Pillars of Eternity
09-26-12 | 01:50 PM
#53
Thread Starter
DVD Talk Legend
re: Pillars of Eternity
Update 9 - Modes, GODlike Races and 2.3 million stretch goal
Update #9 - The power of MODES and Godlike races: Our $2.3M Stretch Goal
Update #9 · Sep. 26, 2012 · 44 comments
We love giving players options: character build options, personality options, story options -- all the options you might want to play around with. We recognize that many players also want to play the game their way and have an experience that matches their particular RPG tastes. RPG fans share a lot of common ground, but on matters of visible mechanical feedback, complexity, and the overall level of punitive face-punching a game provides, there's a big spectrum of opinions. In a lot of cases, it's not too hard for us to provide options to turn an individual feature on or off, so we want to make that possible when resources permit us to do so.
Additionally, even among the ranks of RPG superfans, there exists a subset of players who can't get enough challenge. They want all of the difficulty features set to "I am pro." Collectively, we've worked on a bunch of these challenge modes in the past and enjoyed the results. Project Eternity seems like a very appropriate place to highlight suites of these difficulty options as distinct gameplay modes that players can opt-into at the beginning of any game. We've come up with three modes we'd like to support, which also includes the ability to turn many of their sub-features on and off on an individual level in an ordinary game: Expert Mode, Trial of Iron, and Path of the Damned.
Expert Mode will disable all of the common ease-of-use / in-case-you-missed it gameplay elements like the display of skill thresholds, influence/reputation modifiers, and similar "helper" information. In a fashion similar to Fallout: New Vegas' Hardcore Mode, Expert Mode will also enable more punitive and demanding gameplay elements, in and out of combat. We're not saying we're going to have weighty gold (for real, we're not saying that), but if we did, you can bet that would be automatically turned on by Expert Mode.
If you guessed that Trial of Iron is like Temple of Elemental Evil's Ironman Mode, you guessed right. When you start a Trial of Iron game, you have one save game that persists for the entire campaign... or until you die. And if you die, your save game is deleted. Enjoy!
Path of the Damned is a spiritual successor to Icewind Dale's Heart of Fury mode. In our encounters, we like to turn individual combatants on and off based on the level of difficulty. If you come into an area on Easy, maybe casters are replaced with weak melee enemies. If you come in on Hard, maybe the casters are augmented by a tough melee enemy or two. With Path of the Damned, that goes out the window. All enemies from all levels of difficulty are enabled and the combat mechanics are amplified to make battles much more brutal for everyone involved.
The first question you may have is, "Can I enable multiple challenge modes at once?" Yep, you sure can. They have to be selected at the beginning of the game, but if you want to play with two or all three at the same time, you can certainly can do so. If you're not quite sure you want all of the elements that come along with a given mode, this funding level will also cover implementing the ability to enable and disable the individual sub-features.
Along with these modes, we also want to introduce the Godlike races. These folks have been described previously as being similar to the humanoid "planetouched" in D&D: aasimar, tieflings, and genasi. That is a good high-level description of them, but they are viewed differently by various factions, faiths, and cultures in the world of Project Eternity. Godlike were "blessed" before birth by one or more of the meddling deities of this world. Though their appearances vary, they are unmistakeably otherworldly when anyone gets a clear look at them. Sometimes, the reaction they get is overwhelmingly positive. Many times, the reaction is overwhelmingly not. For better or worse, the physical "gifts" that mark them as Godlike always come with supernatural blessings (and curses) of their own.
The first question you may have after reading this may be, "Hey, what about the other races that have already been funded?" Those races are in the process of being fully designed and concepted -- and they can't be summarized quite as simply as "sort of like planetouched". We'll have more for you on those guys in the not-too-distant future. Thanks again for your support, your patience, and your questions.
Update from Josh Sawyer
In addition to today's update, we've got a few backer badges for you, including one for the fantastic Obsidian Order of Eternity!
