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Game News PC Gaming Show at E3 2015: Pillars of Eternity: The White March Expansion Pack Announced

Infinitron

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Tags: Feargus Urquhart; Fredrik Wester; Obsidian Entertainment; Paradox Interactive; Pillars of Eternity; Pillars of Eternity: The White March

For the first time ever, this year's E3 included a dedicated PC gaming conference called the PC Gaming Show. From what I understand, it wasn't incredibly interesting, but Feargus Urquhart and Paradox CEO Fredrik Wester did show up to officially announce the first part of the Pillars of Eternity expansion pack, which we now know will be called Pillars of Eternity: The White March. Set in the fortress of Durgan's Battery and the surrounding wintery environs, its features will include a higher level cap, new abilities and new companions. Here's the announcement trailer, which doesn't mention a release date:



After showing the trailer, Feargus and Fredrik stuck around to chat with the host for a few minutes. In addition to the features mentioned in the trailer, Feargus managed to slip in that the expansion pack will also feature "soulbound weapons" and "more dialogue" ("more than the main game", he qualified, which makes me think he's referring to companions). There was also a candid admission that Obsidian may have promised too much with the game's stretch goals. You can watch the segment yourself here.

Update: Here's a press release with more information, courtesy of GameBanshee. It reveals that the new companions included with the expansion include a rogue and a monk, and also confirms the suspicion that Obsidian are implementing a party AI system.

LOS ANGELES — June 16, 2015 — Obsidian Entertainment and Paradox Interactive today revealed the name and the first details of an expansion to Pillars of Eternity, the role-playing game (RPG) funded by over 70 thousand backers. The expansion, titled “The White March: Part 1,” will extend the story and experience of Pillars of Eternity, as well as adding a higher level cap, new multi-class abilities, new companions including the rogue and monk , a new party based AI system, and much more to the game. The expansion, originally offered as a pledge add-on during the game’s incredibly successful crowdfunding campaign, was revealed by Obsidian and Paradox at E3, and will be coming soon for Windows, Max, and Linux PC.

A trailer for The White March: Part 1 is visible here, with a glimpse of what is coming next to the world of Eora.

“The response to Pillars of Eternity has been incredible,” said Feargus Urquhart, CEO of Obsidian Entertainment. “We knew, when we started work on the game following our crowdfunding campaign, we had the potential to create the kind of game world we’d want to visit again and again for a very long time. The White March is just the second step in our own long campaign to bring more and more of the Pillars of Eternity world to life, but with us always making sure we live up to the faith our fans have placed in us.”

“Our partnership with Obsidian couldn’t have started on a higher note than with Pillars of Eternity,” said Fredrik Wester, CEO of Paradox Interactive. “It was clear to us, from the beginning, that Obsidian had a deep connection to their fans, and with the tremendous success of Pillars of Eternity, there’s no doubt in our mind that they understand what players want from an RPG. We’re looking forward to working with their team for a long time to come.”

Pillars of Eternity is an RPG inspired by classic titles such as Baldur’s Gate, Icewind Dale, and Planescape: Torment, featuring an original world and game system that evokes and improves upon the traditional computer RPG experience. The first expansion, originally offered to fans as a pledge add-on during a crowdfunding campaign, will continue the game’s rich story and expand upon its detailed, original world. Named “The White March: Part 1,” the expansion will also raise the in-game level cap and let players meet new companions, unlock new abilities, and meet new challenges in their own unique manner.

For more information on Pillars of Eternity, visit http://pillarsofeternity.com/.
What the heck are "multi-class abilities", though? I'm guessing ability talents available to multiple classes?
 

crawlkill

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super ready for another 25 hours of endlessly repetitive combat
 

Kem0sabe

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So its a dungeon crawl? I think they missed a huge opportunity to take advantage of the fact that the expansion takes place after the ending of PoE, to move the story forward as a throne of bhaal type of expansion, instead this looks more in line with Tales of the Sword Coast.
 

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So its a dungeon crawl? I think they missed a huge opportunity to take advantage of the fact that the expansion takes place after the ending of PoE, to move the story forward as a throne of bhaal type of expansion, instead this looks more in line with Tales of the Sword Coast.

That I believe has never been stated. All the (few) bits of info about the expansion seemed to point to added content during the main game, nothing after it.

Going by the narration of the trailer, it seems it would fit right after adquiring Caed Nua (well, and give a bit of time so the word reaches out, so probably right after entering Defiance Bay/Act 2)
 

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Durlag's , Durgan's
Is this intentional to trigger some instinctive response from the B.G. fans? :)
 

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So its a dungeon crawl? I think they missed a huge opportunity to take advantage of the fact that the expansion takes place after the ending of PoE, to move the story forward as a throne of bhaal type of expansion, instead this looks more in line with Tales of the Sword Coast.

