Pillars of Eternity

[Avilan the Grey]

Maybe I'm old, but the only game I am looking forward to 2015 is this game.

BG like gameplay and graphics? Check.
Made by Obsidian?`Check.
AND Paradox?? CHECK!!!

Two of my favorite game studios of all time? Doing an Old School Isometric RPG??? I pre-ordered this morning!!!

[Starwulf]

Maybe I'm old, but the only game I am looking forward to 2015 is this game.

BG like gameplay and graphics? Check.
Made by Obsidian?`Check.
AND Paradox?? CHECK!!!

Two of my favorite game studios of all time? Doing an Old School Isometric RPG??? I pre-ordered this morning!!!

Pre-ordered where? For a hard copy of the game? I had heard that it was going to be steam release only?!? Please please PLEASE tell me your pre-order is for hard copy!!!! I want this game so freaking badly it's not even funny!

[Vitruviansquid]

I like Paradox's big hits as much as the next person, but haven't they also been responsible for some turbo flops?

Besides Obsidian and Paradox, why else should Average Joe Gamer be excited for this game?

[factotum]

I backed the game on Kickstarter, but I wouldn't say I'm excited for it per se. I'm more excited by Torment: Tides of Numenera (a game I also Kickstarted), mainly because that one is created by InXile who have already provided the awesome in Wasteland 2. The main issue with Pillars of Eternity is that Obsidian, fine RPG designers though they are, also have a long track record of releasing stuff that's a buggy, broken mess and that needs 23 patches before it works close to properly.

Now, if you got Obsidian to provide the writing and game design and InXile to do the actual programming, that would be the most awesomest game ever!

[Avilan the Grey]

Pre-ordered where? For a hard copy of the game? I had heard that it was going to be steam release only?!? Please please PLEASE tell me your pre-order is for hard copy!!!! I want this game so freaking badly it's not even funny!

Nope. Steam only. Sorry!

[Starwulf]

Nope. Steam only. Sorry!

You have officially ruined my night :-(. LOL. Not only am I against Steam in general, even if I wasn't, my Data Cap would prevent me from downloading it :-(. Ahh well, maybe they'll eventually release it in hardcopy form, I mean hell, iirc, during the kickstarter if you donated X amount of money you would get a hardcopy version of the game, so maybe they'll go all the way with it :)

[Jamin]

You can also get it on gog

[Sajiri]

I usually try not to get myself excited for new games until at least a few weeks before they're due out, otherwise I get too hyped up then disappointed when it's finally out. But this one I am interested in. BG is to this day still my favourite series, and I always liked that style of game. I was glancing at the wiki for this, some fairly standard looking races and classes but lots of choices. The Godlike race seems pretty interesting, choosing your type and parent race, making the race itself more like a template

[Morty]

I've grown incredibly disillusioned with old-school games, returning to the roots and rejecting anything anyone has come up with after BG2, and the gameplay video I saw did little to dispel this notion with regards to Pillars of Eternity. But I've heard some things about this game that are actually interesting, like every attribute being useful to every class. So I'll be keeping an eye on it.

[factotum]

I've grown incredibly disillusioned with old-school games, returning to the roots and rejecting anything anyone has come up with after BG2

Which games are you referring to that have disillusioned you so? The "old-school" RPGs that have come out recently are things like Wasteland 2, Divinity: Original Sin and Shadowrun Returns, and I wouldn't say any of those "rejected anything anyone has come up with after BG2".

[Morty]

Geez, it was hyperbole. I need to stop using them, since someone always takes them seriously.

[Cespenar]

Geez, it was hyperbole. I need to stop using them, since someone always takes them seriously.

It's the internet. Look it up. :smalltongue:

[Avilan the Grey]

It's the internet. Look it up. :smalltongue:

...On the Internet.

Heh, I have seen a number of gaming journalists lament lately that Crowdfunding is ruining the gaming industry*, since what gets the most funding are Old School games, hence somehow "blocking the natural progress" that would happen otherwise. I disagree, obviously, for several reasons:

1. Progress (as well as "progress", aka "the modern cover based shooter clone no 102010") happens regardless.
2. Without crowdfunding the people who WANT Old School games would be without.
3. If you believe in a free market economy... well you know this argument.

*The same journalists have written several columns and opinion pieces urging people to stop watcing Let's Plays, since it might make them not want to buy a game.

