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Dishonored |OT| The belle of the ball

mujun

Member
The first half of the game is really good the first time since you haven't seen anything yet. Turn everything off and get lost trying to find your way. But once you do everything once and learn the mechanics there's really no reason to go out of your way to explore. Ok so this time you found a pipe that leads around to the same spot you were last time instead of climbing along the ledge on the roof, big deal.

Sure there is a reason, you see more of the world and get to soak up more of the atmosphere. Oh, curiosity as well.
 

SJRB

Gold Member
Sure there is a reason, you see more of the world and get to soak up more of the atmosphere. Oh, curiosity as well.

True, but I can see where he's coming from. I also thought the level design in the first half of the game was much better and more open in comparison to the second half.

The point in the game where
you get betrayed
was the tipping point for me, where level design became more straightforward.

That's not saying it was bad, it just was more streamlined.
 

MMaRsu

Member
Im at the last mission now

this damn game.. Man it's so good. I've been going through it mostly stealthy killing a few guards here and there. I dealt with a few of my targets in a non lethal way, and while that was fun I cannot wait to replay this game in a more combat focused way. I'm not too great at the swordplay though, but just killing everybody will be a lot of fun.

Really a good game :).
 
I'm thinking of renting this game from Redbox tomorrow. I have both PS3 and 360. Is any one version of the game better than the other?

This is a Bethesda game, so I'm assuming the PS3 version is inferior.
 

DukeBobby

Member
I'm thinking of renting this game from Redbox tomorrow. I have both PS3 and 360. Is any one version of the game better than the other?

This is a Bethesda game, so I'm assuming the PS3 version is inferior.

Arkane Studios developed the game, Bethesda only published it.

The PS3 and 360 versions are pretty much identical.
 

Derrick01

Banned
Two of the most contradictory sentences I've ever seen are sitting right on top of each other.

No it's not. Just seeing what winding path is there is not a good reason to explore. What am I going to find? More useless junk that's automatically converted to money? More health potions when I'm already constantly full? Just another path that takes me to the same place I already got to quicker?

If there's a restaurant 5 minutes away from you would you take a left and drive around neighborhoods for 20 minutes just to prolong your drive? No there has to be a good reason to make you do something that crazy.
 
Was anyone else kinda...left disappointed with Dishonored? The stealth didn't feel too great - I actually played on the very hard difficulty setting with every HUD thing turned off...and beat the game with relative ease.
 

Amir0x

Banned
I really like the little details that there was no good reason to include but they make the game that much more polished


like with High overseer Campbell.
I've been doing a nonlethal playthrough, and branded that asshole with the heretic mark. So when I get to the Flooded District, at the bottom of the Refinery, I tumble upon a note from the ex-High Overseer. He curses my name for sending him there, and reveals that he has caught the plague now thanks to this. And then, after I finished reading it, I hear some moans and there the high overseer creeps out from around the corner, in newly minted Weeper mode. Brand on his face and all!

This shit is supposed to be the 'low-chaos' method? It's like a billion times worse than just killing him! The shit I did to the Pendleton Brothers is like lifelong torture. Just kill the poor saps instead lol
 

branny

Member
No it's not. Just seeing what winding path is there is not a good reason to explore. What am I going to find? More useless junk that's automatically converted to money? More health potions when I'm already constantly full? Just another path that takes me to the same place I already got to quicker?

If there's a restaurant 5 minutes away from you would you take a left and drive around neighborhoods for 20 minutes just to prolong your drive? No there has to be a good reason to make you do something that crazy.
I gave up trying to explain this to people when I was bitching about the exploration in Xenoblade. All there was to find in that empty world was (more) EXP for discovering landmarks, bosses you couldn't kill until later on with the shitty battle system, and minerals that were only useful later in the game when they actually had more of an effect.

In Dishonored, I think the paths are functioning fine with the intention to cater to completely different builds and playstyles. Because of this, they don't necessarily shine their brightest on a single playthrough. Assuming you only play once, their main use would probably just be different angles of approach. Beyond that, I guess they also provide the opportunity to back out and seek another way through if you ever find yourself ill-prepared to continue down road you were going.