Update #9 - The power of MODES and Godlike races: Our $2.3M Stretch Goal
Update #9 · Sep. 26, 2012 · 44 comments
We love giving players options: character build options, personality options, story options -- all the options you might want to play around with. We recognize that many players also want to play the game their way and have an experience that matches their particular RPG tastes. RPG fans share a lot of common ground, but on matters of visible mechanical feedback, complexity, and the overall level of punitive face-punching a game provides, there's a big spectrum of opinions. In a lot of cases, it's not too hard for us to provide options to turn an individual feature on or off, so we want to make that possible when resources permit us to do so.
Additionally, even among the ranks of RPG superfans, there exists a subset of players who can't get enough challenge. They want all of the difficulty features set to "I am pro." Collectively, we've worked on a bunch of these challenge modes in the past and enjoyed the results. Project Eternity seems like a very appropriate place to highlight suites of these difficulty options as distinct gameplay modes that players can opt-into at the beginning of any game. We've come up with three modes we'd like to support, which also includes the ability to turn many of their sub-features on and off on an individual level in an ordinary game: Expert Mode, Trial of Iron, and Path of the Damned.
Expert Mode will disable all of the common ease-of-use / in-case-you-missed it gameplay elements like the display of skill thresholds, influence/reputation modifiers, and similar "helper" information. In a fashion similar to Fallout: New Vegas' Hardcore Mode, Expert Mode will also enable more punitive and demanding gameplay elements, in and out of combat. We're not saying we're going to have weighty gold (for real, we're not saying that), but if we did, you can bet that would be automatically turned on by Expert Mode.
If you guessed that Trial of Iron is like Temple of Elemental Evil's Ironman Mode, you guessed right. When you start a Trial of Iron game, you have one save game that persists for the entire campaign... or until you die. And if you die, your save game is deleted. Enjoy!
Path of the Damned is a spiritual successor to Icewind Dale's Heart of Fury mode. In our encounters, we like to turn individual combatants on and off based on the level of difficulty. If you come into an area on Easy, maybe casters are replaced with weak melee enemies. If you come in on Hard, maybe the casters are augmented by a tough melee enemy or two. With Path of the Damned, that goes out the window. All enemies from all levels of difficulty are enabled and the combat mechanics are amplified to make battles much more brutal for everyone involved.
The first question you may have is, "Can I enable multiple challenge modes at once?" Yep, you sure can. They have to be selected at the beginning of the game, but if you want to play with two or all three at the same time, you can certainly can do so. If you're not quite sure you want all of the elements that come along with a given mode, this funding level will also cover implementing the ability to enable and disable the individual sub-features.
Along with these modes, we also want to introduce the Godlike races. These folks have been described previously as being similar to the humanoid "planetouched" in D&D: aasimar, tieflings, and genasi. That is a good high-level description of them, but they are viewed differently by various factions, faiths, and cultures in the world of Project Eternity. Godlike were "blessed" before birth by one or more of the meddling deities of this world. Though their appearances vary, they are unmistakeably otherworldly when anyone gets a clear look at them. Sometimes, the reaction they get is overwhelmingly positive. Many times, the reaction is overwhelmingly not. For better or worse, the physical "gifts" that mark them as Godlike always come with supernatural blessings (and curses) of their own.
The first question you may have after reading this may be, "Hey, what about the other races that have already been funded?" Those races are in the process of being fully designed and concepted -- and they can't be summarized quite as simply as "sort of like planetouched". We'll have more for you on those guys in the not-too-distant future. Thanks again for your support, your patience, and your questions.
Update from Josh Sawyer
In addition to today's update, we've got a few backer badges for you, including one for the fantastic Obsidian Order of Eternity!
09-27-12 | 02:06 PM
#54
Thread Starter
DVD Talk Legend
re: Pillars of Eternity
1st companion: cadegund
From PA report:
http://penny-arcade.com/report/edito...-eternity-and-
Also PA has seen a screenshot, but not out uet
10-04-12 | 09:28 AM
#55
Thread Starter
DVD Talk Legend
re: Pillars of Eternity
Obsidian has been pretty consistent with its updates.
Key Updates include A Mega Dungeon introduced (Think Watcher's Keep from Throne of Bhaal I hope). Every 2.5k Backers adds a new level.
Current funding at 2,297,000.
Stretch Goals Met - Player House, Mac, Linux, DRM-free option, Français, Deutsch, Español, a Bigger Story, a new major faction, 2 more classes, 2 more races, and 3 more companions. All added.
