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

[Infinitron]

Sensuki's right, there are skills (which all have both non-combat and combat applications), talents (feats), and abilities. Josh's answer seems pretty clear to me.

PS http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/obsidian/project-eternity/posts/371907

As players advance their characters, they have the ability to choose class-specific abilities and more class-neutral talents (more like perks or feats) to customize their character capabilities. If you want to keep your fighters very low maintenance, there are a large number of passive fighter abilities and combat-oriented talents that you can buy. If you'd like to make a fighter that's much more "active-use" (more like a 4E fighter), you can choose to buy more modal and active abilities. Similarly, while all wizards gain additional spells, you can use talents to boost a wizard's damage with implement weapons and Blasts, making them more useful when you're not having them chain-cast a series of limited-use spells.

The same also applies to skills, which are used for a variety of non-combat purposes. All classes start out with bonuses in the skills that their classes most commonly use, but players can choose to reinforce or play against that top. If you want to make a paladin who delights in picking locks, you can do that and get a lot of utility out of the skill -- though the character will never be quite as good as a rogue who specializes in it.

That reminds me, we still don't know what lockpicking's combat application is.

 

[Jim the Dinosaur]

That reminds me, we still don't know what lockpicking's combat application is.

Won't that be part of mechanics? Lockpicking as a skill wouldn't really make sense in a Sawyerist game (how do you make it not be superfluous for more than one character per party?).

 

[Roguey]

It's a mechanics skill, so maybe something to do with guns?

 

[Sensuki]

My random guess was reload time of ranged weapons. That seems a bit too good, but if it was 1% per point or something then that's not too bad I guess.

That's not actually a terrible abstraction either because it kind of encourages playing against type. Rogues get a natural +2 to mechanics but if you're not going to be using a Pistol and don't really think you need that +2, then it might be better maxing it on a Ranger or whichever character you're using as a Ranged weapon user for the reload time decrease (or maxing it on both) which could be any character really (except for perhaps the Barbarian and the Wizard).

 

[villain of the story]

If "skills" are so insignificant and what matters is class through and through, why do we even have skills at all? And comparisons to DnD core rules are irrelevant because combat in none of the IE games have anything to do with how combat actually worked in a DnD PnP session. IE combat is streamlined garbage so it goes smoother and faster down your throat.

And Infinitron, you didn't address shit in that shit thread of yours. It's shit and full of falsifications in addition to the pointlessness of the main argument.

 

[Sensuki]

I can think of a few reasons

One can assume that the majority of backers expect a D&D-esque system, even though only IWD2 had skills (that's a conjecture though)
It's cheaper to develop a mock-up "I can't believe it's not D&D" skill system than to develop a new one, plus it's what Josh is probably most proficient in
The rules they make for Project Eternity can be abstracted into a Not-D&D P&P Project Eternity game which they can sell (and play, and we all know they play lots of tabletop and also the quotes in Roguey's sig add weight to this)

They considered a group-skill sort of thing but decided against it.

 

[Infinitron]

And Infinitron, you didn't address shit in that shit thread of yours. It's shit and full of falsifications in addition to the pointlessness of the main argument.

Feel free to address my shitty falsifications in my shitty thread. Shittily.

 

[Sensuki]

Regarding Roguey's question about spell ui in the Q&A thread I think that answer is pretty easy to surmise.

Wizards will be limited by the amount of spells they can have in a Grimoire. We do not know what the limit will be, but I actually think it will be the number of action bar slots on the UI, or close to (because the Wizard might need one for Familiar and Arcane Veil).

No other classes will have as many active abilities as the Wizard, every class gets one ability per level and the max level will be 12 or less. It's safe to say that no class will have more than 8-10 active abilities (besides Wizards).

So if the action bar is 8, 10 or 12 slots the limit for the Wizard's grimoire would be somewhere around there (-2).

That said I am a bit worried how many 'prayers' a Priest will get, but they will be limited to spells aligned with their Faith after all.

 

[Rake]

IE combat is streamlined garbage

PE tries to mimic that "streamlined garbage" though. That's their goal so there is no point in complaining.

 

[villain of the story]

Indeed but I'm complaining about romanticizing crap about referencing DnD and how Sawyer and co are such tabletop gurus over at Obsidian and whatnot, as if any of that matters because they are making streamlined garbage as homage to streamlined garbage.

