Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire

[FnG]magnolia · 8 May 2018 at 10:40

According to my Steam page this unlocks in 7 hours. Not sure if this is a staggered release or not but there are no reviews or proper previews available anywhere so I'm wondering if it's under embargo? It can't be due to lack of interest given how popular PoE I was.

Anyone pre-ordered or are you waiting for it to land and be reviewed?

Ayahuasca · 8 May 2018 at 10:45

Looks like reviews are under embargo until the game launches. I've pre-ordered, have the option for a steam refund if something is terribly wrong with it.

Pighardia · 8 May 2018 at 11:03

10am PST, which is 6pm in UK.

I've got it preloaded and have polished my Pillars savegame ready to import.

[FnG]magnolia · 8 May 2018 at 11:15

Ayahuasca said:
Looks like reviews are under embargo until the game launches. I've pre-ordered, have the option for a steam refund if something is terribly wrong with it.

AH, I hadn't considered the refund option if it's somehow really awful. Time to pre-order then, cheers for the prompt.

Tombstone · 8 May 2018 at 12:10

Cohh has been streaming this for the last few days, if you liked the first game then its more of the same but with some better mechanics and the engine has been tarted up somewhat. He's been streaming it for several hours a day, he's probably about 20-30 hours through it now

https://www.youtube.com/user/CohhCarnage/videos?disable_polymer=1

Pighardia · 8 May 2018 at 12:30

I read a really interesting interview with Josh Sawyer recently where he basically said that the recent lot of isometric RPGs that have been released have been too stuck in the past and devs need to start being more progressive and introduce new elements in to them, which is something I definitely agree with, and have been saying for the last few years. I remember when Pillars came out thinking it was great but they aren't moving forward at all and that was a shame...But then Divinity OS and OS2 came out and showed that the genre can grow, and be more than it has been imo.

I love isometric RPGs, but continually rehashing Baldurs Gate/Icewind Dale etc isn't gonna cut it any more tbh.

Hopefully Deadfire continues the evolution(and then Wasteland 3 takes it even further!)

Tombstone · 8 May 2018 at 12:33

I've tried twice to get into Pillars but each time I can only last about 3 or 4 hours before I stop playing. Not really a fault of the title , more just that its a genre (the realtime/pause combat) which doesn't click with me. Divinity OS2 I thought was utterly superb, was my joint game of the year for 2017, but try as I might Pillars just doesn't gel. Ironically its a game I would have utterly adored 15 years ago but just not now.

SPG · 8 May 2018 at 13:07

Pighardia said:
I read a really interesting interview with Josh Sawyer recently where he basically said that the recent lot of isometric RPGs that have been released have been too stuck in the past and devs need to start being more progressive and introduce new elements in to them, which is something I definitely agree with, and have been saying for the last few years. I remember when Pillars came out thinking it was great but they aren't moving forward at all and that was a shame...But then Divinity OS and OS2 came out and showed that the genre can grow, and be more than it has been imo.

I love isometric RPGs, but continually rehashing Baldurs Gate/Icewind Dale etc isn't gonna cut it any more tbh.

Hopefully Deadfire continues the evolution(and then Wasteland 3 takes it even further!)

I dunno i would quite happily play for another expansion for Baldurs gate, I am just tired of always having to save the world from impending doom all the time. Why cant we just have a an adventurer out for adventure like good old DnD

chroniclard · 8 May 2018 at 13:18

Will keep an eye on it as I like the genre but didn't like the first one, felt like there were just too many stats.

Rifte · 8 May 2018 at 14:11

I kickstarted this and the original.

Preloaded and waiting....

MouthBoy · 8 May 2018 at 15:32

I actually booked time off work for when this was originally going to be released, but it was delayed obviously. It releases in a few hours and I am sat in a hotel in Canterbury...unable to play until Friday PM! Gutted!

Looking forward to this so much. Completed the first game 3 times with different classes. Unsure if I will import a previous save to be honest, I might just start fresh. Probably going Priest again as I love how the priest works in Pillars.

Ayahuasca · 8 May 2018 at 15:37

chroniclard said:
Will keep an eye on it as I like the genre but didn't like the first one, felt like there were just too many stats.

This game requires high intellect

Joking aside there'll be many a guide to follow and I wouldn't worry too much about "getting it right" on your first playthrough.

Pighardia · 8 May 2018 at 18:04

I'm unpacking now!

Says 20 minutes... Edit, forget that. The timer is all over the place!

I'm in!

Pighardia · 8 May 2018 at 20:05

Very impressed with character creation and the importer. Game looks great.

I remember spending about an hour on the character creation screen in the first game and did pretty much the same here!

wordy · 8 May 2018 at 20:11

Tombstone said:
I've tried twice to get into Pillars but each time I can only last about 3 or 4 hours before I stop playing. Not really a fault of the title , more just that its a genre (the realtime/pause combat) which doesn't click with me. Divinity OS2 I thought was utterly superb, was my joint game of the year for 2017, but try as I might Pillars just doesn't gel. Ironically its a game I would have utterly adored 15 years ago but just not now.

I'm most of the way through it, but I've had to force myself through it. The story isn't bad, but I couldn't really get into it, and as shallow as it sounds, it looks crap. Whereas Orignal Sin 2, had both a great story and looked amazing.

Pighardia · 8 May 2018 at 20:28

Reviews coming in now. All positive. Lowest I've seen so far is 8/10.

Regarding the first game, it can become a slog. Story is serviceable but the side quests and world building are excellent. Combat is about as good as its type can get imo. It is definitely one of the best RPGs of recent times for me.

Tombstone · 8 May 2018 at 21:16

wordy said:
I'm most of the way through it, but I've had to force myself through it. The story isn't bad, but I couldn't really get into it, and as shallow as it sounds, it looks crap. Whereas Orignal Sin 2, had both a great story and looked amazing.

I think overall I prefer the true turn based combat of Divinity, purely a tastes thing and entirely subjective..for me I just couldnt gel with the pause nature of the genre that Pillars comes from. I wish I did because the gameworld and character mechanics seem great, I just wish it had a proper turn based system. Then again, if it did it may not then appeal to the folks who like that system, cant please everyone after all !

Subzero85 · 8 May 2018 at 22:37

Tombstone said:
I think overall I prefer the true turn based combat of Divinity, purely a tastes thing and entirely subjective..for me I just couldnt gel with the pause nature of the genre that Pillars comes from. I wish I did because the gameworld and character mechanics seem great, I just wish it had a proper turn based system. Then again, if it did it may not then appeal to the folks who like that system, cant please everyone after all !

Funny how opinions differ, i prefer this style, perhaps its being used to it, as i was a big fan of the old baldurs gate 2 game, but its good that both game types exist

Pighardia · 8 May 2018 at 22:54

Buy this on GOG and you get Wasteland 2 for free! (wasteland 2 is excellent BTW)

suenstar · 8 May 2018 at 23:05

Got it installed, think this'll be most of what I'll be playing tomorrow.
Enjoyed the first game so looking forward to more of the same.