Obsidian's Pillars of Eternity [BETA RELEASED, GO TO THE NEW THREAD]

[jewboy]

I wish they would just tell the Dragon Age crowd to go fuck themselves. If I were in charge that's exactly what I would do--after the kickstarter ends. In a muahahah sort of way. I guess what happened is they love DA:O and think it's just the greatest game evar and see PE as a possible isometric Dragon Age. Some were dissapointed with DA2, although I'm not clear on exactly why, and I guess they see PE as being a true sequel to the first Dragon Age.

 

[Infinitron]

I made a new thread.

Don't make the game too human-centric, town-centric and faction-centric. Keep it balanced.

 

[Trash]

I made a new thread.

Don't make the game too human-centric, town-centric and faction-centric. Keep it balanced.

Very good opening post there.

For a good recent example of this, compare Witcher 1 with Witcher 2. Both decent games, but i feel that Witcher 2, with its intense political focus, lost something of the original game's "rural mystique" that made it really special.

This. A 100 times this.

 

[Infinitron]

Butthurt storyfag: http://forums.obsidian.net/topic/61042-disappointed-torment-fan-perspective

Inspiring post here: http://forums.obsidian.net/topic/61042-disappointed-torment-fan-perspective/#entry1222973

I know I'm going to regret this, especially since I suspect the drama is kind of driven by the OP's sensationalism, but I want to get this off my chest. A few hours, and glasses, past and I would not have posted this, but I will now.

I actually worked on Mask of the Betrayer. I was a tester. Technically, I was quality assurance, but I wasn't really all that good. Some of the other QA guys earned the title. I never thought I did. Hell, I shared an office with the head Obsidian QA guy who also did some of the design work in the game. He did the quest line with the legalistic devil and the quest where you had to submerge yourself in ice cold water. I thought he could be a real pain sometimes, but I respected that he had drive and talent. ...And that was the head QA guy. The design team was top notch. You might know that Sawyer wasn't one of the designers on that project, but he was intimately involved in the process. I will disclaim that I'm a huge Sawyer fan, not just because he was willing to go out on a limb and give me a chance to experience some of the industry first hand, but also because he was so gracious after I clearly let him down. Once I arrived and realized how hungry and talented the devs were, from the lowliest QA Atari employee to Feargus, I knew that I was out of my depth. I'm a hack without the drive and skills to compete. ...But these guys... these guys are the real deal. Take Alvin, for example. Here's someone who is excited by his job and wants to make a something of himself in the industry. He wants a name and so he's spending the time here, listening to what the fans have to say and learning his trade.

I've never met Tim Cain, but I was impressed and sometimes even awed by the people I met at Obsidian. My initial faith was somewhat vindicated by KotOR 2, but New Vegas truly shines. Even with the constraints of the engine and the vision imposed on the team by Bethsoft, they managed to create something I firmly believe is a work of art. I have all sorts of problems with so many of the parts, and yet the whole confirmed what I knew all along. Obsidian has that certain something that puts them in their own category. Even MotB, using the NWN engine I hate, building on the NWN franchise I despise, was a product of real genius. I've gone on too long already, and I *know* I'll rightfully feel foolish when I sober up, but these are the guys. If we want to return to the things we loved, whether it's Monte's tactical combat or Jaesun's epic grandeur or even my personal story about the nature of a man, then this is our best bet. This project, defying as it does the craven publishing houses, is our chance to break out of the mold and start fresh. Let them have barbarians and tactical combat. That was part of the ol' Infinity Engine games also, after all. It doesn't mean the writing will suffer or that the story will be less personal or that any of those things you loved about Torment must be diminished.

 

[Jaesun]

This is, by God, the third time I ask you this question Jaesun:

We do know there is no retarded WOW/DA pew pew IMMA MAGE SHOOTAN MY SPELLS ON A COOLDOWN LOL shit.

We do?

 

[Grunker]

Thanks bro

:relievedgrunker:

 

[Lord Andre]

Perhaps I'm annoying but I have to nitpick.

That post from Sawyer only adresses the issue of "machinegun fireball".

What I am worried about and most of the people that posted in that thread, was that all abilities/spells would have time to reset from one encounter to the other. That means every encounter, I have all spells/abilities available to me. That means there will be no such thing as attrition in the game. That means every encounter except boss fights will be relegated to trash mobs aka "use your best abilities in order" aka useless timesinks aka boring aka DRAGON AGE.

DAO's problem was not that you could machinegun the same ability, the problem was full regeneration between fights making everything short of a boss - fodder.

Josh's comment does not address this issue and it this issue that makes me worried about a DAO reloaded.

 

[Infinitron]

Yes, we get it. That's all the information we have now. It remains to be seen what degree of attrition PE will have. I don't think the developers have decided yet.

 

[Jaesun]

What I am worried about and most of the people that posted in that thread, was that all abilities/spells would have time to reset from one encounter to the other. That means every encounter, I have all spells/abilities available to me.

Again we do NOT know the exact mechanics yet. If you are concerned about it, keep fighting the good fight and voice your opinion on it on the forums.

I DO have a guess that since we did reach the hard-core options milestone, there may be some interesting and perhaps similar IE like memorization and other things that mimic the classic IE games. But that is just a guess.

