"Kickstarter Backer" >>> Thanks for all of your support!" ?

[NeN]

Hi guys!

Edit: Topic has been answered. Thanks!

I've finally found time to sit back, and start enjoying this gem. I've waited for quite some time, too. I wanted to check the Discussions page, and I quickly noticed that players can't achieve 100% game completion because of something that isn't even a part of the Steam platform, or gameplay itself? Is this true? And if it is true - Why? o0

Normally, when it comes down to cRPG in general, one of the things I'd prefer to do is relax, take my time to get invested in the narrative, and the world itself. As I explore or do things around, it is always a pleasant feeling when I accidentally get an achievement. Although I'm not big on the Achievement craze, in some cases I want to have them 100% as an additional enjoyment to my gameplay.
Imagine my surprise when I saw a myriad of topics detailing a problem of a completely unobtainable achievement! :)

Oh, God...

I've thought a bit about it and I've found that this achievement is...odd. In no way it is connected to the skill nor gameplay itself. I figure that normally the Kickstarter project backers should get the official forum's badge, a variety of memorabilia goodies, and whatnot else. And usually this is the case. Maps, CDs, Cloth, T-shirts, even Board games come to my mind... But, an actual Steam achievement seems like a p2w methodology.
It is ironic, considering that Kickstarter was supposed to be this altruistically oriented non p2w platform, that allows people to directly fund the developers.

It's odd. And not in a good way.

Don't get me wrong, as I am a big fan of the Kickstarted initiative for the cRPG, however I do think it is quite inconsiderate to allow only people who've backed up the game on the Kickstarter to have the the 100% p2w achievement in order to complete the 100% of the game. As far as I understand, the achievements should be gameplay-related and platform-oriented. As such, the Achievements shouldn't be something that you get way before the game was even released on the platform. It feels like a fraudulent behaviour.

Please, consider altering the so called Achievement "Kickstarter Backer", which isn't connected to the Game's core mechanics, nor the player' skill during the gameplay, nor anything that has to do with the gameplay or interactions during the gameplay itself.

Saying "Thank you" is not really an achievement that has anything to do with the game itself. It is completely illogical and has nothing to do with 100% game's completion or gameplay mechanics.

Thank you for all, if any, consideration regarding this issue.

[Titan357]

Look guy, this is a stupid hill to die on but if its really that vital to your enjoyment of the game I suggest that you contact customer support directly.
The steam forum isn't going to get you anywhere and none of us can do anything about this.

I have, for your sake, and convenience looked around to find where you could submit your issues.

Official publisher customer support is available from Paradox Interactive.

https://www.paradoxplaza.com/support-static-info-ca.html

Official forums.

https://forums.obsidian.net/

Here you can find some threads on this very topic on the official forums.

https://forums.obsidian.net/search/?q=backer%20achievement&quick=1

Twitter.

https://twitter.com/Obsidian

I will gladly send you one of my save files if you so wish so that you too can have this useless achievement.

[Demolaye]

Messaggio originale di D'amarr from Darshiva:

This particular achievement is granted to kickstarter campaign backers as a reward for the financial support of the crowdfunded game with at least 25 USD. For anyone else there are at least two ways how to unlock the achievement.

From time to time a complainer posts about it but is far away from unlocking the other 98% of this game's achievements. Those achievements include some rare ones that are harder to unlock than the kickstarter achievement, since they are performance based and require sufficient motivation, passion and interest in playing the game. There are also some players, who can do wonders because they are skilled enough as to kite around enemies for an hour while facing defeat more than a few times. Simply following walkthroughs won't suffice.

Removing the achievement retroactively would be an act of fraud. Supporters of the crowdfunding campaign, who would contribute at least 25 USD, had been promised this special achievement as a reward. Explicitly. That has been tempting enough for many to become a backer. --> https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/obsidian/project-eternity

For completionists who are hungry to 100% this game the good news is...
This $25 achievement is often sold for $5.

[Demolaye]

Messaggio originale di Nenaraz:

Messaggio originale di BALONEYPWNY:

Nice try, 👉

I'm confused by your reply.

Care to elaborate?
Thanks

I think anyone who follows the POE boards knows what is being said here.
This "new" thread is from a ghost account of someone who has been railing on about this topic for 6 years and single-handedly and now underhandedly kept 3 or so similar threads alive by sheer force.
They post nowhere else and keep threads such as these alive to as a deep-deep-troll.
Kudos to them for achieving 6 years of high level trolling, but you are fooling few.

[Eshepria]

Yes, I'd thought 👉 and Nenaraz were the same person, but Nenaraz does have a small number of posts going back as far as December 2017, for what that's worth.

[Demolaye]

Messaggio originale di Eshepria:

Yes, I'd thought 👉 and Nenaraz were the same person, but Nenaraz does have a small number of posts going back as far as December 2017, for what that's worth.

