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Always keep in mind that those games belong to a time when the average attention span was somewhat better than a mosquito's, and having to put a modicum of effort into getting used to unfamiliar mechanics was not considered blasphemy.
The problem is not "balance" but rather streamlining, which Soyver loves religiously. He is downright dogmatic when it comes to streamlining everything.
I'm surprised Sawyer just didn't rename the boni in different types similar to Deflection/Natural armor/Enhancement in some of his own names and went with that.
But then you'll probably end up with items which would add less than 1% of efficiency stacking 1s and decimals like boots of armor +0.5.
Dare I play reverse safav and just recommend u Kingmaker?
u can stack 70 AC there.
The problem is not "balance" but rather streamlining, which Soyver loves religiously. He is downright dogmatic when it comes to streamlining everything.
The weapons are indeed streamlined, all weapons in same speed bracket have the same damage. Which means in practice a rapier and a flail is same weapon, this is most obvious in PoE1, in 2 he added modals but a lot of them are similar to each other as well.
The problem is not "balance" but rather streamlining, which Soyver loves religiously. He is downright dogmatic when it comes to streamlining everything.
The weapons are indeed streamlined, all weapons in same speed bracket have the same damage. Which means in practice a rapier and a flail is same weapon, this is most obvious in PoE1, in 2 he added modals but a lot of them are similar to each other as well.
I'd say that still better than DnD, where some weapon classes are outright inferior to others; meaning that to make stuff like daggers interesting you need to give them better enchants than other weapons.
I'd say that still better than DnD, where some weapon classes are outright inferior to others; meaning that to make stuff like daggers interesting you need to give them better enchants than other weapons.
Not every weapon needs to be equally usable I think, especially with items like daggers the fact that they have to have interesting enchants is a good thing. Rest is created by D&D only having AC, which means weapons can't be differentiated enough in regards to damage types and whatever else.
Best system is if the weapons have different damage types and roles, where they are distinct enough from each other in what they do. This would work better in PoE1 and PoE2 if Soyver wasn't so obsessed with streamlining and didn't feel the need to put same numerical damage value and same tiers of speed on every weapon. He does streamlining on principle.
Pillars of Eternity and Pillars of Eternity DEADFIRE is 50% off on Steam during the Steam Summer Sale so get out there and purchase this gem of an adventure and sail the seas of Eora while you uncover the mysteries and faction conflicts of Neeketaka and the surrounding region with your own crew finding unique items of power all while the Gods watch and belittle your choices as you work to catch up to Eothas who destroyed your home back in Dyrwood and stole part of your soul so this is personal do not waste this chance okay? Okay! And each DLC is -40% off so you can get the entire bundle for a great price and come to enjoy over 188 hours or over 349hrs from both epic tales and even bring your character over from the first part of the story to the second part of the story right? That is a big savings for everyone and both are patched with a lot of fixes and new additions so it won't be like some of the other buggy games you have purchased and played.
How long have we shared our company from before, during and after? ikr. I'm at a loss of course, 3/4 of you probably couldn't give two shits but whatever okay? Like salt on a bloody wound you do not need to rub it in. It is what it is and that is my legacy here. Enjoy your sexual adventure game of Divinity: Original Sin 2 of 2017 or your Game of the Year Wither 3 of 2016. Okay? wtf right? DEADFIRE4EVER!
WHY SHERRY LOVED EORA
Gosh!
Games come and pass leaving memories that become legend, then fade to myth, and are long forgot when games come again. In one Age, called the Josh Age by some, an Age yet to come, and Age long past, a wind rose in the Sierra Nevada. The wind was not the beginning. There are neither beginnings nor endings to the turning of the Wheel. But it was a beginning...
And here we are, right?
