This would be sad. I am convinced there is no great game without the ability to heavily mod it. I am just wondering whether this is due to Obsidian or whether this is a drawback resulting from the underlying unity world.
This being said, don't you think they are too eager to publish mods so early in the game life cycle. As a matter of fact, I prefer to play and finish a game a couple of times before envisioning using mods. Can we really blame Obsidian for efficiently fixing issues ?
Oh PLEASE tell me it's not because of the stupid limerick nonsense...
I would imagine that could be the ONLY reason. I personally found the whole thing ridiculous. I'm as liberal as it gets, but some things just don't rise to the level of being important. That limerick wasn't staking out any territory that The Kinks didn't cover in "Lola" 40 years ago, or that "The Crying Game" didn't deal with 25 years ago in cinema. Or "Boys Don't Cry".
If that poem stays in the game, not one transgender person's life is made more complicated. And not one's will be made more simple by it's removal. On the priority list of problems and perceptions this community has to deal with, a one-off dirty limerick written by a Kickstarter backer in niche CRPG game that was practically a hidden easter egg to begin with has to rank somewhere in the millions. I guarantee more people read that quote because the controversy than ever ACTUALLY coming across it in game.
That being said, to quit modding a great game because they responded to the pressure is just as insane.
Edit: It appears it wasn't that, just that the modders are completely unsatisfied with the game. Sometimes I just don't understand what people want from a game. Apparently Pillars of Eternity is too SIMPLE and vanilla for some people. Which seems crazy to me. How hard or complicated does a game have to before it rises to "hardcore" enough?? Wizardry 4?? An old rogue-like such as Moria??
Eh, I need to uninstall it anyhow. Maybe when I come back to it, after it's been well patched, someone will have picked up and updated the IE mod or something similar.
Anyone opted in for the beta builds yet? I'm considering doing so myself.
Yes I activated the beta when it was released. That was bad because the screen froze each time the pause was activated and you could not navigate the screen while in pause (even worse with an endless shaking effect - that could make you sick). However they released a second beta build. I experienced no dramatic saving / loading times prior to the release of the beta but you will probably notice how much faster it is now. I used to wait for the continue / load buttons availability when the game launcher is executed, now this comes within a second - that is much appreciated. Knock down seems to work properly now. I believe the graphics performance is better but this is hard to be affirmative without measurements. I still experience some graphic/sound difficulties during a few battles ( AoE? spellcasting and pause system perhaps). They also fixed something related to Durance late dialog. I personally don't care about achievements but I suddenly saw many of them appearing in the Steam records. That is what I noticed.
Hmm well my old computer doesn't notice any performance improvement (and that was why i joined the beta). I wish i could afford a new one, and play without lag. The load screens are also still very slow to load (on my old computer) ... And yeah the first patch was a little funny, when pausing- The next patch came the day after though, afaik ...
I really can't understand people complaining about PoE finale: I remember the same things happening while PS:T came out and now it is considered a masterpiece (which it is).
I think that only a few of us can discuss the final: I personally can't see myself completing this game in a month or so. I try to read everything in the game, try to use this or that tactics, try to see what different choices in quests bring and compare the results. Many people restart to try different builds.
As for the stoppage of the IE mod, I'm actually VERY surprised that Sensuki, the most active beta-tester, the guy with 9500+ comments on the PoE boards, the one who introduced several very useful guides on PoE (classes, builds, fights) at the game release, has become disappointed in the game so big.
Although people can agree or disagree with his views, I find astounding the fact that a man who has put so much time and effort into discussing the game since nearly the very start of the whole project, now finds himself completely "not into the game".
Personally, all his views show, in the first place, that IE games will always stay an example, they will always "go first". But I think that if Obsidian simply made things exactly similar as they were in the IE games, it would be wrong. Nothing will change BG/IWD - they will always stay as they are. New games, that are inspired by the IE games, should offer something new. No matter if every player likes or doesn't like a certain feature, I think that the whole thing of offering something new is the most important. Only by trying something new people can find good options. If things didn't change the world would be worse.
The media are comparing PoE and BG, name PoE as "BG 2015" but these games are different. I am very grateful to the developers of PoE for the game they made because it's a new, unique experience and very much reminds me BG. But I perfectly see that PoE is not BG. I like BG for what it is but of course I like PoE for what it is as well.