Paypal added on 10/3/12.
Upcoming Stretch Goals:
NEW ADD ONS:
(New!) Add a Digital Strategy Guide for $7 (included in tiers $80 and above, but now available to lower tiers!)
(New!) Add an Early Access Beta Key +$25 (included in tiers $110 and above, but now available to lower tiers!)
Key Updates include A Mega Dungeon introduced (Think Watcher's Keep from Throne of Bhaal I hope). Every 2.5k Backers adds a new level.
Current funding at 2,297,000.
Stretch Goals Met - Player House, Mac, Linux, DRM-free option, Français, Deutsch, Español, a Bigger Story, a new major faction, 2 more classes, 2 more races, and 3 more companions. All added.
Paypal added on 10/3/12.
Upcoming Stretch Goals:
NEW ADD ONS:
(New!) Add a Digital Strategy Guide for $7 (included in tiers $80 and above, but now available to lower tiers!)
(New!) Add an Early Access Beta Key +$25 (included in tiers $110 and above, but now available to lower tiers!)
10-04-12 | 10:51 AM
#56
Suspended
re: Pillars of Eternity
Kicktraq projects this campaign is going to top off somewhere just north of $3.6 million, so odds are we'll get all of the above stretch goals and more.
10-04-12 | 11:27 AM
#57
Thread Starter
DVD Talk Legend
re: Pillars of Eternity
Kicktraq Trending doesn't really work that well. I think we can hit 3.1-3.2. But unless it gets some really great ways to make backers donate more..then I see a hard time for it to reach 3.6
10-06-12 | 10:14 AM
#59
Thread Starter
DVD Talk Legend
re: Pillars of Eternity
Update 16:
Mod support, new rewards and mega dungeon info
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...y/posts/323119
Exclusive Backer Pet, Hardcover Books for $250 and Name in the Game for $500!
Mod support, new rewards and mega dungeon info
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...y/posts/323119
Exclusive Backer Pet, Hardcover Books for $250 and Name in the Game for $500!
10-06-12 | 10:35 PM
#61
Thread Starter
DVD Talk Legend
re: Pillars of Eternity
“@Obsidian: New backer goal for #ProjectEternity, like Obsidian on Facebook. At 20K likes we add another level of the Mega Dungeon! http://t.co/QbfSouu4”
10-07-12 | 12:44 AM
#62
DVD Talk Platinum Edition
10-08-12 | 03:26 PM
#64
Thread Starter
DVD Talk Legend
re: Pillars of Eternity
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...y/posts/324405
*New 165$ Digital tier that includes Wasteland 2
All Tiers 165$ and over will get the first expansion included. Not DLC, expansion.
*New 165$ Digital tier that includes Wasteland 2
All Tiers 165$ and over will get the first expansion included. Not DLC, expansion.
10-08-12 | 03:42 PM
#65
DVD Talk Legend
re: Pillars of Eternity
If you want physical rewards, the only way to get the expansion is to pledge $250. No way. I'm not even sure they should be talking about an expansion when the main game is still in its infancy.
10-08-12 | 05:42 PM
#66
Thread Starter
DVD Talk Legend
re: Pillars of Eternity
We are going to fund it ourselves and from the sales we get from Project Eternity when it comes available - not from Kickstarter funds. I don't think we will do a Kickstarter just for it, I'd rather see about funding the sequel that way - if you guys will still have us.
And your not paying 250 just for the expansion. This mostly for those that might have been one tier lower and on the fence to go to250
10-09-12 | 03:18 PM
#68
Thread Starter
DVD Talk Legend
re: Pillars of Eternity
New Update:
2.7 Million stretch: Paladin and Chanters
2.8 Million Stretch: ZIETS!!!!
Add Ons:
New Add-ons and Rewards
We were looking at the $140 tier and thought it needed something more, so we decided to throw a Project Eternity Mouse Pad into the Collector's Edition. The mouse pad features the painting from Kiernan Yanner. You can also add-on additional mouse pads at any physical tier for $15.
• $140 Reward Tier and Above (excludes the digital only $165 tier) - Now includes a Project Eternity Mouse Pad.
