Review RPG Codex Review: Darth Roxor on Disappointment, thy name is Pillars of Eternity

[ZagorTeNej]

Cliaban Rilag has some of the best environment art in the game.

(WTF @ not using Karkarov Solid HUD man @_@)

I only use mods (any mods) after I played the vanilla game a few times.

 

[AwesomeButton]

I deslike the "review", it's in bad taste and makes no sense. Obsidian will learn nothing from reading this guy frothing from his mouth.

After having played/completed PoE, do you seriously think Obsidian count on reading the codex for "learning" anything about what are their games' weak and strong sides?

Call me a cynic, but I watched how a few people who I see have been on this forum far longer than me, have been offering feedback and ideas for half a year on Obsidian's PoE forum, and Obsidian self-righteously went in the exact opposite direction (ask Sensuki or Rostere for details).

Judging by the game's commercial success, I guess Obsidian are convinced they have done the right thing, that's why I'm calling it a game kickstarted by igniting the hopes of one group of players and then designed towards a completely different group of players.

And BTW, if you are so convinced that the game is "strong, distinct and interesting" what would make you worry that Obsidian "will learn nothing" from this review? There shouldn't be anything to learn.

 

[Irenaeus]

Rostere seems like a well-balanced guy, but Sensuki is just insane. Never been to Obsidian's PoE forum and I don't know what feedback was given at the beta. I just played the game as it was released with almost zero previous information other than the kickstarter and some updates here at RPG Codex news.

I know nothing about the game's commercial success, only know this disgusting reception by Roxor, I just want to reach to Obsidian and thank them for the work they did. I'm worried they read this thread and think the game is bad or some shit.

Of course the expansions/sequels have plenty of potential for improvement, but reading this review/thread it seems like most people want for Obsidian to close doors/throw all work out.

 

[circ]

The amount of time I spent on playing those games is absolutely miniscule compared to the overall time I spent on various 2d isometric games throughout the whole gaming history. You can accuse me of having a shit taste but I don't really lack a point of reference.

That looks very nice. But where are visuals like that in the first two chapters? First chapter is brown, gray and matte green and a few otherwise strong colors. And there are ways to make even that look interesting, PoE didn't manage it. The first dungeon looks good, then it just takes a nosedive and it takes a while to get interesting looking again.

 

[Sensuki]

The amount of time I spent on playing those games is absolutely miniscule compared to the overall time I spent on various 2d isometric games throughout the whole gaming history. You can accuse me of having a shit taste but I don't really lack a point of reference.

That looks very nice. But where are visuals like that in the first two chapters? First chapter is brown, gray and matte green and a few otherwise strong colors. And there are ways to make even that look interesting, PoE didn't manage it. The first dungeon looks good, then it just takes a nosedive and it takes a while to get interesting looking again.

Some of the areas are marred by post-processing effects. Cliaban Rilag was definitely painted over IMO.

The Stronghold area has so much fucking bloom it's disgusting.

 

[imweasel]

Back to say that I couldn't agree more with Darth Roxor, kudos to that masochistic bastard for suffering through to the end to write this spot on review. I would also like to add that the attribute system is fucking awful, it was obviously created by retards who have never seen the inside of an 8th grade math class.

Dragon Age: Origins or even Fallout: New Vegas blow Pillars of Eternity out of the water, which is just sad. Comparing PoE to Baldur's Gate or Baldur's Gate 2 is like comparing champagne to dishwater. I am not too hard to please, as I will play any RPG if it is at least half ass decent, but man, fuck this game.

Call me a cynic, but I watched how a few people who I see have been on this forum far longer than me, have been offering feedback and ideas for half a year on Obsidian's PoE forum, and Obsidian self-righteously went in the exact opposite direction (ask Sensuki or Rostere for details).

Oh yeah, definitely. Since the beginning.

 

[Seari]

Comparing PoE to Baldur's Gate or Baldur's Gate 2 is like comparing champagne to dishwater.

You mean that the other way around, right?

 

[AwesomeButton]

Back to say that I couldn't agree more with Darth Roxor, kudos to that masochistic bastard for suffering through to the end to write this spot on review. I would also like to add that the attribute system is fucking awful, it was obviously created by retards who have never seen the inside of an 8th grade math class.

Dragon Age: Origins or even Fallout: New Vegas blow Pillars of Eternity out of the water, which is just sad. Comparing PoE to Baldur's Gate or Baldur's Gate 2 is like comparing champagne to dishwater. I am not too hard to please, as I will play any RPG if it is at least half ass decent, but man, fuck this game.

Call me a cynic, but I watched how a few people who I see have been on this forum far longer than me, have been offering feedback and ideas for half a year on Obsidian's PoE forum, and Obsidian self-righteously went in the exact opposite direction (ask Sensuki or Rostere for details).

Oh yeah, definitely. Since the beginning.

Funny, I also thought of Origins and how it actually makes better use of the mage class than PoE, which is after "IE games feels". To think that even Origins did this better than PoE is just sad.

