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

[Seari]

But don't worry, Sensuki and Bester will fix it.

They can make it less shit, that's about it.

 

[veevoir]

Pillars will have superb writing and a great atmosphere, but the mechanics are gonna be meh.

But don't worry, Sensuki and Bester will fix it.

So the exact opposite of DOS.

What we need is Larian combat with Obsidian writing.

 

[mutonizer]

What we need is Larian combat with Obsidian writing.

Oh geesh, please no. I like shit to be stored in the same place and D:OS is perfect for it's storage capacity, no need to put it anywhere else

 

[RedScum]

This seems like a turned based Diablo

 

[Seari]

Why are the hair colors still fucking neon. I was gonna use the new badass dwarf portrait, but all the red/orange colors look like shit. Actually the dwarf models look shit in general.

 

[bonescraper]

Pillars will have superb writing and a great atmosphere, but the mechanics are gonna be meh.

But don't worry, Sensuki and Bester will fix it.

So the exact opposite of DOS.

What we need is Larian combat with Obsidian writing.

No. All we need is PoE with ToEE combat and mechanics.

 

[Athelas]

It needs JA2 combat.

The game already has guns.

 

[hiver]

Ok, I'm gonna stream some more - this time in HARD MODE.

http://www.twitch.tv/theroguezombie

Watched a bit of the previous one or two. You are good at it. Entertaining stuff.

When is this new stream coming up?

And, rogues were supposed to be ninja fighters, instead of tanks originally and i thought casting that NPC Eder as one was a bit refreshing.
It seems to me that the main designer leads are imagining some sort of completely wrong audience as being relevant.

 

[Shevek]

Ive tried to avoid watching too many consecutive minutes in any one stream but isnt there some kinda help tooltip or helper NPC or something that clarifies the engagement system? I saw a bit of a stream where I noticed plenty of helper tooltips.

 

[Killzig]

Ive tried to avoid watching too many consecutive minutes in any one stream but isnt there some kinda help tooltip or helper NPC or something that clarifies the engagement system? I saw a bit of a stream where I noticed plenty of helper tooltips.

In the combat log you see ENEMY ENGAGES X. This was the case in the beta, and I definitely got jacked the fuck up if I tried to get away after that engagement.

 

[hiver]

You cant fix whats fundamentally wrong. That goes for Sensuki superficial "fixes" too.

You can change its fundamental core to be better. Only, you know, its highly unlikely that a pro dev will just take some random poster advice for such a big staple of design. I guess will see.

 

[Shevek]

The only issue I have with the system is the clarity of how it communicates whats happening to the player. The damage is already manageable and it seems they have added or fixed many of the abilities that allow the player to break engagement. So, the player has many options to deal with it but it seems there is not enough to make them aware of it from the get go.

We used to say RTFM (read the fucking manual) back in the day. I am not sure if we can hope for that from today's gamer.

 

[hiver]

If the damage is manageable and there are many added abilities to break it... what fucking purpose does it serve then?
Thats what happens when something is fundamentaly wrong. You add more stuff to it that makes it have even less sense.

RTFM is definitely not for modern gamers... but was it them that the game was made for?
And besides, if the game itself cannot make its main mechanics clear through the gameplay then going for the manual is a crutch.

 

[Jedi Master Radek]

Sensuki's guide was mentioned in a fairly highly up-voted comment on a reddit post about Quil18's video guides. That likely attracted a lot of views.

So are we going to spread the word about the Sensuki channel on the internet, thus creating our very own Codex Internet Celebrity by whom we will educate the unwashed masses?

 

[Trodat]

Sensuki's guide was mentioned in a fairly highly up-voted comment on a reddit post about Quil18's video guides. That likely attracted a lot of views.

So are we going to spread the word about the Sensuki channel on the internet, thus creating our very own Codex Internet Celebrity by whom we will educate the unwashed masses?

Playing with the dark side is a dangerous route. Just one small mistake and you will end up having co-op fun with AngryJoe.

 

[Shevek]

If the damage is manageable and there are many added abilities to break it... what fucking purpose does it serve then?
Thats what happens when something is fundamentaly wrong. You add more stuff to it that makes it have even less sense.

RTFM is definitely not for modern gamers... but was it them that the game was made for?
And besides, if the game itself cannot make its main mechanics clear through the gameplay then going for the manual is a crutch.

Are debuffs broken? Is DAMAGE a bad mechanic since it is manageable and there are multiple ways to deal with it?

Engagement gives the player added layers to think about in party/character creation and in the strategic and tactical choices involved with skill use.

 

[prodigydancer]

Engagement gives the player ... strategic and tactical choices

Yeah, stand your ground and die or run and die. Either way you can't win which makes your choice so delightfully strategic and tactical.

 

[Blaine]

but was it them that the game was made for?

Ultimately? Yes.

You need only look around the Codex to see why. Old-school gamers are a relatively small, excessively tight-fisted group of people. The killer isn't necessarily that we're a small group, but that most of us are cheapasses.

 

[Osvir]

prodigydancer You should try versatile classes (Rogue, Escape+Shadowing Beyond tactics. Druid, with variable positioning based on "form". Priest and Wizard, re-positioning and re-alignment/range to hit with spells). Monk has an ability to break engagement and go directly for their targets. Into the Fray is a similar ability for Fighters. Barbarian with Wild Sprint (if he's not targeted).

This post contains a list with a lot of abilities:
http://forums.obsidian.net/topic/71271-slowed-recovery-while-moving-no-thanks/page-12#entry1588520

This post contains some more thoughts related to mobility:
http://forums.obsidian.net/topic/71271-slowed-recovery-while-moving-no-thanks/?p=1589727

 

[Shevek]

Engagement gives the player ... strategic and tactical choices

Yeah, stand your ground and die or run and die. Either way you can't win which makes your choice so delightfully strategic and tactical.

I mean, if you suck at the game, sure.

 

[Athelas]

but was it them that the game was made for?

Ultimately? Yes.

You need only look around the Codex to see why. Old-school gamers are a relatively small, excessively tight-fisted group of people. The killer isn't necessarily that we're a small group, but that most of us are cheapasses.

Uhm, he was talking about the engagement system. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say most casual gamers don't even know what a system of attack of opportunity is, nor will they be interested in playing around with such a system.

Sometimes a bad design decision is just a bad design decision.

 

[prodigydancer]

I mean, if you suck at the game, sure.

 

[Anthony Davis]

I'm playing on HARD MODE right now, and while I've wiped a few times, the engagement system is pretty clear who is engaging who. The lines are drawn right there in game. The thing I keep forgetting to do is to slow it down to make it more manageable.

Hard is definitely more fun for me than normal... and it's kind of funny too.

The bear cave, early in the game that you investigate...

Spoiler

In hard Mode has two bears in it.

 

[Shevek]

I mean, if you suck at the game, sure.

 

[Unbeliever]

Hello people.

Question about classes. Are weapon specialization abilities just for fighters? I read that on PoE Wiki, but it seems strange to me. It should be option for paladins and rogues, too.