Eora was introduced with a lot of thought, planning, and patience with history, culture and design. Richard Garriott designed a world like this, and it turned into a classic for all to remember. One only needs to enjoy the readings of Guidebook Volume One and Guidebook Volume Two to be introduced into a world with wonderful depth, thought, and care as Eora was presented to us. It comes across to the reader, without ever having to play either game. The layers provided to the reader not only visualize a world, but define it. Gosh, I spent hours reading the vast amount of lore, timelines, and bestiary, that I fell in love with Eora. It provides a rich backdrop to one's adventure, and that helps in defining the character, where they're from, and what it is they will become in the end. It is a level of detailed design not seen in a lot of games today, so I wanted to take the time to showcase this, even if you feel Randal/Sherry is nothing more than a Troll account for Obsidian. There is excellence in this design of the world, despite its flaws of game play interaction.
IS IT ME, AS A PLAYER? OR THE FOCUS OF ITS DESIGNER?
So what are those flaws?
Well, I was not gated or pushed toward a bottle-neck once I was able to board my ship. It was no longer the Defiant - it became what I wanted it to be; Sherry! Skyrim offers such freedom - and these games are known for it - but a lot of modern games prevent freedom to the player when so many older games allowed us to find our role, a story, or direction. It's refreshing to experience this. To sail wherever you'd like once Governor Clario assists you in repairing your ship is a nice throw back to games we look back on and love. No one is forcing you to sail to Nekataka, are they? The sea is left for you to explore.
It is liberating to have this option. Our personal choice to decide how and where we venture doesn't come from a gated direction, nor is it a bottle-neck. The entire world opens up to us. In Pillars of Eternity, we became forced to reveal locations on a World Map. Exploring Deadfire became nothing of the sort. Small steps by holding one's hand was tossed out for a true feeling of exploration and personal choice based on one's character and how we decided to role-play them.
As you can tell for yourself, none of these are flaws to me. I haven't even mentioned them. Let's get to them then, shall we?
THE DEADFIRE DEAD
Flaws of the design initially come from its story, and the lack of reaction provided by the choices in Pillars of Eternity. They're lacking when they should have been a hammer to the choices and direction going on in the Deadfire Archipelago. One does not need to look that far toward a level of disappointment with said choices. During my adventure I came across a number of lackluster reactions not only based on the events which carried over from Pillars of Eternity, but with those choices I made exploring the Deadfire Archipelago.
One of the most glaring choices was that of Vela, saved by Orange in Pillars of Eternity from becoming a blood sacrifice - who also receives their own ending slide in Pillars of Eternity - reminding the player of the dire consequences of bringing a child to the next stage of one's personal journey. So what of Vela then you ask? Plopped on the deck of your ship with a few choice one-liners and nothing more. No character growth, no focus, no matter. Vela is there, but do not go expecting more.
What of Orange and the time she spent helping the Adra Dragon at the very depths of Od Nua? How it was Orange took her time to find a host named Falanroed for the "Master Below"? How did that all turn out then? Well during your exploration of the Balefire Beacon can you come across an empty seat with Falanroed's name upon it. Seems like the Adra Dragon did not care for the politics and control of a massive pirate fleet, nor did the Obsidian writers.
So gosh! How did that change the world then? The tough choices you made, how you role-played your character, how you defined your Watcher? Perhaps a few conversation options were made available to you. I truly did enjoy coming across them during the course of this adventure - and they are a plenty - but true change based on your choices in Pillars of Eternity? I did not feel any of my choices came to matter.
My worst experience, which was my true gem of role-playing, came from Sayuka. I loathed everything the Royal Deadfire Company was, and Orange was not going to be a puppet to their masters. She killed Okaya in Sayuka after Cinath Mór. Orange did this because of her pledge to Galawin in Pillars of Eternity. A few Bog Druids asked Orange to kill Okaya, and Orange agreed. Why not, right? It was of Galawins desire. This truly helped define and focus Orange's desires as a character. After helping Galawin in Pillars of Eternity, this continued in Deadfire. This is where it all just came crumbling down for me as a player, and as a character.
