I did like this game a lot...but they fucked up a few things.
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FairchildRabbit used short words that were easy to understand, like "Hello Pooh, how about Lunch ?"Registered Userregular
I totally missed the Blue Pyramid in the starter town, but made my way thru 90% of the game without it because the Teleportation spell pretty much performs the same task. There is one particular spot near the end where you can't proceed without it but luckily my Youtube friends provided exact guidance regarding how you pick up the pyramid.
I totally missed the Blue Pyramid in the starter town, but made my way thru 90% of the game without it because the Teleportation spell pretty much performs the same task. There is one particular spot near the end where you can't proceed without it but luckily my Youtube friends provided exact guidance regarding how you pick up the pyramid.
The pyramids are far more handy for co-op, where you can just pyramid to the other player without having to walk all the way to wherever they might be. Of course there's a few later-game locations where they are really good in general - having to inventory-shuffle the whole team into Phantom Forest would suck for example. And I think there's at least one place where you absolutely require them to get in at all, but it's an optional location so it wouldn't stop a playthrough.
I've been playing some co-op with a friend on this game and its a breath of fresh air. A break from all this new age button smashing arpgs for some good ol' challenging turn based goodness. I haven't run into any issues with figuring out quests despite there being any lack of indicators, we've just been blundering around solving quests and smashing stuff. I'm impressed at the level of polish for a game like this, and for how open it is. So very few games these days just let their players explore without slapping their hands away.
Don't know too much about the story but that is okay. I don't play games too much for story anymore, given I find most of them uninspiring. We'll see if it gets better, but exploration and combat are paramount.
Having to hunt around for switches and levers is bad design. It's not fun, it's just tedious.
I love this game but I still agree with this. The few places where you have to pixel-hunt for buttons or turn on candles or coal braziers all kinda sucked IMO - there's so many candles and braziers all over the place that my brain just doesn't process them at all, they are just part of the background so I end up running around trying to find a solution right past them.
I do think they should have made more stuff highlighted with tab. That would, to me, resolve the only real issue I had with the game.
Following this thread in anticpation of playing this fall after my travels are over (and a few more patches are in place) is mildly stressful.
Thread wisdom dictates that my party:
1) should have at least one character with Pet Pals
1a) preferably with Sneak or high SPD?
2) should have one or both characters have Teleport
3) should have one or more characters with Leech
4) should all have Weather the Storm
5) should all take a point of man-at-arms (for debuffs?)
I don't need to min/max, but any of character creation wisdom is appreciated.
Following this thread in anticpation of playing this fall after my travels are over (and a few more patches are in place) is mildly stressful.
Thread wisdom dictates that my party:
1) should have at least one character with Pet Pals
1a) preferably with Sneak or high SPD?
2) should have one or both characters have Teleport
3) should have one or more characters with Leech
4) should all have Weather the Storm
5) should all take a point of man-at-arms (for debuffs?)
I don't need to min/max, but any of character creation wisdom is appreciated.
1) Yes.
1a) Sneak isn't very good unless you invest heavily into it and make a proper rogue-type character - Invisibility spell tends to be better. Speed is required for all characters since it governs how many actions you can do per round.
2) One of the two companions you can hire has it already.
3) Leech has been nerfed. It's still ok but you don't really need it.
4) Only a warrior build will have the required 5 points in Man-at-Arms for Weather the Storm. It was also nerfed so while good it's no longer awesome.
5) The Man-at-Arms skills scale on strength, so giving your casters those skills tends to be a complete waste.
They also made the mistake of having the dreaded "escort" mission be the final battle.
That was an escort mission? That character just repeatedly buffed my party members while tanking like a boss.
In my playthrough, she barely took any damage and was repeatedly casting buffs the whole time. Was it actually an escort mission? Can she actually die and fail the "ending" quest?
Alright, I feel like a dummy. First time pulling up the game and it's asking me for a "backer code." I searched my kickstarter emails and I don't see what this is or where I might have it. I didn't see it mentioned on their forums either.
I purchased it recently and started with default Rogue and Cleric. I did lot of dumb mistakes* and generally got beat down by generic groups. Played up to 9th level and got really curb-stomped by the first maps big-boss. Repeatedly.
With nothing to grind, I ended up ninjaing my way forward and ended up in lvl 16:sh area, where I just looted valuables and traded with "enemies".
