I hope they've improved on Godlike interactions in this game.. Like some really heavy negative/positives when doing some quests and so on. I'm not sure if everyone likes that, but thats how the ingame lore seems to indicate they are usually treated that way.
That was one of my big hopes in the first game as well. My Death Godlike's only big reaction I can remember was actually positive, from those undead peoples in the expansion. At least Durance hated Orlans.. ^^
And playable avian godlikes while we're at it. Having Pallegina be the only birdy makes her feel like a rare pokemon. Again.
I looked through the twitch chat part 2 earlier. They answered a question saying there wouldn't be new subraces, because it would be a lot of work to implement. So I'm not sure if that means they're excluding avian godlike altogether..Anyway that's just 1 race, so I can live with that. Personally I kinda enjoy Haer'dalis and Viconia for that reason in Baldurs gate 2, they get a certain bonus that no one else gets, making them more attractive to have in a party. And who knows it could be avian godlikes are so exceptionally rare even among godlike, enough to justify excluding them from character generation.
I'm guessing they don't want the extra work with creating a new model for the avian godlike..Fair enough excuse for me.
That's what I feared the most: no new races. ¬.¬ While NPC exclusive races can be fun if done right (PST's rogue modron, anyone?), Pillars wasn't successful in that point. Their godlikes are infertile and the result of sudden, genetic mutations... making them more freaks of nature than a (sub)race in their own right. Of course any of the godlike should be rare throughout the world setting. Not counting Pillar1's backer godlike NPCs which can be found in nearly all settlements.
Lore-wise however there should be one godlike “mutation“ available for every deity. The way I see it there is just one reason players are not permitted to play as avian godlikes: Josh Sawyer wants Pallegina to stay as his special snowflake. Just that.
"Isometric, party-based RPGs are some of many classic game types to have enjoyed a resurgence thanks to crowdfunding platforms. You were one of the employees at Obsidian who pushed hard to try crowdfunding that style of game, which hadn't been around for a while. Was there any particular impetus for your push? Did the market seem ripe for one?
Sawyer: To be fair, I don't want to take credit for that. It was actually a number of people who had similar ideas around the same time; I was just one of a few people who suggested it. I was the person who specifically said, "Let's make a Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale-type game with some influences from Planescape: Torment." I've been in the industry since 1999, and the first game I worked on was Icewind Dale. When we stopped working on the Infinity Engine series with ID2, at that time there were still a lot of players who were interested in playing 2D-style, isometric, party-based games. A lot of people loved BioWare's Neverwinter Nights, but there were people who were still engine in the Infinity Engine-style of games. We've had fans on our forums for years and years; going all the way back to the late '90s, a lot of those people are still [our fans]. So we knew there was an audience. We weren't sure how big it was, but we knew there were people out there who wanted to play this style of game. The very idea of doing a Kickstarter I think came from Nathaniel Chapman, a designer who used to work here. He had the idea, and it was almost more of a joke because we didn't really know if it was something that was possible. When Double Fine Adventure [had success], that's when we said, "Okay, this is a thing we can do. What are we going to try to do?" Project Eternity, which late became Pillars of Eternity, was our idea. It was a type of game we knew we could make, a game we wanted to make, and a game that had fans out there who wanted to see it come to fruition."
"What was it like, back in the early 2010s and now, working within that template? Are there certain aspects of it that feel more open or restrictive relative to other RPGs you've worked on such as Fallout: New Vegas?
