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Eternity Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire Pre-Release Thread [BETA RELEASED, GO TO NEW THREAD]

Deleted Member 16721

Guest
Re: Camping Supplies

IMO, Lords of Xulima had the right idea. Food. A resource that always needs to be considered and pondered. It scales in expensiveness throughout the game, and although that's not really "realistic", it balances the game well and makes it an interesting resource management element. It's especially interesting on harder difficulty levels, where money is scarce and one needs to carefully manage it.

By either raising the cost drastically on the camping supplies, scaling the price throughout the game or making them limited in some other way will remedy the issue of them essentially being meaningless. Since people can just return to town to buy them all the time they are not an essential resource to manage just yet.
 
Joined
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Messages
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PC RPG Website of the Year, 2015 Codex 2016 - The Age of Grimoire Serpent in the Staglands Bubbles In Memoria A Beautifully Desolate Campaign Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire
This is one of the ideas I would dismiss as impossible at a glance but has potential when you consider it longer.

Popular sidekicks could graduate to greater roles in future stories set in this world.
 

Deleted Member 16721

Guest
Well, then they just become typical Companions. Not a terrible idea, as long as they add more Sidekicks in the future, but then you are right back at the point they're trying to avoid, which is having to have more insanely deep story characters. The goal, IMO, is more options in party creation and design.
 
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PC RPG Website of the Year, 2015 Codex 2016 - The Age of Grimoire Serpent in the Staglands Bubbles In Memoria A Beautifully Desolate Campaign Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire
Well, then they just become typical Companions. Not a terrible idea, as long as they add more Sidekicks in the future, but then you are right back at the point they're trying to avoid, which is having to have more insanely deep story characters. The goal, IMO, is more options in party creation and design.

You have to think of it in terms of cohesion.

It makes sense that some people who are in your adventuring company wouldn't be quite as involved with it as others. Any Pale Elf traveler would have good reason to be a sidekick rather than a companion because they come from the far North and don't necessarily know a lot about southern culture and southern gods like Eothas, and have little investment in the well being of the Deadfire Archipelago or in the strange southerners who have become their travelling buddies.

However, it doesn't make sense that such people would always be under involved in an adventuring party in all adventuring circumstances.

If a future narrative can accomodate an expanded role for certain sidekick personalities that are well suited for its thematic subtext, it would only be natural to elevate them into companions in those future narratives.

Obviously they would have a new crop of sidekicks in the future narrative.
 
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Deleted Member 16721

Guest
That's fine, I guess. But the Sidekicks aren't going to have a ton of dialogue to really develop them to begin with. If they spend more effort developing them and attempting to make them "fan favorites" to be continued later, they should just then make the character a regular companion. IMO.

But I see what you're saying. They can evolve them or what not, but the most important aspect to me is the adding of gameplay-related options and choices to make. I think they need more than 4, though.
 

AN4RCHID

Arcane
Joined
Jan 24, 2013
Messages
4,728
One thing I do not like about the update video - the waves look very bad.

WTF is this, adra oceans?

Qk1OTTF.jpg
 
Joined
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PC RPG Website of the Year, 2015 Codex 2016 - The Age of Grimoire Serpent in the Staglands Bubbles In Memoria A Beautifully Desolate Campaign Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire
That's fine, I guess. But the Sidekicks aren't going to have a ton of dialogue to really develop them to begin with. If they spend more effort developing them and attempting to make them "fan favorites" to be continued later, they should just then make the character a regular companion. IMO.

But I see what you're saying. They can evolve them or what not, but the most important aspect to me is the adding of gameplay-related options and choices to make. I think they need more than 4, though.

Not having much development didn't stop them going from BG1 --> BG2.

Maybe they will throw in some more. It's hard to say. 4 lets you have a full party of them + watcher.
 

Deleted Member 16721

Guest
Well in any event, they are greatly appreciated. More options and choices of party members to build uniquely, create new party synergies and interesting gameplay quirks will really increase my enjoyment with the game.
 

Sherry

Arcane
Joined
Jan 17, 2017
Messages
404
Location
Shrine of Compassion
Btw. what do you say to new scripted interactions? That's one thing I'm looking forward to, and really liked what they said in the second Q&A. I believe we got the first glimpse in this update's (#14) video.

SI1.png
Nice. However, for some reason those black & white frames feel too forced to me. Perhaps would be better if pictures of party members could hold the stronger impression that they belong to the book.

More in book feel (though it's just botched mock up, i'm not an artist):
SI1b.png

[/spoiler]

Hi!

My old friend! How are you? We met pages back, you being the Rat, me being the Mouse. A perfect match! :hug:
heart.png
:hug:

Have you ever taken the time to read or play Sorcery! because that is exactly what this reminds me of, the city of Kharé, also known as the Cityport of Traps! How awesome is that right?! I gave it 5/5 on my friends GOTY poll. You?

