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the bar has been raised

[Before hastily moving this to the "Off-Topic" boards, stay for a moment: this is, in fact, about EE games and the future Beamdog projects.]

Just started playing Pillars of Eternity. It features superbly written narrative (also, what seems to be very well balanced gameplay and a built-in no-reload feature that the game is balanced for).

I do believe that PoE has just set a new standard for the isometric CRPGs, a true inheritor of the BG legacy. Every future game of this genre will have to be compared to it.

I do hope the various Beamdog projects in the pipeline will pay equally strong attention to good writing and narrative as well as game balance.
JuliusBorisovproccoGotural[Deleted User][Deleted User]booinyoureyeselminster
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Comments

  • JarrakulJarrakul Member Posts: 2,029
    I'm only a few hours in so far, but I'm quite liking it. We'll see how my opinion changes as I spend more time with the game, but thus far I'm quite happy. In particular, the gameplay options and difficulty settings are amazing.
  • YgramulYgramul Member Posts: 1,059
    Good points @bengoshi

    To be clear: all that I said is in support of Beamdog, including their future projects.

    We should all be cognizant (and grateful) of high quality projects being developed in this genre. I doubt there is any fan of BG that won't buy a good game of this kind.

    I have also high hopes (and high expectations) from the new Torment.
    JuliusBorisovMontresor_SP
  • BelgarathMTHBelgarathMTH Member Posts: 5,653
    @subtledoctor , Good point about Beamdog's having made the BG trilogy playable on modern portable devices like tablets and smart phones. I don't think they get nearly enough credit for that, especially since doing it was the core of their business model, and including the PC game at all was almost merely a courtesy.
    JuliusBorisov
  • BelgarathMTHBelgarathMTH Member Posts: 5,653
    @Ygramul, LOL
    JuliusBorisov
  • joluvjoluv Member Posts: 2,137
    If we must compare these two projects, then price should at least be mentioned. Depending on the platform and extras included, BG2:EE costs $10-20, while PoE costs $45-90.
    BelgarathMTHSharGuidesMyHandmlneveseJuliusBorisov
  • BelgarathMTHBelgarathMTH Member Posts: 5,653
    That's a great point, @joluv. I think it is fair to compare PoE to the original BG, but to compare what Josh Sawyer is doing to what Trent Oster is doing is to compare apples to oranges.
    joluvmlneveseJuliusBorisov
  • deltagodeltago Member Posts: 7,811
    You can also compare seed money that the two projects got.

    4 million compared to whatever was in Trent's pocket when he said "You know what'd be cool..."
    BelgarathMTHJuliusBorisov
  • proccoprocco Member, Mobile Tester Posts: 915
    If BG3 ever actually happens, I think Beamdog and Obsidian and Inxile should all team up for a super group of RPG maker. Chris Avellone needs to be on that project!
    JuliusBorisov
  • TJ_HookerTJ_Hooker Member Posts: 2,438
    edited March 2015
    Ygramul said:

    Just started playing Pillars of Eternity. It features superbly written narrative (also, what seems to be very well balanced gameplay and a built-in no-reload feature that the game is balanced for).

    I do believe that PoE has just set a new standard for the isometric CRPGs, a true inheritor of the BG legacy. Every future game of this genre will have to be compared to it.

    So after "just starting" a game, you're already prepared to herald it as the new standard against which all future games in the genre will be judged? You don't think you're maybe being a wee bit premature?

    I haven't had a chance to play it yet (and likely won't for a while yet), and sure, it'd be swell if the game is so amazing that even just dipping my toes in will be enough to convince me it's the best thing since sliced bread. But I can't help but be skeptical.
    BelgarathMTHtoolargjesterdesuAkihiko
  • FlashburnFlashburn Member Posts: 1,847
    Off-topic but already there are mods out for this game, bringing it closer to its Infinity Engine roots. Looks like I'm going to have to shell out some money for this game.

    http://rien-ici.com/iemod/
  • CahirCahir Member, Moderator, Translator (NDA) Posts: 2,819
    Flashburn said:

    Off-topic but already there are mods out for this game, bringing it closer to its Infinity Engine roots. Looks like I'm going to have to shell out some money for this game.

    http://rien-ici.com/iemod/

    I think @Erg definitely should see this:)
  • SharGuidesMyHandSharGuidesMyHand Member Posts: 2,579
    edited March 2015
    joluv said:

    If we must compare these two projects, then price should at least be mentioned. Depending on the platform and extras included, BG2:EE costs $10-20, while PoE costs $45-90.

