phimseto

If I'm not wearing pantaloons at some point, I will be very disappointed.

I was just listening to Feargus' most recent interview and he talked about the spring 2014 release date. While he said that the date was open to change given the game's most larger scope post-KS, it was his hope that they would keep that launch window. My first thought was, "Don't worry about any release dates! Part of the benefit of Kickstarter is not being enslaved to arbitrary timeframes!" And I'm pretty sure that a sizable majority of the backers would support this. But then I got to thinking of the importance of deadlines in spurring creativity, trimming away the proverbial fat, and pushing the game slowly but surely along. For anyone here who has worked in the industry (or any deadline-driven field) and certainly to any Obsidian peeps who want to chime in, I'd love to hear some more about what deadlines and release dates mean to you. As P:E ramps up, it seems an interesting conversation to have!

LOL, considering your profile pic, I expected better, Optimist!

Kaz, I played through BG1 with a friend of mine and zoning into a new area, splitting the party and then talking to each other about what we were seeing (and banding together when combat was upon us) remains one of my fondest gaming memories to date. The sense of seeing that illustrated picture on the world map and then walking in to explore what's actually there is the closest that I've ever felt to the limitless realm of tabletop in a computer game.

I remember the same thing, which is why I started this thread. Who really knows how fixed those plans are, especially since they've funded so far above and beyond their original goals? I'm hoping that if we can generate a reasonable discussion, it's something that they would consider. Apropos of one of the comments above, I had the same experience with BG1 and BG2. I've played through chunks of BG1 and it always feels fresh whereas once I finished BG2, attempts to go back make it feel like I've already seen most everything. There's absolutely a sense of wonder and "wow, I'm really on an adventure" to areas that you just walk into and start looking around.

You are right that this was an issue in those older Infinity Engine games. I don't think that will be nearly the problem that it used to be, though. One thing we can be certain of is that map, journal, and quest log features will be greatly enhanced. It's why I am hoping for a return to something closer to how BG1's world map and areas worked. It'll be easy to get "lost" but now that much easier to figure out where you are supposed to go, meaning that if you get "lost", it's by design and choice.

My only request for any DLC or expansion packs: that it take place *after* the main storyline is completed. I've come to really dislike DLC that adds all this cool stuff during the main game which I've almost certainly already played and beaten at that point. I always felt like I "missed out" by playing the game right at launch. I'd rather new content that serves as a sequel of sorts - whether full on to the main plot or simply "the further adventures of". That way I can enjoy the game in all its fullness, while knowing that everything that comes after adds on to the world and story that I will have already experienced.

Right, of course, even if you discover it after the fact. I remember in Baldur's Gate 1 coming across a wizard's tower in one area and then later in another village hearing about a wizard who lived in a tower in that area! Of course, I knew who they were talking about but if I hadn't trekked over there yet, it's the perfect passive "living world" clue to get me to go explore. That's exactly the kind of stuff that I love in RPGs! Like I said, I think you could do a mix - have the town and certain location maps be very localized, but in-between them and other locations have there be some of the wild areas to explore and branch out into just like BG1. That would be astounding.

With all the endless dungeon threads popping up, I went back to read this one and I do think this is a really good idea. Make it so that you can fully upgrade your stronghold without having to conquer the whole dungeon, but *if you do* then there are some bonus/ultimate-level upgrades, characters, areas, whatever to unlock for it. It's kind of like questing in FF7 for "Knights of the Round" or doing Watcher's Keep for BG2 - you don't need to do it to complete the game, but if you invest the time and effort, you are rewarded.

Regarding exploring, I wrote about that here: http://forums.obsidian.net/topic/61728-exploring-in-project-eternity/ The other feature that I would want is, like in Baldur's Gate 2, if you have main story co-op, the ability to handle the players leaving areas individually to do things instead of having to go everywhere so you can zone together. In BG2, this wasn't totally free. You couldn't leave a major map area without the party, but within that area (say the shop area of the city), you could go in and out of buildings and interact with characters without the other player having to see it.

Suikoden II, but my GameSharked version where my Sui1 hero's name is spelled correctly! (And I'd sneak FF6 out under my coat.)

I've actually grown to appreciate dungeon level design that doesn't force me to backtrack. For the mega-dungeon, there are a couple of ways that you could do it. 1. As above, a feature that you elect to use/not use. 2. Like Watcher's Keep, build conditions and areas into the game that open up entry points as you go on. I'd be fine with the latter, but I personally would want *something*. People who want to zone in and out of fifteen winding levels with a six-player party either never played the old Infinity Engine games or have rose-colored memories of them! :-D

Incidentally, for Obsidian...this would be a great time to do a "Directors Commentary" for the game that you could package with digital sales of Arcanum going forward.

