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

[Duraframe300]

https://twitter.com/adam_brennecke/status/507309078520287232

 

[Duraframe300]

Patch is (almost) here

Brandon is currently uploading the next patch to steam. We will be releasing patch notes shortly after.

 

[Duraframe300]

It's live

 

[Duraframe300]

Brandon

We have put the new Backer Beta update live. I will update this post with a fixed/known issues list later tonight.



Have fun, guys, and thanks for all of the hard work you have put in when reporting issues. It really makes a huge difference and we are getting lots of great info.

 

[Volourn]

"although it obviously doesn't mean the silent majority won't love the game when it's released."

I'd say the silent majority doesn't give a shit enough to bother. They'll play the game for a few hours and move on just any other game.

 

[agris]

its like I'm living in S. Korea..

 

[Jezal_k23]

Excellent! Can't wait to check it out.

 

[RK47]

Can't stop laughing at all you FEWLS that backed this

Oh, how they wish bioware would come back to their old ways and rescue them from this inanity.

 

[Bubbles]

Can't stop laughing at all you FEWLS that backed this

Oh, how they wish bioware would come back to their old ways and rescue them from this inanity.

November 18th

 

[agris]

first take:

game settings save, v-sync option added, scroll speed added, custom keybindings save, font scaling doesn't fuck things up...

 

[Snerf]

My steam is being funky. Is the updated version bb 257?

 

[Jezal_k23]

bb 278 I believe.

 

[Snerf]

bb 278 I believe.

Damn. Thanks.

 

[Bubbles]

Our prayers for new high quality portraits have been answered:

 

[Duraframe300]

We have put the new Backer Beta update live.



Have fun, guys, and thanks for all of the hard work you have put in when reporting issues. It really makes a huge difference and we are getting lots of great info.



Fixed Issues

Save/Load

• Items are disappearing on save/load and transitions
• Quests/Tasks are lost when loading while in a game
• Saving games causes the zoom in/out feature to function improperly
• Currency, Quest items, Crafting items, and Camping Supplies are placed in the inventory after loading a game
• Status icons revert to temp icons and text after loading a game

Spells/Abilities/Classes/Gameplay

• Adventurers are always hired at level 1
• Characters will get stuck in attack or casting animation loops
• Health values are the same for all classes
• The Game Over screen is sometimes shown when the player character is knocked out
• Deep Wounds effect is dealing far too much damage
• Paladin's Zealous Charge is slowing/rooting characters after saving
• Fix to an issue where weapons would occasionally disappear on start of new game on slower machines.
• Party member responsiveness has been improved
• New icons for first level spells
• Added new hairstyles
• Added new portraits
• Pathfinding is more accurate
• Improved pathing around creatures
• Scene transitions are more tolerant when switching scenes
• Added fades to transitions
• Fixed issues with ambient map levels being set too high
• PC being knocked unconscious will not end the game.
• Fixed maximum health issues on level up
• Many other spell/ability fixes (too numerous to list)

Items

• Shops have incorrect pricing
• Items and loot bags appear on the ground randomly
• Dropped loot reappears after being looted
• The Skull Key cannot be used to open the entrance to Temple Skaen
• Added "page" system to the stash to improve performance when there are hundreds of items in the stash

User Interface

• Inventory is acting as though it is full when it is not
• Main menu options text is disappearing
• Loss of control when closing the stash while holding a stashed item
• The Continue button loads the oldest save instead of the most recent
• Right clicking portraits moves the selected character
• Turning the HUD off and invoking a menu locks the HUD as invisible
• Opening and closing the map quickly allows you to see the entire area without fog
• Added UI indicator for Fast and Slow modes
• Updated look and feel of selection circles
• Added new death screen art
• The area map should match the look of the area
• Fixed mixed glyph issue with dynamic fonts. This was causing text to look LiKe It wAs MiXIng SiZEs
• Added scroll speed options in the settings
• Control mapping is now saved

Audio

• SFX are looping in slow motion, while pausing, or when knockdown is played

Other

• Formations are not spaced properly/evenly
• Water becomes black between 5 and 7 am
• Pace in the back of Dyrford Tavern is translucent
• Added SetZoomRange console command

On Known Issues List (that weren't fixed)

Save/Load

• Dead party members will rejoin the party after transitions and save/load

Spells/Abilities/Classes/Gameplay

• Problem with AI instruction sets where sometimes enemies will stop attacking
• Charmed/Dominated creatures will attack themselves
• Wizard, Cipher, and Chanter do not receive talents at level 3 and 6

User Interface

• Cannot cancel Character Creation, Level Up, or Adventurer Creation
• Character Creation buttons can have a significant delay when clicked
• Steps can be skipped in Character Creation

There are many other known issues, but I wanted to list the ones that were on the known issues list that we are still looking into. We will continue to add to the list in the bug forum.

