Codex Review RPG Codex Retrospective Review: Pillars of Eternity Revisited

[ERYFKRAD]

Grunker's ok, but ban Infinitron, seriously.

 

[Chamezero]

rpg codex > currently transitioning (to neogaf)

 

[Goral]

Grunker's ok, but ban Infinitron, seriously.

If not for Crooked Bee Infinitron wouldn't have that much influence. Someone has to approve these shit news and allow for inXile/Obsidian spam (plus high-profile Kickstarter spams for games with budgets 1 M $ and more), if you ask me that someone is the main culprit and the reason that this site is becoming another IGN/NeoGaf.And yeah, I know that Tron has the privileges to approve any news he chooses but that's what I'm talking about, normally after such spam these privileges would be revoked.

And seriously, the Arcanum thing has pissed me off and news/articles like these just rub salt in the wound. Let me quote Drog:

Back in the day there was a 100 page thread for the UAP alone and all this shit used to get news posts. I messaged Infinitron when the new high resolution patch was about to be released, politely suggesting that maybe this deserves a mention in the news section. He didn't deign to respond. Oh well, I guess the endless Kickstarter/Obsidian/InXile updates are more important than some old ass shitty Troika game.

And you know why that was the case? Because Shillfinitron wasn't even on the Codex then (let alone being in charge of the news).

But this won't change because to my post:

Well, since nobody wants to help me code the Arcanum patch I got bored and decided to help Wesp5 with his patch instead. Because I'm a good person. And want to help people.

Infinitron DarkUnderlord VentilatorOfDoom Crooked Bee JarlFrank

http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/inde...rsion-of-the-unofficial-arcanum-patch.112998/
Why won't you make a news post about Drog's grand plan? That way many more people will see it at least and the chances of him finding some help will greatly increase. You post shitty news about shitty RPGs but you won't post this? WTF? What do I need Codex for then when I can read all this stuff at IGN? And sometimes with less shilling (if it's Obsidian or inXile game). Decline.

DU replied only:

lol

So yeah, it will only get worse.

Edit:
http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/index.php?threads/codex-is-looking-for-news-posters.116230/

 

[Prime Junta]

If not for Crooked Bee Infinitron wouldn't have that much influence.

If somebody else volunteered to post a stready stream of news with editorial comments written in halfway coherent, non-autistic English, Infinitron wouldn't have that much influence. It really is that simple.

 

[Jaedar]

Mcadammit man, it has been like two years, this isn't a retrospective, it's a slightly delayed currentspective. Have some perspective.

Tl;dr (yet)

 

[Parabalus]

PoE&Sawyer haters on life support. Great article.

 

[uaciaut]

let this be our truly final word on Pillars of Eternity.

You will, of course, make a response review, no?

 

[Zero Credibility]

Well of course, another re-retrospective re-re-re-re-review of a game from the far away 2015. is just what is needed here, to see what the true original reviewer thinks of the game after it's been balanced, rebalanced and patched over all these years into greatness / mediocre boredom / oblivion. Fuck expansions though because I have absolutely no intention of ever spending any more money to fix this game.

 

[Sacred82]

As we await the coming of Deadfire, let this be our truly final word on Pillars of Eternity. Here's an excerpt:

So the fanboys have the last word.

Oh Shillitron, never change

 

[Infinitron]

It's actually called a retrospective because of the Infinity Engine part.

 

[Prime Junta]

We clearly need longer titles: "RPG Codex Short Introductory Retrospective Comparative Review: The Infinity Engine Games, Pillars of Eternity, and The White March, their Evolution, Challenges, Design, History, and Future Prospects, vol. I-XXIII."

Spoiler

It would be even better in German.

 

[fobia]

We clearly need longer titles: "RPG Codex Short Introductory Retrospective Comparative Review: The Infinity Engine Games, Pillars of Eternity, and The White March, their Evolution, Challenges, Design, History, and Future Prospects, vol. I-XXIII."

Spoiler

It would be even better in German.

Assuming that people would even bother to read the whole title.
I guess being "passionate" about RPGS somehow excludes spending some time reading a well written retrospective article (or tbh; any article it seems). Hence the many well-informed comments.

Inb4: Why would I read anything about a game that is the essence of shit?!

 

[Fedora Master]

No prebuffing, no buy.

 

[Prime Junta]

I guess being "passionate" about RPGS somehow excludes spending some time reading a well written retrospective article (or tbh; any article it seems). Hence the many well-informed comments.

This is the best-written of the RPG Codex Pillars reviews. A little like the game itself, it is a testament to the power of continuous iteration.

 

[Jason Liang]

I just read Darth Roxor's very very long review of Pillars of Eternity, and while it perfectly articulates my own experiences of playing this game, he was only pointing out the game's flaws and had almost no positive criticism. Surely if I keep playing this game I will discover something of merit that this review overlooked!

