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Eternity Pillars of Eternity II Beta Thread [GAME RELEASED, GO TO NEW THREAD]

Mazisky

Magister
Joined
Mar 8, 2015
Messages
2,082
Location
Rome, IT
Don't worry guys, i'll buy and play the game while u are busy shitposting about the game for another 3 years :kingcomrade:
 

Alpan

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Mar 4, 2018
Messages
1,340
Grab the Codex by the pussy Pathfinder: Wrath
I've been deliberately staying away from the PoE II beta (I'm a backer), unwilling to expose myself to any element of the game before its release.

Discussions of RPG heritage and genre purity aside, I quite enjoyed the first game on PotD difficulty (including the expansion and all of the side content). How do the game systems hold up currently? I ask because throughout the Beta I've had questions about whatever it was Sawyer was thinking. I read about combat (especially spellcasting) being slowed down, I can't intuit/grok the benefit of the Penetration system, and I think the ability pools and level up options for all classes are narrower than before. All of these changes seem to me like excellent ways to mess with a working formula, and I've been hesitant about the sequel for this reason. Any beta players, especially PotD players, want to chip in?
 

Fry

Arcane
Joined
Aug 29, 2013
Messages
1,922
Are you saying that no corporation has ever exploited people? Even in the gaming industry? How can you say there is zero precedent? Are you living under a rock? Are you a blind, mute and deaf quadriplegic?

You're just flailing now. Until they prove they can't be trusted, I'll go with Obsidian's recent track record.

Let's take the opposite perspective... why did Obsidian and Paradox part ways? Partially because Tyranny didn't sell well, but I suspect Paradox would happily have published PoE2 if they had been able to reach an agreement with Obsidian that matched Paradox's shitty DLC model. That's not how Obsidian wants to do business.
 

Lacrymas

Arcane
Joined
Sep 23, 2015
Messages
17,949
Pathfinder: Wrath
And you are just making up excuses for them now. They've outright said that they'll go contrary to what fans on the DLC poll said they want because it makes more "economic sense", why do you assume it's beneath them to base their DLC model as close to Paradox's as possible? It might not be as ...extensive as Paradox's, but it's obvious Obs have at least copied their homework. Who knows, if it makes more "economic sense" to release shitty DLC every 2 months, then, given their own explicit statements, I am absolutely willing to believe they'll go that route or as close as PR sanctionably possible.
 

Fry

Arcane
Joined
Aug 29, 2013
Messages
1,922
There's a point at which trashing the good will of your fan base is not worth a marginal increase in short-term income. I have no doubt Obsidian will try to make as much money as possible off the Pillars of Eternity franchise, but that will come in the form of more and different types of games.
 

badler

Obsidian Entertainment
Developer
Joined
Jun 3, 2014
Messages
127
Just talked to the Marketing and PR overlords (Mikey and Eric). Sounds like we'll be pushing out more information after Deadfire launches. So, can't really talk about it for a few more weeks.
 

Fry

Arcane
Joined
Aug 29, 2013
Messages
1,922
Just talked to the Marketing and PR overlords (Mikey and Eric). Sounds like we'll be pushing out more information after Deadfire launches. So, can't really talk about it for a few more weeks.

OK, but can you confirm or deny you're all a bunch of evil capitalists bent on squeezing the fan base like overripe oranges?
 

Delterius

Arcane
Joined
Dec 12, 2012
Messages
15,956
Location
Entre a serra e o mar.
Just talked to the Marketing and PR overlords (Mikey and Eric). Sounds like we'll be pushing out more information after Deadfire launches. So, can't really talk about it for a few more weeks.

OK, but can you confirm or deny you're all a bunch of evil capitalists bent on squeezing the fan base like overripe oranges?
We don't them to confirm or deny anything with the right phrasing of a hard-hitting piece in the Codex frontpage:

Is Obsidian Entertainment an Illuminati front to promote death and despair throught the known world?
 

Alpan

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Mar 4, 2018
Messages
1,340
Grab the Codex by the pussy Pathfinder: Wrath
It does seem like the DLC will be less cohesive this time around, on account of them being three separate stories/contexts. Still, if Adler is willing to traverse this shitscape to clarify a minor point about upcoming information, that might just mean they are reasonably confident about what they are putting out.
 

badler

Obsidian Entertainment
Developer
Joined
Jun 3, 2014
Messages
127
Just talked to the Marketing and PR overlords (Mikey and Eric). Sounds like we'll be pushing out more information after Deadfire launches. So, can't really talk about it for a few more weeks.

OK, but can you confirm or deny you're all a bunch of evil capitalists bent on squeezing the fan base like overripe oranges?

I am, but I can't confirm for anyone else at Obsidian.
 