Sawyer: Working with a party-based game, there are some limitations you have to keep in mind in terms of how many people are running around with you and things like that. Obviously you're not working in a first-person perspective, so there are certain elements of visual storytelling that become more difficult when you're working way zoomed out from an isometric perspective. Otherwise there's plenty of stuff we can do [with the narrative] that we don't normally get to do from first-person perspective, such as using narrative prose in describing things about the scene that you wouldn't [pick up on] normally. So we can mirror the style of Planescape: Torment, which did a lot with narrative prose to describe what was going on in the environment. I never really found that format limiting, so going back to that style of game, the big time sink in a lot of cases is the art itself. You'd think 2D art is easy to make, but the way we do it, it's not easy because we do a lot of neat rendering tricks that essentially recreate a lot of the 3D data for lighting and things like that. We do real-time, 3D lighting on what is actually a 2D background, so we have to do a lot of tricks. Some of those areas get pretty expensive, but we have a pretty good pipeline worked out now. I really enjoy working on this type of game because the team sizes tend be a little smaller, usually in the 20 to 30 employees size. Something like Fallout: New Vegas was pushing upper 70s by the end. It becomes more difficult to direct people at that level; you need a lot more middle management, more producers, and [structure] like that. On a team size like this, I get a lot more contact with individual designers, artists, and programmers. I like working on teams of this size. I think a lot of the people working on this game who had only worked on large games are finding it pretty enjoyable as well."
Only two more weeks left in the campaign, but we're far from done adding to Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire. Tomorrow, February 14th, we have a super special feature announcement, and we're thrilled to give you details on two new companions. Later in the week we'll have a new video that shows off Neketaka, the big city in Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire that we're pretty sure is going to leave you impressed.
$2.6 Million!
Amazing! We've hit the $2.6 million and unlocked Berath's Blessing. As a reminder, Berath's Blessing is our version of New Game+ that features optional bonuses and challenges that unlock as you gain achievements. The next goal at $2.8 million adds a full orchestra soundtrack, an increased level cap, and one more sub-class per class. Thank you so much for the continued support. We still have a lot of announcements and amazing things to show off in the next two weeks, and in addition to the companion introductions, we will be unveiling the $3.0 million stretch goal in tomorrow's (Valentine's Day!) update too.
ICYMI - Last Week's Recap
We introduced a new backer reward at the $45 tier and as an add-on, The Pen and Paper Pillars of Eternity RPG. Now, you can have your own adventures with your friends, in the comfort of your favorite tabletop setting. Read more about it in Update #10.
Two large updates, one about the lore of the Deadfire and another covering new art and graphics technology with a snazzy video.
With your amazing pledges we blew by the $2.2million and $2.4 million stretch goals, adding Korean and Italian, doubling the V.O. budget, and adding UI Customization features!
On Wednesday, we had live Twitch Developer Q&A with Josh Sawyer and Adam Brennecke. Watch it here to find out more in depth information about the game systems and lore of Deadfire.
The introduction of Fulvano's Voyage in Update #9. This is an in-game island chain that will grow larger with more Fig Backers!Read more about the next leg that was added over the weekend in the next section below.
If you haven't read it, check out a great interview with Josh Sawyer on Shacknews where he discusses Deadfire development, crowdfunding, and more.
Lastly, Pillars of Eternity II was featured in PC Gamer Magazine and website. Grab an issue or check it out here!
Fulvano's Voyage Continues to Dunnage, Facebook and Twitter Unlocks Added!
This weekend we hit 22,000 backers meaning that the next leg of Fulvano's Voyage is unveiled! The next leg will be reached at 23,500 backers. In addition we will be unlocking a new leg if we hit 15,000 likes on the Pillars of Eternity Facebook or 5000 followers on the Pillars of Eternity Twitter, whichever comes first! Spread the word of the Fig campaign and let's travel with Fulvano together! As of today (Feb 13th), Fulvano has made it almost half-way there and a new hidden isle is hinted at upon the horizon. What will Fulvano find next?
Upon discovering Dunnage, Fulvano wrote these notes in his journal before he continued his journey:
"When the Príncipi sen Patrena needed a waypoint, trading post,and hub of merriment in the desolate waters of Deadfire, the settlement of Dunnage was the only natural conclusion. The temporary, shoved-together structures are a mockery of urban planning. Dunnage is a refuge where thieves and backstabbers alike can put their feet up and trade coin, goods, and tall tales."