So you go through the game and a number of Choose Your Own Adventure choices appear on a nice page with pencil drawn artwork to pull you into your choices that are made available. This is exactly what Deadfire is becoming with the video we all watched and the pictures you have posted. A digital storybook that changes our adventure as we are exposed to them while moving between city wards. Are you going to sit down and answer the questions asked, pull out a dagger and stab her 50 times in the chest, or keep walking to the ward you want to go to? AWESOME RIGHT?! :salute:

okay, Okay! OKAY! So the exciting part, right? It is random. Each player will experience different outcomes as they move from one city ward to the next, revealing certain aspects of the main plot arc as we move about! You and I will not experience the same outcome as we explore the city. How awesome is that right? She will read your /SOUL/ and you'll get insight to the choices you made in Pillarss. OMG! This interaction will change the outcome of your adventure. It's brilliant writing. Thank-you very much!

The only botchness about the screens you have posted, is that every character shown is an NPC ...

... interesting ... unless the very first party member is dun. Dun. DUN! Maneha! sssshhhHHH! You read it here first!
clear.png
heart.png
heart.png
xoxo

Thanks,
Randal
 
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Hyperion

Arcane
Joined
Jul 2, 2016
Messages
2,120
Oceans tend to appear green because of phytoplankton, which produce chlorophyll in order to perform photosynthesis. This is magnified in waters near the equator because of prolonged, heavy direct sunlight
 

AN4RCHID

Arcane
Joined
Jan 24, 2013
Messages
4,728
Oceans tend to appear green because of phytoplankton, which produce chlorophyll in order to perform photosynthesis. This is magnified in waters near the equator because of prolonged, heavy direct sunlight
:avatard:

Dude I've been to the ocean, it didn't look like jade jelly.
 

Hyperion

Arcane
Joined
Jul 2, 2016
Messages
2,120
....Because the one you saw didn't have large amounts of phytoplankton at the time, because of either sun exposure, or because other organisms were eating it. This isn't that hard of a concept. Google "tropical ocean" and see what color most of the pictures are.
 

Sentinel

Arcane
Joined
Nov 18, 2015
Messages
6,633
Location
Ommadawn
....Because the one you saw didn't have large amounts of phytoplankton at the time, because of either sun exposure, or because other organisms were eating it. This isn't that hard of a concept. Google "tropical ocean" and see what color most of the pictures are.
Not sewer green that's for sure.
 

Jezal_k23

Guest
Artisans district that Sawyer teased a while ago not part of Nekataka? Interesting.
 

Iznaliu

Arbiter
Joined
Apr 28, 2016
Messages
3,686
Btw. what do you say to new scripted interactions? That's one thing I'm looking forward to, and really liked what they said in the second Q&A. I believe we got the first glimpse in this update's (#14) video.

Page border is also wonky.
 

Taskityo

Educated
Joined
Nov 14, 2015
Messages
68
Hi!

So you go through the game and a number of Choose Your Own Adventure choices appear on a nice page with pencil drawn artwork to pull you into your choices that are made available. This is exactly what Deadfire is becoming with the video we all watched and the pictures you have posted. A digital storybook that changes our adventure as we are exposed to them while moving between city wards. Are you going to sit down and answer the questions asked, pull out a dagger and stab her 50 times in the chest, or keep walking to the ward you want to go to? AWESOME RIGHT?! :salute:

I definitely enjoyed the illustrated read/choose parts in PoE. My favorite is probably The Battle of Yenwood.
 

Quillon

Arcane
Joined
Dec 15, 2016
Messages
5,214
  • The new city map and encounters– This map shows the size of a truly impressive city without the need to model every home, alley and citizen. We’re creating interstitial content when traversing districts on the map. These take the form of special combat and narrative encounters, as well as randomized events. Meet a strange fortune teller that may reveal cryptic prophecies about your future. Cross paths with a drunken noble with a large coin purse lost in the dangerous back-alleys of Neketaka. These encounters take place in scripted interactions as well as on all-new, city street scenes. It is important to note that many of these encounters still include choice & consequence and none are of the “fight x generic enemies” variety.

Any idea what that is?
 

Rev

Arcane
Joined
Feb 13, 2016
Messages
1,180
Hopefully it's just a diplomatic answer and they are aware that it would be a waste of time and money. If they try to pull a Fargo here, I'll just stop backing their games in the futures, just like I'm already doing with inXile.
 

Prime Junta

Guest
Well, there is that Veteran's Recovery talent that helps out with tanking. Besides that, I've read several build guides that describe how to make a good Paladin tank, and I think Prime Junta talked about how to make a Paladin that's a better tank than a Fighter.

The problem was mostly engagement slots, only fighters had Defender. Maybe paladins can be better single target tanks, but you'd need a second tank for AoE tanking anyway, so better just take Eder who can comfortably fulfill both roles. It made my PC feel very worthless.

More than one engagement slot is entirely optional for a tank. Most of the time you're being swarmed anyway so it won't make a huge difference, and if you're on a map where you can hold a position your engaged pair won't take much less space than an engaged triplet.

Also, if you really want to, you can always take Hold the Line (+1 slot) and/or use a Guarding weapon (+1 slot).

I prefer paladins to fighters as tanks because purely in terms of tanking they're about equally good (pallies are a bit more durable while fighters are a bit more effective at locking down a position), but pallies have loads of support abilities that you can use while tanking and which benefit the entire party. Effective use of items is crucial for both of course.
 

Prime Junta

Guest
Not sewer green that's for sure.

A sewer dumping masses of human waste into the harbour would certainly account for that... but perhaps it isn't the look they are going for.
 

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