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

[Jvegi]

Yeah, Kotor 2 was truly one of the greatest of this decade.

 

[Zeronet]

Well i shall be attending Rezzed, mainly just to see Chris Avellone and Project Eternity and Project Zomboid. Mostly just to see MCA in person though.

 

[Infinitron]

Well i shall be attending Rezzed, mainly just to see Chris Avellone and Project Eternity and Project Zomboid. Mostly just to see MCA in person though.

Take photos.

 

[dunno lah]

Make sure MCA holds up a "Does not scale to your level" sign in that photo.

 

[tuluse]

I would have to agree that of all the games-marketed-as-RPGs released in the last ten years I liked New Vegas the best. It was building on Bethesda though.

I would have guessed that New Vegas was your least bad RPG of all time.

 

[Lancehead]

games-marketed-as-RPGs

Best answer to "what is an RPG?" yet.

 

[Roguey]

I would have to agree that of all the games-marketed-as-RPGs released in the last ten years I liked New Vegas the best. It was building on Bethesda though.

I would have guessed that New Vegas was your least bad RPG of all time.

Too much Fallout 3 in it to be that.

 

[DraQ]

Pretty much, I mean, the lines along which you're thinking are the ideal. But I'm never optimistic about how much of our uneducated suggestions (mine are, at least) can actually be implemented.

I was thinking about something a bit more simple. 'Resting areas' (whatever exactly they are) wouldn't be implemented in a realistic way - where you experience every single point of the narrative, such as actually leaving a dungeon in order to rest -, but they'd represent moments when either the party could take things a bit more slow or moments of the narrative where your characters are just meant to be at their peak.

Examples of the first I can think of, are the 'relatively-mundane Wilderness' ('mundane' meaning a journey through the countryside, not the Underdark); and Dungeons where the dangers are mostly static somehow, such as traps that you mentioned, but also unintelligent monsters and sentient sentinels placed (and trapped) in specific locations and rooms. The latter comes from a Sawyer quote from earlier, whatever encounters there can possibly be in a City will assume your party is well-rested (because not only they should, but there's no point otherwise).

But the really important thing to think about, I think, is that 'resting areas' should be used in specific ways as to favor the narrative.

I can sort of see it working really well in a storyfag game, but I'm afraid it might blow a whole lot of exploitable/logic breaking holes in mechanical consistency and indirectly world's coherence.

 

[Delterius]

I can sort of see it working really well in a storyfag game, but I'm afraid it might blow a whole lot of exploitable/logic breaking holes in mechanical consistency and indirectly world's coherence.

I agree (I am both a storyfag and a combatfag) but haven't most games been rather inconsistent in the urgency department? Indeed, when you come down to it, aren't games inconsistent by definition? Even in a world where everyone is ok with time-limits, I don't think we can realistically expect devs to implement and balance them across the board - you might have something like the fabled water chip, but there are other quests, and someone, somewhere, won't fret that it took you 10 in game hours to finally talk to the grocer across the street.

I'll go off on a tangent here, but long ago I began to perceive game storytelling as a recollection. In RPGs, that'd mean the old retired adventurer telling tall tales to the wide-eyed children - his narrative, as he remembers it, is non-linear by the very nature of human memory.

 

[Flacracker]

This game isn't anymore? I haven't been following the updates very much.

 

[DeepOcean]

This game isn't anymore? I haven't been following the updates very much.

It is not that, when there is no updates, codexers become bored and start the usual Sawyer is a smug douchebag vs. Sawyer is a fucking genius routine. When there is a new screenshot or video, it will be hard to come to this thread and not be hitted in the face by the massive ejaculations.

 

[Zed]

This game isn't anymore? I haven't been following the updates very much.

it will be the best crpg ever.
people being critical for whatever reasons is just the nature of the codex.

 

[Jedi Exile]

It will be the best RPG since Wasteland 2, but I'm not sure that PE will be better than Fallout or Arcanum.

 

[Rake]

It will be the best RPG since Wasteland 2, but I'm not sure that PE will be better than Fallout or Arcanum.

It depends on where you stand. Would you consider BG2 better than Arcanum, or PS:T better than Fallout? If yes then P:E may be better in your eyes. If not, then it won't be.
Not that it matters as it's a diffirent type of game. Wasteland 2 is the game that will be compaired to Fallout and Arcanum. P:E will be compaired to PS:T and BG2. Different design,different goals from the start.