About sensuki... : I had a feeling, he would become tired of the game, and he was. Even before it was released. So not a surprise (to me) really. But astounding yes ...
The comparisons to BG (1&2) are not really fair. Remember BG2 vanilla before TOB and the patches- That's what we should compare with ... Anyway I haven't got time to chat. Gotta play some more
Hmm well my old computer doesn't notice any performance improvement (and that was why i joined the beta). I wish i could afford a new one, and play without lag. The load screens are also still very slow to load (on my old computer) ... And yeah the first patch was a little funny, when pausing- The next patch came the day after though, afaik ...
As regards the in-game part (as opposed to the loading screens) I had a look at the patch notes and this difference between us may be due to the better DirectX 11 support. I am sure my computer support it, is that your case too? I also remember the Wasteland 2 guys had to rollback such a change but Wasteland 2 is a 3D game even it is also based on the Unity stuff.
About sensuki... : I had a feeling, he would become tired of the game, and he was. Even before it was released. So not a surprise (to me) really. But astounding yes ...
The comparisons to BG (1&2) are not really fair. Remember BG2 vanilla before TOB and the patches- That's what we should compare with ... Anyway I haven't got time to chat. Gotta play some more
It's much like when people compared Diablo 3 at launch to the Diablo 2 that had been fully developed and ironed out for a decade. What they failed to realize is that before Lord of Destruction, Diablo 2 was a complete and utter mess. And yes, Diablo 3 had some horrid problems out of the gate (I simply shelved the game at a certain point until the expansion). However, lo and behold, Reaper of Souls came along and improved upon the original as much or more as Lord of Destruction did in it's time. This stuff isn't easy to get squared away right off the bat. I have no doubt that Pillars of Eternity's first expansion will be at least as significant as Tales of the Sword Coast, if not substantially larger.
When Sensuki was so active during the beta testing I thought that if i was him by the time the game actually came out I would already be sick of it.
Exactly....he has been working and dissecting this content inside and out for over a year. How would you NOT be sick of it. Vast knowledge of the game for sure, but he's one of the last people who should be consulted as to how the majority of players feel about a game that they are experiencing for the first time the last few weeks. He can't possibly relate anymore.
@Musigny yes i have directx 11. But i haven't noticed any performance improvement ...
The strange thing is this: I start a new game, and everything runs fine, smooth, fast, no problems at all. When i reach this dwarf woman in the tree (Gilded Vale) it starts to lag and slow down.... Strange i tell you.
The same thing when i want some companions. I take Eder or Aloth, fine. But if i take both, it will really slow down (even more). If i leave the town on my own, all is smooth again. Very strange...
@Cluas, I am at the beginning of a new playthrough, just got Aloth on board. I will tell you what happens in term of game performance. Some guys on the official forum complained about slowdowns which they link to a) the number of creatures/npc and b) more significantly(?) their size. What you describe is very likely to make sense.
^ thanks Mus.. Yes i suspect it must have something to to with size of area, number of npc's, particle effects, shadows, weather effects and so on... And number of companions too... I am saving up for a new computer but unfortunately there is a long way to go... (anyway I'm enjoying it very much- it is actually pretty fun to solo, but i just think it will be hard later...)
@mlnevese , My drivers are already up to date As I said earlier my main issue occurs during some heavy-loaded battles, more specifically when the spells I cast take effect. I do think the issue is on the developper side. When Wasteland 2 was realeased we experienced performance problems apparently due to locking issues despite the multi-thread ambition of the Unity engine. However inXile was able to fix that. I guess that Obsidian has some tuning to perform too.
It's much like when people compared Diablo 3 at launch to the Diablo 2 that had been fully developed and ironed out for a decade. What they failed to realize is that before Lord of Destruction, Diablo 2 was a complete and utter mess. And yes, Diablo 3 had some horrid problems out of the gate (I simply shelved the game at a certain point until the expansion). However, lo and behold, Reaper of Souls came along and improved upon the original as much or more as Lord of Destruction did in it's time. This stuff isn't easy to get squared away right off the bat. I have no doubt that Pillars of Eternity's first expansion will be at least as significant as Tales of the Sword Coast, if not substantially larger.