 

[Bubbles]

Fixed:

• Health values are the same for all classes

Hooray! Even fewer tank options!

 

[Invictus]

Mmm dont know bubbles, that actualy would be a step forward in design; if all chars have the same healht value armors would work as in Darklands (and in Ageo of Decadence btw) where all armor types would absorb a percentage of damage based on their protective value and that makes Sense. An unarmored man hit by a lonsword is takes much more damage than one wearing platemail

 

[Jezal_k23]

I'll say this, it feels a lot better now. A remarkable improvement, to say the least.

 

[agris]

What's interesting is that a lot of it is window dressing (UI functionality, correct options / saving of options). It all adds to an overall impression, and yea, it does feel like a huge leap. I think they should have waited a week before releasing the beta, but it's academic at this point.

 

[tuluse]

Mmm dont know bubbles, that actualy would be a step forward in design; if all chars have the same healht value armors would work as in Darklands (and in Ageo of Decadence btw) where all armor types would absorb a percentage of damage based on their protective value and that makes Sense. An unarmored man hit by a lonsword is takes much more damage than one wearing platemail

Armor in PoE works on a damage threshold system, not a percentage reduction. So a 20 damage hit would do 15 damage to a 5 DT armor and 10 damage to a 10 DT armor.

 

[tuluse]

I think there might be a bug with detection. Wizard got swarmed when he started casting instead of when the spell was cast.

 

[Jezal_k23]

What's interesting is that a lot of it is window dressing (UI functionality, correct options / saving of options). It all adds to an overall impression, and yea, it does feel like a huge leap. I think they should have waited a week before releasing the beta, but it's academic at this point.

Sure. Yeah I just mean in the sense that it actually does feel genuinely playable now. Maybe it would've been better if they had waited a little bit, but who knows? Because I do think they received a few nice suggestions and ideas along with the obvious reports of bugs they had already fixed.

 

[agris]

For sure, but the signal to noise would have been better if they had waited. Anyway, it doesn't matter anymore.

 

[holla_cabezas_de_mierda]

I think part of the problem here is that game design in general has become way to intellectualized. The quote above is from a person who has become completely obsessed with systems and game design efficiency as if efficiency of design were a worthwhile goal in and of itself. It feels like a person who wants everybody to know how smart he is as he over analyzes the entire process and forgets the purpose of games in the first place. He seems more interested in designing an elegant system than providing an interesting and granular world to explore.

I didn't read the rest of this post, but I'm going to assume this is your thesis. Your argument is flawed because JES's job is to be a systems designer in the game. If he doesn't intellectualize this stuff, who will? The job of creative design is to come up with creative stuff, not JES's job.

It might seem like I'm defending the dude, but I'm really not. All I'm saying is that JES gets paid to do exactly what it is you're complaining about. If you have issues with creativity, your issue is with MCA et al.

I think he is over thinking it though. his job is to create a fun system and instead of doing that he seems more concerned with how other people are playing the game or even in defining what is or is not fun. He will sometimes even say that people only think they are having fun doing something he finds 'degenerate'.

My point is that he might do better to try and remember what made playing RPG's fun when he first played them. I am guessing it was not how balanced or elegant some system was, but rather something else. I think he may be over thinking the design and that something less obsessed over might in fact be more fun.

 

[holla_cabezas_de_mierda]

Padded armor suffers even worse in most RPGs: in many games, there are literally no worse options than padded. The suits are often aesthetically ugly and mechanically awful—the quintessence of a pure RPG trash option—and if players are forced to wear padded armor at the game's opening, they'll gladly ditch it as soon as anything else becomes available. In Pillars of Eternity, padded armor actually offers reasonably good protection. It can easily be argued that our padded armor is more protective than is realistic, but the first goal is not verisimilitude, but justifying the player's interest.

To me there is no problem with a game world having shit (cheap) options like this that you move on from when you can. Making it 'unrealistically' good just so it remains viable seems unnecessary. Perhaps that makes me simulationist scum.

There was an old AD&D module (maybe escape from slaver lord pits or something) where the mid level party starts the game stripped of equipment and Armour and trying to escape captivity. They are forced to use sticks, and other broken or scavenged items as weapons at first. A module like this might not be possible if every choice were just as good as any other since being naked and wielding a stick would have bonuses that made it a viable 'choice' compared with chainmail and a bastard sword.

To me that seems just dumb. There is nothing wrong with having worse equipment or choices because it makes for increased design variety and options like in the module above. Eliminating such things because they are 'trash' choices seems to miss the point of playing these games in the first place. A RPG is not a competition.