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Let's address this head on. In your first reply, include your age, general yearly income, and job - as my hypothesis is that this is mainly a function of that.

I'll start: 38, $75k, 40 hours a week taking claims for Social Security. I'm also working on getting a PhD in political ideology.

Now, I get the idea of the game being balanced and difficult for a vanilla playthrough at the normal difficulty level - but I've seen so damn many people claiming that if a player is allowed to do this - or that - that it breaks game balance. If this were a multiplayer game where other players doing things that are highly rewarding for them and it was at your expense - such as with a sports game where players will abuse exploits to beat you every time - it would make perfect sense to me. However, when we are all playing single player, why should it bother you if I can mug some noble to get a quick 10,000 gold or steal some magic item that gives a character all 20 stats? If I can save before doing something and grind out a good result, it might not be realistic, but how does it bother you if you don't do it? Why are you obsessed with everyone else playing the game the exact same way you are playing it?

For me, life is a daily grind and I've been playing it at nightmare difficulty for 20 years. I play games as a form of escape from that daily grind and if I'm not playing some MMORPG I am likely to cheat like crazy. It gives a level of control over my temporary reality that I am denied in my daily life - I'm more interested in exploring a game than having any extreme challenge. I don't need frustration added into my life - I've got plenty and all the health problems that come with chronic stress.

So why are people so deadset on everyone else having to experience the same difficulty you enjoy?

Whatever side you are on, post those basics so we can see if there is a pattern.

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It is because the options you have influence your experience anyway, since it is a Conscious decision of self-handicap not to use them.

It is the same discussion with giving Dark Souls an Easy mode.

Limiting yourself also limits your reward experience to overcome a difficulty, it is actually simple as that.

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You didn't follow the rules - but you're saying that the person who climbs Mt Everest has less of a sense of accomplishment than the person who takes a helicopter to the summit because they gave themselves a conscious self-handicap?

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I think you don't understand what's the point of many related to "balance".

I want a balanced game but thay doesn't mean the difficulty has to be the exact same for everyone.

- the difficulty can't be very hard at the beginning and very easy at the end. A game is supposed to be easier when you learn to play and when you improve your skills.
Actually the normal game mode is completely broken.
I'm usual to tactical TB games but I find it very hard at the beginning... Then I learn about backstab and highground.. and I don't need anything else to beat it easily (and even more easily if I over use broken custom mechanics... On the other hand it's a boring nightmare if you only stick to D&D).

- the homebrew rules completely broke many D&D possibilities and tactical choices.

I'm not sure classes are all balanced for combats in D&D and I don't really care... but in BG3 everyone have the few exact same possibilities to cheese with ennemies.

The game is "balanced" arround Larian's mechanics.
The game consider you will use it all the time but this broke the depth of D&D.

I guess in that case "balance" doesn't mean a difficulty that is the same for everyone. That mean a difficulty build arround more than a few custom mechanics.

Last edited by Maximuuus; 24/12/20 02:28 PM.

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Originally Posted by VeronicaTash
Let's address this head on. In your first reply, include your age, general yearly income, and job - as my hypothesis is that this is mainly a function of that.

I'll start: 38, $75k, 40 hours a week taking claims for Social Security. I'm also working on getting a PhD in political ideology.

by far the dumbest and most insecure thing I've read on these forums lol

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To humor you:
34 years old, 82k, active duty usn (gas turbine engine mechanic).

Challenge in game or sport is equal to enjoyment. There is a sweet spot which is different for everyone. But there needs to be some limitation or complexity for there to be a sense of accomplishment and fulfilment.

Last edited by rqwertwylker; 24/12/20 02:44 PM.
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Originally Posted by VeronicaTash
Let's address this head on. In your first reply, include your age, general yearly income, and job - as my hypothesis is that this is mainly a function of that.

I'll start: 38, $75k, 40 hours a week taking claims for Social Security. I'm also working on getting a PhD in political ideology.

Now, I get the idea of the game being balanced and difficult for a vanilla playthrough at the normal difficulty level - but I've seen so damn many people claiming that if a player is allowed to do this - or that - that it breaks game balance. If this were a multiplayer game where other players doing things that are highly rewarding for them and it was at your expense - such as with a sports game where players will abuse exploits to beat you every time - it would make perfect sense to me. However, when we are all playing single player, why should it bother you if I can mug some noble to get a quick 10,000 gold or steal some magic item that gives a character all 20 stats? If I can save before doing something and grind out a good result, it might not be realistic, but how does it bother you if you don't do it? Why are you obsessed with everyone else playing the game the exact same way you are playing it?

