I also don't really care for the world for some strange reason. I mean it looks very beautiful but I don't really care about the lore or even the story yet. I only just got in the city. Gameplay is pretty solid though. I'm still learining the ropes.
They are all likeable, I think. That's a departure from BG2, where characters were a bit more extreme. Korgan the bloodthirsty evil dwarf, or Nalia the goody-two shoes noble. Or Anomen the **********. Kana's voice is kind of annoying I think, but I like his personality. Aloth is entertaining, yeah. And Grieving Mother is the only character that might have had a chance in PS:T.I quite like Eder, Aloth, Kana and Grieving Mother. If they are also "memorable", time will tell
You have to really get into the background stories. Are you reading the in-game books? Are you closely following your companions back stories or reading the occasional soul story? I thought the world was OK until I got a better, clearer idea. Now I think it's quite good. Much more down to Earth than Forgotten Realms or D&D for that matter. If by city you mean Defiance Bay then you have some pretty great adventures there and ahead of you.
@Luxorek
I'll take a look at that AJ review out of curiosity, but my general opinion is he's a clown and loves to show off to draw attention. Not to be taken seriously.
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I like clowns. What I'm wondering about is if the video is spoilery? Haven't played the game yet and I want to watch Joe's review, but not if it ruins something important. Anyone know?
I watched it, not spoilery. He just covers the basic premise of the story. Surprisingly, he thought the writing was average where most reviewers are praising it.
I've skipped the occasional soul story after I learned they are only backer characters, but whenever the main story or the companions discuss something about the world I rummage through my stash and read the ingame books. I find the world appealing, not so high fantasy as Forgotten Realms, beside the soul magic. Speaking of soul magic
What really digs me are the interactions with the watcher skills in dialogue. Though they mostly happen on the main quest, they remind me of some of the stuff you could do in Planescape Torment. My cipher skills even allowed me to 'reprogram' the soul of a girl who otherwise would have become a ticking bomb for her environment.
I do skip a few soul stories here and there, specially when I'm much more interested in seeing the outcome of an actual task or quest. But I am thrilled that this is the first game in a long time where I've had to do my homework (read in-game books, read the wiki, read the manual and complimentary material) to really get the hang of what's going on. This is a good thing, because you can't really tell a good tale if you have to explain every little detail. It's not about the game being too "texty" or too obscure; it's about extending the scope of the game beyond what we play in front of the computer. That's why IE games had such a strong impact I think, they had the ability to tell stories in a fully developed universe, use symbols and references without spelling everything out.
Something as "simple" as Ignus, the elemental plane of fire and the decanter of endless water wouldn't have been possible with the modern all-encompassing-cutscene game approach, unless each cutscene is 30 minutes long.
Something as "simple" as Ignus, the elemental plane of fire and the decanter of endless water wouldn't have been possible with the modern all-encompassing-cutscene game approach, unless each cutscene is 30 minutes long.
I wish they'd be more talkative than a single line response when you click "talk" on them. I've heard in Divinity Original Sin companions have more dialog like that, which should improve roleplaying aspect I think (I didn't play Divinity Original Sin yet, still waiting for the Linux version). Such conversations could also make companions more memorable.
I'm content with the amount of bickering among the NPCs and the dialogue with them (you also get more dialogue out of them when you advance their own quests).
The only thing I think could be improved is their involvement in interactions with other NPCs. Often they comment on the things which are going on in the dialogue, but except for one single incident so far, it doesn't have any influence on the outcome. It's just as if they're invisible for anyone but you, and in fact they are. So that's definitely a weak spot of their writing (but not actually in quality, I appreciate that it's a LOT more work to make them more interactive and influential in such conversations, which was simply not possible in the scope of PoE).
The only thing I think could be improved is their involvement in interactions with other NPCs. Often they comment on the things which are going on in the dialogue, but except for one single incident so far, it doesn't have any influence on the outcome. It's just as if they're invisible for anyone but you, and in fact they are. So that's definitely a weak spot of their writing (but not actually in quality, I appreciate that it's a LOT more work to make them more interactive and influential in such conversations, which was simply not possible in the scope of PoE).