Engwithan Titan
And now for a new creature concept - the Engwithan Titan.Introduced in the first gameplay footage, the Titan protects an ancient desert ruins, Poko Kohara. The Titan has a special grapple attack - he can pick up and squeeze his foes before throwing them to the ground. Keep your distance!
...honestly, what's with this obsession that every big dude design needs to wear briefs? Engwithan Titan, from this moment forth I'll name thy "Brief Mid-boss".
Righto! Kana's sister is in this one so bonus on extending the family story from a different perspective and a orlan too!
Maia Rua is an island aumaua ranger whose animal companion, Ishiza, is a bird of prey that can scout outdoor environments both in and out of combat. Like Kana, her brother, she's a loyal Rauataian of Huana ancestry.
Her boldness and dedication have earned her an enviable position as a ship captain, which in turn has brought her to Deadfire as part of her country's mission to "civilize" the wild archipelago. Her duties find her working with Atsura, a courtier and representative of the ranganui, on an ambitious campaign to win the hearts and minds of the Huana people. But for all her skill as a soldier and captain, she has little experience with politics and espionage, and she must adapt to her new role quickly.
Serafen is an orlan cipher/barbarian and a member of the Príncipi sen Patrena, the dominant pirate organization in the region. He was born into slavery and put to work as a rigger and powder monkey since his small size made him ideal for scurrying around ships.
During those years, he discovered his talents as a cipher and used them to lure his masters' ship into the path of the Príncipi. Impressed, the pirates offered him a position as one of their infamous"ship hunters," and he in turn found acceptance and freedom among his new comrades. He worries, however, that the growing schism in the Príncipi will destroy the community he has come to love.
I'll believe it when I see it. It's Obsidian, after all. Though, judging by Tyranny with it's fear\loyalty scale and some bickering/cooperation between companions, that might work.
Phew! I thought they said no more sub-classes! Not sub-races. XD
Have they said anything about the new sub-classes? Or whether you could multi-class two sub-classes together?
As of now, three available sub-classes per class but you can only pick one sub-class. Sub-classes are meant to be like 2e kits. Priests and paladins work slightly differently because their gods/orders respectively are their sub-classes. If you multi-class, you can pick a sub-class for each of your two classes. You cannot do "multi-class" directly across sub-classes.
" - In BG2, mages were fearsome adversaries that required special tactics to defeat, in Pillars of Eternity many small bosses are wizards but never really represent any significant challenge or require a change of tactics. Do you plan on changing that for the sequel?
JS: I do think that, especially when you start getting into Concelhaut and stuff like that, those fights do become a bigger deal. We're redoing a lot of the spells and spellcasting mechanics, but we're not going to go to the sort of rock, paper scissors thing where you have to have this one spell to get rid of the one other thing that you're facing. That really narrows down your potential party-building options to a small list of things."
Comments
A MODDING TOOL. Please!
I'm guessing they don't want the extra work with creating a new model for the avian godlike..Fair enough excuse for me.
While NPC exclusive races can be fun if done right (PST's rogue modron, anyone?), Pillars wasn't successful in that point. Their godlikes are infertile and the result of sudden, genetic mutations... making them more freaks of nature than a (sub)race in their own right. Of course any of the godlike should be rare throughout the world setting. Not counting Pillar1's backer godlike NPCs which can be found in nearly all settlements.
Lore-wise however there should be one godlike “mutation“ available for every deity. The way I see it there is just one reason players are not permitted to play as avian godlikes: Josh Sawyer wants Pallegina to stay as his special snowflake. Just that.
"Isometric, party-based RPGs are some of many classic game types to have enjoyed a resurgence thanks to crowdfunding platforms. You were one of the employees at Obsidian who pushed hard to try crowdfunding that style of game, which hadn't been around for a while. Was there any particular impetus for your push? Did the market seem ripe for one?
Sawyer: To be fair, I don't want to take credit for that. It was actually a number of people who had similar ideas around the same time; I was just one of a few people who suggested it. I was the person who specifically said, "Let's make a Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale-type game with some influences from Planescape: Torment."