I totally agree with your gripes about the exploration in the game. You won't need to explore if you're content with your runes, bone charms, money, and elixirs. It's not like a Metroidvania or some dungeon crawler where poking around will often reward you with something new or interesting. I'm not sure I can knock Dishonored too hard for not having better exploration when what I want most out of it is more stuff like powers. If we could use different weapons we picked up in the environment or found special ability scrolls or whatever lying around, exploration would be much different.
 

hitmon

Member
Just finished a non-lethal playthrough. Despite the wonky execution (sometimes had problems blinking and choking someone from behind) at times, it was an enjoyable experience. Props to whoever can do Ghost on every level. I may try that when I have more time. I look forward to Arkane Studios' next game.

I felt Granny Rags's VO was well done, then in the credits I see who did the voice over. Can't say I'm surprised of the quality.
 

Datwheezy

Unconfirmed Member
Where is the best place to hide bodies besides the garbage containers? I generally hide them up high on ledges, but seem to have high counts of bodies being found. I must be doing something wrong.
 

masterkajo

Member
I just finished the game. Was good. I enjoyed it though a bit less than I had anticipated.

Also, did anyone else experience some weird things concerning options? While playing I had a day where whenever I load a save it reset all my options to default. This also screwed me over on some of the steam achievements, apparently. Well, no big deal. Will play this game again for sure and this time I will go for the "only blink, no kills and not seen" run. Oh, there will be A LOT of reloading coming my way.

Did you VPN the game before release by any chance? Because I had the same thing happen to me but it went away when it actually released in my region. Guess it couldn't sync the settings with the cloud.
No. But I guess it had something to do with the cloud because my PS3 controller was empty so I switched from Bluetooth to USB and Dishonored didn't recognise it anymore. So I closed the game and immediately started it again (I think I didn't give steam enough time to sync with the cloud). The solution was to completely restart steam and then the options stuck.
 

NIN90

Member
Anybody know what how to fix the horrible continous buzz that happens sometimes when a PC game crashes? Because, yeah, that's what happens all time while playing Dishonored.

Only thing that seems to fix this is rebboting but I ain't gonna reboot every 15 minutes.

I just finished the game. Was good. I enjoyed it though a bit less than I had anticipated.

Also, did anyone else experience some weird things concerning options? While playing I had a day where whenever I load a save it reset all my options to default. This also screwed me over on some of the steam achievements, apparently. Well, no big deal. Will play this game again for sure and this time I will go for the "only blink, no kills and not seen" run. Oh, there will be A LOT of reloading coming my way.

Did you VPN the game before release by any chance? Because I had the same thing happen to me but it went away when it actually released in my region. Guess it couldn't sync the settings with the cloud.
 

Derrick01

Banned
I gave up trying to explain this to people when I was bitching about the exploration in Xenoblade. All there was to find in that empty world was (more) EXP for discovering landmarks, bosses you couldn't kill until later on with the shitty battle system, and minerals that were only useful later in the game when they actually had more of an effect.

In Dishonored, I think the paths are functioning with the intention to cater to completely different builds and playstyles. Because of this, they're not necessarily something that shines brightest on a single playthrough. Assuming you only play once, their main use would probably just be one's angle of approach. Beyond that, they provide the opportunity to back out of a path and seek another if you find yourself ill-prepared to continue down the one you were.

Your gripes about the exploration in the game are fine. You won't need to explore if you're content with your runes, bone charms, money, and elixirs. It's not like a Metroidvania or some dungeon crawler where poking around will often reward you with something new or interesting.

That's probably my biggest gripe on the game. That they try to cater to everyone instead of embracing being pure stealth. That's what I said in the old stealth thread we had, when you try to cater to everyone you end up with a game that doesn't do anything very well or memorable. The different routes in the game don't reward exploration, they reward someone who can't handle a harder stealth room (like a room that might have a ton of dogs for example).