 

[Infinitron]

WE are not asking for a strict declaration as to what will be final mechanics. We are asking only for assurance that retarded game play elements like cooldowns (Within or without combat) not make into the final considerations.

Sorry man but I just don't think you're gonna get that. If the possibility of cooldowns is a deal-breaker for you, I suggest you remove your pledge.

But you can continue advocating on the Obsidian forums if you want to:
http://forums.obsidian.net/topic/60903-alternatives-to-vancian-or-cooldowns-other-suggestions/
http://forums.obsidian.net/topic/60914-merged-cooldowns-20/

Go to town!

 

[Lord Andre]

Pretty much what Captain Shrek said ^

 

[Jaesun]

And that is what Josh has been doing for years.

 

[Captain Shrek]

And that is what Josh has been doing for years.

Then I fail to see why he is doing this. You KNOW that he has not thought about cooldown thoroughly. He even said that multiple times. That is poor reply from a developer actually involved in making games over a decade.

 

[Lord Andre]

The best I can do is vote in the polls. The retards over there make me rage and I loose all rational writing skills.

That's why I brofist Infinitron for his iron will and patience.

 

[Infinitron]

WE are not asking for a strict declaration as to what will be final mechanics. We are asking only for assurance that retarded game play elements like cooldowns (Within or without combat) not make into the final considerations.

Sorry man but I just don't think you're gonna get that. If the possibility of cooldowns is a deal-breaker for you, I suggest you remove your pledge.

But you can continue advocating on the Obsidian forums if you want to:
http://forums.obsidian.net/topic/60903-alternatives-to-vancian-or-cooldowns-other-suggestions/
http://forums.obsidian.net/topic/60914-merged-cooldowns-20/

Go to town!

I am not arguing with People like MErin over there. Sorry.

Seriously? If you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen.

You can try addressing Josh Sawyer directly: http://www.formspring.me/JESawyer Or you could make a dedicated "Against Cooldowns in PE" thread here on the Codex, and hope that somebody at Obsidian reads it. But both of those are long shots.

 

[Semper]

So, what do you guys think the chances of any kind of screens being released before the end of the KS are? I still haven't backed due to my rage at all that has been said so far, but I'm 50/50 at this point. Some graphicswhoring will probably push me over the edge...

Mock ups perhaps. Zero chance of actual screenshots.

You think so? Didn't the interview with Brennecke say that he had already seen a screen?

probably a high chance that obsidian will fuel the hype with a screen the last couple days to support skyrocketing pledges. there's no sense in preparing a screen to show it after the campaign... the quote implies this too. yes. feargus ain't a very reliable source but at least he should know how they drive the whole kickstarter train.

@Jaime Still working on the screenshot, really hope to show it off soon.

 

[Infinitron]

http://www.formspring.me/JESawyer/q/378187114719763439

Almost all games stick to the more old(boring) established skill/leveling systems. There's dozens of games were I think of way more innovative and complex systems like non linear skills or dropping leveling. Would you ever want to do something like that?

JESawyer12m
Sure. If more than six people wanted to Kickstart a successor to Darklands or The Magic Candle, I'd do that.

http://www.formspring.me/JESawyer/q/378187604891297605

Could you perhaps clarify the "over time" part of "Over time, you can build your own custom parties to play through the game" from the last PE update? You don't build a party at the start, but unlock party slots as you progress through the story? Or?

JESawyer 10m
You build your main character at the start of the game. You can use the Adventurer's Hall over time to build/add more characters to the party. Because the game will be paced for a certain party size (at least near the beginning), starting the game with six party members would probably make a lot of early content trivial.

 

[Jaesun]

It is better to have such discussions at the Obsidian Forums, if you intend to ever get any feedback from the developers.

 

[Captain Shrek]

It is better to have such discussions at the Obsidian Forums, if you intend to ever get any feedback from the developers.

I think that you can count on.

 

[TwinkieGorilla]

I just wish the art direction was more compelling or even slightly interesting. I'm not the sort who's ever been impressed with generic high fantasy tropes vs women which this appears to be...just with added souls and guns...so I'm having a hard time getting re-interested in this even though my initial rage against cooldowns has subsided. The concept art is so uninspired I'm surprised I was able to stay awake long enough to finish looking at it.

 

[Hobo Elf]

The latest update was pretty good. I enjoyed the little explanations on the classes, even if it wasn't on a mechanical level. Will be interesting to see how Ciphers work once they are added in.

 

[Jaesun]

Yeah. With 12 days to go and now with Paypal I hope at least we do reach the 2.5 (the Ciphers). Those sounded pretty damn sweet.

 

[Semper]

with paypal and the peaks at the end we should reach all the announced stretch goals with ease, stopping at 2.8-3mio.

 

[DwarvenFood]

Anyone know if the other "rpg communities" collected enough for their inns yet ? Also, I might just have become a race traitor..

 

[Jaesun]

Anyone know if the other "rpg communities" collected enough for their inns yet ? Also, I might just have become a race traitor..

Gamebanshee is at 2.4K and we are less than that (just 2K). Did SA also do a drive?