The single comment to that interview means that using RTWP because it's "a combat system that's genuinely tactical, fun, and doesn't break immersion" can be debatable.
"They need to add full turn based. The mod that does it for kingmaker makes the game so much more enjoyable even with its little nuances. I won't play the new one until there is a turn based option or mod."
I know that you din't liked PF:KM but di you tested with the turn based mod?
Other thing. I would love to see OwnCat making a STARFINDER adaptaiton to computer. Mainly cuz there aren't much good sci fi CRPG's
The single comment to that interview means that using RTWP because it's "a combat system that's genuinely tactical, fun, and doesn't break immersion" can be debatable.
"They need to add full turn based. The mod that does it for kingmaker makes the game so much more enjoyable even with its little nuances. I won't play the new one until there is a turn based option or mod."
I know that you din't liked PF:KM but di you tested with the turn based mod?
Unfortunately, I haven't given that another go, but I still hope I'll return.
I didn't mean to say TB games are better. I like Infinity Engine games, Dragon Age and a few other games with RtwP, like PoE. I just highlighted that the only (single) comment to the interview was about the game mode, so it makes the whole subject debatable.
It's awesome mods exist to make Pf:K turn-based. However, when I try it another time, I'll try to play Pf:K without mods because usually I don't install gameplay mods until after beating the game at least once. Graphics/UI mods - another story, but to be able to judge the game I'd like to experience it first like developers intended. This is why I'm not 100% happy people use an argument "you can use a mod for that" if someone says they prefer - for tactical games - TB games.
There's actually a lot of Sci Fi RPGs out there. Granted they're first person, but there's the Fallout (at least the current ones), Deus Ex and Outer Worlds games. Wasteland 2 and it's upcoming sequel, the shadowrun games and even Torment: Tides of Numenera are all Sci Fi with the traditional top down with controlling a party. I get the feeling you're more talking about space based Sci Fi, though. There's not quite as many as fantasy, but there are a lot of Sci Fi RPGs out there. I guess you could lump the KOTOR games in, but Star Wars has always been more space opera than Sci Fi.
There's also INSOMNIA: The Ark for the space faring ARPG crowd. The setting of living on a disfunct colony ship drifting in outer space has been explored a few times in movies before. But as far as games go, it's pretty darn refreshing from the usual servings.
Personally I like Starfinder a fair chunk more than other scifi space opera franchises. Mainly because almost none of the existing video games let you actually play as anything besides humans. That was also my biggest beef with any of the Star Wars or Mass Effect titles. Hopefully Bethesda's upcoming Starfield will be more alike Elder Scrolls in space with dozen of races to choose from...
The single comment to that interview means that using RTWP because it's "a combat system that's genuinely tactical, fun, and doesn't break immersion" can be debatable.
"They need to add full turn based. The mod that does it for kingmaker makes the game so much more enjoyable even with its little nuances. I won't play the new one until there is a turn based option or mod."
I know that you din't liked PF:KM but di you tested with the turn based mod?
Unfortunately, I haven't given that another go, but I still hope I'll return.
I didn't mean to say TB games are better. I like Infinity Engine games, Dragon Age and a few other games with RtwP, like PoE. I just highlighted that the only (single) comment to the interview was about the game mode, so it makes the whole subject debatable.
It's awesome mods exist to make Pf:K turn-based. However, when I try it another time, I'll try to play Pf:K without mods because usually I don't install gameplay mods until after beating the game at least once. Graphics/UI mods - another story, but to be able to judge the game I'd like to experience it first like developers intended. This is why I'm not 100% happy people use an argument "you can use a mod for that" if someone says they prefer - for tactical games - TB games.
Even the bug fixes mod? I mean, i love PF:KM and Gothic 3 but i would never play then both without player paths. And even for first players i would recommend alternative balancing mainly for mages since due the lack of time given by the publisher, they by no good reason allowed you to learn how to summon golems and cast fire rains on earlier game. A spell that was circle 5 on Gothic 1 and Circle 6 on G2... AB makes the spell progression more akin to G1 and raises the difficulty to obtain armor.
That said, i never understood why someone who liked Baldur's Gate 2 hated PF:KM. Both games are very similar.
For me, BG2 is superior on story and in dungeon design but PF:KM is clearly superior on character creation and building. This doesn't means that the story of PF:KM is not good.
