I too have wondered why I don’t just wait to purchase the completed game a year after it’s release with a sizable discount. I keep coming back to a couple of reasons:
If we all did this, most of these games would never get made due to low sales.
I want to support developers like Owlcat and OBSIDIAN who make the kind of games that I love.
To be fair, you were criticized because you brought it up way too often, but I never thought you were wrong. I mean, factually you should wait to play any game, it will only get better with age! However, the caveat there is that only happens when it’s selling well and the developers have permission and/or resources to continue making it better. Like mentioned above, if no one buys games at launch, they’ll never really improve. So for all the times I’ve bought something at launch you enjoyed a year later, you’re welcome.
That said, Pillars 2 is the wrong thread for this discussion, as it has been very solid since and even previous to launch when we hammered away at the beta (as you yourself mention). It’s biggest crime was over powered skills/spells and the game’s higher difficulties being too easy. It was fully playable/enjoyable from the jump, though.
If you wanted to bring up waiting to play a game in the Kingmaker thread, I’d be completely on your side. That game is awesome, but it was rushed to launch (even after a 6 week delay) and needed a lot of love. Hell, I couldn’t even complete it, and I know I’m not alone. Thankfully, even that game has improved tremendously in just a few months, so I don’t think waiting a year there is required to enjoy it. I recently started a new game on the new 1.1 patch, so we’ll see how that goes.
But to your larger point, waiting to play a game until it’s been patched up and polished is obviously a great idea. It’s just not always feasible (i.e. games one is super excited about or wants to be part of the zeitgeist for) of course, and sometimes it just happens naturally (I have tons of games I wishlisted before they came out that I still haven’t picked up, and those games are now years old). I don’t think I’ve ever actively sat on a game I wanted to buy to play it much more than a month later, though I suppose if I was smart I’d have bought Pathfinder to support the developers and then waited to install it several months later. But, hey, hind sight. What can you do?
Hey I actually agree with all of Scott’s post. And actually I only think I held out for Fallout 4 to have survival mode (maybe 5 months?). I am in the middle of the Winter (Breath of Winter?) dlc in Pillars and it is pretty good. So yes I believe Pillars may be a bad example. Though in retrospect I do buy a game and then I see it has DLC’s planned and I shelve it for a few months so patches and dlcs can make it better. I definitely did it with Pillars until Breath of Winter (or whatever) dlc,
Kingmaker is tragic I definitely agree because it really is great until a certain point.
Warhammer 2 is a great example of the whole thing sorta done right. 4 factions to start with, and then the addition of 2 more (and some other leaders). What is fascinating about that game is that with every new faction the whole game changes and new mechanics are introduced. It is almost hard to imagine STARTING that game in the beginning with the complexity of factions now.
(and btw I still think powers/abilities are overpowered in Pillars. That game is hard to find a difficulty setting on).
I like it quite a lot. There isn’t any chance I’ll play this in my second play through because I did Wizard on my first, but I like the idea and it doesn’t strip or nerf the base class (I really hope they do something about the other Wizard sub classes). Need another level 3 spell? Blood Sac for X raw damage, now you have it, AND boosted power levels for a bit, which could be net gain more powerful than empower potentially if used right. Very cool. I think the drawbacks are bad but not unworkable, and I actually believe the idea that foes under half health are especially dangerous to you is really neat.
EDIT:
Looks like the patch notes are up and ALL the classes are detailed! Looking through it now.
I recorded a look at the new sub-classes, enjoy!
Thanks for the video, Scott!
The last Deadfire DLC hits tomorrow and reading its description might address one of my main complaints about the sequel: which was lack of an expansive dungeon crawl.
I’m off work until next Monday, so I’ll definitely be playing with the new subclasses and the build possibilities they present.
Well, Steam just flipped from releasing in approximately one hour to releasing in 14 hours. :(
It’s out - and here are the patch notes!
Probably just a Steam freak-out, it looks like it actually did launch on time.
Yup, it’s out on GOG.
I was looking at the DLC page on Steam for it, and since they’d graciously scheduled the download for 6am tomorrow morning for me, the page was reflecting that. Just d/l it.
Maelys the Monstrous is born, an evil dwarf Arcane Knight (Garrote pally + Blood Mage for self buffs and spamming flames of devotion with a great sword), probably my 15th toon for Deadfire. Crazy.
Is there a release date for switch? I’ve been waiting for that to get it.
Pumped for this DLC more than the previous two. This one, on paper, looks to be the type of gaming I was hoping for, but we’ll see how it comes together. Continuing my current game into it once they reach the appropriate level.
I’m going to try a Let’s Play, as promised, and here is the first episode. Enjoy!
Scott this is amazingly good. You think veteran’s level is the best now? It just seems that things get easy fast. Have you tried Path of the Damned? I haven’t yet.
Ah you are discussing difficulty level now.
(I am editing as I watch)
Oh! Rogue and Cipher!
(you are at the point that you are discussing new classes and trying new stuff, I agree. It is fun to try new classes and specs in this game)
Thanks Kristi!
My thoughts on Veteran are changing the deeper into the game I play. I have a few more parts of the series yet to upload, but the end of Part 5 I’m at the dig site and the enemies on the map are just… incredibly powerful. Several are higher level than me, and the fight would be challenging enough but they give a blanked bonus to health, accuracy, damage, and probably other stuff I am forgetting to enemies on Veteran, and the more I play the more I don’t think that was necessary - I’m finding it pretty frustrating. I just wanted larger and more dangerous encounters, I don’t like the stats bump, I think that should be reserved for PotD, personally.
The fight now in the pit area of the dig site, which I was trying out while recording part 6 and ultimately restored my original save and destroyed the recording, is impossible with my 3 man party. It’s 4 (FOUR!!) young panthers, 3 flying wurms that spit fire for very high damage, and then for no reason at all a young drake several levels above us drops down from the sky and breathes fire on all of us!
I tried a few tactics, but taking down even one or two of these guys is hard, let alone all 8 opponents. I set the difficulty back down to normal but I still have to clear this map, so my next episode will be me running back to town and recruding 2 more characters and outfitting them with the best gear I have access to, and then I’ll try the fight again with a 5 man party. If it goes much better I may put it back on Veteran, we’ll see.
I’m really loving my rogue/cipher! I’m also really enjoying the game, and don’t want to get frustrated, but also I really do like it when the fights challenge me and make me use consumables and tactics to win. It’s a tough balancing act.
Did you start off at level 4?
No he talked about that, he passed on that perk because apparently the level cap is fairly easy to reach before the end of the game.
When I replay I think he choose exactly the same starting perks I will…
Update on the difficulty - I did retreat and head back to town, recruiting a Furyshaper Barbarian and an Arcane Archer Ranger, and had a much better time in those fights on the dig site - in fact I didn’t even have a character drop (though it was close, and may potions were imbibed). I’m leaving it on Veteran for now, since I have a full party at last, and I am told it gets easier as you level of course (though I have all content level scaling up, so we’ll see).