UPDATE: Holy shit I'm reading the comment thread, on page 30 already.

I just learned that VD thinks Baldur's Gate 1 sucks. The game that AoD most resembles for me is Baldur's Gate 1.

I'm now on page 55 and I've lost all Resolve to continue playing Pillars.

What's the point of making a great expansion to a shitty game? Like, what if you had to play through NWN OC in order to play SoU or HotU? wtf.

I figured out why Pillars reminds me of Arcanum. Wolves + pistols + rtwp.

More later.

 

[Somberlain]

Why is this already questionable ad review stickied to boot?

 

[zool]

Didn't read the review because I'm about to start my first (and probably only) playthrough. Are the expansions recommended or is the base game with the latest 3.0x patch content-heavy enough?

From what I understand, the patches bring all UI/gameplay improvements to the base game - so the only thing you don't get if you play without the expansions is the expansions' content itself.

 

[Parabalus]

Didn't read the review because I'm about to start my first (and probably only) playthrough. Are the expansions recommended or is the base game with the latest 3.0x patch content-heavy enough?

From what I understand, the patches bring all UI/gameplay improvements to the base game - so the only thing you don't get if you play without the expansions is the expansions' content itself.

Don't play without the expansion, it's the best part.

 

[Urthor]

How many of the people in this thread have actually played White March pt1 and 2 I wonder?

Love it or hate it, it has to be said the expansion is dramatically different from the base game. And considering many of the issues people had with Pillars of Eternity were encounter and level design, not system based, the change in the expansion is pretty significant.

Pillars is ultimately always going to be a flawed game because the attack of opportunity mechanic and the complete lack of most kinds of crowd control outside that awful system, in a RTWP game where 90% of the appeal of the Infinity Engine games was managing positioning in combat, is hot garbage.

But shouting down an expansion that is pretty seriously different to the base game is pretty moronic.

The White March content is different enough that the comparison I'd draw is between Shadowrun Dragonfall and the base game. Same fundamentals but thoroughly different outcome.

Should've been released as a standalone game then

But it wasn't, and if the Codex's review system can't cope with that simple fact it's that's just nitpicking. Some expansions are very similar to the basegame, the White March feels more like a module for Neverwinter than something connected to the basegame, there's fuck all narrative threads connecting the two at the end of the day.

There's a bunch of REAL issues with White March that you can draw an actual bone with other than that shallow argument.

 

[Parabalus]

Should've been released as a standalone game then

That's like saying Night of the Raven or TotSC should have been standalone.

 

[zool]

Some expansions are very similar to the basegame, the White March feels more like a module for Neverwinter than something connected to the basegame, there's fuck all narrative threads connecting the two at the end of the day.

So in that case, would it be fine to play the base game once, and then play the expansions later on (like, when the price for them has gone down to a few bucks in a year or two)?

 

[Darth Roxor]

Should've been released as a standalone game then

That's like saying Night of the Raven or TotSC should have been standalone.

or motb and soz oh wait

 

[Parabalus]

or motb and soz oh wait

No, WM was explicitly made as an add-in (NoTR), not a post game expansion. It has new mechanics which are meant to be used at early to midgame, not high level. If anything, it should be more tightly integrated, not a separate campaign.

So in that case, would it be fine to play the base game once, and then play the expansions later on (like, when the price for them has gone down to a few bucks in a year or two)?

Just pirate it and buy it later, no reason to cheat yourself.

 

[Prime Junta]

Didn't read the review because I'm about to start my first (and probably only) playthrough. Are the expansions recommended or is the base game with the latest 3.0x patch content-heavy enough?

I'd say "recommended but not required." Play to the end of Act 1. If you like it, install the expansions, if not, save your moneys.

From what I understand, the patches bring all UI/gameplay improvements to the base game - so the only thing you don't get if you play without the expansions is the expansions' content itself.

Correct.

 

[Urthor]

So in that case, would it be fine to play the base game once, and then play the expansions later on (like, when the price for them has gone down to a few bucks in a year or two)?

Um, sure? I mean there's no good way to play the White March, it's more or less go off at some random stage of your adventure and do whatever the hell you like, and pick up loot that is 100x better than the base game because Obsidian decided unique differentiated items are now A Thing and Did Them The Second Time round.

Just fire it up and do whatever, starting a character, playing through Act 1 then as much of Act 2 before you get bored, then doing White March all the way through is okay. Playing it with an autosave before the point of no return is also okay, it's basically a separate D&D campaign. If you do the White March you can just finish the White March and come back and play base game and it doesn't impact the base playthrough either way.

Most game studios prime the pump for sequels with 80-90% off sales to get people hooked before part 2, so yeah? Obv the put basegame 90% off on steam sale and keep DLC prices high is a proven moneymaker and has been a long time, but yeah if you want to wait till Christmas they'll probably put the DLC on sale for more than 33%.