[Vitruviansquid]

That's the dumbest thing I've heard all week.

Crowdfunding is a way to get money that wouldn't otherwise be available. To any dev. They don't compete with the triple A games' development, because those are funded by large publishers that, as far as I know, *would still not give you the time of day if you pitched an old school style game to them.

*This is hyperbole. I am aware that Might and Magic X Legacy exists.

[factotum]

*This is hyperbole. I am aware that Might and Magic X Legacy exists.

I doubt that had an AAA budget, though, even though it was released by an AAA publisher. I would have to disagree with Avilan's point, though: there are plenty of old-school games out there which were not funded by crowdfunding. A list just off the top of my head:

Any Spiderweb Software game
Space Pirates and Zombies
Starsector
Might and Magic Heroes
King's Bounty and its sequels

I'm sure there are plenty of others.

[Avilan the Grey]

I doubt that had an AAA budget, though, even though it was released by an AAA publisher. I would have to disagree with Avilan's point, though: there are plenty of old-school games out there which were not funded by crowdfunding. A list just off the top of my head:

Any Spiderweb Software game
Space Pirates and Zombies
Starsector
Might and Magic Heroes
King's Bounty and its sequels

I'm sure there are plenty of others.

Well I agree, but crowdfunding has made it EASIER to motivate things like Shadowrun Returns.

[Morty]

Yeah, crowdfunding is a good thing, on average. Sure, you need to sift through the chaff to find worthwhile projects, but that's true for basically everything nowadays. And some very good projects could never get off the ground without crowdfunding. Besides, while I lament the lack of innovation in the RPG genre... it's not as if I trust large-scale developers to introduce any. They just hold on to a different set of lodestones.

[JadedDM]

So does it have a definite release date yet? I admit, I haven't been following closely since the kickstarter ended, but I am absolutely interested in this game.

[Psyren]

I'm very interested (due to the two companies named previously) but I'm in the throes of DAI and haven't even tried Divinity yet so this one is doomed to the very back-burner.

Also, to be honest, the lack of even local network co-op is kinda off-putting. At least with NWN or Magicka I knew I could get a friend to run through the story mode with. Neither company has proven to me that they have the storytelling or characterization chops to carry a wholly single-player title on their own.

[Porthos]

You can also get it on gog

To reiterate, in case it was lost in the discussion about crowdfunding (proud backer of it here, yo!), as Jamin says you can buy it on GOG:

http://www.gog.com/game/pillars_of_eternity_champion_edition
http://www.gog.com/game/pillars_of_eternity_hero_edition

Might be availaible at that price for a limited time though.

As for the comments about crowfunding, I'd also point out that things like the Spiderweb games are usually very indie. And by that I mean, small amount of people versus a stuido like release where there are dozens of people involved. Wasteland 2, Torment: Tides of Numera, Pillars of Eternity and all the others wouldn't and couldn't exist in their present form without some sort of crowdfunding.

The other point of crowfunding is that it allows these mid level studios to break free of executive meddling. This can be a good or bad thing, of course. But it still is a point to remember.

[Psyren]

Crowdfunding is an excellent model. Yeah, buyer beware and all that, but if even one fantastic game comes out of that model that wouldn't have otherwise seen the light of day, it has won. And for me one such game was Shadowrun Returns.

[Winthur]

gaming journalists

Haven't you learned by now to not care for their opinion?

Game looks dope. Not much else to say right now, though I trust Obsidian overall. It'll probably be a very memorable buggy mess as usual.

[JadedDM]

It'll probably be a very memorable buggy mess as usual.

I'm not sure. Usually the reason Obsidian games are so buggy is they are rushed out too quickly. They are taking their time with this game, so I have higher hopes for better QA. But we'll see, of course.

[Winthur]

I'm not sure. Usually the reason Obsidian games are so buggy is they are rushed out too quickly. They are taking their time with this game, so I have higher hopes for better QA. But we'll see, of course.

To be honest that's sorta always their excuse, whether it's Alpha Protocol or Fallout New Vegas. I tend to just default to thinking that they'll screw something up down the line.
If these guys were given Ultima IX, they'd somehow crank out a very good game with most of the problems still intact.

[Starwulf]

To reiterate, in case it was lost in the discussion about crowdfunding (proud backer of it here, yo!), as Jamin says you can buy it on GOG:

http://www.gog.com/game/pillars_of_eternity_champion_edition
http://www.gog.com/game/pillars_of_eternity_hero_edition

Might be availaible at that price for a limited time though.


