Game News Pillars of Eternity Kickstarter Update #72: Release date, stretch goals cancelled, plus a ton of art

[Chaotic_Heretic]

I assume these parts weren't outsourced?

Death godlike head a bit too animu for my tastes though.

 

[7/10]

Kickstarter should stop allowing stretch goals - if you asked for 500k, then you get 500k and not a cent more. Going over the original budget only means feature creep and a delayed release.

 

[Monty]

 

[Dokkalfar]

Kickstarter should stop allowing stretch goals - if you asked for 500k, then you get 500k and not a cent more. Going over the original budget only means feature creep and a delayed release.

And how would they police that? Stretch goals came about because KS projects were being overfunded and the backers asked for further goals.

There's nothing wrong with stretch goals in themselves. It's just that many developers purposely low-ball the project goal, some probably even know it would be impossible to make the game with the minimum Kickstarter goal, and the stretch goals are just a bunch of features that they originally planned to have in the game anyway. So while the backers think their making the game so much bigger and more awesome, they are really just ensuring that it gets made, and that's it.

Banner Saga and Shadowrun Returns were massively overfunded, yet they only managed to actually make 10 hour games, so what would they have looked like if they were only funded to the bare minimum? Probably dead.

EDIT: Well, to be even more fair, what would WL2 or PoE look like at 900k or 1.1 million? they're all guilty of the bullshit at some level. Inxile/Obsidian for their next project should just take a deep breath and make the minimum goal 4 million. They'll make it, but their won't be many stretch goals, and then the developers can just make the game they promised, and add features as they feel appropriate.

 

[7/10]

Banner Saga and Shadowrun Returns were massively overfunded, yet they only managed to actually make 10 hour games, so what would they have looked like if they were only funded to the bare minimum? Probably dead.

A good portion of this money probably got spent on fuck knows what. Kickstarter is a deeply flawed idea. There's almost no accountability on the part of the developer.

 

[Roguey]

I'm glad there won't be any more stretch goals. It's good to see any sign of discipline that comes from somewhere other than glaring necessity (i.e., "we ran out of money months ago") in a Kickstarter project. And this game is very kitchen-sink, as it is. I would be happy to see them cut things, like the player stronghold, but maybe they'll pull it off well.

Kickstarter should stop allowing stretch goals - if you asked for 500k, then you get 500k and not a cent more. Going over the original budget only means feature creep and a delayed release.

The additional stretch goals were very specifically for additional wilderness areas and more companions so they could have one representing each class. Apparently the former isn't much of a concern anymore.

 

[crawlkill]

Banner Saga and Shadowrun Returns were massively overfunded, yet they only managed to actually make 10 hour games, so what would they have looked like if they were only funded to the bare minimum? Probably dead.

A good portion of this money probably got spent on fuck knows what. Kickstarter is a deeply flawed idea. There's almost no accountability on the part of the developer.

Yeah, but how frequently do you drop $15 on an already-developed game and don't have it change your life? That's a pretty common experience for me. At least through Kickstarter if I fund something and ultimately shrug about it there aren't corporate sorcerers bureaucracying profit off of the people who did the work. Kickstarting a product is a risk, but not a substantially higher one, so far, than just buying a game without chugging down a bunch of YouTube videos to decide if you're likely to like it first.

If I were one of those $500 backers and got something I wasn't satisfied with, yeah, I'd feel differently. But the psychology of that level of contribution must be different.

 

[Rivmusique]

This includes inn/tavern designs, adventurer party designs, portraits, NPCs, and items/weapons, so make sure you get your idea in before the deadline!

Has the Codex shit been sorted? I don't remember what was agreed upon, I recall brothel, inn or adventure party being talked about, what was decided in the end? And what happened to all the posts in the PoE subforum, or is it still there and I can't see it for some reason?

 

[Scruffy]

Hello everyone! My name is Rose Gomez​

​

• Artist at Obsidian Entertainment

Past

• Environment Art Intern at Obsidian Entertainment
• Student at Art Institute of California - Los Angeles
• Art Director at Game Wizards - Exodus

• Lead Environment Artist at Game Wizards - Deadman's Tales
• Environment Artist at Game Wizards - Boilerplate

So, i know nothing of this "Game Wizards" company or these titles, anyone better informed can shed some light?