Probably a side account they use to post once or twice a year.
Old trick used by many trolls on many boards over the years especially game boards for some reason.
I checked the post (pose) history as well, it was not very convincing for someone who has been a STEAM member for 6+ years.
That and the original wording of this OP being so over the top Diplomatic so as to invite someone else to mis-speak and be ambushed...
Comparing this this OP's wall of text and leading replies to 👉's short non sequitur approach seems to me like textbook smoke and mirrors. i.e. Hey these news posts on the same topic can't possibly be me as they are like the bi-polar opposite of that other thread. ...You know the trying waaaay too hard approach.

Of course this is all conjecture my part and only STEAM and his ISP know for sure, but I've seen this kinda act before on many game boards (seems CRPGs and MMOs attact these kinds).

Anyway I hope you are enjoying POE or whatever game is in rotation these days.
I have recently re-installed POE after a few years away and am loving it again.

[D'amarr from Darshiva]

Messaggio originale di Nenaraz:

So far what we've in the topic seems to be a few proper answers. Aside from the unsightly bickering, ...

So many words, so much noise and little signal. Everything you need to know has been pointed out repeatedly. Don't close your eyes.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2498924613

[NeN]

This is getting better and better.

Messaggio originale di Espheria:

Yes, I'd thought 👉 and Nenaraz were the same person, but Nenaraz does have a small number of posts going back as far as December 2017, for what that's worth.

Aha, so you think I'm someone else. Great. That's always fun. Sorry to disappoint, but I'm not "pointy finger", or whatever that is supposed to symbolize. :))

Okay, now I understand where the bitterness comes from.
Although I've been having fun reading each new comment by the apologists, I do not thrive in such scenarios where I'd linger for years of discussions.
Am I to understand that most of the bitterness I've experienced here was stoically lunged at me because of some person with whom I'm not affiliated with, but with whom you've mistaken me for? If that's the case -it's a bit unfair. I'll let it pass because I'm new here.

I'm unsure should I expect an apology, laugh out loud, or simply feel sorry for you guys who've had to endure this particular sort of an issue for years. A bit of it all...
Understandably, after six years you've probably became a tribe of sorts thus far, huh?

You've probably bickered and got used to personal attacks there, so now you think that it's okay to do it to whomever joins the forum with a genuine question. Well, I'm not the one to take that sort of ^&*^.

Someone stated here that this topic was exhausted over and over again, but I don't have time to read the topic that has 200+ pages. If you were here for that long and you know what's going on, you could've just given me links?

But, dang, is that a stupid way to address an issue or welcome a new soul around. Because what you expressed here is more or less paranoia. Perhaps you've been reading these forums a bit too much? That can't be healthy.
I'd like to point out that the issue is odd, and as such it might bring forth more people over time with the same question. I do hope you won't treat them the way you've portrayed it here.
Interestingly, everyone was suggesting using either 3rd party software, direct purchase of the Deluxe copy, or outright taking someone else's save file. Although these are alternative solutions which I'm not even going to entertain for a discussion, the topic's intent wasn't to use any sort of things like that. I should've specified that, so that's my bad.

Messaggio originale di Titan357:

Snip

Well, look a this. Titan357 actually gave links. Well, huge thanks for that! I'll check them a bit later.
Oh, I wouldn't agree that developers do not read Steam forum from time to time. ;)

Now, if any of you took time to reread my first post, you'd conclude that this topic was solved a few days ago.

If you are as fed of this type of things as you say you are, and if you believe I'm "pointy finger" because of your paranoia, then by all means I'm happy to announce that you needn't reply to this topic anymore with that sort of intent! It's that simple.

If you'd like to talk about something else, well -feel free to!

I'm not going to pretend like this wasn't entertaining, but I think it's time to move away from weird allegations.

[Demolaye]

Apology for?

i admitted a good portion of my post about a singular member was conjecture.
Whereas you've labelled an entire group of people by reading their minds and guessing their intent.
I think it is you who has made the larger leap.
So as you yourself said "it's time to move away from weird allegations".
Now "feel free to" ... "to talk about something else".

[D'amarr from Darshiva]

Messaggio originale di Nenaraz:

Now, if any of you took time to reread my first post, you'd conclude that this topic was solved a few days ago.

Then mark it as such using the buttons on the right side of the topic. The topic creator can do that. You haven't. Only inserting a comment is half-hearted.

[Demolaye]

Messaggio originale di D'amarr from Darshiva:

Messaggio originale di Nenaraz:

Now, if any of you took time to reread my first post, you'd conclude that this topic was solved a few days ago.

Then mark it as such using the buttons on the right side of the topic. The topic creator can do that. You haven't. Only inserting a comment is half-hearted.

True.
That and just saying or marking it as such actually precludes no-one from making more posts.
With the wall of text OP and their James Joyce type follow-ups it really does invite replies analytical or otherwise.
Or were those overly verbose posts just to "We muddy the waters to make them appear deep."

[lemurs2]

Why would anyone ever care about steam achievements? It is meaningless, and to use your own words, it has no effect on gameplay.

[D'amarr from Darshiva]

Messaggio originale di lemurs2:

Why would anyone ever care about steam achievements? It is meaningless, and to use your own words, it has no effect on gameplay.

