Shades

I'd like... -To see a screenshot, as others have mentioned, just a mockup would be fine. -To know what boxes the collectors and normal boxed versions will be in (this doesn't really matter a lot to me). -To know if the boxed versions will be DRM free. -Concept art of all the companion characters (we have 3 so far... ). -Short bios/descriptions of each of the companion characters (not spoilers). -Concept art of any races we haven't seen yet. -As others mentioned to know if we can purchase things after the Kickstarter like Watseland 2 is allowing.

You are not billed till the Kickstarter ends. Then Kickstarter, through Amazon Payments, tries to collect the pledged money. Most go fine but it's quite common for some payments to fail. Unless they used Paypal, in which case they probably have paid already.

I have to say, I'd prefer that the boxed version be DRM free too. I mean I'll be grabbing the digital version from Gog anyway for the same reason, but I'd like to be able to install off the actual discs without having to worry about DRM. It will probably be quicker for me to find the boxed game on my shelf than it would be to hunt through my backup external hard drives for the Gog install or redownload it if I need to do another install.

So you mean... Perhaps if you could make them sorta like the BG1 companions? While the proper companions would be more like BG2/PS:T companions. I can see how that would work (though might require VO work unless they were dialogue-only with the same assigned soundsets that the PC chooses from) if they have the time and funds spare to do it. Otherwise we're bound to eventually get mods adding more companions in sooner or later too.

Oh yeah! Ahem. I kinda wanted the hardcover book (art books, one of my greatest weaknesses) but could only get enough to make it to $250. So I'm pretty pleased that I'll be able to get the hardcover book anyway. And making things as mod-friendly as possible is great news. It would be kinda neat if the pet was some sort of creature unique to the world (or perhaps mythology-inspired).

I think from the OPs mindset if you liked DA then that makes you a 'Biowarian' I liked the old Ultima, Might and Magic and Eye of the Beholder games along with the IE games when they came along, NWN, Kotor, NWN2, DA (until large parts of DA2) and ME (until ME3) etc etc. And yes, I played and liked Bubble Bobble as a kid! So since DA is in there, that would also make me a 'Biowarian' I agree with you though, there are a lot of people here with a lot of different views, trying to split them and look at them in such a way is very... Paladin-like. Is the OP Ajantis by any chance?

If you enjoyed DA2 it puts you squarely in the "should be culled to prevent breading" group. Gotta be careful with all those bakers around, never know what they'll be cooking up next. Come now lets not be pedantic, we all know he meant "breeding" Sorry, proof reader, it's difficult to resist I'm a little curious, it seems anyone who professes a liking to the Dragon Age series at all gets automatically put into the Bioware 'faction'?

If you enjoyed DA2 it puts you squarely in the "should be culled to prevent breading" group. Gotta be careful with all those bakers around, never know what they'll be cooking up next.

Seeing more variety in undead enemies would be great. And as mentioned them having some intelligence and meaning behind their actions can add a lot too. I like the idea of finding at least one undead that didn't get that way on purpose, but since they are that way like almost anything they obviously fear this fragment of 'life' that they cling to being put to an end. I think some of the PS:T Dead Nations undead were a bit like that. After all a lot of undead probably didn't come back because they wanted to. Hm, it would be kind of interesting if there was a way to bring the intelligence or mind back to some undead instead of something like turning them. A bit like charming someone, except you don't know what they were like before so it's a mixed bag as to how they'll react (they could continue attacking you, this time with intelligence behind it, they may flee, stand around in confusion, help you etc).

One thing: Have you actually seen what the combat is going to be like? If not, how can you tell whether it will be terrible or not? I have a huge dislike of cooldowns and don't really like the idea of not getting experience for individual kills, only quests instead. I admit I was a bit disappointed when I saw quotes confirming these things (I like wandering around the wilderness the BG way trying to kill everything and not end up dead) but... I'd like to think that Obsidian can make something decent out of it, that they know not to implement these things in ways that irritate everyone. They certainly have a vocal community here ready to let them know what they do and do not want. I want romances certainly, (not as mini-games, simply as a continuation of the dialogue specific to each companion) however I'm not going to withdraw my pledge or anything simply because they aren't in the game. That being said though with such strong opinions on the subject I think it would be smart for Obsidian to say nothing about them until after the Kickstarter has finished. Anyway, I was under the impression that perhaps a lot of people were maxed out on their pledges (I know I pledged up to the highest amount that I could without killing my bank account right away, probably one of the most expensive games I've bought But it'll be worth it), thus why we haven't seen a lot of movement (and why they're aiming towards more individual pledges rather than just more money). Though I guess that wouldn't explain why the total still continues to climb steadily. And there will be a number of people that will be waiting to increase their pledges until they see certain things, mostly mod support, some might feel the same about co-op, and there will be a number of other things that people will feel strongly about. It will be interesting to see what difference the Paypal donations make to things, too.