*Didn't realize I could purchase 2nd rank of skills, until the game gave me 2 points at the same time. Also ended up with lot of overlap between characters skills.
I decided to re-roll with better knowledge: a 2-handed weapon fighter, Summoning based Sorceress with Ranger and sword-and-board fighter as henchmen.
Fighter-1 does all the talking & bartering, while Sorceress smells bad and is generally being unsociable.** The game has generally been much easier. I've finished the first big map and haven't had to resurrect anyone yet. No more wiping out to random groups!
** Sorceress defaults to -40 attitude and each npc recognizes that.
Boss-battles have generally been easier since I figured out a way to "cheat" them.
1 Boss starts the encounter with a dialogue with my fighter. I read the dialogue up to the last line.
2 Choose other party members, who can move freely, while the boss and party-leader are dialogue-locked.
2 Separate everyone into different groups (so that they don't re-enter to the basic battle formation when the battle starts).
3 Ranger and summoner stay far-back, but in different directions, fighter-2 usually goes to tank the boss.
4 Cast area-of-effect spells, if necessary. (rain etc)
5 Summon a Spider/elemental.
6 Return back to the dialogue and click end.
7. the Battle starts with everyone except fighter 1 in optimal place.
19 hours later and this game definitely has its claws in me. They succeeded completely in capturing that old timey BG feel (albeit with a huge nod to modernity in the form of the warpgates, which I have to say I do not mind a bit.)
Two questions:
Is there a way to split a stack of something, like minor healing potions? I keep forgetting to let someone other than my high perception/high inventory mule pick them up when we come across them.
EDIT: Also, where in Cyseal can I buy weapons and especially armor? I'm sure I've come across the vendor if there is one, but I keep going back to the central market and not finding it. It's not in or in front of the Legion headquarters (right?). Found the quartermaster on the second floor of the cook's house, between the Legion camp and headquarters.
Is there a way to split a stack of something, like minor healing potions? I keep forgetting to let someone other than my high perception/high inventory mule pick them up when we come across them.
Yes there is. I am 90% sure that it's holding down shift while dragging the stack to an empty space in the inventory. A dialogue will pop up to allow you to pick how many to separate out.
Is there a way to split a stack of something, like minor healing potions? I keep forgetting to let someone other than my high perception/high inventory mule pick them up when we come across them.
Yes there is. I am 90% sure that it's holding down shift while dragging the stack to an empty space in the inventory. A dialogue will pop up to allow you to pick how many to separate out.
That's it - thanks! I had tried ctrl but not shift.
Do you know what is not fun? Vendors selling unidentified items.
They sell them a lot cheaper than identified items though. You can even possibly make profit by buying one, IDing it and selling it back.
No kidding! I LOVE it when that happens. Especially when they are legendary. It's the only way you can buy Legendary items for only about 1000-2000 gold. *grin* On a lot of items, you can do what Mirkel does and sell them back for a profit, especially with a lot of ranks in Bartering. For armor, you can take your Golden Grail (if you have it... it's one of those pre-order or Kickstarter bonuses or something) and improve the armor to slightly raise your profit margins, too.
Alright, good tip on the unidentified item profit opportunity (esp. now that my talker is up to Barter 5 with some handy gear.) Thanks!
I think that local vendors' willingness to buy any and all scorchingly hot merchandise eroded my characters initial high-mindedness and good intentions. I now steal with abandon, and last night killed someone just because their mount told me too. I might be descending into madness.
Swen Vincke finally updated his blog. Over half a million copies sold so far and solidly in the green, and I bet they will sell a ton more copies once they have their first sale.
I give props to any publisher that publicly states:
Also remember that the vocal minority does not represent the majority, no matter how hard their claims. The majority doesn’t have time to write thousands of posts. And if you encounter some uncivilized people on a forum, ignore them. They’re not worth the emotional stress they may cause. You wouldn’t deal with them in real life either.
I give props to any publisher that publicly states:
Also remember that the vocal minority does not represent the majority, no matter how hard their claims. The majority doesn’t have time to write thousands of posts. And if you encounter some uncivilized people on a forum, ignore them. They’re not worth the emotional stress they may cause. You wouldn’t deal with them in real life either.