True.

Yet there are two things to consider. (1) A kickstarter crowdfunding pledge of at least 25 USD had promised such an achievement as a reward, and as far as I have learned, the financial supporters of the project liked such rewards. The higher tier rewards (creating backer NPCs, tombstone messages, items, taverns, adventurer NPC parties, ingame portraits e.g.) have also been quite tempting to pay in advance long before 2015 without knowing what the game will be like. Despite the success of the crowdfunding campaign, trust in Obsidian has not been high enough for many more than 73,000 guys to support the campaign. If most of the fans of Baldur's Gate and similar CRPGs had believed that Obsidian could make it and deliver a similar game, there would have been many more kickstarter backers.

And (2), among the socalled "achievement hunters" are some that are serious about unlocking 100% of the achievements of each game they play. However, they pick their purchases carefully as to get games they like since hardly anyone is masochistic enough to spend time on playing games s/he doesn't like. And with regard to PoE and some of its achievements, deep interest in playing the game is strictly required as to unlock the solo & PotD achievements, for example. Most of the complainers about the kickstarter achievement are not aware of that and make a big fuss before even trying to unlock 98% of the game's achievements. It is a fallacy to assume that one can simply play the game a few times (or folllow a walkthrough) and will have covered all achievements. Finally, to claim that one deliberately refuses to play the bought game just because of the kickstarter achievement is not credible but ridiculous.

[NeN]

Messaggio originale di lemurs2:

Why would anyone ever care about steam achievements? It is meaningless, and to use your own words, it has no effect on gameplay.

Why play a game at all when you can watch it on the youtube? :) j/k

Although any devised Achievements might seem a bit cringe, they actually come from the time of early video-gaming history, notably the Arcade era of gaming. This practice held on to this day, although transformed through speedrunning or sharing the videos of the gameplay that show some good skill.
You see, back in the days you'd make your own achievements and things to do in order to beat the game in a specific manner which often included the hardest setting as well as the fastest time.
Incidentally, not all Steam achievements really reflect this mindset, but luckily some games do have an achievement that's somewhat worth going after and which can significantly improve your willpower to attain them. And this might take preparation, time, strategy, planning in general. For some people this is a great thing. In this specific case, the Pillars of Eternity are in such a position where getting the best of achievements actually reflects the necessity to properly learn the mechanics, in-depth, for the sake of completion of the challenge. It's a moral boost of sorts, if you will. A reminder. Since it's a cRPG, getting familiar with its intricacies, gameplay mechanics, itemization, and so forth can in fact prolong the overall gameplay enjoyment until you completely understand the game inside and out. This in turn can help some other players, perhaps, in case you'd like to tell a bit about your strategy or things that you've found out during the gameplay. Suffice to say, this is also the reason why some people dislike playing on easy or normal settings, and instead choose the hardest difficulties.

It is, and remains, a challenge you impose onto yourself to achieve something like that, and have a memo for completing the task at hand.
Think of it as an extra game option.

Some games like Scribblenauts have the achievements given to you in bulks, whilst other games have the achievements you'd like to attain due to their difficulty.
Whether you personally find meaning in that is irrelevant, IMO, since it is what it is, and fully a personal choice.

I hope that this covers your question and contradicts the idea that it doesn't really affect the gameplay.

[lemurs2]

No, it really doesn't, good try though. A for effort. Achievements are just something designers throw in to give a small portion of players a little freebee. Most players don't give a flying rats tuckus about them, but there are a few people that CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT THEIR
ACHIEVEMENTS!.

[NeN]

Hmmm... well, what you've exampled there are the extremes. They aren't necessarily true when I compare them with my experiences. Although there are people who'd love to have all the achievements for the sake of their Steam profile, for instance, and although most people don't really care for these, there are some people who do and I do not see what would be wrong with that. :)

Also, you can believe whatever you want to believe. I'm not here to argue over semantics for something that is common gaming knowledge since the 80s. Saying you don't like the achievements is one thing, but denying the origin of the achievements is another monster.
I've given you my opinion about it and the reason for the achievements to exist or why they are there in the first place.
If I'm to follow your logic and a somewhat angsty reply, most players play Fortnite and League of Legends. Yet, it says nothing of the quality of those games. Should I also play them? I don't think so. So, you need a better argument there.

I'm sorry that it isn't the way you want it to be, as people have been making their own achievements for years now. For instance, I remember when me and lads would rent Sega Mega Drive (Genesis in USA) console years ago for playing over the weekend, and would make our own set of rules and achievements for beating MKII. Stuff like "Only use uppercut" or "No magic". Some of the achievements translate nicely in the modern age, others don't.

Getting angry over the existence of the achievements and the plausibility of those beneficial aspects which they can serve for a genuine player is rather obscured. If you'd like to tell me that you never, ever, made a mental achievement in your head like "shoot only heads" or "no hits" or you've decided to slay an entire village in Divinity Original Sin games just to see what would happen - I could easily say that you're not really a gamer.