The Royal Deadfire Company surrounded Orange and her ship Sherry after the completion of Hasango. It was a moment where I came to realize my own actions in assisting Galawin, had severe consequences. I stepped away from the desk when Orange was surrounded by the Royal Deadfire Fleet. I opened up a bottle of wine to calm down. How was Orange going to explain the Sayuka Massacre? how? How? HOW!? News of Okaya's slaughter, along with every RDC in Sayuka had to have reached the ears of the RDC. Why would they surround Sherry otherwise but to blast her and her crew to oblivion?
Yeah. So they congratulated Orange for a job well done in clearing out Hasango.
Orange and her entire party returned to Neketaka to slaughter the entire Royal Deadfire Company Headquarters, associates, and connections without any repercussions. I even had Maia Rua right to the end; she even played a part. This is my greatest disappointment in the reactivity of my adventure.
OH! Not one single unique pike in all of the Deadfire Archipelago one could find in any shop. Nothing but a continuation of Pillars of Eternity pikes.
THE DEADFIRE DARLINGS
By now it's just a game. Reactivity and choices offer little to no changes to the world outside of a line of dialog. What did I like about the game, once I took a step back from that wasted bottle of wine?
- Companions continued to interject during DLC additions. Small or large, it's a nice addition to purchasing more of the game world, and it is not forgotten or added in tiny amounts. There is a lot of reactivity regardless of who have in your party. Really do appreciate this. There is thought to define one's party members through-out the story.
- The DLC recalled events from Pillars of Eternity. Despite not being world changing, major characters continued to remind you what you did - or did not do - from your previous adventure along the Dyrwood.
- World history and its design goes well and beyond. Books offered a wonderful backdrop, item descriptions created magical imagery, and most of all, it remained consistent.
- Dunnage and the play. This was a nice, relaxing distraction of a location to come across.
- Fort Deadlight exploration, and organ explosion! KA-BOOM!
- Old City being the first true location Orange explored - a deathtrap at such a low level!
- Cignath Mór and just being underwater was awesome!
- Choose Your Own Adventure cuts with hand-drawn art!
- Being able to go back in time and experience the Godhammer. Beautiful design!
- Massive city to explore.
- NEMNOK! NEMNOK! NEMNOK! omg. Omg! OMG!
- Three new Dragon friends!
- Multi-class design was more than welcome; it offers a slew of choices and unique characters.
- Fully voiced NPCs. I'm not sure what the cost was, but I truly enjoyed this. Each character was as unique as their portrait.
- Water-coloured portraits fit well. No complaints about them. Their individuality helped add to the world.
- Combat was much better, and more refined. There are a number of difficult battles I came across which proved challenging, more so with the DLC than the main story arc.
- Open world design. I mentioned it above, but allowing the character to explore out of the main story gate was much better than world map icons with exploration gates keeping the player from moving too far ahead.
- Paul Kirsch for taking the time to write Tayn. I mentioned it before in a previous post, but a most wonderful and fun NPC. Could have been a companion.
- Megan Starks. Gosh! Your wedding band is enough. What a fella, right?
THE BLIZZARD SHANTY
All the way from where you came
Built a legend, built a game
Distant lightning, thunder claps
Watched the Watcher's house collapse
Looked the other way
And then the storm was overhead
All the oceans boiled and rivers bled
We auctioned off our memories
In the absence of a breeze
Scatter what remains
Pushed away you're pulled toward
A comedown of revolving doors
Every warning we ignored
Drifting in from distant shores
The wind presents a change of course
A second reckoning of sorts
We were wasted waiting for
A comedown of revolving doors
And when the days that followed past
In another company built to last
From our window we could see
Only possibilities down the road and back
But then the storm returned for more
In a comedown of revolving doors
Auctioned off our memories
In the absence of a breeze
Scatter what remains
To Anthony and Katrina who moved on to Blizzard, thank-you for your insight, creativity and professional efficiency during your time at Obsidian.
