The writing in this game is average

[ArchAngel]

Ah, Lady Webb, or should she be called Madam Exposition? Yeah - a lot of what she says would've been great to show in the actual game.

Instead, we get the infodump - and actually I was really wondering just how the hell she came across this info in general? He didn't share any of this with her, and she was basically a Leaden Key cipher operative with a relationship with the dude. What, he divulged this information more freely to some random henchmen instead? "Hello Redshirt 1112345, I possess souls, but if they aren't weak enough, I can't really, also, if I can possess you, I might make you kill the shit out of yourself or dance naked in Wael's temple, hm hm, decisions"

No, seriously woman, how did you come by this info? Oh, you have your ways? Uh-huh.

She said she spent her whole lifetime investigating him and Leaden Key. As a leader of best investigation organization in the land, she for sure should know some things about him.

 

[Angthoron]

Ah, Lady Webb, or should she be called Madam Exposition? Yeah - a lot of what she says would've been great to show in the actual game.

Instead, we get the infodump - and actually I was really wondering just how the hell she came across this info in general? He didn't share any of this with her, and she was basically a Leaden Key cipher operative with a relationship with the dude. What, he divulged this information more freely to some random henchmen instead? "Hello Redshirt 1112345, I possess souls, but if they aren't weak enough, I can't really, also, if I can possess you, I might make you kill the shit out of yourself or dance naked in Wael's temple, hm hm, decisions"

No, seriously woman, how did you come by this info? Oh, you have your ways? Uh-huh.

She said she spent her whole lifetime investigating him and Leaden Key.

That's a wonderful way to hand-wave any need for clarification, right? I've spent my whole life researching the occult, and here you go, I have the Philosopher's Stone. Oh and now I'm killed and can't answer your questions, how very unfortunate.

 

[panda]

Ah, Lady Webb, or should she be called Madam Exposition? Yeah - a lot of what she says would've been great to show in the actual game.

Instead, we get the infodump - and actually I was really wondering just how the hell she came across this info in general? He didn't share any of this with her, and she was basically a Leaden Key cipher operative with a relationship with the dude. What, he divulged this information more freely to some random henchmen instead? "Hello Redshirt 1112345, I possess souls, but if they aren't weak enough, I can't really, also, if I can possess you, I might make you kill the shit out of yourself or dance naked in Wael's temple, hm hm, decisions"

No, seriously woman, how did you come by this info? Oh, you have your ways? Uh-huh.

She said she spent her whole lifetime investigating him and Leaden Key. As a leader of best investigation organization in the land, she for sure should know some things about him.

She is really great. Knew that PC saw Thaos just by looking at him but failed to find terrorists base 20 minutes from her residence AND beyond the temple of God those terrorist worship.

 

[Angthoron]

Ah, Lady Webb, or should she be called Madam Exposition? Yeah - a lot of what she says would've been great to show in the actual game.

Instead, we get the infodump - and actually I was really wondering just how the hell she came across this info in general? He didn't share any of this with her, and she was basically a Leaden Key cipher operative with a relationship with the dude. What, he divulged this information more freely to some random henchmen instead? "Hello Redshirt 1112345, I possess souls, but if they aren't weak enough, I can't really, also, if I can possess you, I might make you kill the shit out of yourself or dance naked in Wael's temple, hm hm, decisions"

No, seriously woman, how did you come by this info? Oh, you have your ways? Uh-huh.

She said she spent her whole lifetime investigating him and Leaden Key. As a leader of best investigation organization in the land, she for sure should know some things about him.

She is really great. Knew that PC saw Thaos just by looking at him but failed to find terrorists base 20 minutes from her residence AND beyond the temple of God those terrorist worship.

Sometimes a lifetime of investigation just isn't enough.

 

[Gangrelrumbler]

Perhaps she knew about it but decided to ignore it because after spending decades in Eternity's universe she already had enough of copy-pasted combat encounters.

 

[Angthoron]

Perhaps she knew about it but decided to ignore it because after spending decades in Eternity's universe she already had enough of copy-pasted combat encounters.

But she's a L20 Cipher, she could just destroy everything with a couple of Mind Lances, they weren't nerfed then yet.