I have to say I find this huge anti-romance thing ridiculous (and yes, I'm going to diverge from the topic for a moment because the OP did mention this subject. The IE games seem to be put up on some sort of pedestal as the most amazing things ever (and yes they are awesome games, but they still have flaws like anything else). But guess what? Those same wonderful, brilliant IE games? They had romances (excluding the IWD series). How many people liked Annah and/or Fall from Grace in PS:T? Those were romances. How many people liked Jaheria, Viconia or Aerie in Baldur's Gate 2? Those were romances! And how many people didn't like any of those? Okay those weren't romances. So your old beloved IE games did in fact have those dreaded things called romances in them. And you know what? For the most part they were better in the IE games (unsurprisingly). They weren't all about wham bam thank you ma'am, just look at the numbers of talks they had specific to the romances and most will have more talks than any newer game examples. They didn't have to spell things our for you with little heart icons and terrible flirt lines either. And was there an option to turn romances off in the IE games? Oh wow, I don't think there was. You just, you know, talked to your companions. Half the time you couldn't really tell for sure if you were actually in or starting a romance or not. Unless they were a bit more blatant. In which case you told Anomen to shove off and take a hike over to the nearest garbage can. Either way somehow you'd eventually twig that you were romancing this or that character. And if you didn't want to? You stopped it. Simple as that. Why don't I hear people complaining all the time about those (mostly female) characters from the IE games romancing your character? I can only assume that when one utters the word 'romance' all that springs to mind for those opposed to it these days are examples from the latest (mostly Bioware) games. But that's a bit like me going 'I hate combat or choices in Dragon Age 2, they were done horribly so I don't want to see them in this new game at all (and I'll conveniently ignore the fact that combat and choices were in the IE games). It would just be a waste of resources that could be better used on something like the story and world development.' Remember, all of you who are nuts about combat may be unhappy about the way it has changed in games these days, but some people are equally unhappy with the way romances have been shortened and focused on less choices and content, and instead more on eyecandy over the years. Thankfully this is an Obsidian game, and Obsidian have written decent romances before (hello MotB and Kotor2), so I have faith that they will deliver something great to us with PE. I don't expect or want a romance sim, and I'm not even sure that there will be any romances in PE, but I hope that it will be a great game that I'll love playing anyway. Also, I'm not going to demand that Obsidian take something out simply because I don't happen to use whatever it is much. Anyway, about the two 'factions'... I don't think it's quite that easy to classify people. You'll get people who love the older games for different reasons, people who love games that are older than the IE games, people who love new games, people who are just willing to try any quality game made by a decent company, etc. I mean I could assume that those who are fans of the IE games are probably older, and therefore more likely to have stable jobs and money than younger people who may still be in college. But you'll also get younger gamers who have been introduced to the IE games earlier or recently that really like the way they work too. I'm just happy that so many of us are able and willing to support PE no matter what games they grew up with or what particular function they cannot do without in a game.

Make it turn based in combat and all characters follow the leader out of combat would be the only way I can think to handle BG on a console. I may lack imagination in this area though. Actually, how did Dragon Age: Origins work on consoles? Because I imagine the IE games would work at least a little bit similar to that if you were to try and convert them. Butyeah, I agree that this game is being made for PCs, with no dumbing down or simplifying (about time PC gamers started getting something more after years of dealing with more and more DRM driving people away) and so if they were going to do a console version it would have to be after this is done. Maybe if enough people wanted it they could make a Kickstarter for that purpose. Myself, I'm happy to always try to find a PC version of any game I like.