 

[Sensuki]

If you were referring to me, I'm not romanticizing anything, I was just saying I can see why they're doing it.

Sawyerist design is definitely not my idea of ideal design. I am hope that the combat at least *feels* like IE combat in responsiveness, appearance and speed.

 

[Logic_error]

Indeed but I'm complaining about romanticizing crap about referencing DnD and how Sawyer and co are such tabletop gurus over at Obsidian and whatnot, as if any of that matters because they are making streamlined garbage as homage to streamlined garbage.

Very much this. Paying homage is not about collecting the annoying parts of something. But rather remaking the parts that were good and/or fun.

 

[Rake]

they are making streamlined garbage as homage to streamlined garbage.

That's what we paid for

 

[Rake]

Indeed but I'm complaining about romanticizing crap about referencing DnD and how Sawyer and co are such tabletop gurus over at Obsidian and whatnot, as if any of that matters because they are making streamlined garbage as homage to streamlined garbage.

Very much this. Paying homage is not about collecting the annoying parts of something. But rather remaking the parts that were good and/or fun.

The problem is identifying the annoying part. I for example loved IE combat. VotS disagrees. You as a designer would you change combat or no? That goes for every single aspect of the game

 

[J_C]

What quests has he been on? He's only barely started the first town.

[Chris] I don't mind the dialogue wheel, it works, and also I think it works better with the controller in some fashion, in terms of choosing options, it's a lot easier to get to certain subjects based on the thumbstick when you have a radial like that. The two issues you have with that are, if you spell out the entire line, and then it shows it, and they say it, that sort of wastes player time, but then when you have just the topic points that you're choosing, and then the player says something in relation to the topic, you have the issue like what you were talking about, and then it's not exactly like you imagined that topic being asked about but I think that's a much lesser evil than doing the "I read the whole line, I hit the button, I say the line", I just get tired, I just get exhausted.
...
I enjoyed Bioshock Infinite

The Truth. Seriously, he mentiones everything good and bad about dialogue wheel.

 

[villain of the story]

Indeed but I'm complaining about romanticizing crap about referencing DnD and how Sawyer and co are such tabletop gurus over at Obsidian and whatnot, as if any of that matters because they are making streamlined garbage as homage to streamlined garbage.

Very much this. Paying homage is not about collecting the annoying parts of something. But rather remaking the parts that were good and/or fun.

The problem is identifying the annoying part. I for example loved IE combat. VotS disagrees. You as a designer would you change combat or no? That goes for every single aspect of the game

I occasionally liked IE combat as well, it could be quite fun every once in a while but generally speaking, it was quite simplistic garbage. And the direction Bioware took with later games (cinematic garbage) makes sense considering melee engagements in IE games worked the same way: you target enemy and then sit back and watch, unless you wanted to maneuver.

Bioware should go all the way and make all melee combat cinematic and save us the pretense of tactics and challenge. At least it might be more entertaining to watch cinematic combat segments than to play that abysmal crap. Shepard as a renegade femme fatale was definitely one of the most entertaining 3D video experiences I've had, after all.

 

[Logic_error]

"Watch bots do it." / "Story mode"

 

[Sensuki]

Any guesses on today's update?

Probably going to be a minor one, might be a backer site update / production status update or something

 

[Infinitron]

Any guesses on today's update?

Probably going to be a minor one, might be a backer site update / production status update or something

Durability cancelation report. Not everybody reads the forums.

 

[Logic_error]

Why am I not surprised.

 

[Sacred82]

A Polina has just registered.

 

[Infinitron]

http://www.formspring.me/JESawyer

Sensuki was right.

 

[Roguey]

If "skills" are so insignificant and what matters is class through and through, why do we even have skills at all?

For non-combat stuff of course. That's their primary use. The combat bonuses are there in part so you don't feel like you messed up if you make a lockpicking character and find another character you want to use who's also good at picking locks.

 

[kazgar]

Update!

http://forums.obsidian.net/topic/64095-update-59-developer-qa-with-polina-hristova/

Spoiler

Update by Polina Hristova, Concept Artist/Nightmare Engineer and Brandon Adler, Producery Type

Polina in her natural habitat.​

Hello, everyone. This week will feature an interview with Project Eternity concept artist Polina Hristova. While a Project Eternity concept artist has to be well-rounded in their skill set, Polina specializes in creature concepts. Enjoy.