 

[ArchAngel]

Perhaps she knew about it but decided to ignore it because after spending decades in Eternity's universe she already had enough of copy-pasted combat encounters.

But she's a L20 Cipher, she could just destroy everything with a couple of Mind Lances, they weren't nerfed then yet.

Maybe she just lvl 10. That would explain how Thaos killed her so easily :D

 

[ArchAngel]

Ah, Lady Webb, or should she be called Madam Exposition? Yeah - a lot of what she says would've been great to show in the actual game.

Instead, we get the infodump - and actually I was really wondering just how the hell she came across this info in general? He didn't share any of this with her, and she was basically a Leaden Key cipher operative with a relationship with the dude. What, he divulged this information more freely to some random henchmen instead? "Hello Redshirt 1112345, I possess souls, but if they aren't weak enough, I can't really, also, if I can possess you, I might make you kill the shit out of yourself or dance naked in Wael's temple, hm hm, decisions"

No, seriously woman, how did you come by this info? Oh, you have your ways? Uh-huh.

She said she spent her whole lifetime investigating him and Leaden Key. As a leader of best investigation organization in the land, she for sure should know some things about him.

She is really great. Knew that PC saw Thaos just by looking at him but failed to find terrorists base 20 minutes from her residence AND beyond the temple of God those terrorist worship.

Keep your friends close and your enemies closer?
Maybe she learned about Thaos actions from them

 

[panda]

Keep your friends close and your enemies closer?
Maybe she learned about Thaos actions from them

In a matter of speaking she actually did. Just needed lifetime to wait for the chosen one to infiltrate, investigate, do all dirt work and report back for her.

 

[Angthoron]

Perhaps she knew about it but decided to ignore it because after spending decades in Eternity's universe she already had enough of copy-pasted combat encounters.

But she's a L20 Cipher, she could just destroy everything with a couple of Mind Lances, they weren't nerfed then yet.

Maybe she just lvl 10. That would explain how Thaos killed her so easily :D

Probably picked her traits and spells poorly, too. "Pain link sounds useful" "Crap, angry mob, better cast somethin--- ah crap, all allies are dead. FFFFFF-"

 

[Zeronet]

My main disappointment writing wise was being 'evil'. Rarely could you actually be evil in conversations, you could just be a highschool bully or a troll. At one point, people were afraid of me because of my reputation and all i recalled doing was laughing at people's misfortune to earn cruelly points.

 

[J_C]

people were afraid of me because of my reputation and all i recalled doing was laughing at people's misfortune to earn cruelly points.

Apropo, could anyone tell me how does the reputation system works in the game? I mean, what effect it has on gameplay? Peope respond differently to you?

 

[Gangrelrumbler]

You get sometimes get additional dialogue options if your reputation is high enough, most notably during the trial.

 

[Shevek]

I noticed that many times when times when I resolved a quest in a manner consistent with my rep people would comment on it.

"[Benevolent 2] Hey thanks, I heard you were a nice guy and I really appreciate etc etc"

Its a nice touch and it helps you feel like you are actually building a reputation.

 

[Immortal]

I noticed that many times when times when I resolved a quest in a manner consistent with my rep people would comment on it.

"[Benevolent 2] Hey thanks, I heard you were a nice guy and I really appreciate etc etc"

Its a nice touch and it helps you feel like you are actually building a reputation.

Falls apart because these reputations are not mutually exclusive.. Allows you to pass dialogue checks with completely bi-polar responses. It would have been a nice touch if it was finished / better implemented, which sums up the whole game basically.


Sir I am being attacked by bandits
[Benevolent] Let me help you
[Cruel] Let me kill you
[Stoic] *Grunt* ...

Thank you hero for taking care of those bandits, I heard you were kind.. but I can't reward you with anything
[Benevolent] It's okay..
[Cruel] Let me kill you
[Stoic] *Grunt* ...

I knew a cruel bastard like you would do this!

 

[Shevek]

If you want to be bipolar, you can. So?

 

[Immortal]

If you want to be bipolar, you can. So?

Except that this isn't a reflection of soley your personality, it's a reflection of your reputation.