 

[Infinitron]

Hello everyone! My name is Rose Gomez​

​

• Artist at Obsidian Entertainment

Past

• Environment Art Intern at Obsidian Entertainment
• Student at Art Institute of California - Los Angeles
• Art Director at Game Wizards - Exodus

• Lead Environment Artist at Game Wizards - Deadman's Tales
• Environment Artist at Game Wizards - Boilerplate

So, i know nothing of this "Game Wizards" company or these titles, anyone better informed can shed some light?

It appears to be a student-run "company" based at the Art Institute of California: http://deadmans-tales.deviantart.com/

 

[Johannes]

Kickstarter should stop allowing stretch goals - if you asked for 500k, then you get 500k and not a cent more. Going over the original budget only means feature creep and a delayed release.

They should obviously be getting the part people pay that goes over the asked amount, but the deal should be that they strictly pocket any extra and use it on hookers and blow instead of changing their artistic vision.

 

[lurker3000]

Just think of the upcoming fan-fiction these guys are going to inspire!

 

[Excidium]

I hope they don't make all females ugly for the sake of inclusiveness

 

[tuluse]

I hope they don't make all females ugly for the sake of inclusiveness

mods will fix it

 

[Durante]

Well, I'll go against the grain a bit and say that I really wouldn't have minded another delay and stretch goal in order to have more varied companions. I've been waiting for over a decade for this, who's counting a few additional months?

 

[Radax]

I have 0 issue with them delaying the game as long as it isn't complete shit they stay within budget . Although it does make it harder to resist the eventual "early access" beta.

Otherwise I'm pretty happy with how the game seems to be turning out considering the time period we live in

 

[theSavant]

So it still takes a year to finish. Well at least they are honest and don't say "delayed for only 2 months"... and afterwards "we are so sorry, it's still 2 month"... and afterwards "2 months, but now for certain"... like some zombie survival game I was dying for and then lost interest completely after all these delays. But 1 year delay sounds reasonable.

 

[Dexter]

Well, I'll go against the grain a bit and say that I really wouldn't have minded another delay and stretch goal in order to have more varied companions. I've been waiting for over a decade for this, who's counting a few additional months?

It's already coming out in Mid or Late 2015, you want even more delay?

 

[AN4RCHID]

I hope they don't make all females ugly for the sake of inclusiveness

Palagina is waifu material.

 

[Apexeon]

A ton of art piff.
I output 7 maps a week and sometimes update 3 a day.
Whimps with a full dev team and 4 million.
Cask wine and no air con is all I need.

On a more mentally sane note that is some nice art.
Looking forward to my PDF pack + game.

 

[Kron]

Beksiński's influence is pretty obvious.

HAHAHA, BEKSINSKI???
Sorry, but even assuming that Obsidian's art department could be inspired by him is ridiculous.

Beksinski is a master artist;

THIS on the other hand looks like some demonic race from a MMORPG.

Obsidian's art is bad generic fantasy, and the godlike-thing looks straight out of a cheap furry fan fiction. I would personally be ashamed to release something like that.

 

[Bubbles]

They instantly reminded me of NWN2 Tieflings and Genasi, so I guess I'm agreeing with you.

 

[Apexeon]

Beksiński's influence is pretty obvious.

HAHAHA, BEKSINSKI???
Sorry, but even assuming that Obsidian's art department could be inspired by him is ridiculous.

Beksinski is a master artist;

THIS on the other hand looks like some demonic race from a MMORPG.

Obsidian's art is bad generic fantasy, and the godlike-thing looks straight out of a cheap furry fan fiction. I would personally be ashamed to release something like that.

POE is just very high quality game art that money can buy VS a artist that bleeds passion and emotion into his artwork.
A non contest. One seeks to do a job vs one who seeks something beyond.

The master artist seeks to capture within his work the unseen qualities that resonate within the observer.

 

[Zed]

I wouldn't call PoE's art "bad", but it's LIGHT-YEARS away from master Beskinski (who is the best thing to have come out of Poland). I also do not see any influence or likeness whatsoever.

I wish Obsidian would have taken a riskier artsy style with PoE, but I guess that could be something for another entry in the series.

 

[Johannes]

So do the Godlikes potentially look like almost any kind of furry fantasy you can imagine?