 

[Irenaeus]

Comparing PoE to Baldur's Gate or Baldur's Gate 2 is like comparing champagne to dishwater.

You mean that the other way around, right?

No, Poe is champagne, BG1&2 is dishwater.

 

[Irenaeus]

To think that even Origins did this better than PoE is just sad.

With your shitty tastes, no wonder you are a sad person.

 

[Volrath]

After having played/completed PoE, do you seriously think Obsidian count on reading the codex for "learning" anything about what are their games' weak and strong sides?

Why should they? Obsidian is a company, a company needs to make money. PoE is making them shitloads of profit and is being reviewed extremely well. They don't give a fuck about us.

Call me a cynic, but I watched how a few people who I see have been on this forum far longer than me, have been offering feedback and ideas for half a year on Obsidian's PoE forum, and Obsidian self-righteously went in the exact opposite direction (ask Sensuki or Rostere for details).

Sensuki's position was doomed from the start but don't feel a lot of sympathy for him. Smart men know when to quit.

Judging by the game's commercial success, I guess Obsidian are convinced they have done the right thing, that's why I'm calling it a game kickstarted by igniting the hopes of one group of players and then designed towards a completely different group of players.

You're assuming that all 74000 backers are dissapointed with what they've gotten.

 

[Country_Gravy]

You're assuming that all 74000 backers are dissapointed with what they've gotten.

At least 65000 of them are. That's a FACT!

 

[Admiral jimbob]

Finished game

it was quite good overall. thajt`s my review ... hope it helps

 

[Irenaeus]

Finished game

it was quite good overall. thajt`s my review ... hope it helps

I'm glad you liked it, bro. Really am.

 

[J_C]

You're assuming that all 74000 backers are dissapointed with what they've gotten.

At least 65000 of them are. That's a FACT!

I talked to each and every one of them and I can honestly say that you are wrong.

 

[BPM]

You're assuming that all 74000 backers are dissapointed with what they've gotten.

At least 65000 of them are. That's a FACT!

 

[Tigranes]

It turns out that Darth Roxor's review was so good that it broke the post count record on the OE forums and inspired this thread that claims it's not a review: http://forums.obsidian.net/topic/78620-the-truth-behind-words-in-rpg-codexs-1-review-for-poe/

Why does OE have a lower post count available to it than the 'dex ? Also they have had other spin off threads too, I think they may have been closed as duplicates. Tigranes may know better.

The forum has a weird (read: stupid) quirk where after, say, 25 pages, we start to get some random errors, sometimes involving disappearing posts. Thus it is customary to close after that, and invite users to start new ones.

The Roxor thread probably broke the record because nobody noticed in time to close it. Our longest running threads involve over a dozen respawns.

 

[Ramireza]

Finaly a good Pillars Review :



I came

 

[tuluse]

Seriously? The minute to minute writing is poor in both, though less important in Brisbane admittedly, but the tonal shifts in BG1 were terrible. And surely 'wild card jacks the destinies of the chosen one and the big bad for his personal vendetta' is better than BG1's chosen one shtick?

BG1 is parse enough you can avoid the writing, BG2 is much more in your face with it (and DA:O even more so).

 

[AwesomeButton]

OMG, strangers are attacking me on the internet over facts they are displeased with! What am I going to do?

 

[Seari]

Finaly a good Pillars Review :



I came

censored tits

 

[Kz3r0]

Someone sure does have an axe to grind with Pillars of Eternity. (And communism).

I deslike the "review", it's in bad taste and makes no sense.

You are right, Communism is teh awesome, Roxor off hand comment was uncalled for.
Keep fighting the good fight comrade.

 

[Copper]

Cliaban Rilag has some of the best environment art in the game.

(WTF @ not using Karkarov Solid HUD man @_@)

My take on the game's art is that it's great for most interiors and dungeons, if a little bit too disco for my taste at times, good aesthetically but a bit boring in the general wilderness areas due to a lack of diversity, and weakest in the settlements, which don't have nearly the density or attention to detail in that screenshot, ranging from badly tiled ground textures in Ondra's Gift to a general lack of interesting clutter to bring areas to life.

A bit more attention to historical detail could have saved on loading screen fatigue, as well, putting more people on the street doing their trade where they're more accessible - especially the service providers like inns or smiths. (Imagine the stink inside the tanner's confined shop - would you buy shit surrounded by literal piss and shit?)

 

[DeepOcean]

The EngWhitians ruins are beautiful, Twin Elms is nice graphically too. Guilded vale, wilderness areas and Defiance Bay exteriors are a bit... I don't know, bare? Not much colour but the interiors are nice.

 

[TalesfromtheCrypt]

Eh I like the wilderness areas just fine. Don't really know what more you could possibly expect, bombastic eye candy on every step?

The only area that put me off was copper lane, I dig the rennesaince style architecture but it is just too clean and strrile for a real city and a trade district at that. The rest of DB was very nicely done.