I'd like it if there was something different than the usual having 'good' and 'bad' rep where bad means eventually the guards came after you. Instead you had something like different threat or menace levels, and at the highest level people would fear you (they know, or think they know what you're capable of) but aren't stupid enough to attack you. If you went around slaughtering people, yes the guards should be after you. However if you're just intimidating and/or bullying people or manipulating them to get your own way, maybe even letting someone die rather than stepping in to save that person, it should be treated differently. And you should be able to intimidate shop keepers into giving a discount just as much as much as a good character would get a discount through... Why exactly do good characters get discounts anyway? Through gratitude? I would think that a merchant who wanted to make money might be even more likely to see a good/successful character to be a better source of cash. Perhaps it's to encourage a good hero to buy their stuff. And if my character comes across a caravan of people in the wilderness and slaughters them, unless there were survivors I don't see how everyone would suddenly know that I'd done such a thing. Unless my companions blabbed about it... Which could actually make for some pretty interesting talks with them, trying to persuade or intimidate them into not talking.

I think the BG games did have this. I can't remember what it actually did, but if you drank enough (depending on your con I think) then you'd get a little icon meaning your character was now drunk. I know some BG mods would also trigger dialogue in response to the first time this happens, can't recall if the unmodded game had any dialogue type reactions to it. But I certainly have no problem with it, could be pretty amusing.

This is true, the Diablo 3 collectors box is very impressive. However looking at it, seems that it would not have been cheap to make (hence the cost it had). I"m certainly not expecting anything like that for PE, however as mentioned I'd be happy if they included a DVD case with the collectors edition so I can still fit it on my shelf and store the bigger box elsewhere.

I'm guessing the shipping rates are like that to try and cover some of the higher international shipping rates. It seems to make sense to go with the higher amount so they don't end up losing money when shipping everything. I'd imagine the packaging is also included in that amount, since I doubt they would have a ton of postal boxes or whatever they'll send things in just sitting around. I'm fine with things as they are now, the way I see it is that the prices aren't really meant to reflect the cost of producing the actual items. Rather the price is the amount you're willing to invest in trying to see this game made, and for your faith in them you get all these incentives thrown in. Of course from a buyers point of view people are mostly going to try and see it as this item costs this amount to create and so should only add this much onto the total amount.

As much as I liked the older big boxes, the reality is that they take up a decent amount of space (and half the time all they had in them was more cardboard to help keep their shape, except some of the old collector boxes which actually were full of content). Since I don't have much space, plastic DVD type cases fit onto my shelves a lot more neatly. It's also a lot easier to grab a DVD case and get the game out of it rather than fighting with a cardboard box to get the rest of the cardboard out and then find the DVD inside it. I do still like having printed manuals however. Maybe a cardboard box could be an add-on or something? Add this amount of money onto your pledge and you'll get a cardboard box? (though if we have normal and collector versions that could make things more complicated). Or... Have a DVD type plastic version of the box holding the discs inside the cardboard box Then I can put that on my shelf an find somewhere to put the bigger box.

I think these are more things I'd like to see in games but don't expect to happen than things I would want in Project Eternity. Most of all I'd like to have the opportunity to fail, and then have to deal with the consequences (bad rep, which would be different from the sort of fear you'd get from deliberately trying to be menacing. Villagers might get to the point where they try to run you out of town because they know you failed at doing something). For example if an NPC won't romance my character for whatever reason (race restrictions, stats, who knows), I want my character to still be able to try to start something with them, and to be turned down. If my character gets ditched halfway through a relationship, I want to be able to be nasty about it if I choose to (or sad or completely understanding or whatever). And if my character ditches the NPC partway through the relationship, I want to see some of them get nasty and bitter about it too (if it suits their character). Maybe such a thing could even ruin any friendship with the NPC and make things awkward afterwards, they might resent you to the point that they leave, betray or just don't fight when you get to a critical point in the story. You know, consequences for your actions. Rather than just 'you failed, you die game over' I want to see more. A town or city burnt/destroyed because of my poor choices. Perhaps if you worked really hard after failing like that you might be able to salvage something and just catch hold of victory. Or perhaps you continue to fail, and you watch the world go down with you. Or maybe the 'bad guy' wins and things actually aren't as bad as you may have thought, perhaps they really were right in the end (and maybe a 'good' character might find this out too late). I guess it's similar to being able to side with the bad guy like people mentioned. What if your character ends up such a menace that you're actually worse than the bad guy. I also like being able to do a variety of things with items. Some of the older games like... I think Quest for Glory? Gave you a number of different ways to use one item. I certainly wouldn't mind the option of trying to use an item on someone, and then getting to choose how I wanted to use it. Like say I have a potion and want to use it on this random villager, which then opened up dialogue where I could choose if I wanted to hit them over the head with the bottle, give it to them, drop it and pretend they knocked it from me then get confrontational about it, make them drink it, offer to trade it for something. Perhaps I could even have a sleeping potion and bottle of wine, and mixing them would create something that I could use to drug some guards. I think this sort of thing is a lot more difficult to put into games these days though.

