Dunedain

Well, I guess the issue of the boxed copies is settled. Apparently there will be boxed copies readily available for order when the game is released (pre-orders also, no doubt), now that Paradox has been brought onboard to handle marketing and distribution. So that's good news for the many rpg fans that will want the full boxed copy version.

You cannot top this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEqDtbC3bL8 That is really nice, further proof of the fine music from the IWD series. In fact, it's so good, that I wish there were more of it. Note to Mr. Bell - please make nice long versions of all the songs in the game. Even if only a shorter part of a song is used during the gameplay itself, at least we can enjoy the full-length versions on the OST CD. But for something with melancholy and regret, permeated by it, Great Grey Wolf Sif. It's so sad, and yet noble and dignified, a matter of honor, duty and loyalty... Perhaps something along these lines can be crafted for some of the heavier moments in the game.

I'm glad that IWD is inspiring the soundtrack for PE, as "Icewind Dale - Easthaven in Peace" sounds really good, calming and yet intimating that adventure awaits. Ffordesoon: Thanks for the links to the music from Dark Souls, I hadn't heard it before and it's very good indeed. My favorite song is "Great Grey Wolf Sif", but it's such a sad story that I'd never want to have to battle such a fine and noble creature.

I certainly hope he works on the expansion pack/s, as well. And Project Eternity 2, of course. =)

The answer is the money would come from the slacker backer donations, pre-paid in advance, this covers all their expenses up front. There's no risk and no problem for Obsidian that way, and can have as many boxed versions as players want to order.

Yeah, I was thinking along the lines of what you said, Lephys. I doubt there would be any great difficulty in simply increasing the order size for the boxed copies when they place it with the company based on the number of slacker backer (at a higher price, of course, than the kickstarter level) and pre-orders they get. And not every rpg fan knew about this game when it was on kickstarter, so there will surely be more who'd like to get boxed versions. And as I said, it also makes for a great gift to wrap up for family or friends. And I assume the basic boxed copy of the game will not be considered exclusive, unlike other physical goods.

Well, there's no point in turning down extra sales. Boxed versions would be in demand with rpg fans, they always are popular with rpg games of this quality. And since money would be made on each sale, why not? That helps fund the next game that will be made even better. Plus they would make great gifts for friends who are into rpg's.

Well, I suppose they could contract with some local small company to handle the physical shipping of the boxed versions, all of them would sell out pretty quickly, so there wouldn't be any need for a long-term contract. But whatever the costs are that would be factored into the price, $70 plus shipping should allow for profit on each sale. So there wouldn't be any loss from it.

I'm not talking about producing 100's of thousands of boxed versions for sale across the country in various stores, I'm talking about being able to order the boxed version and it gets mailed to you (the customer pays the shipping costs) once the game is released. There's no big overhead in that, you simply charge whatever it takes to cover the costs and make a reasonable profit on each boxed version sold (say $60-$70, plus shipping). And you only produce them in limited quantities, once those sell out, they are all gone. And in smaller quantities, they will certainly sell out. You could even limit it to pre-orders only, boxed copies will only be made for those that get their pre-orders in within a certain cut-off date. After that point, it's download only on pre-orders.

Yeah, I was thinking they might make a limited production run of say 25,000 or so full boxed versions, and maybe even a few thousand Collector's Editions for when the game first comes out. But once those are gone, that's it. At least until Project Eternity 2. I think with an rpg of this excellent quality (obvious already at this stage of production), that number of boxed versions would sell out to rpg fans very quickly. In fact, if Obsidian can get pre-orders up and running for boxed versions early on, and they are getting tons of orders for them, they can boost up the number of boxed versions that will be produced and make enough to cover all pre-orders, plus several thousand extra for sale after the game is released.

I was wondering if there will definitely be a boxed version of Project Eternity (manual, maybe a paper or cloth map, etc.), that will be available and can be ordered once the game is released? Or are the only boxed copies made going to be for those that knew about the game in time to pledge for the kickstarter physical goods tiers? Thanks for any info.

I think dancing about or exaggerated movements for spells would look silly, but various subtle hand gestures and/or spoken words or phrases would make sense and look ok.

Historically, plate-mail had several layers: a hell of padding, chain and then the plate on the exterior. After the padding, potentially, leather and chain, there would be absolutely no reason why the plate would need to fit breasts as they -- for the overwhelmingly vast majority of instances -- wouldn't make a difference. Here's a realistic example which is chainmail (layers: padding and chain), not plate in which the breasts would be even less pronounced in: Hopefully the weapons and armor in the game will be at least plausible in their appearance. You can have style and interesting designs without making them look silly. This one is an excellent example. Great painting, too, Justin Sweet is very good. =)

I'd like to see monks reflect the Knights Templar model. Sort of warrior monks, pious and good-natured, but ready and able to fight if need be, with protections and enhancements given by the powers of their order. And maybe quite good at special close-in fighting techniques; perhaps disarms, stuns, things of that sort, unusual stuff that other classes don't use. Something that gives them their own style, with a variety of cool specializations that a character of that class can choose to focus on, to be even more unique.

Pine forests and cool highlands filled with fresh running springs are very enjoyable places to wander about and take in the scenery, as well as look for adventure in forgotten caves and such. And who knows what lives high up near those evergreen forests...