For me, life is a daily grind and I've been playing it at nightmare difficulty for 20 years. I play games as a form of escape from that daily grind and if I'm not playing some MMORPG I am likely to cheat like crazy. It gives a level of control over my temporary reality that I am denied in my daily life - I'm more interested in exploring a game than having any extreme challenge. I don't need frustration added into my life - I've got plenty and all the health problems that come with chronic stress.

So why are people so deadset on everyone else having to experience the same difficulty you enjoy?

Whatever side you are on, post those basics so we can see if there is a pattern.

I'll play the game, so I'm 37, I'll make roughly 24k, and cargo sorter of sorts (so when everything closed because of covid, I was still working to send packages to you).

If I pick up a d&d focused game, I'd expect a game to be based on those rules. Truthfully for the most part it is, there are some key parts like height advantage and such but those have specific threads already. Other than that I don't really care what you do in the game, you can save scum to your hearts desire if you wish.

You said something about pickpocketing gold, I'm pretty sure pickpocketing was balanced if I remember correctly, it has a dice roll based on a skill (slight of hand I think), so if you invested points into that skill (or companion) I don't see why you wouldn't be able to use it.

Kind of half tried on this post, if I overly missed something just let me know, also if d20 die gets thrown around again that the die isn't balanced, I DO NOT CARE!

Last edited by fallenj; 24/12/20 03:13 PM.
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Silly social experiments aside... ;D

Its balance between classes and their different builds with respect to the encounters... not other players...

It seems a little nuts to me to put a +10(!?!wtf:o in a dnd game) stat item basically tailored to my melee/arcane guy... but not a +10 wis item for my melee/divine guy... thats basically handing one build at least 20 additional stat/build points at creation... if you can't see any issue at all with that, i dont know what to tell yah...

For a once through and done with the game type player i would agree, most things are a non issue... that is not me though... laugh

Last edited by Llev; 25/12/20 01:24 AM.
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Not gonna reveal my personal stats sorry Veronica.

What I got reading the forums is the same feeling I had reading around about a lot of things related to freedom: to contain your self and avoid a due action is saw as self handicaping thus restrictions are asked.

We have barrels than can be used in battle? Lets get rid of them because to make the choice, made by themselves, to not use them is saw as a form of self hurting (so it's better if someone else does the choice for us).

We have the chance to save before pickpocketing or lockpicking or a dialogue? Lets get rid of that because the choice, made by themselves, to not use that trick is saw a form of self handicapping (so it's better if someone else does the choice for us).

I'm a fan of the "story mode" difficulty level. As I said before I already have a stressful job so I don't want a game to become as demanding as my job. A reason I became an expert in searching cheats and tricks and walkthroughs. And when I decide I don't wanna exploit something I don't feel like I'm hurting myself instead I'm proud I was able to make a choice that allows myself to enjoy a more complex problem.

On another topic, Larian would be foolish to make Baldur's Gate III early access more easier or more difficult, because in both cases it would mean to alienate a part of players.

Balance, real balance, can and should be asked when they release the full game, that is a version that supposedly will have difficulty levels able to please the broad audience of players (something I feel a lot of posters tend to forgot when they go full "I want this eliminate/modified/added becaus to my personal playstyle this doesn't function as agreable as I want" whether they ask for elimination of anything that can be used to have easier fights or of anything that is seen as making the game too difficult).

As I see the game it has flaws (like the fact that wizards can learn cleric specific spells, or that everybody can lockpick or pickpocket when that should be a feat that follows a precise hierarchy (from the one with the higher rate of succes to the one with the lower): rogues, rangers with high dexterity and criminal or runaway background, rangers with high dexterity, caracthers of other classes with criminal or runaway backgrounds, other carachters) and not because of the save/reload but because the chance of a succesful pickpocketing is almost the same for anyone), dialogue incoherences (if I already have killed priestess Gut why the dialogue with Goblin Sazza still have the leading character asking who is Gut and if she can cure the tadpole situation, why Nettie has to poison my toon before the "ehy dear I know where halsin is" option appears and a different set of phrases to obtain the Wyvern poison? and so on), but it is flexible, if you want a hardship battle you can try to kill the Hag before reaching level 4 (and without using barrels), but you can also level up your party to level 4 and have easier fights, with a bit of attention you can eradicate the goblin camp without startin one endless complicate fight (and without the need of barrels or high stand or backstab or pushing over the cliffs).

