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[PC] Pillars of Eternity
Re: [PC] Pillars of Eternity
Played this game today. Only long enough to create a character and walk around the starting encampment a bit. It feels very much like a Baldur's Gate game. Very much so.
Makes me wish it was a Baldur's Gate game. This was the Kickstarter project that interested me the least, because I didn't have any confidence in Obsidian inventing both their own universe and their own RPG system. And sure enough, whenever one of these strange Pillars of Eternity terms / funny words come up, I can't help but feel disappointed that this isn't set in the Forgotten Realms.
Even so, I'll still keep playing for now. Character creation is just as great as it's ever been in these games, and I'm very interested in seeing what the Cipher class can do. Too bad about there not being any character portraits that look like the guy I made. Seems like a waste to have made all those portraits, when you could have just used the 3D model. Maybe even applied a filter or something to it, to make it look like a portrait. Anything save for a picture that hardly looks like me at all.
This was a minor issue in the Baldur's Gate games too, but since the graphics back then weren't as sophisticated, it didn't matter as much.
Also loving the expert mode and ironman options.
Makes me wish it was a Baldur's Gate game. This was the Kickstarter project that interested me the least, because I didn't have any confidence in Obsidian inventing both their own universe and their own RPG system. And sure enough, whenever one of these strange Pillars of Eternity terms / funny words come up, I can't help but feel disappointed that this isn't set in the Forgotten Realms.
Even so, I'll still keep playing for now. Character creation is just as great as it's ever been in these games, and I'm very interested in seeing what the Cipher class can do. Too bad about there not being any character portraits that look like the guy I made. Seems like a waste to have made all those portraits, when you could have just used the 3D model. Maybe even applied a filter or something to it, to make it look like a portrait. Anything save for a picture that hardly looks like me at all.
This was a minor issue in the Baldur's Gate games too, but since the graphics back then weren't as sophisticated, it didn't matter as much.
Also loving the expert mode and ironman options.
Re: [PC] Pillars of Eternity
So I made it through the ruins, went outside, caught a look at some strange ceremony going down, blacked out, and when I woke up, my two companions had somehow been brutally killed. That was... unusual. And more than a little upsetting.
During the fight with the giant spider beforehand, I tried to lure it into the traps that were just outside of its little den, but sadly, giant spiders don't trigger traps. Who'd have thought? But then after killing it normally, I almost had a heart attack when I accidentally stepped onto a trapped tile while walking back to my knocked out companions. Thankfully, it didn't kill me. But it was still quite a scare.
Also, the swearing is completely out of place in this game. Sure enough, the first instance of it comes from the tough young woman warrior that's supposed to be protecting you. She's no Jaheira, that's for sure.
During the fight with the giant spider beforehand, I tried to lure it into the traps that were just outside of its little den, but sadly, giant spiders don't trigger traps. Who'd have thought? But then after killing it normally, I almost had a heart attack when I accidentally stepped onto a trapped tile while walking back to my knocked out companions. Thankfully, it didn't kill me. But it was still quite a scare.
Also, the swearing is completely out of place in this game. Sure enough, the first instance of it comes from the tough young woman warrior that's supposed to be protecting you. She's no Jaheira, that's for sure.
Re: [PC] Pillars of Eternity
Also note the implicit anti-Christianity in the beginning negotiation with the Glanfathan leader. You can challenge his theology as soon as you recognize the marks of his religion that he's wearing. You tell him, Couldn't your god have just as easily told you NOT to protect these ruins? And how do you even know what he is supposed to have said? Did you hear from him directly?
"Yea, hath God said?" Playing the role of the serpent, you can confuse the leader long enough for his hostage to break free. Not only is the scene poorly written, but it just feels so artificially forced into the narrative. And for what? To satisfy those who are hostile to religion? Some fantasy, alright. When the world itself bends, twists and breaks so the writer can deliver his sermon at any cost, it's impossible not to notice.
What a destructive effect these anti-Christian trends have been having on the arts today.