Finally a game who treats feyfolk with the well deserved respect. Finally a game that allow me to be a silver dragon sorcerer, instead of restricting me to only red(the less likely dragon to inbreed with humanoid species). If you wanna complete PF:KM be adviced. A completionist run takes on average 165 hours according to HLTB https://howlongtobeat.com/game?id=60050
There's actually a lot of Sci Fi RPGs out there. Granted they're first person, but there's the Fallout (at least the current ones), Deus Ex and Outer Worlds games. Wasteland 2 and it's upcoming sequel, the shadowrun games and even Torment: Tides of Numenera are all Sci Fi with the traditional top down with controlling a party. I get the feeling you're more talking about space based Sci Fi, though. There's not quite as many as fantasy, but there are a lot of Sci Fi RPGs out there. I guess you could lump the KOTOR games in, but Star Wars has always been more space opera than Sci Fi.
I don't consider Fallout 4 and 76 to be RPG's. But i mentioned starfinder crpg, because it would be pathfinder kingmaker on space.
The KOTOR games were close then, they were D20 systems in space. I just wish there was a way to fix that damn locking up after every fight in the first game on modern systems. It's so annoying to have to save and load after every single fight. The second one got a re-release with a native linux port, even. Wish they'd do the first one, now. Maybe I should try it in proton and see if it has the getting stuck issue.
I gotta agree whole heartedly on your comparison to BG2. Kingmaker has way more fleshed out character options but BG2 did have some amazing level and encounter design, especially given the limitations of the system. Still, surprising someone who could like one wouldn't like the other. I do dig that they don't do any chosen one crap with the story that's become the generic story of almost every game these days. Sure, you get to eventually become a baron and eventually a king, but you've got to work your way up from a common mercenary.
The KOTOR games were close then, they were D20 systems in space. I just wish there was a way to fix that damn locking up after every fight in the first game on modern systems. It's so annoying to have to save and load after every single fight. The second one got a re-release with a native linux port, even. Wish they'd do the first one, now. Maybe I should try it in proton and see if it has the getting stuck issue.
I gotta agree whole heartedly on your comparison to BG2. Kingmaker has way more fleshed out character options but BG2 did have some amazing level and encounter design, especially given the limitations of the system. Still, surprising someone who could like one wouldn't like the other. I do dig that they don't do any chosen one crap with the story that's become the generic story of almost every game these days. Sure, you get to eventually become a baron and eventually a king, but you've got to work your way up from a common mercenary.
KOTOR 1/2 was so amazing... Piranha Bytes made a SCI-FI ARPG, so maybe owlcat can do a SCI-FI CRPG...
Anyway, i asked him what he din't liked about PF:KM exactly because i wanna understand it. He loved dos2, not trying to criticize dos2 nor start a flame war, but i really wanna understand why a BG2 fan din't liked PF:KM but loved dos2. For me, PF:KM is the best modern game and i wanna understand what cRPG fans who liked bg din't liked pfkm.
I don't know why some people take criticism towards a game that they enjoy as a personal insult(not saying that is the case of anyone here, only that i saw it happens a lot)...
I couldn't get into the game from the first attempt because combat seemed too confusing, a lot was going on. Another factor is that I didn't like the implementation of the sneak attack. I also found character interaction lacking. The game seemed too much to get through. I wasn't intrigued by the start of the game and starting NPCs. The game I compared it to (in my mind) was PoE, not DoS.
I couldn't get into the game from the first attempt because combat seemed too confusing, a lot was going on. Another factor is that I didn't like the implementation of the sneak attack. I also found character interaction lacking. The game seemed too much to get through. I wasn't intrigued by the start of the game and starting NPCs. The game I compared it to (in my mind) was PoE, not DoS.
Yep. I hated what they did not only with sneak attack but with range of spells. I suggest you to try with with mods that makes the game more pnp like.
I'd compare it more to the BG games and NWN2 rather than PoE, despite the fact they look similar, being the same engine and all. I'm rather surprised you found too much going on, since the system's somewhat familiar, being d20, and PoE was it's own thing and the first one had 6 person parties, too. I can see how that first fight at the end of the prelude might be a bit confusing, since they just dump you with a 6 person party, but they drop you back down a 4 person party for a bit afterwards, so fights are on a bit smaller scale for a little while after that while you get used to things.
