Wasteland 2

[Bjorn]

The big nerf is that they changed the Disparnumerophobia quirk to be +1/-1 instead of +2/-2, which functionally removes 7 stat points from one of my characters.  I actually agree with the change, I think that quirk was head and shoulders better than every single other quirk.  But I built a character with the assumptions of having +2s, and I would have built the character differently if the bonus was going to be lower. 

 

There's also a bunch of bug fixes and stuff that are really nice, so avoiding the patch because of that one change isn't really worth it.  Mostly I just wish I could respec and fix that character without having to go in and edit a save file. 

[Bjorn]

So Wasteland 3 was announced today.

 

I'm oddly, but tentatively, excited about this.  It's odd, because I managed to quit twice on Wasteland 2.  W2 just had some problems, and I think chief among them is that its mechanics and narrative really supported a 20-30 hour experience, but they made a fucking 70+ hour game.  Each time I quit, it was because I got to about the 30 hour mark, and just found myself getting bored. 

 

I'm really hoping that the lessons they learned from 2 will let them make something that's a bit more diverse this time around. 

[Gormongous]

  On 9/28/2016 at 9:03 PM, Bjorn said:

I'm really hoping that the lessons they learned from 2 will let them make something that's a bit more diverse this time around. 

 

I'm not as optimistic as you, but I'm still listening. I think the pitch that's made during the crowdfunding launch will tell: Wasteland 2's pitch, for example, was all about how many content hours there'd be and what a "full" game it'd be. If I see that here, I'm bailing, but if not, I'll follow with interest.

[Bjorn]

  On 9/28/2016 at 10:36 PM, Gormongous said:

I'm not as optimistic as you, but I'm still listening. I think the pitch that's made during the crowdfunding launch will tell: Wasteland 2's pitch, for example, was all about how many content hours there'd be and what a "full" game it'd be. If I see that here, I'm bailing, but if not, I'll follow with interest.

 

I won't be backing 3 like I did 2.  I don't regret that I backed 2, ultimately I got something enjoyable out of it even if I never finished, and they do a great job with their backer emails and updates.  But I certainly do not have the enthusiasm to back another one of their games (though of course we'll see if Torment ends up making me feel differently when it comes out). 

 

I'm split on what I think about there being unique content locked behind the asynchronous multiplayer.  On one hand what they described sounds cool, but not necessarily in a fixed campaign single player game.  If it were something procedural or random, I think I'd be more excited about the idea of setting up a buddy to be a false prophet or blaming my cattle murdering on him. 

[mikemariano]

I am trying to play Pillars of Eternity for a second time through with the additional White March content and cannot find anything to enjoy about the combat.  I never thought I'd be a partisan in the "turn-based vs. real-time-with-pause" wars, but I keep thinking back to Wasteland 2 and how each combat decision felt meaningful.

 

Like Bjorn, I quit Wasteland 2 twice and never finished it.  Fights remained difficult and I got into a situation in which it was seemingly impossible to finish the story.  I also never gave the "Director's Cut" revision a try.

 

So yeah, I'm definitely still interested in what the next game might be, but there's a good chance it won't be for me.