The problem(s) that I had with Diablo 3 had nothing to do with how polished it was or wasn't. It was the significant direction changes that were made from Diablo 2. But this is neither the time nor place to debate it. We could start another thread to discuss, but I think it's been beat to death already.
I thought that Diablo 2 was just fine prior to the expansion.
Hmmm. So, I'm not going to read all of this thread's posts (the early ones dealing with kickstarter backing and whatnot just don't seem relevant to my interests, I came in late on this process), but I would like to say that I think Pillars of Eternity is a pretty great game so far. Companion interactions are adorable, the system has solid strategic depth while remaining largely intuitive, and when I got to the stronghold for the first time I suddenly realized I wasn't just going to *like* this game, I was going to *love* it. I'm hoping a couple of minor bug fixes speed along, and that we get more joinable companions (hopefully in the very early game!), but my complaints are very few. I hope we see a movement towards making more games like this in the modern age.
Alrighty, I finished my playthrough two days ago! I flippin LOOOOOOOVE this game!!! Seriously, it was super fun and engaging and I really love the characters and the world!
Now, it will be a much shorter list, if I just name the very few things I *didn't* like about PoE, which are: - The lack of romances. - The loooong loading screens and the sheer number of them. - Some of the quests/ story-strings where a bit confusing, I still don't know what Pallegina's quest was about for example. - The game was at a few times waaay too hard, even in easy mode. Some of the bonus bosses made me want to eat my keyboard :I Then again, that's why they are bonus bosses, they are optional. Still a bummer, since I couldn't finish the related quests because of that.
And then I have mixed feelings about some aspects, for example the story book passages. On the one hand I really like the idea of them, but on the other I think they could have done more with it.
Over all, I think PoE is easily one of the best games in the Infinity Family. Money well spend!
PS: I'd like to mention that I usually downright hate dungeon crawling, but the dungeons in PoE where beautiful and a lot of fun and while I regularly simply skip the Watcher's Keep in ToB, I really really liked Caed Nua in Poe. I think that has to count for something.
Some players are aware of this, but I would still like to post it.
Every time that you switch companions, two things can happen:
Your companion will lose his quick slot items and the remaining items that he is carrying in his inventory You'll lose all the personal records for that character (Time in Party, Time in Combat, etc)
The fitst bug only happens inside the Stronghold, so you should be safe as long as you change companions inside inns.
Keep in mind that you still lose your Personal Records anyway.
Comments
I am just wondering whether this is due to Obsidian or whether this is a drawback resulting from the underlying unity world.
This being said, don't you think they are too eager to publish mods so early in the game life cycle. As a matter of fact, I prefer to play and finish a game a couple of times before envisioning using mods.
Can we really blame Obsidian for efficiently fixing issues ?
Also:
http://forums.obsidian.net/topic/69199-possible-spoilers-modding-thread-a-simple-mod-and-console-commands/?p=1651998
If that poem stays in the game, not one transgender person's life is made more complicated. And not one's will be made more simple by it's removal. On the priority list of problems and perceptions this community has to deal with, a one-off dirty limerick written by a Kickstarter backer in niche CRPG game that was practically a hidden easter egg to begin with has to rank somewhere in the millions. I guarantee more people read that quote because the controversy than ever ACTUALLY coming across it in game.
That being said, to quit modding a great game because they responded to the pressure is just as insane.
Edit: It appears it wasn't that, just that the modders are completely unsatisfied with the game. Sometimes I just don't understand what people want from a game. Apparently Pillars of Eternity is too SIMPLE and vanilla for some people. Which seems crazy to me. How hard or complicated does a game have to before it rises to "hardcore" enough?? Wizardry 4?? An old rogue-like such as Moria??
Anyone opted in for the beta builds yet? I'm considering doing so myself.
@mlnevese ... Yes I'm in the beta ...
I experienced no dramatic saving / loading times prior to the release of the beta but you will probably notice how much faster it is now. I used to wait for the continue / load buttons availability when the game launcher is executed, now this comes within a second - that is much appreciated. Knock down seems to work properly now. I believe the graphics performance is better but this is hard to be affirmative without measurements. I still experience some graphic/sound difficulties during a few battles ( AoE? spellcasting and pause system perhaps). They also fixed something related to Durance late dialog. I personally don't care about achievements but I suddenly saw many of them appearing in the Steam records.