Looks like Dhampirs will now officially be in WotR as another playable race to choose from. I wonder if this means we also get a vampire themed mythic path. We already got an angel one, a lich one, a fey one and a demon one after all. The more paths, the merrier.
Keep your eyes open next month. For Owlcat will grace Kickstarter once again with a new campaign on February 4 at 08:00 PST / 11:00 EST / 16:00 GMT. I know where I will spend my money that date. ?
Considering Kingmaker is my favorite RPG made I will DEF be supporting them again. Like, Kingmaker catered specifically to my jams since it had big focus on Fey and even reveals the backstory for the entire gnomish race on Golarion but I'm sure an RPG that lets me become a LICH will be equally rad XD
We play it a lot – every member of the team plays Wrath of the Righteous at the table. We have six campaigns running simultaneously, which allows every member of the team to share the vision of the game. Then there is a special channel where the game masters discuss what happened in each session, and whether we can use something [that happened] in the videogame – the best encounters, the best resolutions to situations, what we want to do more of on the screen, and what may not be a great experience on the screen that we could translate into a different encounter that’s similarly thematic.
Another thing we noticed when we started playing the Wrath of the Righteous was that not all of the players wanted to be good and nice. So we ran a campaign that specifically and solely ran evil characters to try and see how it could be possible, how we could make it interesting, and why evil characters would want to fight a demonic invasion [which is the main challenge in Wrath of the Righteous]. We found some of the solutions in that campaign, and some of them found their way into the game.
Good thing Owlcat is able to make drastical changes from the original Adventure Path. That quote right there eased one of my major qualms with the PnP WotR.
So I have what might be a controversial view on P:K. I've been playing the heck out of the game in recent weeks in anticipation of the KS for the second game. And I must say, now that I have a pretty solid knowledge base on how to do kingdom management, I am actually really enjoying the kingdom management side of the game. So much so that I would go so far as to say I would love a spinoff game in the future that involves just their kingdom management system, perhaps as some sort of a card game. Now, to be truthful, I do use the "effortless" setting often when things get ugly, but that just means there are some balance issues that (still) need to be worked out.
Bottom line, I so love this game. Even the companion characters have all grown on me. I just love it when I click on Amiri and she says "Yaaaa?" Her tone is so perfect. And Linzi's comments when she fails at opening a chest or disarming a trap are so precious. Sooooo looking forward to the next chapter from Owlcat.
Kingdom management is great and always has been. I've always had it on normal and I don't have invincible selected and I've never, not once in any playthrough, had any trouble or risk of the kingdom failing.
I think a lot of the criticism is because some people just can't be bothered to try to understand how it works. They're fine with the RPG bit because that's standard, they're well familiar with other adventuring games, and don't have to learn anything new. But faced with a (what is actually very simple, especially compared to games like Civ) system for managing the kingdom i.e. something that is actually different to other RPGs, they can't be bothered to try to understand how how it works. And so that clearly must mean it's a crap feature
I actually look forward to managing the kingdom segments, where you have the time to claim new areas, rank up your advisors, improve your settlements, more than the adventuring segments!
Still in love with this game x The first game in 20 years that most truly and accurately captured the feelings I had when I first played BG1.
I think a lot of the criticism is because some people just can't be bothered to try to understand how it works. They're fine with the RPG bit because that's standard, they're well familiar with other adventuring games, and don't have to learn anything new. But faced with a (what is actually very simple, especially compared to games like Civ) system for managing the kingdom i.e. something that is actually different to other RPGs, they can't be bothered to try to understand how how it works. And so that clearly must mean it's a crap feature
That's a very simplistic and prejudice way to look at things and on other people. I understand fully well how the kingdom management portion works, it took like 5 minutes to learn. I still don't like it and that won't change no matter how much I "understand" it. I don't mind kingdom management per se, I just don't like at all the way it's made in PKM. The weird playing cards, the character assignments (yet you can still have them accompany you even though they are on the other side of the realm), the simplistic DC system, the gathering of advisors (really, there's no one in the entire realm you can assign before you personally have found and talked to a certain individual?), the extreme and stupidly exaggerated focus on YOU to do every single menial task is so cliché that I just can't commit to it.
