Thirith on 11/1/2017 at 07:38
What I always forget when I start playing an exploration-heavy stealth game is how much I need to recalibrate for this specific game. Most shooters I can just pick up and play, and minor differences like how much damage you can deal and take isn't that much of an issue. With Dishonored 2, as with any Thief game, I have to retrain myself: how do I make sure to explore most of a location? How aggressive can I be and how methodical should I be? What does it take for enemies to detect me? The various parameters make so much more of a difference with a good stealth game, the result being that I usually find the first 1-2 hours of playing a new game (or replaying an old one) clunky and unfamiliar, until I become attuned to the personality and rhythm of the game.
I'm still in that phase, but now that I've got my first power (Emily's Blink equivalent) I should be okay. I'm hoping I'll get less kill-happy, though - that first mission turned into a bit of a massacre towards the end, but then, seeing how I'd just been deposed and my dad turned into a stone statue, I think I can be forgiven for being a bit... emotional.
froghawk on 11/1/2017 at 23:25
So it turns out this game only gets better on a second playthrough. Emily's powers are ridiculously awesome, and all the easy-to-miss differences between high and low chaos early on are pretty awesome. Gonna be interested in seeing if the last level turns out as different as it did in the original...
Jason Moyer on 12/1/2017 at 00:40
I don't think the last level was much different on high chaos, although I had multiple ways to complete the very last objective (dunno if this was because of playstyle, how I dealt with the villain, or who I was playing with) one of which was the most awesome, bitchiest thing imaginable. I actually hope the ending I'm alluding to is canon if there's DLC or a third game, and you play as a new character (or Daud again, maybe) dealing with the repercussions of things being fucked in the worst way possible.
Judith on 14/1/2017 at 20:25
Using Auto quality settings with TXAA and sharpen slider halfway, vsync off, adaptive res set on always and balance or quality, with fps limiter on 30 is a good starting point for minimum hardware configurations.
As for the game itself, I think des spread themselves thin by succumbing to the "bigger, better, more badass" rule. There's just too much of everything; the environments are filled visual clutter, to the point your mind drifts off for a while because your eyes have too much visual data to process (Jindosh laboratory, Jesus F. Christ...) Maybe on 52" TV it looks better, but on 27" monitor - not so much. Same goes for lengthy journals, readables, papers, multiple menu sections, crafting, rune skill trees... Good story, excellent missions (not complaining here) and leaving something to players' imagination would be enough. I fear D3 will have typical Ubisoft open-world game syndrome, and those games are for boring people ;)
Thirith on 16/1/2017 at 07:49
I'm glad I only got around to this one a couple of months after everyone else, because at this stage the game is running smoothly, with no apparent hitches - though I'm sure my graphics card and G-sync screen help. ;) I'm not particularly far yet, and it took me a while to get used to the specifics of the game; in the first mission, I ended up killing most people because I was so bad at judging whether a guard would see me or not. However, roughly halfway through the first Karnaca hub things clicked, and now I'm very much enjoying this... doubly so since I upgraded my Domino ability.
What I definitely like is that their more painterly look now works as well as it does. In the first game, I enjoyed the aesthetic, but sometimes what was supposed to look painterly mainly looked low-res. I do agree with Judith that things can be a bit too busy visually, though; I'm not a huge fan of looking all over a lab table to discover the one object that's actually of value. Then again, I think the game is very well suited to the player deciding whether they want to be extremely thorough or if they're mainly interested in getting the job done, and that's something I appreciate. Dishonored 2 is happy for you to discover all its secrets, but it's not needy - if you want to get on with things, you can.
Anyway, one small detail from Addermire Institute that illustrates one of the things I like best about this game so far: after the Heart shows you that there's something in the basement but there's no apparent way to get there, you need to interpret the mission space and draw the right conclusions. I like being able to take a methodical approach to understanding a space: looking around, seeing what's there, seeing what isn't there even though you'd expect it, and then making your plans accordingly. Here's hoping there'll be more such moments!
froghawk on 16/1/2017 at 14:43
Finally ran into a major bug (dust district): when I bring the high overseer to paolo, the howlers attack me as soon as the conversation starts. Oh well, guess Ill just have to do what I did last time and eliminate them both.
EvaUnit02 on 16/1/2017 at 20:10
Does anybody have Dishonored 2 PC but not Dishonored 1? I have a Steam key for D1: Definitive Edition to give away but D2 is required to activate it.
Jason Moyer on 16/1/2017 at 20:27
Wut? I gave my complimentary D1: Definitive key to someone and they were able to activate it without an issue.
EvaUnit02 on 16/1/2017 at 20:30
Quote Posted by Jason Moyer
Wut? I gave my complimentary D1: Definitive key to someone and they were able to activate it without an issue.
The key I received in my physical copy has D1: Definitive and the D2: Imperial Assassin's Pack DLC bound to the same key.
Thirith on 17/1/2017 at 09:07
One thing I was wondering: those of you who went for non-lethal runs, did you still try to take care of most or all enemies, or did you mostly evade them?
I'm mainly asking because I'm trying to be mostly non-lethal, but there are bits where, for one reason or another, I go lethal. This morning I played some of the hub leading up to Jindosh's mansion and came upon a bunch of robbers hoping to ambush and rob someone. Seeing how eager they were to off someone for their money, I felt it was time to Domino-and-crossbow their asses, but I was wondering if in a second, non-lethal run I'd basically ignore them completely rather than trying to send them off to slumberland.