The most exciting thing is: they could invite Chris So when we saw the holy three name at first, 1.1 million was funded by 27 hours. Now we need a new stretch goals like that. So there is already one on this project, how about... Two Chris Avellones! Edit: We just need a cloning machine

I'd have to agree with the OP, there are so many mods out there for all the IE games and it's great to see that their communities are still going strong. And I certainly prefer some mod made content to parts of the original content in BG2. I think that like BG asking for something like a toolset (especially one to create areas since you would need to create area art to do that) may be a bit farfetched, but I do hope that PE will be as easy for people to mod as the IE games have been. I really enjoy going through my first run for a game with no mods at all, and then adding bits and pieces to future playthroughs just to change things up a bit. I've lost count of the number of times I've played through BG2 simply because of all the mods there are for it, and likewise adding the NPC mods to both the IWD games made going through the games again a bit easier since they provided new dialogue content to explore. I find it amazing and inspiring that people put so much time and effort into making mods for these games.

Ehh I think I'm kind of sick of dog companions after DA. Summons? Yes. Familiars or ranger-type animal companions? Yes. Okku? Yes. I certainly wouldn't want anything that would occupy one of the companion slots, though I wouldn't mind something that just started following you around because you happened to feed it. And do we even know that they will have dogs in this world? If they do they have to have cats too.

Volcanoes! Swamps! Underwater! Really I'm happy with almost any environment as long as it's done nicely, and if possible with a bit of a unique touch to it. I may not have liked a lot of things about Diablo 3 for example, but I did love the way the different environments looked in it. However I admit, I am rather attracted to bright colours so that probably influences my tastes. An autumn forest environment does sound good.

All and have BG:EE pre-ordered too. Sigh, I just can't get enough of those IE games. Should be interesting to see what ones were played the most/least.

The thing is all of these are concept art, the dwarf giving us a feeling of the setting, Edair and Cadegund giving us a feeling of a couple of characters. I'd guess that these aren't final designs and things may still change along the way (as we've seen with Cadegund). As far as final portraits go I actually liked the portraits in NWN2: Mask of the Betrayer a lot (no, not the PC ones, I'm talking about the companion artwork). Let me see if I can find them... They give me a great sense of the characters that they are portraying, with each looking distinctive despite being headshots with plain backgrounds. Of course I'd be over the moon if we had a variety of portraits done by different artists to choose from (but that would probably be costly).

From what I've heard, a lot of the blame seems to lie with publishers for bug testing and pushing a game out early in relation to the games that Obsidian have received some flak over. Now it would be interesting to see/know how how buggy games like Planescape: Torment and the Icewind Dale series were on release (not Obsidian but Black Isle of course, still they have people in common). I can't remember myself and I don't know if there were any very active internet communities around them at the time either. As for the stretch goals... To be honest if I were them, I would have figured out an outline for the whole game and its content first with a timeline for that lot. Then I would have made the stretch goals through taking things that I already knew were going to be in the game. Dishonest, yes (this is why my alignment is neutral ), but that way there wouldn't be any problems with possibly over-extending yourself. I'm guessing they aren't doing things this way, especially since some of the stretch goals seem to reflect what people are asking for in places like these forums. So quite frankly I wouldn't be surprised if there was some cut content (after all, you can refine something by cutting out what doesn't seem to be working), however I consider it more likely that they'll extend the end date for the game (depending on costs I guess, since this is a low budget game). And I will be absolutely happy with them doing so, because as an experienced company I trust that they know their own limits and how game making works well enough to not have the development going on forever (especially considering how much that would cost them). As for the bugs, I suspect/hope that doing their own quality testing will result in much better bug testing than what they've been getting from publishers, and who knows maybe a few of the backers with beta access will prove to be helpful here too.