LordCrash

Holy hell, I wouldn't want to play a game without music...it's like playing a game without visuals for me. The games I remember best are the ones with the best soundtrack...almost the same is true for movies/series. Sound and music are such strong elements to encourage emotions.... Missing out on music is like missing out on a core element of the audio-visual experience a video game is. Or maybe you just played the wrong games so far... :D

Are there some new screens in the music vid?

I like the music for the Dyrford village, but tbh it's not that impressive. Seems like it's a more "sad" or "tragic" place according to the music... I hope there will be some more "iconic" and "epic" peaces of music as well like the ones we know from BG2 (e.g. the main theme, the end theme or the good theme).

THIS. I would be ready to invest a nice chunk of money if Obsidian ever decided to look for funding for a "spiritual successor to Alpha Protocol" on kickstarter. Please, Obsidian, we want another RPG set in a realistic espionage world.

Yes. Many people thin Steam = DRM... But Paradox games on Steam are DRM-free. Steam is always DRM, as to install games you need Steam client, Steam account and game on your account (or on account of some one in you family share list), to install it, which means that it is way to control digital content after sale aka DRM. Although Paradox games on Steam don't have any extra DRM mechanics after installing game, which means that you can copy and/or move installed files to other folders/disks/computers if you wish. But strictly speaking they aren't DRM-free as Steam itself always work as DRM on games that needs it to be installed, even if game works without Steam after install. Following that logic GOG was a DRM-service as well because you need an account for purchasing the game and downloading the files for the first time at least. It's in fact exactly the same thing. Personally, I think you overstretch the definition of DRM a bit too much here.

So, I've found two sources which should calm down all you people who worry about DRM-free distribution with Paradox being responsible: http://pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/The_Big_List_of_DRM-Free_Games_on_Steam http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/magicka/1216907p1.html It should be clear that Paradox isn't just "another publisher" trying to impose DRM on every game they publish. Instead they tried to avoid that so far for the most time.

Thanks for the clarification, I was already guessing so.

No, I blame them that I personally don't buy boxed games anymore (except a few collector's editions of my favs)....

Pah, I blame Steam for that...

I... I don't think you are able to really make that call.... It's just my personal opinion based on the various Obsidian games I've played so far. I don't say that Obsidian isn't capable of making a game like that. I just say that I don't see many of the competencies they've built up with previous games used here to a greater extend...

There is a difference between the literal meaning of "publishing" and the business of a video game publisher. I guess that's the problem here (and not only here). Of course you "publish" a game by puting an exe file on the web and a banner for marketing above. But that doesn't mean that you're a publisher because you don't do what a publisher normally does. Publishing something and being a publisher is not the same thing, especially in video gaming... And Steam not even publishes games. They don't decide to publish a game. A publisher decides so and Steam/Valve fulfils their wish by offering the game on their store. Steam sells games and makes advertizing for them on their storefront. That's the complete business. (Or do you tihnk that a newspaper store is a publisher because they sell newspapers? The editor of the newspaper is the publisher of course. He just gave the store the permission to sell the newspaper for a cut.)

No. Greenlight is just a program "to enter Steam's catalogue". Being greenlit means that Valve will sell your game on their storefront called Steam. Steam/Valve won't do market research for you. Steam/Valve won't give you money for development. Steam/Valve won't contribute to your production. Steam/Valve won't advertise your game in magazines, TV, websites, posters other than their own storefront. How can you call Steam/Valve a publisher then? Valve only publishes their own games. Gamestop could do a similar program for place on their storeshelves. You could vote online which games should be sold physically via Gamestop stores. Does that make Gamstop a publisher? Hell no, they just continue to sell games...

Steam and GoG are platforms. That's like saying Nintendo is publishing Arkham City because it is on the Wii U. The PC is the platform, Steam and GoG are definitely distributors though probably seldom complete publishers. But since gog patches the old games to let them run on newer operating systems I would say it definitely does more than distribution. "publisher" is a really strechable concept, you'll have a hard time showing that steam and gog don't publish games. Following that logic Gamestop would be a publisher as well... Large publishers like Ubisoft or EA usually don't even do distribution themselves. They outsource that most of the time because it's actually not even a core business of a video game publisher... The core business of a video game publisher is: - production - manufacturing - marketing (incl. market research and advertising) It'd new to me that Steam or GoG fulfilled any of the points above (except online advertising on their own storefront)...

Of course a serial or key is DRM free. What you mean is an online activation.

Don't give up hope. Paradox is still looking into the possibility to offer boxed copies and even collector's editions of PoE.

The problem with this project is imo that the core competencies of Obsidian are wasted. You don't need a great storyline, well written characters, a great choice and consequence system or any other RPG competency for that kind of game. Though I understand that people at OE want to do something else than RPGs from time to time and I wish them luck...