Having played through a fair chunk of Dishonored, I can safely say it's the spiritual successor to the Thief games. Eidos Montreal have got their work cut out for them.

They definitely do but not because of this game. All they've shown as a studio was deus ex HR so that's all I have to go by as far as their talent as a studio. So for Thief 4 they desperately need a better stealth system and FAR better exploration than HR had, which was worse and more pointless than this game's. It doesn't fill me with a lot of hope that they can make a great Thief game because they haven't made a great Deus Ex game yet, just a good one. And I'm not waiting 6-10 years to play just good or ok games in these classic franchises.
 
Was anyone else kinda...left disappointed with Dishonored? The stealth didn't feel too great - I actually played on the very hard difficulty setting with every HUD thing turned off...and beat the game with relative ease.

Yeah it a little disappointing for me as well, the stealth was just serviceable and there's not much fun to be had with sneak and nonlethal, which makes it a little annoying since that's the method the games makes clear it wants you to do.
 
I really like the little details that there was no good reason to include but they make the game that much more polished


like with High overseer Campbell.
I've been doing a nonlethal playthrough, and branded that asshole with the heretic mark. So when I get to the Flooded District, at the bottom of the Refinery, I tumble upon a note from the ex-High Overseer. He curses my name for sending him there, and reveals that he has caught the plague now thanks to this. And then, after I finished reading it, I hear some moans and there the high overseer creeps out from around the corner, in newly minted Weeper mode. Brand on his face and all!

This shit is supposed to be the 'low-chaos' method? It's like a billion times worse than just killing him! The shit I did to the Pendleton Brothers is like lifelong torture. Just kill the poor saps instead lol

Ami why do you continue to be my Brutha from another mutha. I just went through something similar during the first mission.
 

mujun

Member
No it's not. Just seeing what winding path is there is not a good reason to explore. What am I going to find? More useless junk that's automatically converted to money? More health potions when I'm already constantly full? Just another path that takes me to the same place I already got to quicker?

If there's a restaurant 5 minutes away from you would you take a left and drive around neighborhoods for 20 minutes just to prolong your drive? No there has to be a good reason to make you do something that crazy.

You make it sound like only this game is guilty of this. Pretty much every single open world game, be it racer, shooter, action, etc suffers from the same problem, not to mention RPGs and pretty much any other game with large levels that don't require you to explore every nook and cranny.

This is one of the few games where the whole atmosphere motivated me enough to actually explore. Might be a taste thing as the game in your avatar didn't inspire me to explore at all.
 

MormaPope

Banned
No it's not. Just seeing what winding path is there is not a good reason to explore. What am I going to find? More useless junk that's automatically converted to money? More health potions when I'm already constantly full? Just another path that takes me to the same place I already got to quicker?

If there's a restaurant 5 minutes away from you would you take a left and drive around neighborhoods for 20 minutes just to prolong your drive? No there has to be a good reason to make you do something that crazy.

Spot fucking on. Same exact conditions for me, same exact mindset.
 

Derrick01

Banned
You make it sound like only this game is guilty of this. Pretty much every single open world game, be it racer, shooter, action, etc suffers from the same problem, not to mention RPGs and pretty much any other game with large levels that don't require you to explore every nook and cranny.

This is one of the few games where the whole atmosphere motivated me enough to actually explore. Might be a taste thing as the game in your avatar didn't inspire me to explore at all.

Why do you think I think HR had good exploration just because of my avatar? I just think Jensen's more badass than Corvo as a character. Not to mention I just said in my last post that it didn't.

But yeah I said this in the exploration thread that was recently posted as well. Almost no game from this generation does exploration well at all because there's always at least 1 design decision or unbalanced gameplay element that ruins it. Whether it's loot scaling or enemy scaling or making it so you can get 90% of the abilities or not balancing the game economy to handle someone who explores every inch resulting in someone with way more money than the game can support. Almost no one does it well anymore, it's a lost art.
 

mujun

Member
Why do you think I think HR had good exploration just because of my avatar? I just think Jensen's more badass than Corvo as a character. Not to mention I just said in my last post that it didn't.