I've been in the industry since 1999, and the first game I worked on was Icewind Dale. When we stopped working on the Infinity Engine series with ID2, at that time there were still a lot of players who were interested in playing 2D-style, isometric, party-based games. A lot of people loved BioWare's Neverwinter Nights, but there were people who were still engine in the Infinity Engine-style of games.
We've had fans on our forums for years and years; going all the way back to the late '90s, a lot of those people are still [our fans]. So we knew there was an audience. We weren't sure how big it was, but we knew there were people out there who wanted to play this style of game. The very idea of doing a Kickstarter I think came from Nathaniel Chapman, a designer who used to work here. He had the idea, and it was almost more of a joke because we didn't really know if it was something that was possible.
When Double Fine Adventure [had success], that's when we said, "Okay, this is a thing we can do. What are we going to try to do?" Project Eternity, which late became Pillars of Eternity, was our idea. It was a type of game we knew we could make, a game we wanted to make, and a game that had fans out there who wanted to see it come to fruition."
"What was it like, back in the early 2010s and now, working within that template? Are there certain aspects of it that feel more open or restrictive relative to other RPGs you've worked on such as Fallout: New Vegas?
Sawyer: Working with a party-based game, there are some limitations you have to keep in mind in terms of how many people are running around with you and things like that. Obviously you're not working in a first-person perspective, so there are certain elements of visual storytelling that become more difficult when you're working way zoomed out from an isometric perspective.
Otherwise there's plenty of stuff we can do [with the narrative] that we don't normally get to do from first-person perspective, such as using narrative prose in describing things about the scene that you wouldn't [pick up on] normally. So we can mirror the style of Planescape: Torment, which did a lot with narrative prose to describe what was going on in the environment.
I never really found that format limiting, so going back to that style of game, the big time sink in a lot of cases is the art itself. You'd think 2D art is easy to make, but the way we do it, it's not easy because we do a lot of neat rendering tricks that essentially recreate a lot of the 3D data for lighting and things like that. We do real-time, 3D lighting on what is actually a 2D background, so we have to do a lot of tricks. Some of those areas get pretty expensive, but we have a pretty good pipeline worked out now.
I really enjoy working on this type of game because the team sizes tend be a little smaller, usually in the 20 to 30 employees size. Something like Fallout: New Vegas was pushing upper 70s by the end. It becomes more difficult to direct people at that level; you need a lot more middle management, more producers, and [structure] like that. On a team size like this, I get a lot more contact with individual designers, artists, and programmers. I like working on teams of this size.
I think a lot of the people working on this game who had only worked on large games are finding it pretty enjoyable as well."
Posted: 02/13/2017
Only two more weeks left in the campaign, but we're far from done adding to Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire. Tomorrow, February 14th, we have a super special feature announcement, and we're thrilled to give you details on two new companions. Later in the week we'll have a new video that shows off Neketaka, the big city in Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire that we're pretty sure is going to leave you impressed.
$2.6 Million!
Amazing! We've hit the $2.6 million and unlocked Berath's Blessing. As a reminder, Berath's Blessing is our version of New Game+ that features optional bonuses and challenges that unlock as you gain achievements. The next goal at $2.8 million adds a full orchestra soundtrack, an increased level cap, and one more sub-class per class. Thank you so much for the continued support. We still have a lot of announcements and amazing things to show off in the next two weeks, and in addition to the companion introductions, we will be unveiling the $3.0 million stretch goal in tomorrow's (Valentine's Day!) update too.
ICYMI - Last Week's Recap
We introduced a new backer reward at the $45 tier and as an add-on, The Pen and Paper Pillars of Eternity RPG. Now, you can have your own adventures with your friends, in the comfort of your favorite tabletop setting. Read more about it in Update #10.
Two large updates, one about the lore of the Deadfire and another covering new art and graphics technology with a snazzy video.
With your amazing pledges we blew by the $2.2million and $2.4 million stretch goals, adding Korean and Italian, doubling the V.O. budget, and adding UI Customization features!
