So...
My thoughts on what you quoted.
Rath Darkblade wrote: ↑Tue Jan 17, 2023 2:40 am
The game starts out fairly well and seems to be an interesting take on the CRPG genre. Time is real tangible resource in the game as new events pop out with time and punish you if you don't deal with them. This is additionally managed through rest, which takes time but needs to be done when your characters are tired.
You can technically rest on any screen - as long as you're not on the travel map. So you can go to any location. Your characters may get too exhausted and force a rest, however.
Rath Darkblade wrote: ↑Tue Jan 17, 2023 2:40 am
Characters seem alright so far, though they aren't terribly original. It has a good amount of reactivity, the story seems fun, though not record-breaking.
You never get to know your characters from the very start. It's through the game where their personality develops - and just like any good CRPG, it's IF you take the time to talk to them. If you didn't talk to the people in Dragon Age while you were in camp, those characters would be pretty boring. It was talking to them that allows you to really get to know them. Similar to Dragon Age, the characters will make comments on travel and during combat that add some flavor from time to time, but it's really after resting at certain areas that allow it, that you can speak to them and get to know them. I reached an outpost and rested there, and the following morning was able to talk to 2 of the 3 people with me. (I couldn't find where the third person was in the outpost, or if they were even there to talk to)
Rath Darkblade wrote: ↑Tue Jan 17, 2023 2:40 am
Getting the good out of the way, there are some issues here. If you are not already familiar with the Pathfinder ruleset then don't expect this game to tell you anything. The game is horrible when it comes to actually communicating its mechanics to the player.
Who cares about the mechanics? Most games don't tell you the mechanics. Neverwinter Nights didn't. Pillars of Eternity doesn't.
Rath Darkblade wrote: ↑Tue Jan 17, 2023 2:40 am
At first everything went fine, got out of the prologue without any major issues. Then in the very first side-quest you find you encounter spiders in a cave. So far, so CRPG. Fought them and got absolutely obliterated by a spider-swarm. No Problem, you just have to figure out how to beat it. But the game doesn't let you find out.
There's a combat log, but that just tells you how much your characters would do damage and then with another line saying "Damage was reduced to 0". No indication why that happens or how to circumvent it. After lots of experimentation I found out that physical attacks don't work, only magic.
OK - this one I agree with. You get one quest, then another, then go somewhere (won't say where in case you pick up the game) - and get this side quest to go fetch something inside a cave full of spiders. Now, as they said - the spiders were not the problem. The SWARM of them is. Because they're immune to physical attacks (the idea being that there's so many that stomping on them or smashing them will never be enough to kill them). NOW - JUST BEFORE THEY APPEAR - there is a POP UP that mentions something about the swarms. But I was being hasty and clicked through it, so I didn't read it. And suffered the same thing. Got destroyed by the swarm. I managed to flee (not out of the cave, because similar to Pillars, it won't let you exit an area if you're in combat). But it took down my bard while the others ran, barely alive. And got far enough away that combat ended, and the bard stood up and ran back to us. Now, I know you can kill it with magic (but... well, the magic user... depends on what you do in the game... he's not with us). But you can also use alchemist fire, which you can get before you get here. However, not knowing that you can't prep it during combat. And it takes a few rounds of it (and if your party is too close... well, they're going to burn too). So having something like that, where learning the mechanics is new - is a pain. HOWEVER, before combat starts, it pauses if you turn that on, so you can try to sort yourself out. But the swarm came in the midst of fighting the normal spiders so there was nothing I could do.
I tried to camp in and out of the cave, but kept getting attacked by spiders (which isn't a problem). So I finally left the area. (I also found what I needed... but can't ... uh, get it... I mean, it's in reach... but you need something or to do something or have a specific skill... so I left... and plan to come back).
But yes, I will fully agree to have a swarm like that in your first side quest was very, very, very, very poor planning.
For them saying that they didn't know - and they looked at the damage logs. They were not paying attention to their characters then. Because melee and ranged (arrows) immediately show "Immune!" as soon as it hits.
Rath Darkblade wrote: ↑Tue Jan 17, 2023 2:40 am
And it goes on like this afterwards. Enemies one-shot your party members and take no damage themselves, enemies cast AoE spells that disable your entire party for 20 seconds. If you long for a CRPG, get Pillars of Eternity or Underrail right now. If you are heavily familiar with the Pathfinder ruleset, this game can be very fun. Otherwise wait till the developers balanced it correctly.
Not encountered an issue so far, with people shutting down the party. (But I've only dumped about two hours into it)
I also got it for free, during one of those "This game is free for one week!"
