Game News Project Eternity Kickstarter Update #63: Stronghold Mechanics

[J_C]

This system sounds very good. It's almost like a castle sim-lite withing a game. Obsidian just keeps devlivering.

 

[Jasede]

Delivering failures you mean; who else has such a track record of setting too high goals?

Focus, Obsidian! Don't reach for the stars and crash the rocket before you even left the gravitational pull of Earth behind! You can't try to reach three different planets at once; chart one course and stick to it. It's madness to try to put too much effort into this stronghold thing; it'll just be a broken mess- charming, but broken.

 

[piydek]

What sounds the most promising from all of this to me is the "ability to use defeated imprisoned enemies as leverage later in the game". Of course, we don't know to what extent they'll develop and use this, but sounds like awesome potential for some diplomacy and branching C&C in the game. It would be a shame not to properly utilize this nice setup.

 

[Commissar Draco]

Sounds p. cool. Except for how you magically know when something happens back on your stronghold but that's how things are with this game.

That's elementary Dr Heuehe: Pigeons upgraded to ravens.

 

[WhiskeyWolf]

Does any game in the past, had a feature of using your defeated enemies? I'm not talking about crafting or next stage of a quest.

Sengoku Rance

 

[Shevek]

New IP, New rules systems, Innovative health system, Innovative stronghold system, Fully featured companions, Two major cities, Adventure hall for custom campanions, Customizeable difficulty toggles, Crisp 2D animated backgrounds with lighting, No crappy bioware date sim gameplay, ETC ETC ETC

Man, if they pull this off, it will be insane. This is the first time in a while where the hype actually has me hyped.

 

[Shevek]

Delivering failures you mean; who else has such a track record of setting too high goals?

Focus, Obsidian! Don't reach for the stars and crash the rocket before you even left the gravitational pull of Earth behind! You can't try to reach three different planets at once; chart one course and stick to it. It's madness to try to put too much effort into this stronghold thing; it'll just be a broken mess- charming, but broken.

They needed this. Sawyer wants a money sink. This is the best one they have come up with thus far.

 

[Haba]

None of this is particularly complicated. Simply utilizing the same systems they had in place already.

 

[Lancehead]

Sounds p. cool. Except for how you magically know when something happens back on your stronghold but that's how things are with this game.

Not really a problem with Attacks since you'll be informed ahead of time. With Visitors, yes, it should take time to receive the message, because it could be interesting if it turns out that a particularly troublesome Visitor has setup shop and been causing all sorts of troubles before the message can reach the pc.

 

[kenup]

Meh. They are wasting Tim's talent on a gimmick IMO. I never liked the idea of wasting resources on a stronghold mechanic( instead of, say, fixing bugs, or making a TB combat system).

Nice pic though(needs an evil laugh animation).

 

[Wizfall]

Sounds awesome.
I loved the stronghold in BG2, it was an innovative idea and was cleverly implemented.
It gave you a break from other quests and little distraction time to time.
Except for the prisoner mechanics it doesn't seem very difficult to implement here.
Well worth the effort IMO.

Meh. They are wasting Tim's talent on a gimmick IMO. I never liked the idea of wasting resources on a stronghold mechanic( instead of, say, fixing bugs, or making a TB combat system).

Yea sure but everything is a waste of time instead "of, say, fixing bugs, or making a TB combat system"...

 

[Infinitron]

Don't you have a limitless 'stash'? Why would this be necessary?

Maybe that is the stash.

 

[J_C]

Meh. They are wasting Tim's talent on a gimmick IMO. I never liked the idea of wasting resources on a stronghold mechanic( instead of, say, fixing bugs, or making a TB combat system).

Nice pic though(needs an evil laugh animation).

If you have read the update, you can clearly see that it is not a gimmick. How can you call a quite large and complex element of the game a gimmick?

 

[Surf Solar]

The stronghold in BG2 wast as fleshed out as I hoped it to be (didn't even bother to visit after I did the quest for it) but this update sounds really really cool!

 

[norolim]

Well, if they had to add a stronghold to the game, I'm glad it's at least going to be a good one. Provided, of course, they manage to implement all of those features and systems.

