Osvir

We stand by two different opinions here, and I respect yours, but I don't think it is garbage. I am curious though, where do you get your opinion and experience from? Why do you think episodic content is garbage if you've never experienced it? And if you have experienced it, which game that released episodic content made you feel that way?

Did you read santanzchild's post above yours? Cus he gives a perfect example where the content actually does not suffer for it, and could've been handled in a sort of "Episodic Release" dealio. EDIT: However, something I just realized... an open world RPG released in Episodes could suffer from one thing and that is Power Gaming. - Game releases with 1 Episode (Epside 1). I finish this Episode in one weekend... but then what? I have to wait of course but... suddenly I have hours to spend in this first Episode to kill time with and find easter eggs and level up my character substantially. There would have to be some sort of "cliffhanger" or some sort of thing to signal the Player "There's no more content at this time" in an immersive fashion (so that the content indeed does not suffer). - IF I am allowed to power level during Episode 1 and when Episode 2 comes out, I'd run through it like a rampaging train without any worries. Thus, content suffers. Something to consider @Obsidian.

So we pretty much will(?)* get New Strech Goals (which means more wilderness areas and more companions). My thoughts are that I would very much LOVE a conditional companion. What this means is basically that you have to fulfill some conditions to get the companion. For instance, in all Suikoden games there are quite a few characters you can not get if you don't fulfill some very specific conditions. One of my favorite characters is Pesmerga in Suikoden 1 & 2, a mysterious Dark Knight that you know very little about (which is the charm about it in my opinion), but you can only get him within a specific time-frame in the game (nothing like game time or anything like that, but between 2 different chapters). If you get to the area where he is too late, he won't be there, and if you get to the area before the condition is met, he also won't be there. A companion like this would be great to see in Eternity. An example I've used before: - You go to a town, there's a companion here, but you have to fulfill some conditions otherwise you won't get him. - If you fail to get him or meet him at all, he'll later show up in the game as a villain or whatnot. This gives more replayability as well as some psuedo-reactivity in the game. I've got another example: - Od Nua, if you can get to a certain dungeon level between Chapter 3 and Chapter 4 (conceptual/examples), you could find an extra companion. Very difficult to get to that level at that point or something. - If you get there on Chapter 5, you might find a skeleton or something where the companion had been, perhaps even a note hinting something that if the Player would've gotten there sooner they might have found something else. - Let's say there's a big event in the game, or something going on, the note you find if you go to this location later could hint and refer to that somehow, making the Player realize "Huh, that's what I did a couple of hours ago hmm... so what would happen if I go here before that?" or something. The note should not be super obvious in a "If only someone had been here between Chapter 3 and 4, then maybe I'd survive" but more in the way of "The battle began at [Location] and the only thing I could think of was to run as far away as possible". * Not at all certain 100% by the way. It depends on funding & economy I suppose. This is an IF post/thread. So take that "will" with a big chunk of dry salty salt. Thoughts? Got any more ideas for conditions?

I don't know how the Adventurer's Hall will function throughout all difficulties but I remember Obs saying something that it costs an amount to hire extra companions too (I like it!) but just something to consider... a Player might not be able to afford a full party right off the bat even if they reach an "Adventurer's Hall" location. Furthermore, in the latest PCWorld interview I am fairly sure I read Josh saying that the Adventurer's Hall isn't necessarily a "building" you find but it's various set "locations" all over the world. EDIT: What I imagine on difficulty btw for Adventurer's Hall companions and economy: - Casual/Easy = Costs very little or nothing at all - Normal = Costs some - Hard = Costs more - Hardcore = Costs a lot - Hardcore Deluxe Mod (That I want to create if it isn't already in the game) = Can't hire extra companions whatsoever

Hello everyone! I watched this video again, checked YouTube and then I was struck by lightning. The smoke is still coming off my now bald head, but I just had to crawl to this forum and post this "idea" before I pass out from the pain. It is not really an idea, it's an ORDER. Repost this video on relevant forums across the web, share it on your Facebook pages, like it, Twitter it #PillarsofEternity (twitter link), and furthermore, SEARCH FOR PILLARS OF ETERNITY IN GOOGLE! Or click this link and this link and this link (these links link to google, in an attempt to bump relevancy). Why? Marketing. Not standard marketing. Community marketing. Fan marketing. People marketing. Underdog marketing. "Just get those views up"-Marketing. Find forums and share the news. Spread this video like wildfire. If you've got a YouTube Channel, discuss it, upload videos and talk about it. Do everything in your power to up those views on it! Let's get this bad boy up to 500'000 views (It's at 180'000-ish views as I post this message). Can we do it? OF COURSE WE CAN! *insert "Yes we can!" logo* for Sparta Eir Glanfath!!! Glhf P.S. we could spread this (Pledge site) too while we're at it Hugs!