NPC: That man over there has a reputation for being a cruel and benevolent man. I will react solely on which reputation he chooses to display to me.

 

[DeepOcean]

About Lady Webb. If Thaos is known for possessing souls? Who know this? The duc she is an adviser? The other ghost people who makes Defiance Bay goverment she could have warned instead of wainting in her room to be dramatically killed like on a mexican soup opera? How someone measure a weak soul? If you are a nerd and study too much like the animancer representative you get weak and fat and can be possessed? Could the duc be possessed by Thaos? Dude, all this time Thaos could have possessed the duc and ordered the players to be arrested as soon as they got to Defiance Bay? No, obvious no, ducs are politicians and everyone knows politicians have strong souls after stealing enough money and cocaine abuse. Nah... Thaos possesing the duc is too fun, Obsidian REALLY wanted you to see the NWN 2 trial all over again so you would feel special when they rail roaded you again.

 

[Shevek]

If you want to be bipolar, you can. So?

Except that this isn't a reflection of soley your personality, it's a reflection of your reputation.

NPC: That man over there has a reputation for being a cruel and benevolent man. I will react solely on which reputation he chooses to display to me.

Maybe different people hear different things about you. It would be cool if people reacted to high combos. Like that guy can be benevolent or cruel. Watch out, he could be unstable. I dunno, overall its a good system and it can only get better in xpacs and sequels.

 

[Angthoron]

It's a nice idea, but with an imperfect implementation. There are some specific cases when, if having a greater level of, say, Deceptive, than 1, it defaults as your main reputation, overriding Benevolent/Honest, which is an extremely strange thing to say the least. "Oh yeah, everyone knows you're deceptive, when you used that option 4 times during the whole game, therefore I'll tell you to gtfo without a reward, u liar" - Priest of Wael.

Or, in a different case, getting a flavor "Hmm, I've heard you're a really kind guy" in a place where this shouldn't be the case - as in, for example, whole of Act 3. These isolationist savages that don't know who the hell I am know my reputation, huh? Right, sure.

 

[Shevek]

Every system is imperfect. Ultimately, is the game better for its inclusion or worse? I say better but, ya, they should be mindful of case 2 especially where rep should not carry over to an isolated place. Still, most rpgs have stuff like that where you kill some isolated person in a dark alley and yet word somehow gets around.

 

[Angthoron]

It's better, yeah, but in certain cases jarring. The writers need to be aware of what they're doing - it's perfectly possible to do the same reputation responses but in a different way. Hearing it in voice tone, seeing it in the gaze - or giving the [reputation] response at a later part of the conversation when the NPC establishes the conversation and reacts to your earlier Rep check, acknowledging it, a lot of ways to tackle it. They should probably be better at using it in the expac.

 

[Copper]

It feels like a system developed in isolation from the ground up, instead of someone playing a lot of jRPGs/dating sims and stuff like Echo Bazaar/Fallen London and building on that foundation.

As a skill resolution system, FL is basic as fuck, but as a system of character traits, it's far better, especially since almost everything bar the 4 main ones you're grinding are treated as resources - sometimes you just need to have enough to get into the high-roller's club, but choices often have you sacrificing one Trait in favour of gains in another, or simply to unlock stories. You can veer between extremes, especially over time, but chances are you'll never be able to balance 2/3 commonly opposing traits like benevolent/cruel/neutral

 

[Orderian]

I must say, I am quite disturbed by the vitriol PoE has recieved. Ive been unable to play it, as I dont have a PC than can run it, and as such Ive been getting my panties in a bunch over it. Ive watched a few Let's Players here and there, but not enough to get a cohesive overall pciture. I can see from what I have witnessed, and I hate saying it, that the OP hits some sore nerves. It was things I had already came to my own understanding of anyways, but didnt want to admit it because I wanted this game to move me like PS:T did.

I guess it wont. I should probably let go and focus on PS:T again and playing D:OS for my XB1 when it comes out.

 

[mastroego]

I guess it wont. I should probably let go and focus on PS:T again and playing D:OS for my XB1 when it comes out.

That's wise.
Don't support games where Sawyer is involved.