 

[commie]

kenup...they have to work on this as it was a stretchgoal. They can't after taking the money for it, to then decide not to. I wasn't a fan of it, but it's looking like a neat little minigame. All I'm hoping is that if they make so much effort regarding a Stronghold then it bodes well for them to doing even more with the proper game. I doubt having Tim practice his abilities on this engine with this thing is a waste of time. That's probably one of the reasons he's on it so early.

 

[Vault Dweller]

Sounds pretty awesome (as expected).

Really looking forward playing what's shaping up to be the best RPG of the decade - RT fantasy with elves and shit. Does Obsidian know how to troll or what?

 

[Jim the Dinosaur]

So AoD is postponed till 2020?

 

[Infinitron]

So AoD is postponed till 2020?

Kaaaboom asks…
I was a bit discouraged when I heard that the combat was going to be RTwP (real time with pause), myself being a big fan of TB (turn-based) and the possibility of tactical combat that it lends to a game. My question is then: how are you going to make the combat in P:E tactically interesting despite it being RTwP?

Answer: Hmm, this is a bit of a loaded question, as it implies that real-time games aren't tactically interesting while all turn-based games are. Believe me, I have played plenty of dull turn-based games with very few options on what to do on each turn, and there are lots of real-time games that are incredibly tactically rich. Look at all of the real-time strategy games out there!

VD has seen the light and must now convert AoD to real-time.

 

[Jedi Exile]

Sounds exactly like NWN 2 keep. It even had prisoners (Torio).

 

[Athelas]

Sounds awesome. I hope you can have permanent residents, like a botanist to take care of your garden. And separate rooms for all your companions.

Though the amount of variables, unique dialogue, etc. that must go into all this may be a bit worrying.

 

[kenup]

Yea sure but everything is a waste of time instead "of, say, fixing bugs, or making a TB combat system"...

If you have read the update, you can clearly see that it is not a gimmick. How can you call a quite large and complex element of the game a gimmick?

gimmick
The fact that they expanded on it doesn't make it less gimmicky. It's there solely because it was a stretch goal, not because it's an essential part of the game.

Also, large element of the game? Skills are a large element of the game. The player's party is a large element of the game. Side Quests are a large element of the game, and the Stronghold is just one instance( with many smaller ones inside) of such. It's still not a systematic part of the game, like the use of skills or feats, that every player will have to take into consideration every time a wild stronghold appears. The stronghold's uses and minigames, are confined within the quest.

So, tell me it's not a gimmick when it has a similar systematic usage as skills or dialogue, or when its importance and consequences in the PE world/MQ go far beyond "it was a stretch goal." I'm not saying it's necessarily bad to add a stronghold, but I believe the limited resources should be instead used on something that betters the game as a whole.

kenup...they have to work on this as it was a stretchgoal. They can't after taking the money for it, to then decide not to.

I get that. I didn't like the idea then, I don't like it now. A house for stashing items, crafting and letting the companions rest is more than enough, IMO. I'm not saying they shouldn't do what they promised. Neither am I excluding the possibility to enjoy it(if I do, I won't really admit it, because bias), but it's still probably wasting more resources than it should( including Tim Cain's abilities). When those resources could instead be spent to better or expand the scope of the game.

 

[St. Toxic]

Sounds like a fun concept, but also one that fits more snugly in an rts more so than a party-based rpg. Could end up feeling disjointed; like getting visitor pop-ups as you're trying to survive some deadly dungeon -- "Oh cool, a plumber. Now I can upgrade the lavatory." Generally dislike house ownership in games unless they're mp-centric mmo's and the like, but we'll see.

 

[Scruffy]

i want to like this, but for some reason i don't.

 

[Jim the Dinosaur]

Maybe it's because it's always weird when games whose main attraction is to roam around engaging in shenanigans try to introduce a sedentary element. Like with San Andreas when you were suddenly called up to protect yo turf. Or the ending of Conan where he's all grumpy about being a king because now he's no longer an adventurer but forced to engage in peasant taxation minigames.