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Pillars of Eternity by Obsidian Entertainment (Kickstarter) [Up: Teaser]

Labadal

Member
That looks like the village they conceived for the new prototype being built in the Unity editor:

pe-village-580.jpg

When I squint, I can see it. It all makes sense with the concept you posted. Damn these eyes of mine.
 

zkylon

zkylewd
quoted again for awesomeness.
how good are the ixamitl and vailian designs?
now we're truly going to have everything the next years thanks to kickstarter...classic fantasy, cyberpunk, post apocalyptic designs...and peruvian fantasy

ixamitl looks like something out of morocco or egypt morelike
 

DTKT

Member
Might not be the best thread for this, but I felt like it was relevant to PE.

I just finished Mask of the Betrayer and I'm quite amazed at the difference between the OC and the expansion. NWN2 OC was incredibly bland with a cast largely composed of insufferables characters. There are very few things to recommend about that game.

On the other hand, Mask of the Betrayer is an amazing game with a great story, well-rounded characters and a fantastic sense of "journey". I wasn't a big fan of the "spirit hunger" mechanic. I've always been keen on exploring everything and I constantly traveled between locations. That meant that I would constantly end up with low spirit meter and devouring souls was just a chore. I got in the way of actually enjoying the game at my own pace so I just cheated my way out of it! The actual ending is a bit disappointing, it resolves one big plot thread but somewhat ignores the other.

Basically, one of the big theme of the game is the Wall of the Faithless. It's a wall where the soul of anyone who did not believe in any of the gods go. They are stuck there for eternity to repent their lack of faith. There has been two "crusades" to tear down the wall and your character can take part in a third one. You can succeed but only to a point. Right at the end, Kelemvor, the current god of death, simply states that he cannot let you destroy the wall. You can't even argue or try to make your case. I'm not sure if it's because Obsidian felt like it was a reasonable way to end or was just too big of a change for the D&D universe.

I've seen something about George Ziets commenting on the Wall and how he would have liked to do more with it. I can't seem to find a link...

Romance is also somewhat dull. It's one line at the end of the game. There is a nice arc leading to it, but it's a very minor part of the game and clearly not something Obsidian intended to elaborate on. I'd rather have them take out that kind of interactivity if they can't properly do it.

All in all, it more than makes up for NWN2. If it's any indication of Obsidian at it's fullest, then I can't wait to see what PE will bring. I'm a bit worried that PE setting is a too "generic" when compared to MoTB. I hope it won't prevent them from creating weird settings or strange situations for the PC. The greatest moments in Motb were the dream sequences, meeting a "dead" god, meeting the Coven and all the stuff around it. That conversation was absolutely phenomenal.

I think I'm done with NW2 for now. The SoZ and MoW seem to be your generic fantasy D&D campaign and lack the story and craft that made MoTB one of the best RPG I have ever played.
 
Basically, one of the big theme of the game is the Wall of the Faithless. It's a wall where the soul of anyone who did not believe in any of the gods go. They are stuck there for eternity to repent their lack of faith. There has been two "crusades" to tear down the wall and your character can take part in a third one. You can succeed but only to a point. Right at the end, Kelemvor, the current god of death, simply states that he cannot let you destroy the wall. You can't even argue or try to make your case. I'm not sure if it's because Obsidian felt like it was a reasonable way to end or was just too big of a change for the D&D universe.

I've seen something about George Ziets commenting on the Wall and how he would have liked to do more with it. I can't seem to find a link...

Tearing down the Wall would be akin to Tony Stark dying in Iron Man 3. You are given a decent amount of leash with a licensed property, but you're always on a collar.
 

DTKT

Member
Tearing down the Wall would be akin to Tony Stark dying in Iron Man 3. You are given a decent amount of leash with a licensed property, but you're always on a collar.

It's a shame really. It would have been a really nice opportunity to explore the relationship between the different races and the Gods. On how they depend on us worshipping them in order to actually exist. The wall is nothing more than a way to coerce anyone who might stray from the pack.
 

Kvik

Member
I quite like the "Shared Inventory" idea.

Normally after a big battle in BG/BG2 I would have my <CHARNAME> pick up all the loot, then distribute to Minsc/Edwin/Viconia for gears, scrolls, and gems respectively, and it does seem like a bit of a chore after a while, especially when I have no Bag of Holding in my inventory yet.
 

zkylon

zkylewd
Might not be the best thread for this, but I felt like it was relevant to PE.

I just finished Mask of the Betrayer and I'm quite amazed at the difference between the OC and the expansion. NWN2 OC was incredibly bland with a cast largely composed of insufferables characters. There are very few things to recommend about that game.