As I said I'll wait for the full release to see if Larian will put on difficulty levels and how they play with easy and normal (not so skilled nor willing to try hard and nightmare options).

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Originally Posted by Llev
Silly social experiments aside... ;D

Its balance between classes and their different builds with respect to the encounters... not other players...

It seems a little nuts to me to put a +10(!?!wtf:o in a dnd game) stat item basically tailored to my melee/arcane guy... but not a +10 wis item for my melee/divine guy... thats basically handing one build at least 20 additional stat/build points at creation... if you can see any issue at all with that, i dont know what to tell yah...

For a once through and done with the game type player i would agree, most things are a non issue... that is not me though... laugh

Again is a matter of choice no one forces anyone to use it, I myself in my first run used it sometimes then sold because I found items that maybe didn't gave the same buff but but whose options I liked more, and that artefact is story related, unless they get rid of the ogre in the Blighted or find a very convincing reason why him is so well versed and smart.

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Veronica, asking for personal RL details, and describing the disclosure of such as 'rules' for your thread, is probably something you shouldn't do. I am not a moderator here, and it is not my place to tell you not to, but I suspect you will not garner any fans by asking people to do that. I expect you'll receive mostly resistant responses, even from people who agree with your perspective, if you press for them to give that information.

Edit: I'm tagging out the rest of this post, though I'll leave it in the spoiler as I don't believe in trying to 'unsay' things. It was late and I was exhausted, and the OP's tone rubbed me the wrong way in that moment, and I didn't vet my tone as closely as I feel I should have. I do not wish to post with the back-handed hostility that I feel this post came across with. I think I was a little bit out of line. With that caveat, I'll leave the rest of the post in a spoiler tag.


What exactly is your hypothesis here? You didn't define it; if you're going to set your tone as one of denigration (which you have done), then you need to fully define what it is you're proposing first; you're suggesting a pattern or a correlation: what pattern are you expecting to see, exactly? Say what you mean, and don't beat about the bush, if you're going to make a post like this.

You're defining the situation which you are assessing in a distinctly prejudiced manner; you're judging in advance the motive and reasoning of the effigy you're poking your lance at - that is, you're saying that commenters who express explanations and concerns about game balance and the effect on that that various mechanics have are doing so in order to tell other people how the game must be played. That's not a justified assumption by any stretch. I'd go so far as to suggest that it shows a lack of understanding of the impacts of such decisions, beyond the immediately visible effects, and a lack of concern for the experiences of others outside your direct personal desires and goals, to posit the "how I play doesn't affect you" argument (which you do appear to be making a derivative variant of) in response to comments about mechanics being implemented into the base game itself, and whether they should be or not.

I have no interest in telling people how to enjoy the game, or trying to make everyone play the game the same way.

Game balance is important, integral even, to the game's overall quality and its longevity, and it is currently badly undermined by the custom mechanics and rules that the current iteration uses, making the game more shallow and tactless; this needs to be fixed.

Those two statements are not in any way contradictory.

I have neither the free time nor the energy to get into an in depth discussion about the matter; I am sorry, I just don't. There are several detailed threads where folks discuss it, however, and within them are more than enough explanations to show that the question you're begging with your premise does not obtain.

My name is Erica, I'm in my early thirties and I work something approaching a 60 hour week on average, on a variety of tasks and projects that are predominately mentally taxing. I work that much by my own choice; I am formally unemployed. I have no average yearly income. I have a PhD in Philosophy and Philosophy of Science, and I've studied a broad range of academic topics outside of that, mostly surrounding classical and ancient history, folk lore and mythology, natural biology and botany as well as language and language evolution. I speak with my hands; I've been mute since I was nineteen. At that time certain incidents left me in a position where my doctors advised those closest to me that I would be unlikely to recover, and very unlikely to survive more than a few years of the lingering attacks and the strain and risk it placed on my body. I'm very stubborn; I'm still alive. I've long since forgiven the individuals responsible for the attack. I go rock-climbing in my free time, and enjoy spending time with my partners - I live in a three-person committed relationship; it galls me daily that I'll never likely survive to see a time when we could actually officiate it. I am a deeply personally spiritual person, but I am not religious. I'm also rational person who likes being able to understand the things around me, and explain the unknown where possible. I have a very visible scar across my neck; if I don't cover it, people react to me when they see it in public. I usually cover it. I play dungeons and dragons. I play with friends who know me well and don't mind that they need one of my partners to translate for me around the table. It means the world to me. I like to challenge myself in video games. I'm very strongly against exploiting or cheating in video games. Breaking an AI and winning that way usually feels like a fail state to me. I'm 138cm tall, and despite being over thirty now, I still get asked for ID whenever I try to buy something classy for my dad from the bottle shop for his birthday or christmas. I don't drink, myself; can't stand the taste of alchohol. My sister has spent years trying to find one I'll like, no success yet, though I try a sip of everything new she asks me to, just in case. I have family members who do not approve of my 'lifestyle'. I'm Scottish, but I've grown up almost entirely in Australia. I could be lying about some of these things, all of these things or none of these things. I don't tell lies; but you don't know that for certain. Of all of these things, my age, financial status and employment status are most certainly the least significant factors that have gone into making me the person that I am today and shaping my outlook on the world, and by proxy my views on matters like this... and I will not be alone in that particular fact.