Now, if there had been a more realistic version I think I could have liked it. Less focus on charname, the ability to summon folk to court when I want it. Charname is the leader after all, yet the leader of the realm is the one who have to keep running back home to talk to ppl when they are coming. I'd like the management part to be done in the engine, around the table in the throne room. The missions, as presented in the cards, could instead have been presented in text by you advisors and I could have assigned or decided on actions using the regular conversation window. Effortless version would let the marshal handle all combat oriented stuff, like chasing away bandits, and then just report to you the outcome, where normal/hard etc would force you to choose between chasing away bandits or trolls since the marshal might ask for advice due to not having enough soldiers for both.
I'm just spitballing, but the point is, I'd prefer it to play out more as the game itself and not feel so detached, like a game inside a game. Does this make me the ignorant kind of person you refer to in your post?
My problem with P:KM's kingdom management is that I don't find it fun. It's simply not a game I want to play. If I thought it was fun, I'd learn the system. As it stands, I have no further interest in trying it again.
Insulting people who don't like the same games you like isn't going to do any good for anyone. It certainly isn't going to persuade me to give it another try.
^Yep, Kingdom management COULD be better but i disagree that the mode is bad.
Talking (again) about journalists
" Perhaps a bit more troubling is the fact that within Pathfinder's ruleset, many monsters and creatures require very specific tools to kill. Swarms of small creatures like rats, for instance, can't be effectively fought with a sword and shield. Sometimes Kingmaker warns you, but other times it simply expects you to know how to handle the problem" https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/pathfinder-kingmaker-review-the-classics/1900-6417006/
So yes, the Pathfinder Kingmaker problem according to gamespot is not the bugs, is the fact that you need to know the pathfinder ruleset to play a pathfinder game, just like you need to know soccer rules to play FIFA and the fact that swords can't kill a swarm of insects. How dare they are to not make a game where fast swinging blades solve everything from a insect swarm to a stone golem!!! Doesn't matter if a guy sells bombs and say that you will probably need it or torches, nor if the game gives alchemist companions. You need to solve everything with a fast swinging blade, otherwise the game is bad!!!! This is why Diablo 3 is a such amazing game. I can suck a blood from a skeleton with necro's siphon's blood, as longs i have a big and sharp axe to magically make disappear during the attack animation.
Monsters requiring specific weapon to be dealt is not something new. Vampires on Daggerfall only takes damage from silver & better weaponry. On G1, stone golem only takes damage from hammers and blunt weapons, fire golems only from cold and ice golems only from fire. And it makes perfectly sense. Cutting stone with a sword is a dumb idea. Why cutting a "animated stone" would be different?
"but the low ratting could be by bugs" Use the CTRL + F function.
I enjoyed the kingdom management, it could have been a lot more clear when the game first came out, but it's much improved. It was very unclear why something would cause the stability level to change in early versions as well as how some of the choices would affect things. I do think trying to manage it all through conversations would have been really tedious and made it difficult to keep track of everything going on.
It's not that hard once you've got a handle on it. You can just save scum if you're having trouble or while you're getting the hang of things. I've had a kingdom at serene for most of the game and finished pretty much everything in a no reload run, so it's possible to get through all the kingdom stuff successfully just rolling with all the results it gives you.
Overall - I enjoyed the Kingdom Management stuff. It was very interesting in the early game when I felt strapped for resources and didnt have all my adviser slots filled in. That said, I do think that by the very end of the game, the Kingdom Management part felt pretty repetitive. I had squeezed all of the enjoyment there was to have out of it and was just going through the motions.
In fairness, I sortof felt that way about the game in general. Good game. Very much enjoyed it, but the last fifth of the game felt a lot less enjoyable than the first fifth. Nothing reinforced that to me more than when I thought I was on my final evening of gaming before beating the game... and it took me 3 more nights of playing to actually see the credits.
Overall - I enjoyed the Kingdom Management stuff. It was very interesting in the early game when I felt strapped for resources and didnt have all my adviser slots filled in. That said, I do think that by the very end of the game, the Kingdom Management part felt pretty repetitive. I had squeezed all of the enjoyment there was to have out of it and was just going through the motions.
In fairness, I sortof felt that way about the game in general. Good game. Very much enjoyed it, but the last fifth of the game felt a lot less enjoyable than the first fifth. Nothing reinforced that to me more than when I thought I was on my final evening of gaming before beating the game... and it took me 3 more nights of playing to actually see the credits.
Ya, the last chapter's a slog, but still more interesting than PoE after you leave Defiance Bay. At least the last optional chapter got really fun and interesting again.
