BAdler

It is looking like everything will be shipped pretty close to release day for folks in the U.S.. International deliveries may be a couple of weeks after release, unfortunately. Once we receive confirmation of delivery from Paradox we will let you guys know. This is really disappointing, I thought the reason for sending the game out without the game disk was so that we would get the game pretty much on time, I live in the uk and was expecting all but the game disks to arrive around the 26th. Now its a few weeks after, then the game disks a few weeks later, hasn't someone already stated the all the physical aspects of the rewards are complete, is this not true? Understandable. Just so everyone is aware, the physical rewards are all finished (and signed, for those items that required signatures). I realize you aren't looking for excuses, but we had some pretty serious issues shipping into the port of Los Angeles due to labor unions shutting down the docks. It was resolved, but it put a crimp into our shipping plans. We are trying our hardest to get those items shipped to you as quickly as possible.

True, but we felt it was important to add in some additional usability/tutorial/feedback items backed on a mock review that we received. Even if folks have a compressed timeline (or fewer day one reviews) I think it will be better in the long run.

This is as designed. Out of combat, if characters are blocked but need to get to a location they will clip. They should try to go around folks in a normal avoidance path, though. If they aren't, that is a bug. I feel this is better than the traffic jams that could happen previously. Hopefully, there won't be many instances where individuals will clip and, if they do, it will be brief.

There is no way I am hugging Fearg.

It is looking like everything will be shipped pretty close to release day for folks in the U.S.. International deliveries may be a couple of weeks after release, unfortunately. Once we receive confirmation of delivery from Paradox we will let you guys know.

You will get to choose the platform you want to redeem on when we release the keys the week of launch. So, no fear, you can still choose either platform.

Not sure. We have discussed a few different options. Likely sometime next week, though.

Keep in mind that because of how the Unity build process interacts with the Steam patching process it isn't actually 1.2 GB of changes. I think that because the build process creates brand new files every build Steam is unable to tell which files are changed from the previous build. I don't think there is much we can do about that.

Yup.

I hope it will, if they aren't already busy with other stuff for the Day 0 patch. I just don't know how bad they are behind schedule. Just to give you guys a bit of insight, we are currently working on a reviewer patch. After that is wrapped up, everyone will be focused on the day one patch.

We owe it to you guys. I know it sounds like a broken record, but I really do appreciate the hard work that the backer beta testers do for us. There have been quite a few changes and bugs fixed based on your efforts.

Hey, everyone. Backer Beta 480 should be live for all OSes. This is going to be the last update to our backer beta. If you are worried that your feedback and bugs won't have time to be integrated into the game, don't be. We are going to be creating patches for day one and beyond, so any feedback you give now may go into those patches. I wanted to personally thank you for helping us make Pillars of Eternity a great game. The feedback, bugs, and, sometimes, criticism has been very useful in shaping a game that we think all of our backer will enjoy. We are lucky to have such dedicated fans. Have fun! Fixed Issues: Pathfinding should be improved. The characters will clip briefly if their path is blocked and they are not in combat. This should reduce congestion in tight areas. Many armors, weapons, and character heads have been polished. Many spell and ability fixes. Ranger companions should follow the party much better and get stuck less. Vanity pets now follow the party correctly. Many save and load issues relating to items have been resolved. Lots of new portraits have been added. We have also cleaned up some of the previous ones. These aren't all of the portraits that you will get to choose from at launch, but a fair amount. AoE Spells/Abilities no longer resolve if the caster becomes Paralyzed or knocked Prone. No cultures gave Constitution or Perception as a bonus. Now Rauatai gives Con and The White that Wends gives Per. Summoned creatures do now display VFX when they despawn. Green highlight effect used for active abilities and modals on action bar now fade VFX when paused. Level-up spell/ability/talent descriptions now adjust AoE range based on Intellect. Lights in character creation and inventory screens no longer cause bloom and unnatural glare on paperdolls. Queueing an ability/spell with shift+click no longer sets Shift as a hotkey shortcut for the ability. Spider Queen in Ogre Cave now follows nearby spiders into combat. Auto-pause on low Health or Endurance no longer pauses every time damage is taken after falling below 25%. It is now possible to replace items on Quick Items tab in inventory. Enemies affected by Charm Beast now change team when they are charmed. Firebrand sword fire effect is no longer lost quickly. Difficulty no longer persists between character save files. Class specific talents are now mentioning accuracy bonuses to weapons. It is now easier to resize the combat log diagonally from the corner. Player can no longer dual-wield pistols, wands, rods, and scepters. Talents that modify abilities should now all function properly. Two handed style description was modified to make it easier to understand. Wizard's grimoire should no longer appear in character's offhand while some types of weapons are equipped. Feral Druids are now dropping all their inventory. Enabling Fast mode now disables Slow mode (if active) and vice versa. Wizard's Essential Phantom now works properly. Now able to inspect spells that are greyed out in a grimoire. Selection circles and cones can no longer be occluded by particles and 3D objects. Portrait UI is no longer overlapping in 1920 x 1200 resolution. The Bloody Slaughter talent now has a description in the Level Up screen. Passive text in the Combat Log is no longer showing decimal numbers as zero. Save/Load Menu are now organized by date created, not alphabetical.

It will likely be later in our afternoon. 4 or 5 hours from now.