So... what is it, exactly, that you're hoping to learn?

Last edited by Niara; 24/12/20 10:06 PM.
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I make around 700 000 a month (who even counts money though am I right), not counting the income from my properties, I am eternally 27, and my penis is ca 25 cm, five in diameter, and ribbed, and I spend so much time every day having sex that I rarely if ever have time to play videogames.

I also agree with @OP that everyone with a different opinion from mine should be looked down on.


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Originally Posted by Niara
Veronica, asking for personal RL details, and describing the disclosure of such as 'rules' for your thread, is probably something you shouldn't do. I am not a moderator here, and it is not my place to tell you not to, but I suspect you will not garner any fans by asking people to do that. I expect you'll receive mostly resistant responses, even from people who agree with your perspective, if you press for them to give that information.

None of the information is enough to identify anyone. These are generic, wide range statistics that can be used to classify people.

Originally Posted by Niara
What exactly is your hypothesis here? You didn't define it; if you're going to set your tone as one of denigration (which you have done), then you need to fully define what it is you're proposing first; you're suggesting a pattern or a correlation: what pattern are you expecting to see, exactly? Say what you mean, and don't beat about the bush, if you're going to make a post like this.

I was trying not to define it until information came in so as to not bias the results. But my hypothesis is that people who are obsessed with others not being able to use saves to maximize results or so on are likely still too young to be holding a full time job, are not working, or have the types of jobs that are very low stress such as top level management, stock broker, or such. For them, frustration would be less of an issue and they may not have an idea of the daily grind of others. That is a legitimate hypothesis that could be tested by how those with specific responses lined up with it - if my hypothesis was wrong it would be made clear by the data - people having daily grind jobs for a significant time but demanding everyone is challenged, for example. Now that I've said it, you are likely to see people who fit that brand less likely to admit it and thus the data that could be gathered is rather worthless.

Originally Posted by Niara
You're defining the situation which you are assessing in a distinctly prejudiced manner; you're judging in advance the motive and reasoning of the effigy you're poking your lance at - that is, you're saying that commenters who express explanations and concerns about game balance and the effect on that that various mechanics have are doing so in order to tell other people how the game must be played. That's not a justified assumption by any stretch. I'd go so far as to suggest that it shows a lack of understanding of the impacts of such decisions, beyond the immediately visible effects, and a lack of concern for the experiences of others outside your direct personal desires and goals, to posit the "how I play doesn't affect you" argument (which you do appear to be making a derivative variant of) in response to comments about mechanics being implemented into the base game itself, and whether they should be or not.

The hell it isn't - there are threads complaining about people saving before taking actions, something that affects them not at all if they just don't do that themselves and thus can only logically be people wanting to push their preferences on other players' games. There are threads complaining that an item exists that is considered powerful even though they can just not use the item. In the entirety of long threads you just get people moaning with the most substantiative reason given why is an a priori argument that balance must come before anything else... where the balancing factor is something that someone has to go out of their way to do. They describe these things as "game breaking" despite not possibly breaking the game without a conscious use of these things.

Originally Posted by Niara
I have no interest in telling people how to enjoy the game, or trying to make everyone play the game the same way.

Game balance is important, integral even, to the game's overall quality and its longevity, and it is currently badly undermined by the custom mechanics and rules that the current iteration uses, making the game more shallow and tactless; this needs to be fixed.

Those two statements are not in any way contradictory.