It's really not a problem of being complicated or not. I just don't like the entire kingdom management game and would love to be able to just turn it off but they tied many important events to it so I'm forced to leave it on.
Overall - I enjoyed the Kingdom Management stuff. It was very interesting in the early game when I felt strapped for resources and didnt have all my adviser slots filled in. That said, I do think that by the very end of the game, the Kingdom Management part felt pretty repetitive. I had squeezed all of the enjoyment there was to have out of it and was just going through the motions.
In fairness, I sortof felt that way about the game in general. Good game. Very much enjoyed it, but the last fifth of the game felt a lot less enjoyable than the first fifth. Nothing reinforced that to me more than when I thought I was on my final evening of gaming before beating the game... and it took me 3 more nights of playing to actually see the credits.
Ya, the last chapter's a slog, but still more interesting than PoE after you leave Defiance Bay. At least the last optional chapter got really fun and interesting again.
Interesting, because I've found that it's only when I left Defiance Bay (end of Act II) in PoE things started to be involving for me, I actually felt the urgency to do something as the Watcher, felt the urgency to follow the main questline.
Odd, at no point in PoE's story I felt a sense of urgency. If anything that game really put me into Xan's mindset: “XYZ numbers of people died? A well, they'll get reborn anyway“. “Defeating the antagonist? Why even bother? Such a hassle.“
PoE2 did better with that walking slap of stone at least which destroys everything in its path. Having your soul claimed by a death god was also interesting.
Still not as intense as waging one war after another like in Kingmaker though. Having deadlines to meet or getting a Game Over screen does tend to deliver players a decent amount to urge.
Overall - I enjoyed the Kingdom Management stuff. It was very interesting in the early game when I felt strapped for resources and didnt have all my adviser slots filled in. That said, I do think that by the very end of the game, the Kingdom Management part felt pretty repetitive. I had squeezed all of the enjoyment there was to have out of it and was just going through the motions.
In fairness, I sortof felt that way about the game in general. Good game. Very much enjoyed it, but the last fifth of the game felt a lot less enjoyable than the first fifth. Nothing reinforced that to me more than when I thought I was on my final evening of gaming before beating the game... and it took me 3 more nights of playing to actually see the credits.
Ya, the last chapter's a slog, but still more interesting than PoE after you leave Defiance Bay. At least the last optional chapter got really fun and interesting again.
Interesting, because I've found that it's only when I left Defiance Bay (end of Act II) in PoE things started to be involving for me, I actually felt the urgency to do something as the Watcher, felt the urgency to follow the main questline.
Ya the sense of urgency is false and they kind of even encourage you to go do some DLC or that boring dungeon under your keep around then. All the interesting character interactions were done after defiance bay and never got revisited. So all that faction stuff and decisions were largely meaningless. After being in a major city, they send you to a little barbarian town without many interesting things in it and just ape at the faction stuff they did before. The only part I liked was when that guy you killed way back in chapter 1 comes back as undead. At least in Kingmaker, the urgency is real and if you dick around when somebody tells you to do something you can fail the quest or even worse lose the game if it's a main quest.
Comments
I know that you din't liked PF:KM but di you tested with the turn based mod?
Other thing. I would love to see OwnCat making a STARFINDER adaptaiton to computer. Mainly cuz there aren't much good sci fi CRPG's
Unfortunately, I haven't given that another go, but I still hope I'll return.
I didn't mean to say TB games are better. I like Infinity Engine games, Dragon Age and a few other games with RtwP, like PoE. I just highlighted that the only (single) comment to the interview was about the game mode, so it makes the whole subject debatable.
It's awesome mods exist to make Pf:K turn-based. However, when I try it another time, I'll try to play Pf:K without mods because usually I don't install gameplay mods until after beating the game at least once. Graphics/UI mods - another story, but to be able to judge the game I'd like to experience it first like developers intended. This is why I'm not 100% happy people use an argument "you can use a mod for that" if someone says they prefer - for tactical games - TB games.
Personally I like Starfinder a fair chunk more than other scifi space opera franchises. Mainly because almost none of the existing video games let you actually play as anything besides humans. That was also my biggest beef with any of the Star Wars or Mass Effect titles. Hopefully Bethesda's upcoming Starfield will be more alike Elder Scrolls in space with dozen of races to choose from...