He is right there in the trenches with his crew and not some weaseling PR guy, so it's no wonder he talks like that. I have to admit I'm a bit of a fan.
I picked this up yesterday and seemed to have avoided any dumb mistakes so far.
One of my characters is a rogue so making money hasn't been issue so far but as far as what to spend it on early on should I just be focusing on skill books and some crafting materials?
Fucking hell. Trying to finish the game, I found the entrance to the...
Source Temple
...ages ago, but it's been telling me I need to gather all 12 macguffins.
I was pretty sure I had, and I've been scouring spoiler lists and revisiting areas for hours looking for the last of them.
Finally, finally I realize...
I had "blood stones" in my inventory. But the game doesn't consider them "star stones" until you activate them and they show as "inert stones" in your inventory."
Now I'm finally in the Source Temple door.
Literal hours of looking around to no end. This game is great, but it has officially overstayed it's welcome. They could have trimmed a quarter to a third of it and still had it be a great, full-length game.
I'm pretty late to OS, but I'm probably in the final 5-10 hours of it. Am I the only one who's not particularly impressed by the game? My problem is that combat is usually what I'm least interested in when it comes to RPGs, whereas I'm very much into story/characters/worldbuilding. As much as Bioware still coasts on its early glories (and on memories of Black Isle, whether fairly so or not), IMO it has a much better handle on these. IMO Divinity suffers from a world that isn't coherent, characters that lack personality, humour that is hit-and-miss at best, a complete lack of understanding of tone and voice (when does what sort of style work?). It's why I'm baffled by people comparing it to Ultima VII; the Ultima games and especially U7 created a living, breathing world that felt coherent. They weren't flawless, and compared to OS especially U7 had a combat system that was shallow almost to the point of pointlessness, but for me too many of OS's strengths are undermined by what I consider to be fundamental flaws in the areas I like best.
I'm still glad to have pledged to the Kickstarter, because I think such unashamedly old-school games by such passionate and (overall) talented people should be supported, but for myself the game has turned out to be something of a flop, mainly because my expectations were too specific and too different from what the game finally delivered. Right now I'm hoping that Pillars of Eternity and Torment: Tides of Numenera will be closer to what I'm hoping for.
Thirith on
"Nothing is gonna save us forever but a lot of things can save us today." - Night in the Woods
I'm pretty late to OS, but I'm probably in the final 5-10 hours of it. Am I the only one who's not particularly impressed by the game? My problem is that combat is usually what I'm least interested in when it comes to RPGs, whereas I'm very much into story/characters/worldbuilding. As much as Bioware still coasts on its early glories (and on memories of Black Isle, whether fairly so or not), IMO it has a much better handle on these. IMO Divinity suffers from a world that isn't coherent, characters that lack personality, humour that is hit-and-miss at best, a complete lack of understanding of tone and voice (when does what sort of style work?). It's why I'm baffled by people comparing it to Ultima VII; the Ultima games and especially U7 created a living, breathing world that felt coherent. They weren't flawless, and compared to OS especially U7 had a combat system that was shallow almost to the point of pointlessness, but for me too many of OS's strengths are undermined by what I consider to be fundamental flaws in the areas I like best.
I'm still glad to have pledged to the Kickstarter, because I think such unashamedly old-school games by such passionate and (overall) talented people should be supported, but for myself the game has turned out to be something of a flop, mainly because my expectations were too specific and too different from what the game finally delivered. Right now I'm hoping that Pillars of Eternity and Torment: Tides of Numenera will be closer to what I'm hoping for.
Ah. Well, that's pretty much Larian Studios in a nutshell. They have a goofy sense of humor that they put into all their games. The suction dart hitting the logo in the intro might be a clue . I loved it, and I hope Pillars of Eternity can deliver a good combat system to go with what will definitely be an excellent story. But, knowing the two developers, I would give best odds for Obsidian making a passable combat system with an excellent story. I expect the opposite from Larian.
I don't mind goofiness in my RPGs; for me it's really down to the quality of the writing. I'd love to see a funny RPG that's on par with, say, Terry Pratchett's writing - but he too is strongest when he mixes humour with more serious things. The novels never get dour, but they balance tones and as a result tell better stories IMO.
