Yeah, I would have liked to see other factors limiting resting other than just convenience - like you get more XP for this quest if you don't leave the location or something like that. Still, I like good ideas, even if execution is flawed, and when they require me to enforce limitations of my own, so be it. All it took for these mechanics to matter was to try and roll with how the game was supposed to work.

Obsidian is already working on an expansion, they'll probably release more - I'm hoping for more classes and generally more options. While the comparison to complexity of old IE games is certainly relevant, I don't find it fair given how much time did DnD get to develop and how much time PoE was in development. So more such development can only bring us good stuff, especially if Obsidian learns from mistakes they've made in Pillars. The only thing I hope for is that they don't listen to "Game is not epic enough" or "Companions are not quirky enough" - while I absolutely understand these, pretty much all fantasy games are epic with quirky companions, this is pretty much the thing which made Pillars stand out in my eyes. Oh well, wait and see, wait and see.

Honestly, though, I found it didn't. I never trudged back to an inn just to rest up. I found the camping supplies I carried were enough, and there seemed to always be some in the dungeons anyway (hell, many times my camping inventory was full and I had to leave them there). I just never found this mechanic was useful or even mattered. As a result, I felt it was a waste of effort on Obsidian's part.

Totally agree here. As I said previously, I see huge potential with this game. I'm really hoping they can pull it together and deliver something great in expansions/sequels. Although with some of the nerfing and changes they've made in patches, I get the impression they're flailing about a lot with their own game system, which is a bit worrying. However, I do have confidence in these guys, so as you said, we'll have to wait and see.

No.

Pillars of Eternity is in no way almost the same as or undistinguishable from Lord of the Rings. If you aren't able to distinguish between the two, then clearly you either need to read through LotR and Silmarillion again (or play PoE), or seriously work on your analytical abilities.

What makes you think they are the same? Have you actually even looked at the races of the game?

I have seen the game yes my brother and his girlfriend were playing that game like clockwork. They like the gameplay, but not too fond of the story.

And yes I can tell the difference

Then do. What's the difference - or rather, the sameness you say it has?

The thing is I have not played the game. My brother has been playing it alot. I have been just glancing.

At first he was meh at the game but then HE grew to like it gameplay wise.

As to differences well The idea of having what is essentially Demi Gods as a playable race is not something you see in Tolkien's work.

Oh alright, I thought you had the same opinion as your brother since you never said you disagree with him or you think otherwise, and usually people say so when stating others' opinions - esp. when they're not true like in this case.

Yep. And then Orlans, magical exploding rune traps, active high-level magic like in D&D...if anything, it's more of a clone or another setting of Forgotten Realms, like it has been stated before (esp. if you look at the fourth edition with genasi and tieflings as playable races, and the Spellplague mutating people and places). Personally I love this, and it makes sense, coming from the makers of BG and Icewind Dale.

And Blackpowdered Guns!!!

Something the world of Middle Earth has not developed yet.

I believe the biggest differenciation are the themes the game attempts to explore - yes, the stuff with souls and gods, I don't really want to go into detail as to not spoil the game. The entire setting is also distinctly non-fantastic for a fantasy game, "epic" (or, indeed, "dark and gritty") scenarios, scenes and locations are quite rare.

Aha, 2.0 patch (which will come for the base game along with the first expansion) will bring:
a) AI presets for companions (probably not detailed scripting tho)
b) Selective stealth which doesn't disappear at the start of combat
c) Various UI improvements (ability ranges, display of chances to hit on hover)
Source

I'm sure it'll be wonky and unabalanced as hell on release, but I'm really glad Obsidian joins the group of devs actually taking care of their game after release, with Wasteland and Divinity: OS enhancements. They just seem to go about it via the continuous patching route, which is perfectly fine by me.

Yeah, I've been keeping my eye on thier forums. Looking forward to the patch and expansion.

Great review. I really liked the separate sections. PoE has been slowly moving up my to buy list for a while now, and I just keep hearing good things about it.

Posting it in General is a good idea, few people visit the game forum unless they've already bought the game. In general I agree, but I think readers taking the narrator at face value is a bigger problem. So many readers default to assuming that the narrating character is 'right'. I find that lot of the so-called black and white morality is actually not present in the books, but comes from readers failing to question their assumption that the narrator is reliable.

Harry Potter is actually a great example of this - it's only black and white if one accepts Harry's moral judgements at face value, and Harry's moral judgements are naive to say the least. Because he's a teenager. Also because he was neglected and given the bare minimum of moral guidance. The entire 5th book is focused on calling Harry out over this, and it gets expanded on in the final 2 books.

Reading Harry Potter again as an adult I realized how limited Harry is as a narrator, and how much deeper the books are than my teenage self thought. Much like reading Lord of the Rings as an adult opened my eyes to the horrifying classism and justifications for eugenics that are embedded throughout.
The expansion is why I'm finally buying the game. Obsidian may not be able to QA worth spit but they don't give up, and that's worth buying the game for.