On Wednesday, we had live Twitch Developer Q&A with Josh Sawyer and Adam Brennecke. Watch it here to find out more in depth information about the game systems and lore of Deadfire.
The introduction of Fulvano's Voyage in Update #9. This is an in-game island chain that will grow larger with more Fig Backers!Read more about the next leg that was added over the weekend in the next section below.
If you haven't read it, check out a great interview with Josh Sawyer on Shacknews where he discusses Deadfire development, crowdfunding, and more.
Lastly, Pillars of Eternity II was featured in PC Gamer Magazine and website. Grab an issue or check it out here!
Fulvano's Voyage Continues to Dunnage, Facebook and Twitter Unlocks Added!
This weekend we hit 22,000 backers meaning that the next leg of Fulvano's Voyage is unveiled! The next leg will be reached at 23,500 backers. In addition we will be unlocking a new leg if we hit 15,000 likes on the Pillars of Eternity Facebook or 5000 followers on the Pillars of Eternity Twitter, whichever comes first! Spread the word of the Fig campaign and let's travel with Fulvano together! As of today (Feb 13th), Fulvano has made it almost half-way there and a new hidden isle is hinted at upon the horizon. What will Fulvano find next?
Upon discovering Dunnage, Fulvano wrote these notes in his journal before he continued his journey:
"When the Príncipi sen Patrena needed a waypoint, trading post,and hub of merriment in the desolate waters of Deadfire, the settlement of Dunnage was the only natural conclusion. The temporary, shoved-together structures are a mockery of urban planning. Dunnage is a refuge where thieves and backstabbers alike can put their feet up and trade coin, goods, and tall tales."
Engwithan Titan
And now for a new creature concept - the Engwithan Titan.Introduced in the first gameplay footage, the Titan protects an ancient desert ruins, Poko Kohara. The Titan has a special grapple attack - he can pick up and squeeze his foes before throwing them to the ground. Keep your distance!
WHOA DUDE! YOU'RE REALLY BIG MAN! WHOA!
Maia Rua is an island aumaua ranger whose animal companion, Ishiza, is a bird of prey that can scout outdoor environments both in and out of combat. Like Kana, her brother, she's a loyal Rauataian of Huana ancestry.
Her boldness and dedication have earned her an enviable position as a ship captain, which in turn has brought her to Deadfire as part of her country's mission to "civilize" the wild archipelago. Her duties find her working with Atsura, a courtier and representative of the ranganui, on an ambitious campaign to win the hearts and minds of the Huana people. But for all her skill as a soldier and captain, she has little experience with politics and espionage, and she must adapt to her new role quickly.
Serafen is an orlan cipher/barbarian and a member of the Príncipi sen Patrena, the dominant pirate organization in the region. He was born into slavery and put to work as a rigger and powder monkey since his small size made him ideal for scurrying around ships.
During those years, he discovered his talents as a cipher and used them to lure his masters' ship into the path of the Príncipi. Impressed, the pirates offered him a position as one of their infamous"ship hunters," and he in turn found acceptance and freedom among his new comrades. He worries, however, that the growing schism in the Príncipi will destroy the community he has come to love.
Confirmed: Serafen is Bluebeard!
We can find the transcript here - https://www.reddit.com/r/projecteternity/comments/5ueus0/pillars_of_eternity_ii_deadfire_qa_stream_3/.
It's huge.
" - In BG2, mages were fearsome adversaries that required special tactics to defeat, in Pillars of Eternity many small bosses are wizards but never really represent any significant challenge or require a change of tactics. Do you plan on changing that for the sequel?
JS: I do think that, especially when you start getting into Concelhaut and stuff like that, those fights do become a bigger deal. We're redoing a lot of the spells and spellcasting mechanics, but we're not going to go to the sort of rock, paper scissors thing where you have to have this one spell to get rid of the one other thing that you're facing. That really narrows down your potential party-building options to a small list of things."