That I believe has never been stated. All the (few) bits of info about the expansion seemed to point to added content during the main game, nothing after it.

Going by the narration of the trailer, it seems it would fit right after adquiring Caed Nua (well, and give a bit of time so the word reaches out, so probably right after entering Defiance Bay/Act 2)

I just assumed it was set after the main game after reading the RPS article:

Pillars Of Eternity [official site] looks set to live up to its name with even more playable hours being added to the game in the near future. An expansion, titled The White March: Part 1 is “coming soon” according to its announcement trailer, was revealed last night. Set after the events of the first game, it not only begins a new storyline but also includes new companions to recruit.

But they might be wrong.
 

Ulrox

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Looking forward to it. Will be interesting to see if Obsidian are trying to adress some of their main flaws(which I'm hopeful they might, but still find doubtful). Probably have to wait till PoE 2 or the main expansion, but maybe it is possible to see changing design trends.
 

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So they're finally not hiding the fact the game they really wanted to make all along was Icewind Dale 3, huh?
 

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Notice that the woman speaking in the trailer mentions a town. Maybe that'll be this expansion's Ulgoth's Beard.
 

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So they're finally not hiding the fact the game they really wanted to make all along was Icewind Dale 3, huh?

That's what came to my mind at first, too.

Also, if my interest was at an all time low after playing PoE, this is how I feel after watching this completely useless "trailer" (more like a teaser, really):

4db77_ORIG-look_at_all_the_fucks_i_give.jpg


What is even worse, my hopes for ToN are also starting to waver.

the expansion pack will also feature "soulbound weapons"

As in, more MMORPG design elements?
 

Ulrox

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Which is totally what I said.

My point being that it seems unreasonable to lose faith in InXile just because Obsidian failed to deliver with PoE. Here's my reasons for Torment not being shit:

It will be turn based, which would fix many of the issues with PoE.
It's encounters are hand crafted puzzles, which again was an issue with PoE (Too much trash combat)
Colin Mccomb has not come out publicly to say that pretty much all rpg system gets it wrong, and that grognards only enjoy IE combat for nostalgia's sake.

There's probably other reasons, but these would be the main reasons of the top of my head. InXile seems to hit all the right sensibilities for me atleast.
 

Kem0sabe

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Which is totally what I said.

My point being that it seems unreasonable to lose faith in InXile just because Obsidian failed to deliver with PoE. Here's my reasons for Torment not being shit:

It will be turn based, which would fix many of the issues with PoE.
It's encounters are hand crafted puzzles, which again was an issue with PoE (Too much trash combat)
Colin Mccomb has not come out publicly to say that pretty much all rpg system gets it wrong, and that grognards only enjoy IE combat for nostalgia's sake.

There's probably other reasons, but these would be the main reasons of the top of my head. InXile seems to hit all the right sensibilities for me atleast.

then again, inxile did make Wasteland 2, a piece of crap attempt at a post apocalyptic turn based rpg that manages to make even PoE look good.
 

Ulrox

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then again, inxile did make Wasteland 2, a piece of crap attempt at a post apocalyptic turn based rpg that manages to make even PoE look good.

I accept your argument as sensible, but I still have faith that InXile can deliver. They're using PoE's engine and have a somewhat larger amount of money to work with this game on. It seems logical to me that T:ToN will atleast be somewhat superior to PoE.
 

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Which is totally what I said.

My point being that it seems unreasonable to lose faith in InXile just because Obsidian failed to deliver with PoE. Here's my reasons for Torment not being shit:

It will be turn based, which would fix many of the issues with PoE.
It's encounters are hand crafted puzzles, which again was an issue with PoE (Too much trash combat)
Colin Mccomb has not come out publicly to say that pretty much all rpg system gets it wrong, and that grognards only enjoy IE combat for nostalgia's sake.

There's probably other reasons, but these would be the main reasons of the top of my head. InXile seems to hit all the right sensibilities for me atleast.

Admittedly, the reasoning behind my statement was sorta unrelated to the topic at hand, and yet not completely alien to it: my fears are mostly writing/story related (I'm a storyfag, after all).

Furthermore, both games seem to have followed a similar development process, and share quite a bit of the same "legacy" aura/curse, not to mention fanbase. Last, it's just a feeling drawn from the general "feel" of the latest "big" RPGs, and every new info, piece of news or trailer is an added nail to the coffin.

Indies (SITS, Eitr and their ilk) and SRHK are my last, and only, hope.

Inb4 Fallout4GOTY :troll:
 

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