 

[Lancehead]

The real question if P:E will be a better PS:T than T:ToN will be.

 

[Infinitron]

The real question if P:E will be a better PS:T than T:ToN will be.

No.

What I'm expecting from PE is basically "Thought Experiment: What if Black Isle had developed Baldur's Gate instead of Bioware?"

 

[Lancehead]

The real question if P:E will be a better PS:T than T:ToN will be.

No.

What I'm expecting from PE is basically "Thought Experiment: What if Black Isle had developed Baldur's Gate instead of Bioware?"

It's much more than that as I see it. P:E is stated to be a more personal story, there's the concept of Souls which live on through generations, and can be asked interesting questions of. Obsidian have demonstrated great talent in writing interesting characters and narratives, and in implementing deep and meaningful C&C in story. Not to forget that rekindling some of what made PS:T great was also one of their goals with P:E. I have more confidence in Obsidian's capabilities to pull off PS:T part of P:E than InExile's to emulate PS:T, ambition and setting notwithstanding.

 

[Infinitron]

I have more confidence in Obsidian's capabilities to pull off PS:T part of P:E than InExile's to emulate PS:T, ambition and setting notwithstanding.

You speak as if "inXile" is a person and not a whole bunch of very talented people who are very much trying to make a PS:T-like game.

What's certain is that there's a much higher chance of getting PS:T-like Walls of Text in T:ToN. Neither Josh Sawyer nor Chris Avellone have any patience for those, at least not in a high fantasy setting.

It's much more than that as I see it. P:E is stated to be a more personal story, there's the concept of Souls which live on through generations, and can be asked interesting questions of.

Most of Black Isle/Obsidian's games tell a more personal story, it's kind of their schtick. But not every personal story is a PS:T. Remember, PE is quite possibly Baldur's Gate 3: The Black Hound reborn in a different setting.

 

[Rake]

The real question if P:E will be a better PS:T than T:ToN will be.

To have a story and characters that is on par or better than T:ToN? Maybe.
To be a better PS:T game? No.
PS:T does not mean only a good story.
You must have walls of text, a game where the narrative is the main driving force even above the gameplay, to have combat play a minimal or at least avoidable role etc.
P:E isn't being made with those goals in mind. Remember, they promished PS:T's writing and story, not to emulate it's design like T:ToN is trying to do.

 

[Lancehead]

You speak as if "inXile" is a person and not a whole bunch of very talented people who are very much trying to make a PS:T-like game.

I'm not speaking as such. Yes, talented people with great ambition. And that ambition is partly why I'm sceptical.

You must have walls of text,

Right, P:E won't, but I'm not sure how important that is for a PS:T experience. MotB didn't have walls of text on the level of PS:T.

a game where the narrative is the main driving force even above the gameplay

No, a game where narrative is the gameplay, and I don't see why that won't be featured strongly in P:E. Yes, it has a strong combat/dungeon crawl focus too. (See below.)

to have combat play a minimal or at least avoidable role etc.

Disagree, minimal combat isn't a requisite of or essential to Torment experience. D&D's shortcomings are not a reason to remove/minimise combat as a means of conflict resolution and to not form a part of the narrative.

Remember, they promished PS:T's writing and story, not to emulate it's design like T:ToN is trying to do.

What is PS:T's essential design? Scripted C&C. P:E will have it. But,

But not every personal story is a PS:T. Remember, PE is quite possibly Baldur's Gate 3: The Black Hound reborn in a different setting.

Agree here.

 

[Grunker]

So, apparently it was Obsidian's 10th birthday two days ago. Codex didn't notice. Should we feel bad?

Considering what they've made this past decade, no.

QFT

 

[Sensuki]

Do you reckon they'll reveal Character Attributes in the next update? Because we'll get to see them on the weekend so

 

[imweasel]

This game isn't anymore? I haven't been following the updates very much.

The truth lies somewhere between shit and substantially worse than the IE games.

My vote goes for shit with a cherry on top.

 

[MicoSelva]

I, on the other hand, am increasingly optimistic about P:E. Really liked the information gathered in the latest social roundup from GameBanshee.

I would however like to know the final title of this game. I don't want it called Project: Eternity, unless that is plot-relevant.

 

[Jedi Exile]

I would however like to know the final title of this game. I don't want it called Project: Eternity, unless that is plot-relevant.

Eternity Gate

Seriously, this is probably too early to tell.