PoE Sales Analysis Thread

[Sensuki]

Yeah we've already been over this multiple times.

Pillars of Eternity has larger chunks of the game world plot-gated than the Baldur's Gate games do.

This is a deliberate decision because Josh Sawyer doesn't like the fact that you can "do everything in Act 2 then progress"

Upside: don't have as many 'balance' issues
Downside: player feels more confined

 

[Bleed the Man]

This is a deliberate decision because Josh Sawyer doesn't like the fact that you can "do everything in Act 2 then progress"

Don't think it's because of that. From what I gather he likes very much sandbox like design, and he said during the development that they would try to plot gate as few as they could. I think is because he doesnt consider plot gating that much of an issue in a IE inspired game. If this was a Fallout-like game you bet making it totally open ended would been a priority.

And there's only 2 points where the content is gated (Caed Nua, and the access to Elmshore), and it's more for the sake of the plot than anything else. BG2 is a lot more plot gated than PoE if you ask me, thanks on how it's distributed (travelling to different areas instead of exploring one single interconected area. And still they gated content in Atkathla too)

 

[Volrath]

I know I've left Act 3 for later right now and have been playing GTA 5 in all the free time I have. That's how playing a properly "shandified" game feels, with actual exploration, actual rewards for playing, actual emergent gameplay.

Give it a week.

 

[Sensuki]

Don't think it's because of that. From what I gather he likes very much sandbox like design, and he said during the development that they would try to plot gate as few as they could. I think is because he doesnt consider plot gating that much of an issue in a IE inspired game. If this was a Fallout-like game you bet making it totally open ended would been a priority.

And there's only 2 points where the content is gated (Caed Nua, and the access to Elmshore), and it's more for the sake of the plot than anything else. BG2 is a lot more plot gated than PoE if you ask me, thanks on how it's distributed (travelling to different areas instead of exploring one single interconected area. And still they gated content in Atkathla too)

I'm not simple. I know that Josh prefers Fallout to the Infinity Engine games - in setting, systems and gameplay. Historically Obsidian has always done plot gating of this sort in their games of this style and Josh specifically wanted to design the world this way, mentioned somewhere on the internet (I think it was a 2013 or 2014 interview quote).

 

[AwesomeButton]

I love it how you play dumb just do defend PoE and argue for the sake of argument.

I don't for a minute think you can't discern between pigeonholed and gated.

Let's take a look at BGI (I'm not going to compare to II because I expect you would cry it's not fair):

 

[ZagorTeNej]

That looks like shit, must be from EE.

 

[AwesomeButton]

Talking about pigeonholed and plot-gated, how's that for you, please compare to BGI's world map:

Maybe some of the PoE apologists (All IE games were plot-gated) would be so kind to explain why I need to take the sidequest Cinders of Faith in order to advance Sagani's companion quest? (you can't unlock Pearlwood Bluff until you visit Searing Falls, and you can't get Searing Falls to show on the map until you take Cinders of Faith)

This game should have been delayed until 2016.

 

[Sensuki]

I went to Searing Falls before even speaking to the chick about the bomb fragment, so I don't believe you need the quest to unlock it.

No amount of delay would have fixed the combat system, and I still think the narrative would have been fucked either way.

 

[Bleed the Man]

AwesomeButton , are you addressing me?. As far as I know, I haven't defended how pidgeonholed PoE is, and just said that the gating isn't that big as far as I am concerned.

 

[AwesomeButton]

I went to Searing Falls before even speaking to the chick about the bomb fragment, so I don't believe you need the quest to unlock it.

No amount of delay would have fixed the combat system, and I still think the narrative would have been fucked either way.

Strange, I'm pretty sure I couldn't transfer there before getting the quest. I hope you are right though.

Yeah, that's my next thought too every time I think it should have been delayed more, that the combat would have still been subpar. Although I'd speculate that it would have felt less like playing the same encounter over and over than it does now.

AwesomeButton , are you addressing me?. As far as I know, I haven't defended how pidgeonholed PoE is, and just said that the gating isn't that big as far as I am concerned.

No, I meant Infinitron and Voltath.

 

[Roguey]

You know the Cloakwood Forest, BG itself, and Candlekeep were plot gated right. Granted those were the only plot gated areas, they were plot gated nonetheless.

Additionally the other IE games were far more gated, especially the IWDs, which were linear paths, BG2 post-chapter 2 is a linear path, Torment outside of the Hive is a linear path...

Yeah, that 700 people make a world of difference. Sigh...

The point is that PoE has lost more players than D:OS did in the same amount of time, especially since it started out higher.