Update by Brandon Adler, Lead Producer Hello, backers. We are closing in on our release date. It is a pretty exciting time, but you are probably wondering about the process to redeem your game (and other rewards) on our Backer Portal. In this update we will discuss the basic process of reward redemption on the Backer Portal and in the next update we will get in depth and provide instructions for you. We also have some cool stuff to show off like a teaser of our documentary, new screenshots, and our PAX Panel. Let's jump in! Pillars of Eternity Documentary: Part 1 We have a treat for you guys. We've got our hands on a cut of the first 15 minutes of the Pillars of Eternity documentary. We are splitting it into two parts and you can find the first part below. Tell Me More about Confirming Pledges Don't mind if I do. Step one, and this is very important, make sure you have gone through and confirmed your pledge if you haven't already. Almost all of you have already done this, but there are a few folks that still haven't confirmed their pledge. If you don't confirm your pledge (including adding a shipping address for physical goods) we may not be able to fulfill your rewards in a timely manner. If you need more information about how to confirm your pledge check out Update 69. It goes into full detail about pledge management in the Backer Portal section. If you have a survey that you never completed, please do so. If you have in-game rewards (like an NPC, an item, or even backer credits) we most likely will be unable to fulfill those rewards because the game is close to releasing, but we will do our best to get those rewards into patches or the expansion pack. So, let's say that you have completed your pledge confirmation. What do you do? Well, not much right now. On the week of release we will give you another backer update that goes into detail on how to use our reward redemption system on the Backer Portal. This will show you how to download all of your rewards. If you would like a preview of the system, it is explained in detail in Update 83. Just check out the Wasteland 2 section and it will describe how key redemption works. New Screenshots Over the past couple of weeks we have released some new screenshots on our forums. Our first screenshot pack featured Raedric's Hold. The Raedric line has held dominion over the lands surrounding Gilded Vale for generations, and its formidable keep stands as a bulwark against the dangers of the Dyrwood. Our second screenshot pack featured wurms, drakes, and dragons! Young dragons begin as wurms and grow into drakes as they adapt to their environments. Once mature, they adapt even more extensively as their coloration, ornamentation, and (to a limited degree) body structure will reflect their chosen territory, as will some of their attacks and defenses. Check out the Sky Dragon below. Backer Beta For those of you folks in the Backer Beta we have good news. We are releasing an updated Backer Beta version later today. You will find lots of bug fixes and plenty of game polish. This will be the last update we post for the backer beta, so if you have any feedback you would still like to give us, make sure you head to our forums and let us know. PAX East The Pillars of Eternity crew gave a panel at PAX East. We were able to show off some companions, discuss the Stronghold system, and explore a cool new dungeon. If you weren't able to catch it, you're in luck because it was streamed. Check out the footage on YouTube. Kickstarter: Seven Dragon Saga If you are like me, I am sure you are a huge fan of the Gold Box Dungeons and Dragons games. We have some pretty exciting news for you. TSI, the spiritual successor to SSI, has just launched a brand new Kickstarter. In Seven Dragon Saga you shape the wild and dangerous Drakelands with your choices. Impress with noble deeds. Coerce with threats and violence. Or simply lay waste to the empire's enemies without mercy or regret. The game will feature tactical, turn-based combat and a dramatic storyline with plenty of side content to explore. Show those guys some love and let's get a great new game funded. Okay, that's it for now. Next you hear from us we will explain how to redeem your rewards in detail.

Me too.

Sorry. Been super busy over here. I am testing a backer beta right now. Seems okay to me so we will probably release this tomorrow. We changed our VO streaming process and it was causing issues with backer beta since the build process is a bit different for it.

Yeah, we have the game setup so one package has depots for all of the game's OSes. Should allow you to buy the game once, but play it on any OS we support.

We will not be supporting character export/import at ship. It is something that we could look into for a patch or possibly the expansion.

You guys probably don't realize, but Fish is actually Paul Fish. Former Obsidianite and all around awesome dude. He actually worked using the workflow he describes. Sorry for outing you, Fish! -B

Maybe, but you have to admit doing everything you can do in one playthrough and ending up with 25 hours would be very disappointing. You won't be disappointed. Trust me.

No one said that. I was talking about the NPCs that stay there - the ones that grant the prestige and security bonuses or penalties. If those NPCs are not content, that's really lame. Just so you guys are aware, everyone who visits your stronghold actually walks around it. You also get hirelings (and companions) that fill the stronghold. All of those visitors in the menu where actually inside the main hall. We didn't show it off. I don't think these visitors have extensive conversations though. I know you can interact with them. One thing I was thinking about showing was the other, sharper way you can get rid of the drunkard.

I would like to point out that Obsidian has spent a good deal of its own money and resources in developing PoE. I can understand that some people may feel the game is not worth what we are charging, but trust me when I say that this game has a lot of content in it. Lots more than many AAA titles I have worked on. I would also like to point out that the price of a game is not always tied to development cost. As an example, Star Wars: The Old Republic cost $200 million dollars to develop, but when I purchased it, it was the same price as any other AAA PC game at the time. I am not sure how much the latest Dragon Age cost to develop, but it was probably significantly less. They are selling the game for $60... even more than I paid for SW:TOR. I realize that SW:TOR was likely relying on monthly payments to recoup cost, but it also has massive ongoing costs of a live team and many servers to upkeep. The case I just mentioned shows that sometimes it doesn't matter how much it cost to develop something, companies will only charge what they think people will pay for their game.

There is one achievement that I am not sure is really possible (without using some sort of exploit). It is called the Triple Crown Solo and requires that the player play the entire game solo, on expert mode, with trial of iron (party wipe deletes save), with Path of the Damned difficulty. None of our testers were able to get it naturally.

You aren't wrong. Sorry next week reply. We are holding off because some changes we made to the base game (streaming of VO) ended up causing serious problems in the Backer Beta. We are fixing them (and it might be good for tomorrow), but I wouldn't hold my breath.

Number 1 and 3 are the same, 4 is the digital version of them. This is correct.