they are trying to take account of many more things in response to Chargen; an NPC notices player's race/gender/where from, another if he's a godlike or not, another if player has animal companion, a situation to use player's "job" in dialogue etc. they went too deep trying to react to everything. After everything adds up, with that many things to react to, they decide to streamline the reactions so which faction I'm aligned with becomes equally less important as where my character is from; both gets the same caliber response, a dialogue line here and there, maybe in same frequency. How much can the narrative designers be creative(assuming they have talent) while also trying to fill all the blanks in this template that Sawyer's laid out?
Btw, thats a faction vs faction quest. One wants the pillar gone, the other restored. I expected either/or. Worst outcome you get is a minor neg from the military part of teh East India Company. Like if that matters... You are getting the next sidequests either way.
Oh and the area of Poko Kohara, the old Engwitian ruins, is the worst throwback (ged id, old) to Pilllars of Shit and Trashmobs.
And thats the second floor only, first floor has 2 more fights and the desert above has 5 more!
Desert (this should be 2 fights!):
sandblights, sandgrubs
xaurip horde
sandblights
drakes, mngwepwa
titan
risen/titansummons
Omg, I remembered something, there is a, I dont even know what to call it - manifested retardation?, on the third floor of the Poko ruins.
There are lighting pulses all around a pillar and essence batteries around it, like in 8 directions. And when you get hit, you take injuries.
So I figured, you have to run through, avoid lighting, without destroying the batteries, to activate something later. Well, done and done but nothing comes later!
Alright, maybe if I destroy the batteries in a certain way, they change patterns and activate something. I fucked around with it for 10 minutes without any obvious change. Doesnt work, breaking a battery disables a single lightning, just break all of them.
Btw, batteries do a bit of damage if you hit them with a melee weapon. But you can just shoot them..........
And thats it. Thats the """environmental interaction""" - shoot barrels!
Fucking Obshitian designers!
while the Gods watch and belittle your choices as you work to catch up to Eothas who destroyed your home back in Dyrwood and stole part of your soul so this is personal
The problem is not "balance" but rather streamlining, which Soyver loves religiously. He is downright dogmatic when it comes to streamlining everything.
The weapons are indeed streamlined, all weapons in same speed bracket have the same damage. Which means in practice a rapier and a flail is same weapon, this is most obvious in PoE1, in 2 he added modals but a lot of them are similar to each other as well.
Strongly disagree, breh. Especially rapier/flail... Weaps are very different "in practice" when it matters. And their suckage depends on PEN which is fairly tied to dmg type. In game practice that is.
Though I do not do any damage in melee so Ii cant really judge it. But low Pen Pierce/Slash dmg is insta-trash.
Yeah, it downright hilarious how the hard ass Rautai admiral woman(!) just went "you didn't destroy the pillar... actually that's better, let me give you your next mission"....
Omg, I remembered something, there is a, I dont even know what to call it - manifested retardation?, on the third floor of the Poko ruins.
There are lighting pulses all around a pillar and essence batteries around it, like in 8 directions. And when you get hit, you take injuries.
So I figured, you have to run through, avoid lighting, without destroying the batteries, to activate something later. Well, done and done but nothing comes later!
Alright, maybe if I destroy the batteries in a certain way, they change patterns and activate something. I fucked around with it for 10 minutes without any obvious change. Doesnt work, breaking a battery disables a single lightning, just break all of them.
Btw, batteries do a bit of damage if you hit them with a melee weapon. But you can just shoot them..........
And thats it. Thats the """environmental interaction""" - shoot barrels!
Fucking Obshitian designers!
I'm constantly thinking if I should play the game RTwP instead of TB that I started with. Not that I find the TB mode bad, but somehow I feel that I'm not playing the game "the intended way".
There is an option in the Console to switch but I'm not sure if it's stable. Does anyone know anything about it?