This doesn't involve custom mechanics and rules - this involves players planning ahead or using saves to get better results. Those aren't game mechanics. I am not a game tester - I am not playing to spot bugs for Larian - I paid full price for a product and have the right to try to enjoy my time rather than fine tune things for Larian's benefit. I'm accepting that it is not completed so that I can influence the end result some, but I hold no obligation to do free work for a company to whom I paid for the product. If I want to exploit saves so that it is closer to the difficulty I want - then that is my right.

Originally Posted by VeronicaTash
Now, I get the idea of the game being balanced and difficult for a vanilla playthrough at the normal difficulty level - but I've seen so damn many people claiming that if a player is allowed to do this - or that - that it breaks game balance.

See how the very beginning of the OP said it wasn't about game mechanics?

Originally Posted by Niara
I have neither the free time nor the energy to get into an in depth discussion about the matter; I am sorry, I just don't. There are several detailed threads where folks discuss it, however, and within them are more than enough explanations to show that the question you're begging with your premise does not obtain.

Then don't. I'm not demanding you have a full discussion on the matter. This thread was intended to get to the bottom of where this difference of attitudes about the game come from, which could be productive moving forward - no one is required to particiapate in it.

Originally Posted by Niara
My name is Erica, I'm in my early thirties and I work something approaching a 60 hour week on average, on a variety of tasks and projects that are predominately mentally taxing. I work that much by my own choice; I am formally unemployed. I have no average yearly income. I have a PhD in Philosophy and Philosophy of Science, and I've studied a broad range of academic topics outside of that, mostly surrounding classical and ancient history, folk lore and mythology, natural biology and botany as well as language and language evolution. I speak with my hands; I've been mute since I was nineteen. At that time certain incidents left me in a position where my doctors advised those closest to me that I would be unlikely to recover, and very unlikely to survive more than a few years of the lingering attacks and the strain and risk it placed on my body. I'm very stubborn; I'm still alive. I've long since forgiven the individuals responsible for the attack. I go rock-climbing in my free time, and enjoy spending time with my partners - I live in a three-person committed relationship; it galls me daily that I'll never likely survive to see a time when we could actually officiate it. I am a deeply personally spiritual person, but I am not religious. I'm also rational person who likes being able to understand the things around me, and explain the unknown where possible. I have a very visible scar across my neck; if I don't cover it, people react to me when they see it in public. I usually cover it. I play dungeons and dragons. I play with friends who know me well and don't mind that they need one of my partners to translate for me around the table. It means the world to me. I like to challenge myself in video games. I'm very strongly against exploiting or cheating in video games. Breaking an AI and winning that way usually feels like a fail state to me. I'm 138cm tall, and despite being over thirty now, I still get asked for ID whenever I try to buy something classy for my dad from the bottle shop for his birthday or christmas. I don't drink, myself; can't stand the taste of alchohol. My sister has spent years trying to find one I'll like, no success yet, though I try a sip of everything new she asks me to, just in case. I have family members who do not approve of my 'lifestyle'. I'm Scottish, but I've grown up almost entirely in Australia. I could be lying about some of these things, all of these things or none of these things. I don't tell lies; but you don't know that for certain. Of all of these things, my age, financial status and employment status are most certainly the least significant factors that have gone into making me the person that I am toady and shaping my outlook on the world, and by proxy my views on matters like this... and I will not be alone in that particular fact.

So... what is it, exactly, that you're hoping to learn?

Now you gave away more information than would be useful to testing the hypothesis, and way more personal than was ever requested.

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I'm a 2,000 year old comic/producer/director/actor and my current occupation is deceased.

Pleased to meet you, can you guess my name?

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So according to you the game must have a button to automatically kill all enemies and another one to instantly win. You must also get +5 weapons at the very start of the game.
Its still balanced because you do not need to use it after all.

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39, terrible with finance and the bean count, but we can call it maybe 60k, enough not to starve but not to live where I do. I ran a catering company in the Bay Area before Covid destroyed my entire industry. Wanna gather? Yeah, me neither. Now I am among the millions of unemployed, which is great, while simultaneously sucking. No one should have to grind. Humans have more interesting things they could be doing.

I am not a Doctor like Faustus, but do have a sweet ass bachelors degree in Classics and Philosophy that took me like 7 years to pull off (go State!) Now I am an autodidact and read everything I can get my hands on. I have many thoughts, but struggle to type them down.