Why not? I never played but the RULES are pretty good IMO.
Even the bug fixes mod? I mean, i love PF:KM and Gothic 3 but i would never play then both without player paths. And even for first players i would recommend alternative balancing mainly for mages since due the lack of time given by the publisher, they by no good reason allowed you to learn how to summon golems and cast fire rains on earlier game. A spell that was circle 5 on Gothic 1 and Circle 6 on G2... AB makes the spell progression more akin to G1 and raises the difficulty to obtain armor.
That said, i never understood why someone who liked Baldur's Gate 2 hated PF:KM. Both games are very similar.
For me, BG2 is superior on story and in dungeon design but PF:KM is clearly superior on character creation and building. This doesn't means that the story of PF:KM is not good.
Finally a game who treats feyfolk with the well deserved respect. Finally a game that allow me to be a silver dragon sorcerer, instead of restricting me to only red(the less likely dragon to inbreed with humanoid species). If you wanna complete PF:KM be adviced. A completionist run takes on average 165 hours according to HLTB https://howlongtobeat.com/game?id=60050
I don't consider Fallout 4 and 76 to be RPG's. But i mentioned starfinder crpg, because it would be pathfinder kingmaker on space.
I gotta agree whole heartedly on your comparison to BG2. Kingmaker has way more fleshed out character options but BG2 did have some amazing level and encounter design, especially given the limitations of the system. Still, surprising someone who could like one wouldn't like the other. I do dig that they don't do any chosen one crap with the story that's become the generic story of almost every game these days. Sure, you get to eventually become a baron and eventually a king, but you've got to work your way up from a common mercenary.
KOTOR 1/2 was so amazing... Piranha Bytes made a SCI-FI ARPG, so maybe owlcat can do a SCI-FI CRPG...
Anyway, i asked him what he din't liked about PF:KM exactly because i wanna understand it. He loved dos2, not trying to criticize dos2 nor start a flame war, but i really wanna understand why a BG2 fan din't liked PF:KM but loved dos2. For me, PF:KM is the best modern game and i wanna understand what cRPG fans who liked bg din't liked pfkm.
I don't know why some people take criticism towards a game that they enjoy as a personal insult(not saying that is the case of anyone here, only that i saw it happens a lot)...
Yep. I hated what they did not only with sneak attack but with range of spells. I suggest you to try with with mods that makes the game more pnp like.
I get that you prefer to play unmodded first BUT some times mods are essential. I could't get into NWN2 warlock without the warlock reworked mod that makes warlock more pnp like https://neverwintervault.org/project/nwn2/other/warlock-reworked-102g
if you had problems to know what is going on during combat, turn based mod can solve this problem.
Keep your eyes open next month. For Owlcat will grace Kickstarter once again with a new campaign on February 4 at 08:00 PST / 11:00 EST / 16:00 GMT. I know where I will spend my money that date. ?
Good thing Owlcat is able to make drastical changes from the original Adventure Path. That quote right there eased one of my major qualms with the PnP WotR.
Bottom line, I so love this game. Even the companion characters have all grown on me. I just love it when I click on Amiri and she says "Yaaaa?" Her tone is so perfect. And Linzi's comments when she fails at opening a chest or disarming a trap are so precious. Sooooo looking forward to the next chapter from Owlcat.
I think a lot of the criticism is because some people just can't be bothered to try to understand how it works. They're fine with the RPG bit because that's standard, they're well familiar with other adventuring games, and don't have to learn anything new. But faced with a (what is actually very simple, especially compared to games like Civ) system for managing the kingdom i.e. something that is actually different to other RPGs, they can't be bothered to try to understand how how it works. And so that clearly must mean it's a crap feature
I actually look forward to managing the kingdom segments, where you have the time to claim new areas, rank up your advisors, improve your settlements, more than the adventuring segments!
Still in love with this game x The first game in 20 years that most truly and accurately captured the feelings I had when I first played BG1.
That's a very simplistic and prejudice way to look at things and on other people. I understand fully well how the kingdom management portion works, it took like 5 minutes to learn. I still don't like it and that won't change no matter how much I "understand" it. I don't mind kingdom management per se, I just don't like at all the way it's made in PKM. The weird playing cards, the character assignments (yet you can still have them accompany you even though they are on the other side of the realm), the simplistic DC system, the gathering of advisors (really, there's no one in the entire realm you can assign before you personally have found and talked to a certain individual?), the extreme and stupidly exaggerated focus on YOU to do every single menial task is so cliché that I just can't commit to it.