I agree with both M4xw0lf and Gilrond. I am OK with the *amount* of bickering but I wished it was more transcendental. Like you said, often their opinions are completely ignored by everyone. Also I would like them to point out more stuff when we go places. In other words, it would have been nice if companions had a clear advantage over recruiting henchmen, in terms of participation and feedback.
But like I said before, this is somewhat in between BG1 and BG2. That is, they developed a campaign and the basic mechanics. I can see how a PoE 2 would allow them to focus on some truly dynamic companion interactions.
I completely agree the game has some imperfections. But it's so damn addictive, it hits all the right buttons. It's just pleasing to play.
But like I said before, this is somewhat in between BG1 and BG2. That is, they developed a campaign and the basic mechanics. I can see how a PoE 2 would allow them to focus on some truly dynamic companion interactions.
I completely agree the game has some imperfections. But it's so damn addictive, it hits all the right buttons. It's just pleasing to play.
Does selecting party member with 1-6 keys work for you? For me it seems broken.
Works flawlessly: 1-6 for the individual characters, 7 for select all, 8 for frontliners, 9 for ranged fighters
Do you have other things mapped to the number keys?
No. I'm running the Linux version, so it can be specific to it. I reported this bug.Works flawlessly: 1-6 for the individual characters, 7 for select all, 8 for frontliners, 9 for ranged fighters
Do you have other things mapped to the number keys?
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Apparently, besides party reputations, there are also disposition based on personality (which is developed with various actions / dialogs). Is that shown anywhere (personality) or it's only actualized in different reactions from NPCs? I couldn't find that in the character stats at least.
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One thing that's quite missing in the game is the ability to use non lethal weapons. Surely there could be spells that could just paralyze opponents instead of tearing them to bits? That could add more RP quality to the game. I liked such option in Deus Ex.
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The hotkeys for characters (1-6) worked for me OK in the Linux version. I had to configure the rest, 7-0, by selecting individual characters and pressing Ctrl+#.
Both party reputations and personality dispositions are displayed on your character sheet. Only those with at least one point are shown. I'm a bit past the 40 hour mark (entering Twin Elms) and I have around 8, several with 2 points. I'm assuming most people won't have this many, I'm sort of "chaotic neutral".
Disclaimer: the screenshot is not from *my* game.
volsung : Ah, I guess that's it. I just got a few interactions that changed personality dispositions so far (I'm still in Valewood), so they aren't yet shown since they are too small yet. I managed to reconfigure shortcuts using Ctrl+<number> as well. So it's not really a bug, I probably messed up those control groups before somehow.
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That portrait looks custom by the way. One can add custom avatars manually: http://pillarsofeternity.gamepedia.com/Portrait
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That portrait looks custom by the way. One can add custom avatars manually: http://pillarsofeternity.gamepedia.com/Portrait
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You can at least imprison certain opponents later on; not the ordinary infantry, of course, but at least some of the named NPCs.
Oh it IS custom. It's Jaheira from BG1. But again not my playthrough, too "good natured" for my taste
(not to mention the stripper name)You didn't really NOT recognize that, did you? ;D
After a mere 48 hours I've now advanced to the third act. My level 10 Barbarian has already dealt >60k damage, hit the most hits, killed the most enemies, killed the most powerful enemy, and dealt the highest single damage (105). On the other hand, he also took the most damage of my group; which is actually not surprising due to Edér's far superior deflection. Still, a successful damage dealer build with only 10 Might
I never really played BG1 and BG2 in their glorious past. In recent times I tried them a bit (in Wine) after getting original Windows versions on GOG sale, and then I planned to get the enhanced editions there when they came out. Now however with new titles like Pillars of Eternity and Tides of Numenera coming later, I'll have to put them into my backlog for a while
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