Since that was mentioned after my lamentations about it being on steam, figure I should reply and say: Still doesn't help me out due to my 5gb data cap ^^ It's why I'm praying they eventually do a hard-copy release :)


To be honest that's sorta always their excuse, whether it's Alpha Protocol or Fallout New Vegas. I tend to just default to thinking that they'll screw something up down the line.
If these guys were given Ultima IX, they'd somehow crank out a very good game with most of the problems still intact.

I don't particularly recall NWN2 being rushed, and it was so buggy it was literally unplayable straight out of the box for a good chunk of people(those of us who pre-ordered, we got an earlier version that was even worse then what got put out on the shelves). Just got a black screen of death over and over. It wasn't actually "playable" until 1.04, and even then it wasn't "decent" until 1.13, or maybe 1.14(iirc, they completely broke the game with either patch 1.12, or 1.13, and had to release an emergency hotfix a few days later). The game didn't become "Good" until the final patch >< So yeah, I fully agree, I don't particularly believe them when they complain about not enough time.

Still, as I said, I'm super excited for the game, even if it's buggy they will eventually make it right, they don't leave their games unplayable messes, they just start out that way ^^

[Winthur]

Since that was mentioned after my lamentations about it being on steam, figure I should reply and say: Still doesn't help me out due to my 5gb data cap ^^ It's why I'm praying they eventually do a hard-copy release :)

Fortunately, seeing someone who has unlimited internet transfer with a sizable portable disc and a sixpack of Heinekens is a good way to catch up on forgotten relationships and get around in the age of abandoned hard copies!

[Avilan the Grey]

I'm not sure. Usually the reason Obsidian games are so buggy is they are rushed out too quickly. They are taking their time with this game, so I have higher hopes for better QA. But we'll see, of course.

Also, Paradox has a reputation of NEVER letting go of an old game. What I mean with that is that they will patch something if they discover a bug, even if it is 7 years after release. They are not... Bioware.

[Starwulf]

Also, Paradox has a reputation of NEVER letting go of an old game. What I mean with that is that they will patch something if they discover a bug, even if it is 7 years after release. They are not... Bioware.

Correction, they are not EA Bioware. Before EA acquired them Bioware patched their games religiously for a very long time. They hit patch 1.69 on Neverwinter Nights, and they went 1.01, 1.02, 1.03, so on and so forth. I Honestly can't remember if they skipped #'s sometimes for major major patches, but I do know they issued a crap ton of patches for at least 2-3 years after it released. Hell, 1.69 itself was released well over 5 years after it originally came out, as a final farewell to the community, adding a TON of stuff for modders to play with, including mounts.

[Knaight]

Since that was mentioned after my lamentations about it being on steam, figure I should reply and say: Still doesn't help me out due to my 5gb data cap ^^ It's why I'm praying they eventually do a hard-copy release :)

The nice thing about GOG games is you can stick them on a disk or flash drive or whatever, and get them on a computer from there. This is really helpful if your home internet is terrible (e.g. 5 gb data cap), but you have access to a library computer with non-crappy internet. I used to have dial up, so this came up a few times (pre GOG), and the same principle still applies.

[Triaxx]

The argument that LP's make me less likely to buy a game is like saying a review is less likely to buy a game. It's only true if the game is something that doesn't interest me. (It's happened with both, a game I thought I was going to want, then to find that it's not something that interests me at all.)

[Porthos]

Since that was mentioned after my lamentations about it being on steam, figure I should reply and say: Still doesn't help me out due to my 5gb data cap ^^ It's why I'm praying they eventually do a hard-copy release :)

It's not up for order yet, it appears, but there will be physical/hard copies sold for the game. During the KS drive, backers could opt for a physical box with various goodies in it (at a higher pledge price, natch). Checking the offical board forums, it does appear that the physical box will be able to be bought by the general public, but not quite yet. If what happened for Wasteland 2 is any indication I'm going to guess it'll be after it is available for download thanks to various logistical reasons.

I have no idea how much it will actually go for though, as it might only be sold as a "collectors" item (cloth map, physical manual, that sort of thing). That's only a guess though.

So...

Good News: It will be available hardcopy.
Bad News: You wallet may take some damage in the process. :smalltongue:

[Dark_Ansem]

they need to badly improve their public relations, however.