Pillars of Eternity

[kalniel]

Was released last night, available from Steam, GoG or Paradox.

To quote RPS:
"Obsidian’s Pillars Of Eternity is here, and it’s just stunning.

This is the RPG I’ve been craving since Planescape: Torment, the first to win my absolute love since Dragon Age: Origin. It’s a vast, deep and wonderfully written game, malleable to how you want to approach the genre, replete with companions, side-quests, an enormously involved combat system, and lasts a solid 60 hours."

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2015...ernity-review/

And my first impressions are.. that's spot on! If you are looking for the successor to games like Baldur's Gate, this is it. Just like the RPGs of that era, it's a little slow at the start, but it's wonderful. The start of Divinity:Original Sin just pips it for me, but I can already tell the story and characterisation of PoE is better.

[Dooms]

I was reading reviews on the train this morning. I want it!

Don't know if I can justify it just yet but I have a couple weeks up north in April where something like this will come in handy when all I have is my laptop

[kalniel]

Yeah it makes an excellent laptop game - playing it on a desktop you don't notice it being low-fi or anything, but the system specs are absolutely minimal because of the pre-rendered backdrops. It's probably less demanding than ye-olde Morrowind.

[Bagnaj97]

and there's a little penguin on the Steam page from day one. Take my money!

[Dooms]

Hero Edition £17.85 @ CDKeys SOLD!

£16.95 if you can be bothered to unlike and like them on FB for a code.

Edit: 5% Code: 211414DFBC

[Ferral]

After this one myself but with moving house just over a week ago every penny counts

[kalniel]

Somehow I've already sunk 25 hours into this game... and it just gets better and better. The pacing is superb. The story is better than most of the old infinity engine games and not far off Torment (though missing the latter's surrealist setting). The roleplay is much more open in general too - many ways of responding to things, including through actions rather than just a conversation choice. My character's views on some of the main themes have already been shifted a few times - and that's a very clever feat to have carried out. The combat mechanisms etc. are better than most RPGs in general, let alone the IE games.

For those in the dark, the setting is similar to most western fantasy games - quasi medieval europe - but there are a couple of differences to the norm: technology is one step further on, so while there are swords/bows etc. there are also rudimentary firearms like flintlock pistols. These are very well balanced and have their own place in the game. And many of the main themes of the game revolve around what looks like science vs magic/faith - but this is done in a way I've not seen before, ie it's NOT steampunk or technology vs magic. It is very well done indeed.

The graphics are beautiful and will run on anything (2d pre-rendered backgrounds, 3d character models).

The only negative so far is the volume of kickstarter backer content - there are many NPCs who basically have a short story written by or on behalf of backers who pledged above a certain amount. These stories are fine by themselves, they just get a bit tiresome with the sheer volume and lack of any meaning in the game. Thankfully all such NPCs have specifically coloured names so can be avoided. Likewise there are lots of grave stones around which have backer names and short epitaphs - this is something that's been done in many games (including Baldur's Gate) before, but again it's just the volume and very obviously not in game setting-ness which takes away from things. Again, you just learn not to click on them after a bit.

[Dooms]

So I'm 6? hours in and have barely made it past the tutorial area.... I CAN'T STOP REROLLING!

[kalniel]

So I'm 6? hours in and have barely made it past the tutorial area.... I CAN'T STOP REROLLING!

Ha I had to severely resist that temptation, there are so many interesting characters you can make, with quite a lot of variation in options/conversations etc. depending on what you choose.

Mechanically all builds are viable, so there's no need to reroll because you want more powah - also you can make up the rest of your party to your exact specification to cover any options.

Perception and resolve seem to be used slightly more than other attributes in conversation checks so far, but as with most, they're not necessary. Backgrounds, class choice etc. make at least as much difference.

[Dooms]

Perception and resolve seem to be used slightly more than other attributes in conversation checks so far, but as with most, they're not necessary. Backgrounds, class choice etc. make at least as much difference.

Yeah its the min/maxer and RP'r in me fighting. I want to min/max, I can't help myself but then I want ALL OF THE OPTIONS!! :'( :'(

I think I may have to go with my 8/10/6/20/14/20 deflection Paladin to fill both requirements

[kalniel]

Ah, then you'll have to roleplay the characteristics that your Paladin's deity promotes to get the most benefits! Min/max and RP combine!

[Dooms]

Ah, then you'll have to roleplay the characteristics that your Paladin's deity promotes to get the most benefits! Min/max and RP combine!

I generally do that anyway. Honest Paladin, bitter Rogue, evil warlock etc.

[kalniel]

Some quick screenies

[Allen]

Have been a bit tied up with Minecraft and World of Tanks lately, but had a bit of a play with this last week. I have only played a few hours, with two different characters, one a Hunter with a bear pet and the other a Warrior type, with a sword and board.

I can get past the "tutorial" area fine, but then when I get to the next zone, I keep getting my backside handed to me by a bear in a cave and 3 outlaws standing around a fire. I guess I could avoid them, but why is it so hard so early on?

I think I need to try again. What's the easiest class to start off with do you think?

[scaryjim]

... its the min/maxer and RP'r in me fighting. ...

Then I strongly suggest you never get involved in a pen and paper D&D 4e campaign. So many ways to break the system...

Anyway, I'm a huge Neverwinter Nights fan - so much so that no matter what other cRPGs I pickup I always end up going back to it and starting another campaign; just one more run through (honest! ). Is this the game to finally break my addiction? Sounds like it might be a decent replacement so far....

[Dooms]

The only negative so far is the volume of kickstarter backer content - there are many NPCs who basically have a short story written by or on behalf of backers who pledged above a certain amount. These stories are fine by themselves, they just get a bit tiresome with the sheer volume and lack of any meaning in the game. Thankfully all such NPCs have specifically coloured names so can be avoided. Likewise there are lots of grave stones around which have backer names and short epitaphs - this is something that's been done in many games (including Baldur's Gate) before, but again it's just the volume and very obviously not in game setting-ness which takes away from things. Again, you just learn not to click on them after a bit.

Should be interested in this thread: http://forums.obsidian.net/topic/740...get-some-gold/

"Apparently, killing backers (the NPCs with yellow textbox) have no negative consequences, except when other legitimate NPCs are inside the line of sight. They grant some decent loot early on, and you get the pleasure of defiling the avatars of someone else. I personally think that all these colorful Marty Stus and Mary Sues are distracting and feel completely out of place, and until a mod that removes them appears, I will just pretend I am polishing the game through purges."