Krios

That is a an A-List of industry heavyweights. Does anyone know about the rest of of the team working on this game? At all the updates, we keep seeing the same main guys in the videos. There are many other people putting the game together.

Yes I do not expect the manual to take over the in-game Encyclopedia. Having a book with a selection of the background stories, illustrations, etc. serves as an appetizer. You still got to play the game to get the actual experience, during which you will want to consult the in-game help to get specific context sensitive help. The manual and the in-game help should not cancel each other out. For me I like to read the manual before I play, to get that overview I mentioned earlier. By the time you actually start, you will have a sense of knowing where you are and a little foreshadow of why you are there. And for those who get the Collector's Book they get even more to feast on.

Looks like a good start!

I would like a basic house as a reward. And we get to unlock upgrades to our house though spending gold or doing quests. From a small humble cottage all the way to a small fortified manor, fit for the Hero. Our house will have NPCs to provide services, so we can interact with our servants, we can live like a Lord.

If they put in a quest to own the house, instead of asking tons of gold for it. Not so challenging that only high level characters need apply. Even a low level hero will appreciate his own bed. As for the other features, perhaps we could do quests to get optional upgrades.

To me it is a question of realism vs. gameplay. As has been mentioned by Alphyna, if the whole world were on a schedule, people woke up, did their business and went to bed, we might be trying to get some bounty, only to find out another party of adventurers has beaten you to it. If such situations happen often, and it will if the world were 'alive', not cool.

Yes it is about not missing out on the money I hope to be able to use PayPal before the Kickstarter ends.

I hope Project Eternity will appeal to a broad age group. It does take age and experience to better appreciate the mature themes Obsidian is promising.

By now Obsidian is already fully funded through Kickstarter. I am still hoping Obsidian will be able to implement PayPal pledging ASAP. I am looking forward to pledging using PayPal, to not only support a great company making a great game, and to be honest I want the rewards. However no one needs to be worry that Obsidian will not have enough funds to do this right. The company has estimated the amount of money they need to make the game, which they will receive once the Kickstarter campaign ends. Having more funds above the funding goal allows them to do more refinement, bring in higher qualities. Project Eternity is set to only be better than the original expectations!

Gender equality in medieval fantasy games I am okay with that but I will want to see some damsels in distress. Variety is the spice of life.

For those of you who got Baldur's Gate II in the box, you will remember the game came packaged with a very thick manual, choked full of not only the typical installation instructions, it also had many pages of background information on locations, portions of the map, illustrations, NPCs, and other information all which served as a great overview to the world of Faerûn. Back then I never heard of a separate collector's book with all the art and background information of the game world. Back then the more expensive, well known games came with not only the physical disc, it came with a meaty manual and sometimes a cloth map. Art books were more of a item sold separately. This time Obsidian is promising much of that as bonuses for backers of the higher tiers. I can appreciate that, and will support the higher tiers to get these collectibles. But it also made me think will all buyers of the game get just a barebones PDF manual like many games have nowadays or will everyone be able to enjoy a meaty book like we could back in the day? Please give us at least a thick (at least black & white) manual for all the RPG fans to feast on. For those who paid more, they can get a full color printed manual. A well designed manual adds to the excitement of the Player to explore, to play and want more of the game.

I did not like the way the main event (for example in FO2) had timers. I can appreciate wanting this looming sense of impending doom. Our hero has to save the World and do it soon, before the evil forces which had been encroaching on civilization totally engulfs it. That makes for great background, a justification for why the hero exist. But as a player I want to not just have a good plot but I want it to allow me to approach the events my way, in my own time. The main plot events can be scripted to trigger once the player gets to certain locations, once they have found specific items of power for example. This will not only give the player freedom to play, it will ensure that players will be not under powered when the main event starts when the timer reaches zero, unless it be by their own choice. The main plot is referenced to throughout the game, to maintain and build on the sense of urgency, but it does not force you to make a choice. There will still be a sense of urgency, it just need not stop you in your tracks.