    Agreed.

    I actually look at this situation as the opposite - Beamdog has set a new standard for good-quality games at affordable prices.

    For the time being, I'm going to stick with my IWD:EE playthrough that cost me 2 or 3 times less and is probably at least as enjoyable.

  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 0
    edited March 2015
    The user and all related content has been deleted.
    FlashburnFinneousPJJarrakulshawne
  • jesterdesujesterdesu Member Posts: 373
    I bought PoE and it mostly looks nice, but I really can't get on with the departure from d&d and the new lore.

    Perhaps I'm just getting old and don't have enough room left in my heart for learning new fantasy...

    2ed d&d just seemed to mesh almost perfectly with the infinity engine and for all its polish PoE still feels rushed in the fluff department. (ironic as obsidian claim they were very proud of that side of things)
    SharGuidesMyHandbooinyoureyes
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 0
    edited April 2015
    The user and all related content has been deleted.
    DelvarianCluas
  • deltagodeltago Member Posts: 7,811
    I'd love for Beamdog to partnet up with Obsidian to see if they can do this.

    Open up the mobile market to more than just free-to-play but give-us-money-anyway-or-you'll-have-a-bad-time crap.
  • The user and all related content has been deleted.
    MhamzaYgramulJuliusBorisov
  • lroumenlroumen Member Posts: 2,508
    I'm just here for the drinks.

    pillars of eternity. .. sounds like a really tall long-lasting drink. Perfect!
    [Deleted User]JuliusBorisovjackjack
  • JuliusBorisovJuliusBorisov Member, Administrator, Moderator, Developer Posts: 22,714
    Shandyr said:

    That feeling when you read the title of the thread "the bar has been raised"
    and you think "Must be about Pillars of Eternity" and then you enter the thread and see you were correct.

    :smiley:

    Well, no surprises here. We didn't have a new game that feels like an IE one for more than 10 years, after all. There was nothing that could raise the bar, even theoretically.
  • JarrakulJarrakul Member Posts: 2,029
    I suppose some folks might argue that DA:O was made in the same mold as the IE games, and... well, you can tell they tried, but that's about it. PoE is the first game I've seen since IWD2 that feels like an IE game.

    Incidentally, I'm now much farther into PoE, and I must say I'm quite liking it. I find the lore intriguing, the writing sharp, the voice-acting (where it exists) strong, the areas beautiful, and the rules system solid (as far as I can tell partway through one playthrough, anyway). I'm not yet entirely sold on the specific stronghold mechanics, and I wish there were more NPCs available earlier, but these are fairly minor complaints. I will say that the save time bug is getting annoying. Hopefully they'll fix that soon, although I understand other people are having more substantial, and thus higher priority, bugs.
    JuliusBorisovelminstermlnevese
  • JuliusBorisovJuliusBorisov Member, Administrator, Moderator, Developer Posts: 22,714
    Jarrakul said:

    I will say that the save time bug is getting annoying. Hopefully they'll fix that soon,

    This patch that comes out today/tomorrow will adress this issue.

    Fixed save game issues with spells and abilities that place down traps. The loading time was due to this bug.

    https://forums.obsidian.net/blog/7/entry-179-patch-notes-103/
    Jarrakulbooinyoureyes
  • JarrakulJarrakul Member Posts: 2,029
    Oh, cool. I read the patch notes, but I didn't realize that was the loading time thing. That's awesome.
    JuliusBorisov
  • SharGuidesMyHandSharGuidesMyHand Member Posts: 2,579
    Ygramul said:


    I do believe that PoE has just set a new standard for the isometric CRPGs, a true inheritor of the BG legacy. Every future game of this genre will have to be compared to it.

    I have a feeling that the bar will be set even higher before the year is over.


    simplesYgramul
  • DelvarianDelvarian Member Posts: 1,232
    Why don't they put these on IPad?!
    jackjack[Deleted User]
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