I can't even express my level of disappointment..... Of course Obsidian is free to do whatever they want to do (or need to do) but personally I don't like that at all.

You're absolutely right. Multiplayer games and singleplayer games don't share the same requirements and considerations. Going Steam-only is a new trend for MP games because you don't have to have an own server running and managing. But as you said, there is no reason for that if the game is SP only.

Well, I don't think that it would be a big problem to store some update files in a server somewhere at Obsidian. CDPR solved that issue by developing an own launcher for the DRM-free version of Witcher 2 with an integrated manual version check + download possibility without the need to search for updates on the website and stuff.

Haha, I just wanted to link the same answer here....at least it's me who asked that on twitter.... You guys should also check out the new preview site of Unity 5: http://unity3d.com/5 Very cool stuff there. I hope the engine update will be released soon enough to be able to used in Pillars...

That's an unknown for now. It would be daft for Paradox to impose DRM on their physical release when DRM-free digital versions are available - but Namco Bandai did exactly that with Witcher 2 and Paradox's "DRM-free to Steam-exclusive" shift doesn't give cause for optimism. However in the worst case (of DRM on the Paradox physical release) you could give your friends a GOG code also so they'd have a DRM-free version along with the physical goodies, though that does mean paying twice. Well, let's take Warner Bros who took over physical distribution and publishing for Witcher 2 (and the upcoming Witcher 3) in North America. The box copy sold by Warner Bros is completely DRM-free and customers additionally get a GoG backup of the Enhanced Version. So it's definitely possible to make a deal with a "traditional publisher" without sacrificing a DRM-free approach. Of course the first deal with Namco was different but CDPR learnt from their mistakes... The best solution imo for Pillars would be DRM-free physical box version with a serial which also could be activated on Steam. That way both customer "trends" would be satisfied, the Steam lovers and the DRM-free lovers.

Fair enough but your question was asked and answered earlier in this thread. Pillars will be made available through GOG so there will be a DRM-free option for the general public. Yes, this issue is important but name-calling does not help anyone's arguments here. Okay.... "nitwit" is a tongue-in-cheek name calling. It's not meant to be taken offensively, but I guess since he's in Germany, he might not realize that I meant it in the most jovial sense. Then it's ok. I really didn't know that.

More than likely such an clause in the EULA is a way to reserve the right to go after Mods they don't like (say if someone did a sex, slavery or torture mod for one of their games and they felt it'd reflect badly on them), more than a way for them to stop mods at all. Acutally it's much noise about nothing. In the real EULA mods are not forbidden after all. The only reglementation on mods is that they have to be authorized by Paradox first before publishing them and that they cannot been sold. That's a pretty normal passage in almost any video game nowadays. Here's the original EULA of the game Leviathan Warships: http://store.steampowered.com/eula/202270_eula

A cut from the sales after release of course.

Yes... Let's just bring this out in the open. I'm a backer, and I have no interest in this crap right here! < Another "Paradox" game... [...] Please stop trolling. This is by no way "another Paradox game". It's a 100% Obsidian Entertainment game and you should know that if you read the thread here carefully. Paradox is some kind of subcontractor to Obsidian. Obsidian outsourced marketing and (physical) distribution including backer fulfilment to them because Feargus and Brandon thought that they have better skills on these topics than the guys at Obsidian themselves. That has nothing to do with any EULAs of Paradox games since Paradox just offer some services here. They don't have any decisive power how this game will be developed or how the franchise will develop in the future. And as a matter of fact Pillars of Eternity will be DRM-free as well. DRM-free means that of course you will be able to mod the game for example. It also means that you don't need any client to start the game. Nothing will change that. Paradox won't change that. So calm down, take a breath and please consider the real facts of the deal instead of just sticking to the "Oh my god, I hear PUBLISHER = evil" kind of BS... I'm not trolling you nitwit... I'm emotional about it because I'm vested in this. I speak real loud-like when I object. I do that, because I find that all-to-often, when something is clearly wrong... Or, might be headed that way, not one person in the room will say a damn thing about it. I'm not angry... I'm worried. There's a reason I don't back kickstarter MMO's... I refuse to back anything that someone can turn around and revoke my right to play, or mod, or move to a new computer. I am done with that and if things even look end up that way, then I'd prefer to not have even bothered in the first place. I give you five minutes to edit your post to delete that insult....I think you don't want to get banned here. It's ok to be worried but it should have some meat to it. The Eula of one of Paradoxes games has nothing to do with this distribution deal so it's imo kind of pointless. Brandon Adler already told us that they will still sell the game via GoG DRM-free. That means that nobody will revoke your right to play, mod or move to a new computer. Oh, and I'm heavily invested in this game as well as you could probably see at my badge. But that doesn't mean I can't evaluate the situation in a reasonable manner without any pointless accusations/speculations.