Again, though, it's partly due to expectations. I hadn't played any of Larian's earlier titles and was too much swayed by mentions of the RPGs I enjoyed best, especially Ultima VII. By and large I enjoyed playing OS, but I didn't love it, and I didn't enjoy it for the things that I look for most in an RPG.
"Nothing is gonna save us forever but a lot of things can save us today." - Night in the Woods
D:OS also has a case of the NWN/SR:R going on. What I mean by that is the creators really created a toolset you could use to make your own adventures and then they built up a campaign to show off those features. I enjoyed the D:OS campaign, but what I really liked about the game was the fact that there is a chance the community can make some awesome stuff and let you experience other stories. I mean, I've heard eh reviews about SR:R, but the "sequel" is apparently loads better, because after they developed the toolset they could put all the effort of their next game into the game instead of the tools.
Apart from that issue, though, I found that the game is great on ideas (what if you could do this? what if you could do that?) but could've done with feedback on implementation, UI etc. I've played few games over the last couple of years where I thought so often, "I see how they might've considered this fun/cool/interesting, but how the hell did it get through testing?" Case in point: the enemy animations, which are done with flair, but some of them make it difficult to accurately click on an enemy. I stopped counting the times I wanted to shoot an arrow at a bad guy only to miss because of the animation and watch my rogue squander action points on getting in striking distance of that enemy.
Which actually makes me wish I'd downloaded the alpha or beta and provided some feedback. Then again, I'm sure that supporters did note these things, but there was simply too much of a mountain of features to implement. The game is an embarrassment of riches, but one that is very uneven in terms of polish.
"Nothing is gonna save us forever but a lot of things can save us today." - Night in the Woods
Posts
The pyramids are far more handy for co-op, where you can just pyramid to the other player without having to walk all the way to wherever they might be. Of course there's a few later-game locations where they are really good in general - having to inventory-shuffle the whole team into Phantom Forest would suck for example. And I think there's at least one place where you absolutely require them to get in at all, but it's an optional location so it wouldn't stop a playthrough.
Don't know too much about the story but that is okay. I don't play games too much for story anymore, given I find most of them uninspiring. We'll see if it gets better, but exploration and combat are paramount.
I do think they should have made more stuff highlighted with tab. That would, to me, resolve the only real issue I had with the game.
Godspeed, Ironsides.
Thread wisdom dictates that my party:
1) should have at least one character with Pet Pals
1a) preferably with Sneak or high SPD?
2) should have one or both characters have Teleport
3) should have one or more characters with Leech
4) should all have Weather the Storm
5) should all take a point of man-at-arms (for debuffs?)
I don't need to min/max, but any of character creation wisdom is appreciated.
Steam profile.
Getting started with BATTLETECH: Part 1 / Part 2
1) Yes.
1a) Sneak isn't very good unless you invest heavily into it and make a proper rogue-type character - Invisibility spell tends to be better. Speed is required for all characters since it governs how many actions you can do per round.
2) One of the two companions you can hire has it already.
3) Leech has been nerfed. It's still ok but you don't really need it.
4) Only a warrior build will have the required 5 points in Man-at-Arms for Weather the Storm. It was also nerfed so while good it's no longer awesome.
5) The Man-at-Arms skills scale on strength, so giving your casters those skills tends to be a complete waste.
That was an escort mission? That character just repeatedly buffed my party members while tanking like a boss.
Little help?
EDIT: Here's something: http://steamcommunity.com/app/230230/discussions/0/522730701461790045/
EDIT: A ha. It's in the Larian Vault. Nothing to see here folks. Move along...
Steam profile.
Getting started with BATTLETECH: Part 1 / Part 2
I purchased it recently and started with default Rogue and Cleric. I did lot of dumb mistakes* and generally got beat down by generic groups. Played up to 9th level and got really curb-stomped by the first maps big-boss. Repeatedly.
With nothing to grind, I ended up ninjaing my way forward and ended up in lvl 16:sh area, where I just looted valuables and traded with "enemies".
*Didn't realize I could purchase 2nd rank of skills, until the game gave me 2 points at the same time.
I decided to re-roll with better knowledge: a 2-handed weapon fighter, Summoning based Sorceress with Ranger and sword-and-board fighter as henchmen.
Fighter-1 does all the talking & bartering, while Sorceress smells bad and is generally being unsociable.** The game has generally been much easier. I've finished the first big map and haven't had to resurrect anyone yet. No more wiping out to random groups!