But yeah I said this in the exploration thread that was recently posted as well. Almost no game from this generation does exploration well at all because there's always at least 1 design decision or unbalanced gameplay element that ruins it. Whether it's loot scaling or enemy scaling or making it so you can get 90% of the abilities or not balancing the game economy to handle someone who explores every inch resulting in someone with way more money than the game can support. Almost no one does it well anymore, it's a lost art.

I did until I saw what you wrote in your post after that.

I disagree with your second paragraph. In my experience it's more up to how much I enjoy the way the game fundamentally plays combined with the atmosphere/feel of the world more than anything else that dictates how much I explore.

Witcher 2 didn't inspire me to explore, I enjoyed its atmosphere but not so much the gameplay.

Fallout 3 and Vegas inspire me to explore a heap. Those games combine great gameplay and great atmosphere imo which is why I'll go and check out pretty much every nook and cranny. Even something like a lone bit of unique writing on a wall or a great vista is enough reward for me in these games.

HR's gameplay grabbed me just enough to get me to critical path the game in the most lazy way possible which is in contrast to its atmosphere which I loved.

I spent nearly as much time just finding shit to blow up in Just Cause 2 as I would completing a massive RPG purely because I loved every minute of the gameplay, traversal and action both done so well imo.

What do you think needs to be done to make exploration interesting in these types of games if it isn't the base gameplay and/or atmosphere?
 

Derrick01

Banned
I did until I saw what you wrote in your post after that.

I disagree with your second paragraph. In my experience it's more up to how much I enjoy the way the game fundamentally plays combined with the atmosphere/feel of the world more than anything else that dictates how much I explore.

Witcher 2 didn't inspire me to explore, I enjoyed its atmosphere but not so much the gameplay.

Fallout 3 and Vegas inspire me to explore a heap. Those games combine great gameplay and great atmosphere imo which is why I'll go and check out pretty much every nook and cranny. Even something like a lone bit of unique writing on a wall or a great vista is enough reward for me in these games.

HR's gameplay grabbed me just enough to get me to critical path the game in the most lazy way possible which is in contrast to its atmosphere which I loved.

I spent nearly as much time just finding shit to blow up in Just Cause 2 as I would completing a massive RPG purely because I loved every minute of the gameplay, traversal and action both done so well imo.

What do you think needs to be done to make exploration interesting in these types of games if it isn't the base gameplay and/or atmosphere?

Since we're just talking these types of games, I'll use this Deus Ex and Thief as the primary examples, I think the most important thing is the stealth has to be top notch. I don't feel like it's as good as it could be in HR and Dishonored and I think the main reason is because there are too many powers and over powered abilities that the gameplay is designed around and it makes the game easy.

The balance being ruined also affected HR's exploration because they reward you too much and 70% through the game you can have just about every ability and have some of them leveled up a bit too. There's nothing really useful to buy except praxis kits because everything else can be scavenged easily, mostly because the level design is not as crafty as it was in Deus Ex (the fully detailed map hurts that too). So if there's nothing to buy and you're rewarded too much, optional exploration becomes pointless because you already have everything you need. As far as exploration in terms of completing objectives, I've said many times they didn't do a good job there in the level design. Most rooms can be completed with a vent or a hackable door.

The way I would fix these modern problems in Thief 4 is simply don't have any kind of fancy powers. Give me a bow and a sword and other stealthy items (example being the water arrows to put lights out) and actually design the levels in a clever way. I know that requires a lot of effort and skill on the developer's part but we're in the big leagues, no whining allowed. I also know that without fancy powers you can't market it to the casuals and try to trick them into thinking it's a different game than what it's trying to be. Also without powers there won't be a risk of not balancing the level up system and making your guy Superman. As far as too much loot goes that can be solved by simple numbers. Like instead of putting 10 health potions in a level put 3, or instead of giving us 30 water arrows in a level give us 10. Something along those lines.