Now, if there had been a more realistic version I think I could have liked it. Less focus on charname, the ability to summon folk to court when I want it. Charname is the leader after all, yet the leader of the realm is the one who have to keep running back home to talk to ppl when they are coming. I'd like the management part to be done in the engine, around the table in the throne room. The missions, as presented in the cards, could instead have been presented in text by you advisors and I could have assigned or decided on actions using the regular conversation window. Effortless version would let the marshal handle all combat oriented stuff, like chasing away bandits, and then just report to you the outcome, where normal/hard etc would force you to choose between chasing away bandits or trolls since the marshal might ask for advice due to not having enough soldiers for both.
I'm just spitballing, but the point is, I'd prefer it to play out more as the game itself and not feel so detached, like a game inside a game. Does this make me the ignorant kind of person you refer to in your post?
Insulting people who don't like the same games you like isn't going to do any good for anyone. It certainly isn't going to persuade me to give it another try.
Talking (again) about journalists
" Perhaps a bit more troubling is the fact that within Pathfinder's ruleset, many monsters and creatures require very specific tools to kill. Swarms of small creatures like rats, for instance, can't be effectively fought with a sword and shield. Sometimes Kingmaker warns you, but other times it simply expects you to know how to handle the problem" https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/pathfinder-kingmaker-review-the-classics/1900-6417006/
So yes, the Pathfinder Kingmaker problem according to gamespot is not the bugs, is the fact that you need to know the pathfinder ruleset to play a pathfinder game, just like you need to know soccer rules to play FIFA and the fact that swords can't kill a swarm of insects. How dare they are to not make a game where fast swinging blades solve everything from a insect swarm to a stone golem!!! Doesn't matter if a guy sells bombs and say that you will probably need it or torches, nor if the game gives alchemist companions. You need to solve everything with a fast swinging blade, otherwise the game is bad!!!! This is why Diablo 3 is a such amazing game. I can suck a blood from a skeleton with necro's siphon's blood, as longs i have a big and sharp axe to magically make disappear during the attack animation.
Monsters requiring specific weapon to be dealt is not something new. Vampires on Daggerfall only takes damage from silver & better weaponry. On G1, stone golem only takes damage from hammers and blunt weapons, fire golems only from cold and ice golems only from fire. And it makes perfectly sense. Cutting stone with a sword is a dumb idea. Why cutting a "animated stone" would be different?
"but the low ratting could be by bugs"
Use the CTRL + F function.
It's not that hard once you've got a handle on it. You can just save scum if you're having trouble or while you're getting the hang of things. I've had a kingdom at serene for most of the game and finished pretty much everything in a no reload run, so it's possible to get through all the kingdom stuff successfully just rolling with all the results it gives you.
In fairness, I sortof felt that way about the game in general. Good game. Very much enjoyed it, but the last fifth of the game felt a lot less enjoyable than the first fifth. Nothing reinforced that to me more than when I thought I was on my final evening of gaming before beating the game... and it took me 3 more nights of playing to actually see the credits.
Ya, the last chapter's a slog, but still more interesting than PoE after you leave Defiance Bay. At least the last optional chapter got really fun and interesting again.
Interesting, because I've found that it's only when I left Defiance Bay (end of Act II) in PoE things started to be involving for me, I actually felt the urgency to do something as the Watcher, felt the urgency to follow the main questline.
PoE2 did better with that walking slap of stone at least which destroys everything in its path. Having your soul claimed by a death god was also interesting.
Still not as intense as waging one war after another like in Kingmaker though. Having deadlines to meet or getting a Game Over screen does tend to deliver players a decent amount to urge.
Ya the sense of urgency is false and they kind of even encourage you to go do some DLC or that boring dungeon under your keep around then. All the interesting character interactions were done after defiance bay and never got revisited. So all that faction stuff and decisions were largely meaningless. After being in a major city, they send you to a little barbarian town without many interesting things in it and just ape at the faction stuff they did before. The only part I liked was when that guy you killed way back in chapter 1 comes back as undead. At least in Kingmaker, the urgency is real and if you dick around when somebody tells you to do something you can fail the quest or even worse lose the game if it's a main quest.