On the subject of audio matters, I wish there has been one more stretch goal that would have allowed the hiring of voice actors, so the most important npc's that can join one's party would all have full voice. That would be great, it really helps bring them to life, and is a lot more important for party members than ordinary npc's you might bump into. Who knows, maybe they'll add another optional stretch goal, for those that would like to see the party npc's each have their own real voice.

Thanks for the videos. In that first one posted, you can get an idea how dangerous a long sword in the hands of a skilled knight is, utterly lethal...

I'd really rather there not be firearms in the game, just doesn't go well with medieval games, but oh well.. =)

Nines: Thanks for the link. I have Mask of the Betrayer, one of the best rpg expansion packs ever. Great npc characters, a proper satisfying ending to the story for those that played the main game (which was cut rather short at the end of the main campaign), and talk about an epic quest! And now I am reminded why the music is so good, too.

I don't mind some respawning in wilderness areas, like dangerous animals returning after some time, maybe a new wolf pack is an area awhile after you may have fought an earlier one in that place. I think that's important out in the wilds, or else those places can feel sterile and lifeless. It should re-populate later on, the wilderness should feel lived in and teeming with life as you travel about, it's part of that vast natural world that surrounds the character. But in a dungeon where I've cleared out all the monsters, the place should be free of them after I've gone to the effort to wipe out that scum. If I return there to look for something maybe I missed earlier, I shouldn't have to fight them again, I've already defeated that evil.

Yeah, Bloodlines is a very good game (the first to use the HL2 engine after HL2's release, as a side note), and has some very fine music, quite moody and atmospheric, and fitting of a vampire rpg game (both the score and soundtrack songs). Would like to hear more from him, and hopefully they will make a sequel to the game some day. Maybe a kickstarter for it, there are lots of hard-core World of Darkness fans out there that would want it. And while we're at it, let's have a kickstarter for the Werewolf: The Apocalypse game that got canceled. By the way, does anyone know where to find the high res teaser trailer they released for that Werewolf game? Can't seem to find it anywhere. metiman: Yeah, it's not as good later in the song, he should have stuck more with the ethereal sound, that worked really well, subtle and mysterious, makes you wonder what awaits.

metiman: Hehe, ouchie. Well, I thought the game had more going for it than just the portraits. Great npc characters with interesting personalities that often clashed a bit with one another (I *love* lots of good colorful banter between the player character and npc party members, as well as among the npc party members themselves) was also a highlight. As to the main theme music of DA:O, I will say that I think the earlier part of the song is better, as it got just a little too "heavy generic fantasy" toward the end, but just a bit, mind you. You need some power and drive for music about an epic quest story in a game like that. But the early part of the song, ah...the mind and heart soar with imaginings of the adventures that await... *sigh*

And I was blown away by what he did in DA:O. One of the best. Still voted "1." though. I agree, Dragon Age: Origins has superb music, some of the finest I've heard in any game, it really captures the epic and noble grandeur of the setting and story. Powerful, yet subtle and nuanced also. I would like to have more music from this fellow in any rpg. The opening theme with it's ethereal singing is just wonderful. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWFEVbfCcOY But I'm sure Mr. Bell will do a very good job and look forward to seeing what he comes up with. And if he perhaps takes some inspiration from the music of DA:O (one of the very best rpg's I've ever played, by the way), then so much the better.

This is a good question. Personally, I am for my party companion npc's gaining full XP when they are left back at camp as I take other npc party members with me on quests (though I still want full control over what skill and special abilities they gain as they gain each level of however many levels they do gain when I do add them back into my active party list, in other words, the way it works in the first Dragon Age game). The reason I am for this is a role-playing one, and being that these are role-playing games we're talking about, that's an important issue. So here's why. I tend to get attached to my npc party members as I learn more about them and their characters and mine interact and get to know one another. If I have left a certain npc party member behind while I went and did some quests, I may want to take them on the next quest because I'll be going to an area in the game world where I know there's a good chance the character maybe can meet people he knows, or get to carry out some task that's important to his character's back story and things like that. And I really enjoy getting to see the characters fulfill some wishes they had, or develop their story lines further. And also I may just want to take them with me because I haven't spent much time questing with them lately, and I want to slowly learn more about them as our characters get to know each better, and they trust me enough to tell me more about their pasts and their reasons for their attitudes about things in the world and so on. This is a lot of fun and big part of the role-playing experience in an rpg game. And I don't want to be effectively prevented from taking them with me on some quest that I really want them on, just because they have fallen way behind on XP points (and thus levels) and so will not be able to handle the dangerous area I'm about to lead them into. I need them to be on a level comparable with me so they aren't a hindrance to being able to survive and do well where we are headed to, even if it's a high level quest area that's quite dangerous and I will need all party members to have advanced abilities to help with the quest. The first Dragon Age (haven't played the other) handles this very well and I like that system a lot. And even though the npc party characters gain levels when you add them back to your active party list after you have left them back at camp for a time, you still need to spend time talking with them if you want to get to know them better and further your relationship with them. I know it's not as realistic in a logical sense, but role-playing concerns and being able to play with any of the npc companion party members that I've met (without causing big combat disadvantage problems on hard quests) is far more important than that small issue. And you can come up with some sort of rationale for it, like the party members were training a lot in your absence or something like that, if you want.

You could get a low cost nVidia graphics card and add it into your computer. Just about any of their graphics cards released in the last 2-3 years should be fine. It wouldn't cost much and would solve any compatibility problems.