Octopus Overlords

After backing the original, I've barely hear the time to scratch its surface... but that didn't stop me from backing this sequel today! Even if I don't get around to playing it for a while, I'll happily back the team just so that this style of game doesn't disappear.

Awesome, disarm. I hope you get the chance to dig in soon. Having just started in again, I'm struck again by how great a job they did with the interface. Everything is so transparent and easy to follow. For such a deep role-playing system and such a rich world, it's a real feat that it never feels cumbersome.

First stretch goal (subclasses) should fall this afternoon.

Level cap increase and Russian are in. Next up, new companion and Polish. Then the big one for me: more detailed AI customization (down to the spell selection/order level).

Update 3.

Yeah, not that I expected to make it through at the base level, but I just upgraded to deluxe.

I backed this at the $45 level with $5 off for being a backer of the original, even though I never got around to finishing that one. Reached Act 3 and then just stopped. I really should pick it up again.

Zaxxon wrote:Awesome, disarm. I hope you get the chance to dig in soon. Having just started in again, I'm struck again by how great a job they did with the interface. Everything is so transparent and easy to follow. For such a deep role-playing system and such a rich world, it's a real feat that it never feels cumbersome.

I abandoned the game pre-huge patch after getting my stronghold a while ago but with all the improvements that were put in I decided to buy the White March expansions and give it another go. Also with the new video card I'm kind of curious to see how pretty and shiny it looks. And I'll probably go in on the second game because who doesn't like more Infinity Engine-like goodness! Now the fun part, planning my character.

$iljanus wrote:I abandoned the game pre-huge patch after getting my stronghold a while ago but with all the improvements that were put in I decided to buy the White March expansions and give it another go. Also with the new video card I'm kind of curious to see how pretty and shiny it looks. And I'll probably go in on the second game because who doesn't like more Infinity Engine-like goodness! Now the fun part, planning my character.

I find your ideas intriguing and wish to subscribe to your newsletter! If my experience having swapped to a newer vid card b/t playthroughs is any indication, you will enjoy the shiny.

Also, a reminder of the musical awesomeness of PoE... Justin Bell is doing the soundtrack for the sequel, as well.

$iljanus wrote:

Zaxxon wrote:Awesome, disarm. I hope you get the chance to dig in soon. Having just started in again, I'm struck again by how great a job they did with the interface. Everything is so transparent and easy to follow. For such a deep role-playing system and such a rich world, it's a real feat that it never feels cumbersome.

I abandoned the game pre-huge patch after getting my stronghold a while ago but with all the improvements that were put in I decided to buy the White March expansions and give it another go. Also with the new video card I'm kind of curious to see how pretty and shiny it looks. And I'll probably go in on the second game because who doesn't like more Infinity Engine-like goodness! Now the fun part, planning my character.

Just bought White March I & 2 and began my 2nd playthrough this morning with an Elven Cipher.

Just broke $1.8M:



Latest update.

I'd really like to get the $2M one. The AI stuff they added post-release for PoE1 made a huge difference, and this looks even better.

So, what is Xoti the /priestmonk polishing in-game?

Zaxxon wrote:

$iljanus wrote:I abandoned the game pre-huge patch after getting my stronghold a while ago but with all the improvements that were put in I decided to buy the White March expansions and give it another go. Also with the new video card I'm kind of curious to see how pretty and shiny it looks. And I'll probably go in on the second game because who doesn't like more Infinity Engine-like goodness! Now the fun part, planning my character.

I find your ideas intriguing and wish to subscribe to your newsletter! If my experience having swapped to a newer vid card b/t playthroughs is any indication, you will enjoy the shiny.

Also, a reminder of the musical awesomeness of PoE... Justin Bell is doing the soundtrack for the sequel, as well.

Careful not to get stuck in min/max hell on creation unless you love that thing. I like it in some games but hated it in this one. That helped derail my first attempt.

morlac wrote:

Zaxxon wrote:

$iljanus wrote:I abandoned the game pre-huge patch after getting my stronghold a while ago but with all the improvements that were put in I decided to buy the White March expansions and give it another go. Also with the new video card I'm kind of curious to see how pretty and shiny it looks. And I'll probably go in on the second game because who doesn't like more Infinity Engine-like goodness! Now the fun part, planning my character.

I find your ideas intriguing and wish to subscribe to your newsletter! If my experience having swapped to a newer vid card b/t playthroughs is any indication, you will enjoy the shiny.

Also, a reminder of the musical awesomeness of PoE... Justin Bell is doing the soundtrack for the sequel, as well.

Careful not to get stuck in min/max hell on creation unless you love that thing. I like it in some games but hated it in this one. That helped derail my first attempt.

I'm not min/maxed obsessed but I'm not sure if I want to continue with my Ranger build that's a little boring to me. Originally I was a cipher so I may just restart again as a cipher since I'm early enough in the game.

I played as a Ranger; it's my 'go to' class.

I really enjoyed PoE and, while I won't throw money at it before a full game is available (just not into pre-release, um, releases) but this will be very high on the 'want' list.

Multiclassing info. Sounds like a cool implementation to me.

Crossed $2.5M. At $2.8M, the entire soundtrack gets orchestra treatment. (PoE1 was about 33% orchestra, 67% sampled.)

Also in the latest update are more graphics demos.

Next stretch goals:
$2.6M - Berath's Blessing - bonuses at new game start based on prior achievements
$2.8M - Full orchestral soundtrack
Backer count increases - Fulvano's Voyage additional locations

Also, I finished White March Part 1 today. Good stuff.

Zaxxon wrote:Also, I finished White March Part 1 today. Good stuff.

Just started it

Berath's Blessings are in. At $3M we'll get Companion Relationships.