It was a wonderful interview. Thank you for helping Obsidian with their promotion and sharing it on here. Does this mean there is a Part II to the interview and when will that be available?

The devs. are just outlining their thoughts on paper. I would not be surprised a lot of what they have announced, changes in the beta due to game engine limitations, time constraints, etc. They have left out the actual specifics of how they intend to do this allocation of XP/reward for non-combat solutions/actions.

This is an awesome update. I felt the design update this time is very ambitious. Like the one where Tim is promising if they put in lockpicking, they will make sure there are plenty of locks to pick and there will be worthwhile rewards to picking those locks. The general idea we can go the non lethal and yet progress similarly as those who went the hack and slash is very good to see. I especially look forward to our companions being fleshed out and built to help the player not only in combat, but to have a important role in doing mundane tasks better. To have a companion like/dislike meter is also great. I wonder will this mean that some companions will never get along with others? I am referring to the companion system in Mount and Blade, where companions will interact with the player and with each other. Party banter between the Player and his companions, and between the companions I hope will shine. I am very excited by the potential outlined in this update!

Yes, totally agree with OP. Part of the reasoning behind Bethesda's system is to let the player to develop his skills based on his play style. Since it is about giving player choice, might as well let the player distribute stats as they wish. Having a system to simulate that, a system which can often fail to give you the combination of stats you want, simply fustrates the player.

To be fair to the devs of many such games, the player is the hero. It is expected he or she can do heroic things. That is not to say the hero has superhuman strength or can fight an army solo. So maybe by Level 60 the hero can slay a dragon by himself but can he do that without any injuries? Probably not unless he was using godlike powers (aka god mode). As for performing menial tasks, I am okay with those. Those same tasks help your character to grow. They crafted your reputation, it is why your hero is loved by the people at the end of the adventure.

Reminds me of the Origin stories, loved those. to starting as a 'no-class'

I have not donated yet Thank you for advertising, I will donate once they allow for PayPal.

I cannot bring myself to kill off any companion. If I did not like them, I will just avoid them on my next playthrough. Painless and still gets the same results.

Maybe I am too used to premade NPCs, maybe that is just me. We as players have our own minds, we can write maybe even better than the devs. But our creations will not be official NPCs. I guess to me NPCs are like strangers whom I want to meet. If they catch my interest I want to help them along in their piece of the world. If I created my own NPCs, then it is like me wanting to play God.

I was nodding as I read, great article. Most of the points make a good case for a player support character. Made me wonder if an NPC has a plan to derail the PC's plans which gets started once the NPC joins the party. The NPC starts off friendly, builds on the loyalty factor, and then at a critical plot point turns on the PC, and have an attack of conscience. Best NPCs are those who is not fully good/evil.

A good story is one which has been designed and the players carefully herded through that experience. If we are to go for true choice where say the PC can slay the good folks and then lord over all for example, I would imagine the outcome of the adventure would be radically altered. To allow for radical variations and still maintain quality storytelling, will surely be too time consuming. A good story in itself is a great incentive to replay a game. It's like a good book, you go back and read it again after some time.

Because I am unable to use Amazon payments, I am unable to pledge on Kickstarter. One of the big reasons why I want to pledge is because Obsidian has promised DRM free to kickstarters. Since I do not plan to be a kickstarter, but instead will pledge through PayPal, can a staff please confirm DRM will be available to all backers (who pledged $25 and above if I remember right) regardless of payment mode? Also I am a little concerned that PayPal will not be available until after the Kickstarter campaign ends. If that happens, will the people who pledge using PayPal still get the same reward tiers as the kickstarters?

A little challenge is good, stops the player from plowing ahead to the next area. But we do want the PC to progress forward and not get stuck, so I would want something to look puzzling but not necessarily so difficult that I got to check Walkthroughs, guides, etc. That defeats the purpose behind having a puzzle.