2house2fly

Magister
Joined
Apr 10, 2013
Messages
1,877
Are you saying that no corporation has ever exploited people? Even in the gaming industry? How can you say there is zero precedent? Are you living under a rock? Are you a blind, mute and deaf quadriplegic?
Corporations exploit people all the time anni certainly have no reason to believe Obsidian is above it. On the other hand, Obsidian has a decent track record so far about providing value for money with DLC
 

Jezal_k23

Guest
If Deadfire doesn't exist, even though we've seen a lot of footage of it, then neither do the DLCs, even though they've been announced. I am left wondering: what is real? Are any of Obsidian's games real? Is Obsidian real? Are we real?
 

Lacrymas

Arcane
Joined
Sep 23, 2015
Messages
17,949
Pathfinder: Wrath
Questions for the philosophers. Who knows, you might be a brain in a jar, being stimulated by electric impulses from a computer and imagining your existence.
 

Ulfhednar

Savant
Joined
Apr 29, 2017
Messages
809
Location
Valhalla
I've been deliberately staying away from the PoE II beta (I'm a backer), unwilling to expose myself to any element of the game before its release.

Discussions of RPG heritage and genre purity aside, I quite enjoyed the first game on PotD difficulty (including the expansion and all of the side content). How do the game systems hold up currently? I ask because throughout the Beta I've had questions about whatever it was Sawyer was thinking. I read about combat (especially spellcasting) being slowed down, I can't intuit/grok the benefit of the Penetration system, and I think the ability pools and level up options for all classes are narrower than before. All of these changes seem to me like excellent ways to mess with a working formula, and I've been hesitant about the sequel for this reason. Any beta players, especially PotD players, want to chip in?

My biggest complaint when the first beta dropped was the loss of general talents. They've added back in a lot of talents and passives from the first game, so that has helped some, but on the whole character creation feels stream-lined compared to the first game. At each level you have two or three choices and the rest are filler. Because the talents are tiered, you end up picking trash that you probably would have skipped over in the first game. For multiclass characters, it's even worse as you'll have 3 or 4 talent points to spend at one tier. In terms of total number of options, loss of general talents vs introduction of multiclassing is a wash as far as I'm concerned. I would have enjoyed it more if they had kept the talent system from the first game and introduced multiclassing at the same time. You have a lot of choices, but you could have had so many more.

Spell casting is slower, but there is also the issue of limited spell cast / encounter and limited spell choice (Druids and Priests mainly - they no longer get every spell for their power level) on PotD. The stat bloat and increase in number of monsters means that you will likely use all spells before the end of the encounter and will be whipping out your wand for the last half unless you use empowers (don't get me started here). Ciphers and chanters have some advantage since their resources renew over damage or over time. One of the modders (MaxQuest) on the Obsidian boards reduced the cast times in his mod, and it looks like Obsidian has adopted some of the changes. The most recent beta update plays more fluidly than early versions IMHO.

Early on there was a big disparity between power output from multiclass characters vs single class, but it seems like single class has caught up some since they gave them an equal number of talent points and fixed a bug where multiclass were getting extra talent points.

Armor Penetration is less harsh that it was early on with a 0.75/0.5/0.25 multiplier for each point you are under instead of a flat 0.30 multiplier for being below the threshhold. You will need multivariable calculus to optimize your weapon selection and armor choice in Deadfire.

In my estimation, they have messed with the formula a bit much, and it was frightening to see them make major changes in mechanics late in development, like the STR vs MIG and alterations to the way RES works.

The beta is in a better place than it was 4 or 5 months ago, but I'm still not convinced I will enjoy PoE 2 as much as I enjoyed PoE.
 
Last edited:

Alpan

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Mar 4, 2018
Messages
1,340
Grab the Codex by the pussy Pathfinder: Wrath
Thanks, Ulfhednar, that's very helpful. You do confirm a lot of my own misgivings though, so I'll probably wait a bit before diving headfirst into it. I wouldn't have expected Obsidian to resort to modders iterating on the game mechanics to make changes -- that sounds ridiculous.
 

Ulfhednar

Savant
Joined
Apr 29, 2017
Messages
809
Location
Valhalla
I wouldn't have expected Obsidian to resort to modders iterating on the game mechanics to make changes -- that sounds ridiculous.
Why? Free outsourcing is a great practice. Also a smart move for them to externalize their data structure so modders can do more. BG2 was great because of mods.
 

Alpan

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Mar 4, 2018
Messages
1,340
Grab the Codex by the pussy Pathfinder: Wrath
I wouldn't have expected Obsidian to resort to modders iterating on the game mechanics to make changes -- that sounds ridiculous.
Why? Free outsourcing is a great practice. Also a smart move for them to externalize their data structure so modders can do more. BG2 was great because of mods.

Agreed -- for a finished product. Or, being generous, even the first game in a series. For a beta test of the sequel though, it comes off as somewhat indecisive. I would have expected Obsidian to be bolder and more confident in their design vision for the second game, because they already know what works. Also, I presume they have better tools to rapidly iterate on and test mechanics this time around.
 

Infinitron

I post news
Staff Member
Joined
Jan 28, 2011
Messages
97,236
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
Modding is just user feedback with attached proof. :D
 

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