It's not easy to do all that, I know. But Deus Ex and Thief 2 weren't created because they were easy to make.
 

epmode

Member
The way I would fix these modern problems in Thief 4 is simply don't have any kind of fancy powers. Give me a bow and a sword and other stealthy items (example being the water arrows to put lights out) and actually design the levels in a clever way. I know that requires a lot of effort and skill on the developer's part but we're in the big leagues, no whining allowed. I also know that without fancy powers you can't market it to the casuals and try to trick them into thinking it's a different game than what it's trying to be. Also without powers there won't be a risk of not balancing the level up system and making your guy Superman. As far as too much loot goes that can be solved by simple numbers. Like instead of putting 10 health potions in a level put 3, or instead of giving us 30 water arrows in a level give us 10. Something along those lines.

So do it exactly like Thief 1 and 2.

It's crazy that the very first modern example of a stealth game still does it better than everything since. Looking Glass was so great.
 

Derrick01

Banned
So do it exactly like Thief 1 and 2.

It's crazy that the very first modern example of a stealth game still does it better than everything since. Looking Glass was so great.

Pretty much. I would say try to find a way to add to the old formula since in theory new things should evolve and progress from the foundations of the old but the old stealth/exploration games were so masterfully designed that adding or changing anything runs the risk of becoming Human Revolution or this game. Really it should be like the old games but prettier, with smarter AI if possible and come up with new but equally sprawling and complex labyrinth-like levels.
 

Bladenic

Member
I got those free Redbox rentals and the only PS3 game at the one closest to me is this game. However stealth games are not my thing at all. Is it still worth a look?
 
In Dishonored, I think the paths are functioning fine with the intention to cater to completely different builds and playstyles. Because of this, they don't necessarily shine their brightest on a single playthrough. Assuming you only play once, their main use would probably just be different angles of approach. Beyond that, I guess they also provide the opportunity to back out and seek another way through if you ever find yourself ill-prepared to continue down road you were going.

There really aren't builds in this game, much less completely different builds, and the game takes great pains to insure you will never be ill-prepared no matter what path you take.

They screwed up by not having mutually exclusive abilities that both expand and restrict what options are available at any given time.
 

Not a Jellyfish

but I am a sheep
I got those free Redbox rentals and the only PS3 game at the one closest to me is this game. However stealth games are not my thing at all. Is it still worth a look?

It most definitely is, you don't have to play all crazy stealth like.

Example, a mission at a some rich bitches estate, played the mission several different ways. One of those ways involved being really stealthy and then the other involved killing every single guest at the party.
 

Zeliard

Member
There really aren't builds in this game, much less completely different builds, and the game takes great pains to insure you will never be ill-prepared no matter what path you take.

They screwed up by not having mutually exclusive abilities that both expand and restrict what options are available at any given time.

There aren't different builds but there are different pathways to go through that take advantage of different play styles. You have access to everything but you're only taking one approach at any given time.
 

DSmalls84

Member
I started my second playthrough and i'm trying to go no kill this time. So far I have made it to the Golden Cat. It's pretty crazy how different it forces you to play when going no kill.

For example when I was trying to go speak with Slack Jaw inside the Distillery. I needed to get past the thugs guarding the entrance to the Distillery, and they never left their post. I tried to throw some glassware down to make noise and get them to move but it didn't work lol

Awesome game and definitely still feels fresh on multiple plays.
 

branny

Member
There really aren't builds in this game, much less completely different builds, and the game takes great pains to insure you will never be ill-prepared no matter what path you take.

They screwed up by not having mutually exclusive abilities that both expand and restrict what options are available at any given time.
You're absolutely right. There's a reason I said "intention"...I don't think this game executed on the ideas behind a lot of stuff too well.