** Sorceress defaults to -40 attitude and each npc recognizes that.
Boss-battles have generally been easier since I figured out a way to "cheat" them.
2 Choose other party members, who can move freely, while the boss and party-leader are dialogue-locked.
2 Separate everyone into different groups (so that they don't re-enter to the basic battle formation when the battle starts).
3 Ranger and summoner stay far-back, but in different directions, fighter-2 usually goes to tank the boss.
4 Cast area-of-effect spells, if necessary. (rain etc)
5 Summon a Spider/elemental.
6 Return back to the dialogue and click end.
7. the Battle starts with everyone except fighter 1 in optimal place.
Two questions:
Is there a way to split a stack of something, like minor healing potions? I keep forgetting to let someone other than my high perception/high inventory mule pick them up when we come across them.
EDIT: Also, where in Cyseal can I buy weapons and especially armor? I'm sure I've come across the vendor if there is one, but I keep going back to the central market and not finding it. It's not in or in front of the Legion headquarters (right?). Found the quartermaster on the second floor of the cook's house, between the Legion camp and headquarters.
Steam profile.
Getting started with BATTLETECH: Part 1 / Part 2
Yes there is. I am 90% sure that it's holding down shift while dragging the stack to an empty space in the inventory. A dialogue will pop up to allow you to pick how many to separate out.
That's it - thanks! I had tried ctrl but not shift.
Steam profile.
Getting started with BATTLETECH: Part 1 / Part 2
Steam profile.
Getting started with BATTLETECH: Part 1 / Part 2
They sell them a lot cheaper than identified items though. You can even possibly make profit by buying one, IDing it and selling it back.
I think that local vendors' willingness to buy any and all scorchingly hot merchandise eroded my characters initial high-mindedness and good intentions. I now steal with abandon, and last night killed someone just because their mount told me too. I might be descending into madness.
It's profitable madness, though.
Steam profile.
Getting started with BATTLETECH: Part 1 / Part 2
He is right there in the trenches with his crew and not some weaseling PR guy, so it's no wonder he talks like that. I have to admit I'm a bit of a fan.
@Suds it's part of the story. Each time you get one of those black fragments, it unlocks a room. He's several rooms in.
One of my characters is a rogue so making money hasn't been issue so far but as far as what to spend it on early on should I just be focusing on skill books and some crafting materials?
Steam Profile
3DS: 3454-0268-5595 Battle.net: SteelAngel#1772
...ages ago, but it's been telling me I need to gather all 12 macguffins.
I was pretty sure I had, and I've been scouring spoiler lists and revisiting areas for hours looking for the last of them.
Finally, finally I realize...
Now I'm finally in the Source Temple door.
Literal hours of looking around to no end. This game is great, but it has officially overstayed it's welcome. They could have trimmed a quarter to a third of it and still had it be a great, full-length game.
Steam profile.
Getting started with BATTLETECH: Part 1 / Part 2
I'm still glad to have pledged to the Kickstarter, because I think such unashamedly old-school games by such passionate and (overall) talented people should be supported, but for myself the game has turned out to be something of a flop, mainly because my expectations were too specific and too different from what the game finally delivered. Right now I'm hoping that Pillars of Eternity and Torment: Tides of Numenera will be closer to what I'm hoping for.
"Nothing is gonna save us forever but a lot of things can save us today." - Night in the Woods
Ah. Well, that's pretty much Larian Studios in a nutshell. They have a goofy sense of humor that they put into all their games. The suction dart hitting the logo in the intro might be a clue
Again, though, it's partly due to expectations. I hadn't played any of Larian's earlier titles and was too much swayed by mentions of the RPGs I enjoyed best, especially Ultima VII. By and large I enjoyed playing
"Nothing is gonna save us forever but a lot of things can save us today." - Night in the Woods
But yes, Larian likes their humor.
Which actually makes me wish I'd downloaded the alpha or beta and provided some feedback. Then again, I'm sure that supporters did note these things, but there was simply too much of a mountain of features to implement. The game is an embarrassment of riches, but one that is very uneven in terms of polish.
"Nothing is gonna save us forever but a lot of things can save us today." - Night in the Woods
3DS: 1607-3034-6970