My best friend since I was 9 died in March from rare cancer a month after his 39th birthday and it makes me sad that he didn't get to experience this crazy plague and near collapse of civilization. No one wants to be stuck in Durlag's Tower alone. Now my best friend is a rescue Greyhound. And she's better than any human I know.

I think hypotheses are interesting, and that games might save humanity from itself, but not sure I'm following. I have strong feelings about this particular game and might be described as obsessed by balance sometimes, other times maybe not. I don't drink much either, but will take endless bong rips. This game is a form of escapism and fantasism for me. I'm all eidos, praxis not so much

Merry Christmas and Hail Satan
Best of luck d20

Last edited by Black_Elk; 24/12/20 04:57 PM.
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Originally Posted by Black_Elk
I think hypotheses are interesting, and that games might save humanity from itself, but not sure I'm following. I have strong feelings about this particular game and might be described as obsessed by balance sometimes, other times maybe not. I drink much either, but will take endless bong rips.

This specifically has to deal with exploits - things that you have to go out of your way to do in order to make things easier. If you found out that you could get some huge bonus if you go out of your way to do something, would you consider it game-breaking that it exists, independent of whether or not you decide to go out of your way to do it?

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I have no problem with it I guess, if its oriented around gameplay enjoyment and part of some design concept being realized. Maybe because I consider this a single player game. Sometimes I struggle when a game morphs from a game into a simulator without clearly defined goals or challenges, or where I am tasked with deciding for myself what is a win. If that makes any sense. I didn't use the cheat console in BG, but spent more time just playing with the NWN toolset than playing the actual game. If that also makes sense.

Do you mean like killing flesh golems for extra XP? I guess in this one that would be what, like hurling nautiloid tanks at cambions? I'm fine with that stuff if it feels like I just discovered a secret. But less entertaining if its something I read about somewhere beforehand.

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I strongly recommend against posting personal information on unsecured internet forums. Age, place of employment, descriptions of disabilities, length of your mustache, etc. is all stuff that does nothing good for you here. I have my own mental impression for each poster, and I don't want my illusions spoiled by reality.

I also play for escape. Optimal challenge is the key to having a fun game. I almost quit Baldur's Gate when I hit the first wolf outside Candlekeep and got creamed. I can remember thinking, "who enjoys this?" As it turned out later, I realized I just had horrible playing skills.

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Originally Posted by Black_Elk
I have no problem with it I guess, if its oriented around gameplay enjoyment and part of some design concept being realized. Maybe because I consider this a single player game. Sometimes I struggle when a game morphs from a game into a simulator without clearly defined goals or challenges, or where I am tasked with deciding for myself what is a win. If that makes any sense. I didn't use the cheat console in BG, but spent more time just playing with the NWN toolset than playing the actual game. If that also makes sense.

Do you mean like killing flesh golems for extra XP? I guess in this one that would be what, like hurling nautiloid tanks at cambions? I'm fine with that stuff if it feels like I just discovered a secret. But less entertaining if its something I read about somewhere beforehand.

Examples of things I have seen where people have complained along these lines are the ability to save and reload until you successfully pickpocket someone and there being an 18 INT headpiece. In both cases, someone can just refrain from abusing the system with it and there is no issue, but they want it gone anyway.

Originally Posted by Argyle
I strongly recommend against posting personal information on unsecured internet forums. Age, place of employment, descriptions of disabilities, length of your mustache, etc. is all stuff that does nothing good for you here. I have my own mental impression for each poster, and I don't want my illusions spoiled by reality.

I also play for escape. Optimal challenge is the key to having a fun game. I almost quit Baldur's Gate when I hit the first wolf outside Candlekeep and got creamed. I can remember thinking, "who enjoys this?" As it turned out later, I realized I just had horrible playing skills.

Well, you need to learn more about what is needed to scam someone then. I am probably the only person on this forum using my actual name - and that is one piece needed. Other key things are date of birth (not age or just year, the exact date), SSN, mother's maiden name, place of birth. For the most part, the top 3 are what are needed to steal someone's identity - all three of them. What you do for a living isn't going to be used to steal someone's identity, nor the length of your mustache or disabilities. Quite frankly, people can openly buy much more detailed information on you than what you described and habitually do because private corporations traffic in selling your information, particularly to advertisers. If you turn 65 you're going to get phone calls and mail about all these Medicare Part C and D plans because some corporation sold these companies packaged information of people who are turning 65, their names, addresses, and phone numbers - and they got this from you buying a phone or signing up for an e-mail address. What was asked are standard demographic questions that cannot be used to pinpoint any individual.

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