkers appear to want you to be this hot headed person who makes fun of people when their down and then starts kicking them for no reason. I'm finding it hard to roleplay being this tough merciless no nonsense guy, who maybe tortures, hurts people when it suits his needs. But so far, being cruel just involves shit talking people.

 

[Bleed the Man]

6/10 incoming from gamespot:

Argleblargle. Quick! What is the best way to calm yourself after you realize a bug might force you to restart a long game?

Not sure if a patch can restore points spent on passive bonuses that have since been lost, however. Game-ruining bug

So angry right now. C'mon, Obsidian. What a total killer. Praying for a patch that at least restores racial passives.

Goddamnit. I don't want to have to lose all this time in Pillars of Eternity. Totally game-breaking.

PSA: Do not double click items in your inventory to equip them in Pillars of Eternity. Your character will lose all buffs, forever.

Source: https://twitter.com/fiddlecub

LOL Because he can distinguish when the bonus apply and when not. Totally game-braking He notice it after it has been deeply covered on forums and he had been playing the game for days. Fuck Neo Gaf, if they would have stayed quiet, this guy wouldn't have noticed.

 

[Grunker]

How are people playing with regards to reputation/personality traits. I started with them on but have played with them off a while. I have to say I vastly prefer it.

Those notifications get incredibly on my nerves. And sadly, turning them off only turns off some of them, not all

Huh? After turning mine off, I have none.

EDIT: Or do you mean skill requirements and stat requirements? You can turn those off as well.

6/10 incoming from gamespot:

Argleblargle. Quick! What is the best way to calm yourself after you realize a bug might force you to restart a long game?

Not sure if a patch can restore points spent on passive bonuses that have since been lost, however. Game-ruining bug

So angry right now. C'mon, Obsidian. What a total killer. Praying for a patch that at least restores racial passives.

Goddamnit. I don't want to have to lose all this time in Pillars of Eternity. Totally game-breaking.

PSA: Do not double click items in your inventory to equip them in Pillars of Eternity. Your character will lose all buffs, forever.

Source: https://twitter.com/fiddlecub

LOL Because he can distinguish when the bonus apply and when not. Totally game-braking He notice it after it has been deeply covered on forums and he had been playing the game for days. Fuck Neo Gaf, if they would have stayed quiet, this guy wouldn't have noticed.

doesn't it show on the character sheet?