Forcing people to take the first level of blink can be viewed as a misstep (as Riposte pointed out), and I think the reasoning behind not having New Game+ (to promote replays with different skills/approach) is backwards--NG+ should've just been there, and abilities/upgrades should've been handled differently.

Imagine what the game would've been like if we found our abilities, weapons, and upgrades in the environment like randomized bone charms. It'd make every playthrough totally different.

There aren't different builds but there are different pathways to go through that take advantage of different play styles. You have access to everything but you're only taking one approach at any given time.
"Approach" is the best word, thanks.
 
I started my second playthrough and i'm trying to go no kill this time. So far I have made it to the Golden Cat. It's pretty crazy how different it forces you to play when going no kill.

For example when I was trying to go speak with Slack Jaw inside the Distillery. I needed to get past the thugs guarding the entrance to the Distillery, and they never left their post. I tried to throw some glassware down to make noise and get them to move but it didn't work lol

Awesome game and definitely still feels fresh on multiple plays.

They're not hostile
 

cametall

Member
Game is fun but I find the stealth aspect kind of weak, especially when shadows are involved. It feels like shadows provide no cover like you might expect (ie: Thief).

I find slowing time is a blast, especially with groups of enemies involved.
 

Computron

Member
How do I get this key on the second to last chapter? (
After the flooded sewer when you come back to the pub through cecilia's abandoned apartment.
) I can't find any mention of it online, and all the doors leading to that part of the house are blocked off. It seems like it goes outside the map? Maybe I had a glitch and the key reset itself to the origin of the map, lol.

ibmniVsB5ld2S2.jpg

The key is in the green circle, you can barely make out its dark-vision glow in there...
 

Papercuts

fired zero bullets in the orphanage.
How do I get this key on the second to last chapter? (
After the flooded sewer when you come back to the pub through cecilia's abandoned apartment.
) I can't find any mention of it online, and all the doors leading to that part of the house are blocked off. It seems like it goes outside the map? Maybe I had a glitch and the key reset itself to the origin of the map, lol.



The key is in the green circle, you can barely make out its dark-vision glow in there...

I'm pretty sure it's just inside the abandoned apartment.
 

Computron

Member
I'm pretty sure it's just inside the abandoned apartment.

Nope,
the seemingly only way to get to it from inside the apartment is down the stairs and through the first floor, and there are only two doors there, the first door from the flooded district and the second one that cecilia was pushing at before she notices you come in and that on is not a door you can open.
:

 

Bladenic

Member
It most definitely is, you don't have to play all crazy stealth like.

Example, a mission at a some rich bitches estate, played the mission several different ways. One of those ways involved being really stealthy and then the other involved killing every single guest at the party.

I've heard so, but I heard you're actually punished for using a more straightforward and action approach as opposed to stealth.
 
D

Deleted member 102362

Unconfirmed Member
I really like the little details that there was no good reason to include but they make the game that much more polished


like with High overseer Campbell.
I've been doing a nonlethal playthrough, and branded that asshole with the heretic mark. So when I get to the Flooded District, at the bottom of the Refinery, I tumble upon a note from the ex-High Overseer. He curses my name for sending him there, and reveals that he has caught the plague now thanks to this. And then, after I finished reading it, I hear some moans and there the high overseer creeps out from around the corner, in newly minted Weeper mode. Brand on his face and all!

This shit is supposed to be the 'low-chaos' method? It's like a billion times worse than just killing him! The shit I did to the Pendleton Brothers is like lifelong torture. Just kill the poor saps instead lol
Holy crap, I totally missed that. That's awesome.

I've heard so, but I heard you're actually punished for using a more straightforward and action approach as opposed to stealth.

The game is designed to accommodate both stealth and action playthroughs.
 
D

Deleted member 102362

Unconfirmed Member
Question: for the achievement "Mostly Flesh and Steel," am I allowed to upgrade Blink to level 2? The description is a little fuzzy on this, as you get Blink level 1 for free as part of the game's story.

"Finish the game without purchasing any supernatural powers or enhancements, besides Blink"
 
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