Q: Hello, Polina. What is your job on the Project Eternity team?
A: I'm a general concept artist =). My primary purpose is to design what things look like (creatures, characters, environments, etc) and help get the conversations started. But I also try to do my best at making things look cool and try to solve any problems the modelers and animators might come by before they spend hours building it.

Q: What are you working on this week?
A: This week I wrapped finished up some critters: the drake and the spear spider.

Q: What is your typical work day like on Project Eternity?
A: I guess in comparison to most, my work day is pretty simple. I get to draw pretty pictures. The days differ based on the assignment and I do sometimes change my methods since creativity does flow differently day to day, but my general pipeline goes like this: I meet with Josh and the designers to get a description on what I'd be working on. Sometimes these descriptions can range from a simple word to an extremely detailed description on facial structure, hair length and color, outfit, tattoos, amount of skin pores... (okay I'm exaggerating the skin pore part)... and anywhere in between. I'll also talk with the animators if the creatures would share rigs or any other potential problems we can have (it's best to design with these problems in mind than having to change the design a lot later). After that (and depending on schedule) I'll do a number of variants fitting the description and summon a mini-character scrum (Josh, the designers, Rob, our modelers, and our animators). Together they'll discuss any problems or make any suggestions and pick a variant that I'll take to final.

Q: What are you most looking forward to on Project Eternity?
A: I am really looking forward to playing it. =) But for now I'm really just enjoying watching the game come to reality. I love watching peoples' creations come to life and I give many props to our modelers and animators for all their hard work. I love how they animated skuldr and his sneaky "I'm gunna getcha!" walk.

Q: Which Project Eternity creature that you have concepted excites you the most?
A: This questions a trick question. Creatures all excite me. I LOVE creatures, aliens (not relative) and things that go bump in the night. I guess if you had to make me pick right now I would have to say the drake =) but I have a weakness for dragons and it’s also the thing most current in my brain. I also really enjoyed designing the godlike heads.

Q: What other games have you worked on?
A: I'm actually pretty new to the industry. I graduated school in '09 and I didn’t get my first fulltime game job position until Obsidian ('11), but I've had the pleasure to intern and freelance on some amazing projects. I've worked on Naughty Dog's Uncharted 2, PlayStation Move Heroes, some other unannounced titles (some of which will sadly never see the light of day), and the Dungeon Siege 3 DLC: Treasures of the Sun.

Drawing one of the endless tide of creatures.​

Q: What do you like to do when you aren't creating creatures that haunt my nightmares?
A: I have a massive range of hobbies, from collecting costumes, traveling to national parks, watching movies, playing games, being weird and goofy, swimming, kendo, amateur photography and more. But when I'm not working, or spending time with my family or friends, I still prefer to spend my time drawing and scribbling... especially at the Zoo.

Q: Do you have a favorite concept artist?
A: I have a lot and I hope I don’t leave any of them out, but here are the guys currently on the top of my mind: Anthony Jones, Khange Le, Ian McCaig, Jordu Schell, Craig Mullins, Andrew Jones, Erik Tiemens, Robh Ruppel, PaperBlue.net, Carlo Arellano, Carlos Huante, Charlie Wen, and Aris Kolokontes.

Q: And where do you draw your inspiration from?
A: Nature. Nature will always have us concept artists beat. =) It does some weird ****. =D

Q: What's your favorite game?
A: I think to this day Zelda Ocarina of Time holds a special place in my heart. Sure the other Zeldas are still great (except maybe Skyward Sword... but that’s more of a controller issue) But Ocarina of time has the perfect mixture of exploration, puzzle solving, action and story, and it was one of the first games that made me go "oooooooooooooo... I wanna do that! This is so beautiful." (Graphics back then...)

Q: Anything else you would like to share?
A: I like to hide in dark corners... and make random creature noises. =)

Crafting Feedback and Answers
After getting a ton of feedback and responses to the last update on Crafting Josh has decided to make some changes to the proposed system. Check out this forum post which breaks down those changes and provides some additional clarification.

Well, that's it for now. Head over to Obsidian's Project Eternity forums and let us know what you think about the latest update, Project Eternity or your cat JoJo. See you guys in a couple of weeks.

 

[Cursed Platypus]