 

[DeepOcean]

The worst gating was Caed Nua, it fucked things bad, especially on PotD as you couldn't even get the other four companions before fighting an army of shadows and phantoms and to make matters worse, the companions level up and choose talents independent of you incentivizing you to not do Guilded Vale quests and beeline to Caed Nua at low level to stop them to choose useless talents . Tried making a rogue PC once, the tought of slogging through all those shadows and phantoms and killing Maerwald before even getting to Defiance Bay AGAIN made me give up. The gating to Baldur's Gate on BG 1 wasn't offensive as you could get more companions that you could want and go exploring fine.

 

[ArchAngel]

You know the Cloakwood Forest, BG itself, and Candlekeep were plot gated right. Granted those were the only plot gated areas, they were plot gated nonetheless.

Additionally the other IE games were far more gated, especially the IWDs, which were linear paths, BG2 post-chapter 2 is a linear path, Torment outside of the Hive is a linear path...

Yeah, that 700 people make a world of difference. Sigh...

The point is that PoE has lost more players than D:OS did in the same amount of time, especially since it started out higher.

Candlekeep was not plotgated, you just didn't have a 5000 gp book to gain entrance (this is the cost from the campaign settings books).

 

[Ulrox]

Huh, so it turns out that Pillars of Eternity is more of a flash in the pan than D:OS.

http://steamcharts.com/app/291650

Even though it had a higher peak, the concurrent player average of the first month ended up lower (9,903.4 vs 10,671.1).

Interesting stats.
Divinity has multiplayer, that makes it retain players better since it becomes a social experience, but yes Divinity is the superior game.

 

[Tigranes]

The worst gating was Caed Nua, it fucked things bad, especially on PotD as you couldn't even get the other four companions before fighting an army of shadows and phantoms and to make matters worse, the companions level up and choose talents independent of you incentivizing you to not do Guilded Vale quests and beeline to Caed Nua at low level to stop them to choose useless talents . Tried making a rogue PC once, the tought of slogging through all those shadows and phantoms and killing Maerwald before even getting to Defiance Bay AGAIN made me give up. The gating to Baldur's Gate on BG 1 wasn't offensive as you could get more companions that you could want and go exploring fine.

You can now respec companions. (You could before, with IE Mod, as well.) There's no real need to beeline.

 

[Hegel]

PoE sold less than Blackguards?

 

[Tigranes]

Talking about pigeonholed and plot-gated, how's that for you, please compare to BGI's world map:

Maybe some of the PoE apologists (All IE games were plot-gated) would be so kind to explain why I need to take the sidequest Cinders of Faith in order to advance Sagani's companion quest? (you can't unlock Pearlwood Bluff until you visit Searing Falls, and you can't get Searing Falls to show on the map until you take Cinders of Faith)

This game should have been delayed until 2016.

You clearly have zero clue. Cinders of Faith has nothing to do with Searing Falls unlocking or Sagani's quest.

There are only two gates in the entire game: Caed Nua and Stormwall Gorge.

 

[tuluse]

PoE sold less than Blackguards?

http://steamspy.com/app/249650
http://steamspy.com/app/291650

About the same, but Blaggards was in a bundle.

 

[Atchodas]

You clearly have zero clue. Cinders of Faith has nothing to do with Searing Falls unlocking or Sagani's quest.

There are only two gates in the entire game: Caed Nua and Stormwall Gorge.

You both are pretty much clueless tho .( and both are right , fuck this sawyerism!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
You dont need Cinders of Faith to get to Searing Fall's
However !
You need a map ! That is a Quest Item for Cinder of Faiths ( How unexpected yo) for Searing Falls to appear on your map .
(You get the map from looting Admeth's Den room with huge locked chest and map is on the table)

 

[Sensuki]

Nope you just travel from Woodend Plains at the south of the area and Searing Falls appears.

 

[Atchodas]

Unless it was changed in 1.04 ( didnt install that patch ) is not the case atleast for me , i attempted to go to searing falls early and it wasnt on the map . Maybe it could be that you need to start act 2 first , but the searing falls is gated in someway .

 

[Sensuki]

Maybe you do need to start Act 2 first. No idea, personally.

 

[Tigranes]

You don't need any of it. You just travel south. I've also opened it before entering Defiance Bay. There's no gating.

 

[Irenaeus]

So you admit PoE isn't the worst RPG ever.

Moreover New Vegas is #8 on the list http://www.rpgcodex.net/content.php?id=9453 so you're saying PoE is a top ten role playing game.

Soon PoE will be a top 5 cRPG on this site.

 

[Irenaeus]

Morever VTMB is #6 on the list, so you're saying that VTMB is a better game than New Vegas. Bringing it up is disingenuous since you can't pretend that you agree with it. You've called half the games on that list bad and the other half would've pounded your popamole loving ass into submission had you ever tried playing them.

VTMB is 100x times better than "Fallout": New Vegas.

PoE is the only great RPG since VTMB which came 11 years ago.