That is what I noticed.
We can read all his views in the OP here: http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/index.php?threads/quickfire-systemic-criticism-that-contributes-to-banality-of-gameplay.98429/
Although people can agree or disagree with his views, I find astounding the fact that a man who has put so much time and effort into discussing the game since nearly the very start of the whole project, now finds himself completely "not into the game".
Personally, all his views show, in the first place, that IE games will always stay an example, they will always "go first". But I think that if Obsidian simply made things exactly similar as they were in the IE games, it would be wrong. Nothing will change BG/IWD - they will always stay as they are. New games, that are inspired by the IE games, should offer something new. No matter if every player likes or doesn't like a certain feature, I think that the whole thing of offering something new is the most important. Only by trying something new people can find good options. If things didn't change the world would be worse.
The media are comparing PoE and BG, name PoE as "BG 2015" but these games are different. I am very grateful to the developers of PoE for the game they made because it's a new, unique experience and very much reminds me BG. But I perfectly see that PoE is not BG. I like BG for what it is but of course I like PoE for what it is as well.
The comparisons to BG (1&2) are not really fair. Remember BG2 vanilla before TOB and the patches- That's what we should compare with ... Anyway I haven't got time to chat. Gotta play some more
The strange thing is this: I start a new game, and everything runs fine, smooth, fast, no problems at all. When i reach this dwarf woman in the tree (Gilded Vale) it starts to lag and slow down.... Strange i tell you.
The same thing when i want some companions. I take Eder or Aloth, fine. But if i take both, it will really slow down (even more). If i leave the town on my own, all is smooth again. Very strange...
So I play on solo right now to avoid lag
I am at the beginning of a new playthrough, just got Aloth on board. I will tell you what happens in term of game performance.
Some guys on the official forum complained about slowdowns which they link to a) the number of creatures/npc and b) more significantly(?) their size. What you describe is very likely to make sense.
Yes i suspect it must have something to to with size of area, number of npc's, particle effects, shadows, weather effects and so on... And number of companions too... I am saving up for a new computer but unfortunately there is a long way to go... (anyway I'm enjoying it very much- it is actually pretty fun to solo, but i just think it will be hard later...)
My drivers are already up to date
As I said earlier my main issue occurs during some heavy-loaded battles, more specifically when the spells I cast take effect.
I do think the issue is on the developper side.
When Wasteland 2 was realeased we experienced performance problems apparently due to locking issues despite the multi-thread ambition of the Unity engine. However inXile was able to fix that. I guess that Obsidian has some tuning to perform too.
I thought that Diablo 2 was just fine prior to the expansion.
I'm pleased. ^_^
I flippin LOOOOOOOVE this game!!!
Seriously, it was super fun and engaging and I really love the characters and the world!
- The lack of romances.
- The loooong loading screens and the sheer number of them.
- Some of the quests/ story-strings where a bit confusing, I still don't know what Pallegina's quest was about for example.
- The game was at a few times waaay too hard, even in easy mode. Some of the bonus bosses made me want to eat my keyboard :I Then again, that's why they are bonus bosses, they are optional. Still a bummer, since I couldn't finish the related quests because of that.
And then I have mixed feelings about some aspects, for example the story book passages.
On the one hand I really like the idea of them, but on the other I think they could have done more with it.
Over all, I think PoE is easily one of the best games in the Infinity Family. Money well spend!
PS: I'd like to mention that I usually downright hate dungeon crawling, but the dungeons in PoE where beautiful and a lot of fun and while I regularly simply skip the Watcher's Keep in ToB, I really really liked Caed Nua in Poe.
I think that has to count for something.
edit: Nah, it was just my browser wonking out.
Every time that you switch companions, two things can happen:
Your companion will lose his quick slot items and the remaining items that he is carrying in his inventory
You'll lose all the personal records for that character (Time in Party, Time in Combat, etc)
The fitst bug only happens inside the Stronghold, so you should be safe as long as you change companions inside inns.
Keep in mind that you still lose your Personal Records anyway.