Almost bought in on White March last night, but I had a few questions. How does it fit into the campaign? Is it end-game stuff, is it middle-of-the-road story add-on, does it have an impact on the story? Can you do part one without part 2? With each part being $15 bucks, is it worth the price of an entire game ($30)?

It's late game stuff, but pre-end game. I've only done 1 and part of 2, but I think the price is worthwhile.

If there are any of you out the who haven't done PoE yet, there's a $79 tier for PoE2 that gets you the first game and expansion in addition to PoE2's soundtrack and other goodies.

Zaxxon wrote:It's late game stuff, but pre-end game. I've only done 1 and part of 2, but I think the price is worthwhile.

I'm now most of the way through part 2. It's worthwhile, IMO. My Steam counter now lists me at 132 total hours in the game. That was something like 75 hours on the first playthrough (pre-White March) and the rest on this 2nd. I imagine I'll hit around 150 before finishing. Sheesh, not bad.

I'm personally more interested in the quality of the extra hours, rather than the quantity...is it at the same level (or better) as the base game?

I think it's tighter. Hard to say objectively better or worse, but it's a tighter feel and I'm having trouble putting it down.

Thought about my comment last night and realized that's pretty vague. More specifically, I think the writing and quest line of the expansion is more focused. This was partly a requirement given that they stuck it in alongside the late-game core content, but it goes beyond that. Even stuff like fewer trash mobs and more unique combat encounters contribute to this feeling.

They also added soulbound weapons which I think are a great addition. For the unfamiliar, these are weapons that get bound to a particular character's soul. They start out similarly to other unique weapons, but get added upgrades over time for completing certain things (kill X enemies, do Y damage, stun Z baddies).

Without spoiling anything, the side quests also have a material impact on the central line.

Also, of course if the quality of the hours weren't high, the quantity wouldn't accrue.

Touché, and your 'tight' comment was actually what I was looking for. My fear was they simply extended the game (which already requires more hours than I will easily be able to give it) with MOTS vs actual improvements.

I should also mention that while you can put in crazy hours, if you don't care to be a completionist and just peg the central storyline you could get through in a bunch fewer hours. For example, you can entirely skip the Endless Paths of Od Nua (dungeon with > a dozen levels), half or more of the companions and their related questlines, etc.

In anticipation of the sequel, I've been replaying this one, and I just finished the last quest/task from The White March expansion lines. Such a fun storyline to work through, and I really got drawn onto the outcome of each quest. I can't wait to see how they further refine and develop their storytelling in Deadfire.

Suitably Ironic Moniker wrote:In anticipation of the sequel, I've been replaying this one, and I just finished the last quest/task from The White March expansion lines. Such a fun storyline to work through, and I really got drawn onto the outcome of each quest. I can't wait to see how they further refine and develop their storytelling in Deadfire.

Nice timing. I just finished White March Part 2 over lunch today. Now to take out Concelhaut.

PoE2 update: if you back, you get a coupon for 33% off Tyranny. Back at higher level and get 50% off.

Since I haven't yet bought Tyranny, try got me to upgrade my pledge...

With the Deadfire campaign winding down to its Friday conclusion, I finally started a separate thread for PoE II. Join me over there if you're interested, and thanks for letting me take this one on a big olde' tangent over the past few weeks.

3.06 patch dropped a few minutes ago.

Imagine my surprise -- I'm just getting back into this after Tyranny went on sale yesterday. Now I've got to wait a minute 57 for the game to update!?! Inconceivable!

UI
Fixed the assign/recall button on the Stronghold Adventure UI.
The White March Part II instruction popup will no longer be shown after the first save-load in a new campaign.
Items
Fixed Nightshroud missing its DR reduction. This fix will only work on games that haven't acquired the weapon.

Seems... big for such a light changelog.

That's what she said.

Jeff Vogel saw fit to piss all over Pillars today.

I agree that Pillars could have used an editing pass, and that the creation options would have benefitted from some slimming down and/or movement of the minor stuff to in-game choices. But I did love those walls of text, dammit.

Zaxxon wrote:Jeff Vogel saw fit to piss all over Pillars today.

I agree that Pillars could have used an editing pass, and that the creation options would have benefitted from some slimming down and/or movement of the minor stuff to in-game choices. But I did love those walls of text, dammit.

I saw his review as rather even handed. I didn't agree with everything he said, but it was certainly thought provoking. I enjoyed the walls of texts too and when it got to be too much, a lot of it was skippable without harming the game. I thought it was a good compromise by Obsidian.

Oh, I agree. He wasn't too harsh in his criticisms, and I agreed with them all to varying levels. It did come off as a bit of pissing on the game, though. At least to me.

Wow, the combat in this thing falls into two categories: Easy, or insanely difficult. I've had one fight, just some enemies in the woods, that I've attempted probably six or seven times. I've yet to make it through without at least one death, and the most I've done is kill one of the two enemies. I've looked at various discussions, and every one has the same advice: Come back later. Gah. I just can't grok this thing.

/edit - You know, I think I know what's frustrating me with this game. The game has a lot of mechanics. A lot of stats, a lot of abilities, a lot of skills, and they all interact, but the descriptions are so vague that half of the time I don't know what they do. Right now my party has five characters of five classes. To play effectively, I need to thoroughly understand not just all of the mechanics and their interactions, but the skills, talents, and the synergies of all five. That's a lot of research, study, and math when what I really want is just to go on a fun adventure.

Alas, there are quite a few unspoken rules and tactical concepts that aren't necessarily immediately obvious that one needs to be aware of to avoid frustration. I found this Pillars of Eternity beginner's guide to combat helped take the edge off when I first began playing.