"Yea, hath God said?" Playing the role of the serpent, you can confuse the leader long enough for his hostage to break free. Not only is the scene poorly written, but it just feels so artificially forced into the narrative. And for what? To satisfy those who are hostile to religion? Some fantasy, alright. When the world itself bends, twists and breaks so the writer can deliver his sermon at any cost, it's impossible not to notice.
What a destructive effect these anti-Christian trends have been having on the arts today.
Re: [PC] Pillars of Eternity
So I made it to Gilded Vale and discovered a fight breaking out in front of the inn between a bunch of drunks and an elf. I tried to defuse the situation, but then the drunks attacked me. So what do I do? I immediately try to run away, but not before my character auto-attacks and kills the drunk in front of him. And soon the rest meet the same unfortunate fate. Having accidentally killed the first, and with no way to disengage the others, I ended up saving the elf in the worst possible way. On top of that, the guy seems like a scoundrel. But I still teamed up with him anyway. At least it's safer than trying to go it alone. Even so, I'll be replacing him as soon as I can.
I had to laugh though when I opened up his grimoire (i.e. wizard's spellbook). It's all here. Everything I remembered from Baldur's Gate. But now with funny names.
Honestly, would it have been that expensive to just license the D&D ruleset? Maybe they could have got a decent price on the second edition?
I had to laugh though when I opened up his grimoire (i.e. wizard's spellbook). It's all here. Everything I remembered from Baldur's Gate. But now with funny names.
Honestly, would it have been that expensive to just license the D&D ruleset? Maybe they could have got a decent price on the second edition?
Re: [PC] Pillars of Eternity
The game feels very much like the developers were terrified of having the game compared unfavorably to Baldur's Gate. Or that their backers wouldn't have been satisfied with how much Baldur's Gate was in it. So they straight up matched it as best they could.
In some respects, they succeeded magnificently. But at the end of the day, I'd rather be playing the original.
In some respects, they succeeded magnificently. But at the end of the day, I'd rather be playing the original.
Re: [PC] Pillars of Eternity
Welp, it finally happened. I went back to go check out the bear cave mentioned earlier in the game. Turns out there were 3 bears in there, not just the one like I had thought. So my partner goes down pretty quick, and I try to run out the cave. But, you can't. You can't leave during combat. And so I was stuck in the cave, with nothing to do but get eaten by the bears right next to the entrance. And that's the end of that story.
I can remember leaving areas in the middle of combat in Baldur's Gate. In fact, that was one of the most surprising things about Baldur's Gate II. You'd get in a fight, run away because it was getting too crazy, catch your breath outside the cave, or whatever, and then suddenly the monster appears at the entrance. He'd actually followed you outside!
I can remember leaving areas in the middle of combat in Baldur's Gate. In fact, that was one of the most surprising things about Baldur's Gate II. You'd get in a fight, run away because it was getting too crazy, catch your breath outside the cave, or whatever, and then suddenly the monster appears at the entrance. He'd actually followed you outside!
Re: [PC] Pillars of Eternity
Also stopped reading those random hero's back stories you come across all over the place. You know, the ones that you reach out and touch their souls or something, and a little mini-story pops up? Apparently, they're all backer provided too, according to a message on the loading screen.
It kind of reminded me of the Thousand Years of Dreams from Lost Odyssey, but bite-sized and without anything in them for me to care about.
It kind of reminded me of the Thousand Years of Dreams from Lost Odyssey, but bite-sized and without anything in them for me to care about.
Re: [PC] Pillars of Eternity
I thought about buying an adventurer before going back to the bear cave. But then when I bought one, it took me to a character creation screen, and I decided against it. I'd much rather come across a character in the world and ask him to join me than go to the inn and mess around again with a character creator, inventing a new party member from scratch. Isn't that supposed to be the developer's job in a game like this? And did anyone really miss this feature in Baldur's Gate? I was so opposed to the idea, that I ventured forth with only a two-member party, both magic users. Of course, I did end up dying, but that's mostly because I didn't heed the advice to stay away from the bear cave. And not directly the result of my party composition. An extra level 1 adventurer would have just as surely been torn to shreds like the rest of us were.
Re: [PC] Pillars of Eternity
What about some of those backer-provided heroes? Why aren't you able to recruit any of those?