On the other hand, Mask of the Betrayer is an amazing game with a great story, well-rounded characters and a fantastic sense of "journey". I wasn't a big fan of the "spirit hunger" mechanic. I've always been keen on exploring everything and I constantly traveled between locations. That meant that I would constantly end up with low spirit meter and devouring souls was just a chore. I got in the way of actually enjoying the game at my own pace so I just cheated my way out of it! The actual ending is a bit disappointing, it resolves one big plot thread but somewhat ignores the other.

spoilers

Romance is also somewhat dull. It's one line at the end of the game. There is a nice arc leading to it, but it's a very minor part of the game and clearly not something Obsidian intended to elaborate on. I'd rather have them take out that kind of interactivity if they can't properly do it.

All in all, it more than makes up for NWN2. If it's any indication of Obsidian at it's fullest, then I can't wait to see what PE will bring. I'm a bit worried that PE setting is a too "generic" when compared to MoTB. I hope it won't prevent them from creating weird settings or strange situations for the PC. The greatest moments in Motb were the dream sequences, meeting a "dead" god, meeting the Coven and all the stuff around it. That conversation was absolutely phenomenal.

I think I'm done with NW2 for now. The SoZ and MoW seem to be your generic fantasy D&D campaign and lack the story and craft that made MoTB one of the best RPG I have ever played.

they've talked about making room for the strange and the weird along the more traditional fantasy stuff, so I'm guessing they'll have enough weird shit to satisfy most people that aren't expecting planescape.

and damn I have to forget about the nwn2 oc and just play motb
 

DTKT

Member
they've talked about making room for the strange and the weird along the more traditional fantasy stuff, so I'm guessing they'll have enough weird shit to satisfy most people that aren't expecting planescape.

and damn I have to forget about the nwn2 oc and just play motb

If it's preventing you from playing MotB, it's absolutely okay to just skip the OC. :p
 

injurai

Banned
I like it. I hope they do try to differentiate their style from that of BG and the older crpg games. But It gives me a good feeling for what to expect.
 

Kvik

Member
I think scripted event shot in the aforementioned example is something along the lines of a quest checkpoint, like when the party is entering a new active quest-relevant area or obtaining a quest item. Then we are given a list of dialog/actions we can choose from.
 

Minsc

Gold Member
New update is up. Not sure if I'm a big fan of the interface mockup. I don't think the IE games had a particularly good UI. I mean, limiting the number of quickslots you can see to 3 seems pretty silly.

http://forums.obsidian.net/topic/63851-update-54-art-update-work-is-in-progress/

Aren't there four in that screenshot? And shouldn't they be dynamic based on which of the six characters you've selected, allowing a total then of ~24 quickslots over your entire party?
 

DTKT

Member
Aren't there four in that screenshot? And shouldn't they be dynamic based on which of the six characters you've selected, allowing a total then of ~24 quickslots over your entire party?

Oups, you are right. Though, 4 quickslots for something like a mage seems awfully limited. I just finished NWN2 and a mage fill 2 twelves slots quickbars.
 
I like the general idea of what they seem to be going for with the UI. It looks appropriately themed and its one solid block, so that the actual gameplay space is uncluttered with any UI stuff.

I'm really loving those scripted event images. Seem really neat and kind of a low cost way to add something extra to quest checkpoints.
 

injurai

Banned
I'm fine with throw backs, like the ticking pause button and such. But I really hope they makes these modernized. I'm really not interested in antiquated design for the sake of recreating the crpg era. Especially with the gameplay, because it's the story presentation that is what matters recreating.
 

Sentenza

Member
As I said on their forums I really hope they don't go for a literal infinity engine style ui.

Yeah me neither. Not a fan at all.
What's wrong with you people?

I'm fine with throw backs, like the ticking pause button and such. But I really hope they makes these modernized. I'm really not interested in antiquated design for the sake of recreating the crpg era. Especially with the gameplay, because it's the story presentation that is what matters recreating.
Yeah, but there's nothing particularly "antiquate" with BG2 UI. I have no idea what you guys are babbling about.
It works, it's slim, fast and it makes accessing tons of stuff quite simple and intuitive.

Even compared with more modern games like -say- Dragon Age, it comes out on top.
 
What's wrong with you people?


Yeah, but there's nothing particularly "antiquate" with BG2 UI. I have no idea what you guys are babbling about.
It works, it's slim, fast and it makes accessing tons of stuff quite simple and intuitive.

Even compared with more modern games like -say- Dragon Age, it comes out on top.

As someone who has just recently played BG2 there's some truly frustrating BS with that UI. For one everything's basically two clicks away - three quickslots is atrocious, especially for a mage. If you play a caster dual class you can't even use the quickslots. All powers are a minimum of 2 clicks away, three clicks away if you want to issue orders to another party member.

Also they could've cut HOURS out of the game if they implemented a shared inventory. And who can forget the joy of having to reselect spells every time they were level drained?

An MMO-esque UI, like that in Dragon Age, where you can have a bunch of powers, even those form different party members, a single click away is just easier to use and makes fights far less frustrating.
 