• Project Eternity Mouse Pad Add-On - $15 each*
Also we've been asked if we are going to have more physical rewards and add-ons, and we are listening. Today, we are announcing new t-shirt add-ons for you:
• Obsidian T-Shirt Add-On - $25 each*
• Project Eternity T-Shirt Add-On - $25 each*
2.7 Million stretch: Paladin and Chanters
2.8 Million Stretch: ZIETS!!!!
Add Ons:
New Add-ons and Rewards
We were looking at the $140 tier and thought it needed something more, so we decided to throw a Project Eternity Mouse Pad into the Collector's Edition. The mouse pad features the painting from Kiernan Yanner. You can also add-on additional mouse pads at any physical tier for $15.
• $140 Reward Tier and Above (excludes the digital only $165 tier) - Now includes a Project Eternity Mouse Pad.
• Project Eternity Mouse Pad Add-On - $15 each*
Also we've been asked if we are going to have more physical rewards and add-ons, and we are listening. Today, we are announcing new t-shirt add-ons for you:
• Obsidian T-Shirt Add-On - $25 each*
• Project Eternity T-Shirt Add-On - $25 each*
10-15-12 | 10:05 AM
#70
Thread Starter
DVD Talk Legend
re: Pillars of Eternity
Love that Screen Shot
Project Eternity is entering the final two days:
3,192,000 with 34 hours to go.
Next stretch goal is 3.5 million for a 2nd Big City (think Baldurs Gate or AMN)
Paypal is at 88k or so.
Mega Dungeon is at 10 levels
New Rewards/Add Ons:
Playing Cards
Documentary! (Will not be used from KS funds)
Add Ons:
Digital Add-Ons (Any Tier $20 and Above)
Digital Download of Expansion Pack +$20 (included in tiers $165 and above)
Digital Download of Campaign Almanac +$15 (included in tiers $50 and above)
Digital Strategy Guide +$7 (included in tiers $80 and above)
Early Access Beta Key +$25 (included in tiers $110 and above)
Digital Audio Book of the Novella by Chris Avellone +$20 (included in tiers $165 and above)
Extra Digital Download of the Game +$25
Extra Three Digital Downloads of the Game +$60
Physical Add-Ons (Physical Tiers Only, $65, $100, $140, $250 and above)
Project Eternity Mouse Pad +$15 (included in physical above tiers $140 and above)
Project Eternity T-Shirt +$25 (included in physical above tiers $100 and above)
Project Eternity Playing Cards +$10
Obsidian T-Shirt +$25
Rewards:
Project Eternity is entering the final two days:
3,192,000 with 34 hours to go.
Next stretch goal is 3.5 million for a 2nd Big City (think Baldurs Gate or AMN)
Paypal is at 88k or so.
Mega Dungeon is at 10 levels
New Rewards/Add Ons:
Playing Cards
Documentary! (Will not be used from KS funds)
Add Ons:
Digital Add-Ons (Any Tier $20 and Above)
Digital Download of Expansion Pack +$20 (included in tiers $165 and above)
Digital Download of Campaign Almanac +$15 (included in tiers $50 and above)
Digital Strategy Guide +$7 (included in tiers $80 and above)
Early Access Beta Key +$25 (included in tiers $110 and above)
Digital Audio Book of the Novella by Chris Avellone +$20 (included in tiers $165 and above)
Extra Digital Download of the Game +$25
Extra Three Digital Downloads of the Game +$60
Physical Add-Ons (Physical Tiers Only, $65, $100, $140, $250 and above)
Project Eternity Mouse Pad +$15 (included in physical above tiers $140 and above)
Project Eternity T-Shirt +$25 (included in physical above tiers $100 and above)
Project Eternity Playing Cards +$10
Obsidian T-Shirt +$25
Rewards:
Spoiler:
10-15-12 | 12:02 PM
#73
Thread Starter
DVD Talk Legend
10-15-12 | 02:27 PM
#75
Moderator
re: Pillars of Eternity
Nothing compares to the Two Guys Spaceventure. Project Eternity is currently at 24 updates. Two Guys is at 58 (49 of which were made before the project was funded).