It should break the mold. Things that I would love to see: - A story that unwinds itself as you go down. - Some levels that feature little in the way of monsters, puzzles, or traps. - A town or some kind of civilization down there that you can interact with like you would most any village. - A way for the endless dungeons to live on after you've delved them all: restoring the castle, using it as a profit/resource center, something like that. I think the easiest way to do this would make it an element of the stronghold, with the goodies derived from the dungeon bonus ways of enhancing your keep, village, fields, surrounding areas, and basis of power. EDIT: Also, I now expect a GIANT ****ING STATUE somewhere in there. ) Preferably one that makes its way to the surface where I can defeat it and display it as a huge-ass trophy...my very own Statue of Zeus.

One thing that I loved in the original Baldur's Gate is the way that, as you explored, the world map would show you new areas. Always in those pictures, there would be some kind of drawing of a feature in the map - be it a tower or town or whatnot - hinting at what lay within. Popping into those areas and exploring them was an absolute joy. I thought BG2 lost something when it went away from that, and every location was much smaller and focused. I would love to see a mix of the two in Eternity: some areas you find have that tighter focus and smaller location, but other areas (especially between points of civilization) have that larger sense of wonder and exploration. Thoughts?

I'm a big fan of the "not respawning" as well. That's true of most of the game, not just the dungeon. I think there should be something to do with the castle on top, too...that as you conquer the dungeon, it gives you the ability to restore/use the castle. It would be interesting for the dungeon to be somehow useable/have an impact beyond its being completed.

Music is critically important, particularly *not* reusing the same tracks over and over again and having a variety of pieces. Another pitfall is when you only have a short-loop track for a location you're bound to revisit or spend a lot of time at. If there was one place they should pick a battle, it would be that: find a way to make it a much longer track for the stronghold or house or city X, or ways to change up the variety. For instance, what if you hired bards or singers and just went with ambient sound, meaning that the music changed as you wandered to and fro in a location - sometimes the clanging of a smithy or clamor of a crowd might be ascendant, other times the strumming of a lute or plucking of a harp...

If their donation thing doesn't succeed (it looks like it has 10k goal), does it not fund? I put in $50 bucks, but would like to put that to the Kickstarter if it doesn't make it.

1. main story co-op guaranteed (like Baldur's Gate or NWN). 2. More work on romances and even a family element. 3. More recruitable characters - including stronghold and house characters, and quests/conversations for them beyond just one track. 4. And Morinelithe, I'd already suggested long ago that I would love to see Minsc and Boo appear, provided WOTC is willing to play ball without any hassle. I agree that a Space Hamster somewhere in there would be grand!

I disagree, actually. I felt lost at the beginning of Planescape Torment and the early Elder Scrolls games, but eventually I picked everything up. Making sure that they have a comprehensive in-game almanac would go a long way, too - especially one that updates with information as you find out more stuff (like the dossiers in Alpha Protocol).

The world needs to feel sustainable...like it could have existed for as long as its histories tell and that it can go on existing. As long as they attend to that properly and don't have anything too out of whack, the level of grimdark vs. cutesy (or whatever) should be fine.

Admittedly, all of it would take extra time and effort, but then that's what would make it astounding: a traditional "bonus dungeon" but with enhanced roleplaying elements including a carefully crafted narrative that sustains itself all the way down to the bottom, along with other roleplaying opportunities when you aren't expecting anything more than an average monster slog. As for the keep on top, what would be interesting is if you did something with it - explore it at first and then occupy it (like the HQs in the Suikoden games). Heck, make it your stronghold or the player house (or something new) and tie its strength into your ability to explore the endless paths. Heck, with a settlement on top, you could give the endless paths a real "Dwarf Fortress" feel, right down to the "they delved too greedily and too deep" part. :-D Really, though, my personal preference isn't for just another bonus dungeon, but to make this something unique that we haven't seen before. You can have all the great dungeon delving that we're expecting, but at the same time provide it with something more than "because it's there" to get you driving down into it.

So however many levels of the dungeon we end up with, I know there's a keep/castle on top! Will the castle itself be fully explorable and with multiple floors? Won't lie: trying to greed as much out of this as possible. I want the endless dungeons to be this amazing, self-contained story experience. I know the levels will get more and more difficult as we delve, but my true hope is that the story gets even more compelling as you go deeper, too. Hell, add in some base camps and followers as you make your way through. I don't want to just explore this dungeon. I want to conquer it.

I'd like to see some guest contributors. It might sound trite, but I feel bringing new talent onto the team in some capacity will help generate increased Kickstarter awareness and support - similar to what inXile did bringing Chris Avellone in on their WL2 kickstarter. It really jumped their funding.

Chris + Tim + Josh + Obsidian = benefit of the doubt.