Sentenza

Member
As someone who has just recently played BG2 there's some truly frustrating BS with that UI. For one everything's basically two clicks away .
No, it's not. Virtually everything is one hotkey away.
Beisde "two clicks away" is a big praise for a game that gives you so many options.

This must be the usual bullshit when people claim to want more modern interfaces and "streamlined content" but what they are actually asking for is a dumbed-down game with less options.
 
No, it's not. Virtually everything is one hotkey away.
Beisde "two clicks away" is a big praise for a game that gives you so many options.

This must be the usual bullshit when people claim to want more modern interfaces and "streamlined content" but what they are actually asking for is a dumbed-down game with less options.

I'm serious about the "two clicks away" thing. Load up the game if you don't believe me - hotkeys are available for ONLY two things: you have three slots for spells, and everybody has a few slots for quick use items. Not sure about caster/fighters, but caster/thieves don't have any quick-spell slots.

Think of it this way. I want to cast Breach in BG2, a spell used sparingly enough it's not worth putting on a my very limited skillbar- I have to hit the spell button, scroll to the spell icon, click the spell, and then select the target.

Alternatively, if BG2 had a MMO style skillbar I click Breach or press a hotkey and select a target.

The latter doesn't lower the complexity or anything - it's just plain user friendly. Complexity and user-friendliness can co-exist. Just something as simple as a large hotkey/skill bar that you can put anything - items, powers, spells from any party member would make the game much more playable.
 

Sentenza

Member
That is a rather massive leap when all they were talking about was fitting more abilities on screen.
Look, accessing your spells on BG2 works in this way: you click on your spellbook/the spellbook hotkey and you have a complete list of your spells in the bottom bar of your screen.
How much more streamlined you can make it, Jesus Christ?

And that's even ignoring completely arbitrary claims like "just 3 quickslots are bullshit" (why? no one knows, they always were more than enough for me) or "the inventory must be shared between different characters".

I'm serious about the "two clicks away" thing. Load up the game if you don't believe me - hotkeys are available for ONLY two things: you have three slots for spells, and everybody has a few slots for quick use items. Not sure about caster/fighters, but caster/thieves don't have any quick-spell slots.
I have the game running right now while I'm writing this post and I'm checking the keybinding function, and *exactly* like I remembered you can simply bind every single goddamn spell, item or ability to any key you want.
 

Sentenza

Member
Are you arguing that having only 3 quickslots is better than the 15 (?) DA:O gives you?
Yes, because their organization is infinitely better?
Dragon Age has just a unique bar where everything is mixed, BG2 gives you a subset of intuitive and well organized menus, plus everything can be bound to a single key.

Beside, what are you trying to argue for exactly? BG2 gives you just 3 QS because QS are for a very specific subset of usable items, all the rest is handled separately.
DA gives you more of them just because the quickslot bar mixes spell, skills, items, equip, etc.
 
Look, accessing your spells on BG2 works in this way: you click on your spellbook/the spellbook hotkey and you have a complete list of your spells in the bottom bar of your screen.
How much more streamlined you can make it, Jesus Christ?

And that's even ignoring completely arbitrary claims like "just 3 quickslots are bullshit" (why? no one knows, they always were more than enough for me) or "the inventory must be shared between different characters".


I have the game running right now while I'm writing this post and I'm checking the keybinding function, and *exactly* like I remembered you can simply bind every single goddamn spell, item or ability to any key you want.

Alright, if what you say is true that does undercut my point. I can't check the game right now but I didn't find any keybinding function when playing - but if I just missed it then I concede the argument if you can just cast spells with one button press.

I still think a DA/MMO style quickbar is more user friendly than what BG2 uses, and I hope Obsidian uses that instead of a clone of the UI interface.
 

zkylon

zkylewd
I wouldn't pay too much attention to the actual number of quickslots, that part is ripped directly off icewind dale 2:

icewind-dale-2-goblin-killing.jpg

(it's not linking for some reason so click here: http://firsthour.net/screenshots/icewind-dale-2/icewind-dale-2-goblin-killing.jpg)

it's kinda cute lol :p

anyways, I like the big bar below with tons of info and whatnot style, just don't like this one since it looks kinda samey and undetailed, but it's rough WIP stuff so it's alright. also I like the info box on the left instead of the right, it's just more comfortable to me. if they're gonna keep it symmetrical in size a swap option would be nice.

I wish they actually said what each button does, etc., there seems to be a journal, system/settings, map, inventory and group select (?) buttons, a clock, then the icewind dale 2 stuff.
 

Perkel

Banned
The latter doesn't lower the complexity or anything - .it's just plain user friendly. Complexity and user-friendliness can co-exist Just something as simple as a large hotkey/skill bar that you can put anything - items, powers, spells from any party member would make the game much more playable.


Nope.

DA1 or Neverwinter Nights had terrible UI.
Even for a mage you don't need more than 4-5 quick slots.

Proper designed non changeable UI is always better than hotbar shitfest.
 
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