Additionally, Obsidian could make "Wilderness Areas" that look the same (Kind of like the Random Encounters in Baldur's Gate) but have different content in them and different spawn points depending on what "Encounter" you get. Fallout does it too, and Darklands as well. Meaning: They could re-use 1 Wilderness Area to showcase 10 different encounters. This would require Obsidian to make the world map a little bit more "Free Form" and "Open World" in this sense though, which is a step away from what the Infinity Engine games were.

@lolaldanee & others: Skyrim is a concept. I don't think they mean to make a Skyrim clone in some Viking-esque territory with Dragons and a somewhat weak plot. But Skyrim is an easy reference to make when you're talking about Open World environments. I mean, you probably do it, I do it, many people on this forum does it. So why is it such a problem when Obsidian suddenly mentions it? Let's not forget that many people also enjoy Skyrim (A LOT). I am somewhat sad that it's an already licensed IP however, because an original & new IP is so much more exciting (both for Obsidian & fans). The benefits of an already licensed IP is that you don't need to make everything from scratch, and I bet Obsidian might be a little burnt out on that since they made Eternity from scratch. Not to forget the mention that Obsidian would probably color any new IP with lots of recent ideas they had and used for and in Eternity. So there's a big chance, if they make an original IP, that Eternity and this Mystery Kickstarter (thus far) would have very much in common and colored in a similar way. Unless, of course, they choose to use an entirely new crew for it.

I like that in the first paragraph Wolfenbarg :D As for Episodic Open World~ well... this is just an idea. Episode 1, Starting Point Episode 2, Expansion in all directions Episode 3, Expansion in all directions etc. etc. I should really have put a map or w/e underneath it to illustrate it better but I think you get it. EDIT: Here's an idea for immersion ^^ not pretty, I made it in like 2-3 minutes FPS Concept 1: Equipping a helmet FPS Concept 2: Checking the Inventory FPS Concept 3: Enemy ahead

How many people here were early adaptors of "Telltale's Walking Dead"? Before anyone states the obvious by the way ("But walking dead is an adventure game!!!!"), an Episodic Release is not a genre, it is a formula, a solution, a business model and a marketing tool. Great for any company, and hypes fans or gamers or enthusiasts as well if successful. I am curious because I want to know how many experienced the wait for the next episode in the game. And what they felt about it, what they talked with their friends about it and how they handled the eagerness and frustration of "I want the next episode naow!". And the most important question: Did you think it was worth the wait for the next episode? EDIT: Isn't this in the wrong forum by the way? Obsidian General "Have a news tip, question, or comment about Obsidian Entertainment? Post it here!"

Fine, Stun-kun, I'm measuring numbers of areas and not necessarily the "size" in "how big is it". My questions and speculation is towards "How many are there?". Then an area can be 5000x5000 or 100x100 for all I care, that's not what I'm analyzing. I'm hunting the numbers. So in terms of numbers, Od Nua might be 1/3rd or 1/4th of the total numbers.

Great post Stun I have no concern about dipping my toes into Od Nua. I understand why it is part of the critical path, partially because we discussed it on this board a long time ago "Could part of Od Nua, like 2 or 3 levels, be part of the main story?" kind of thing. Not going to look for the thread. The other part is most likely because Od Nua might take up close to 1/3rd and a little less than 1/4th of the entire explorable in-game world.

I think it comes from the fever-dreams of a dying preacher. I wouldn't worry too much. @Rack: Not over a third of the game, but possibly a little bit less than a third of the game. That information comes only from my speculation and some analysis/research too. The numbers are just estimates based on Obsidian's numbers. @Tamerlane: And I think I spent a great deal of time and research into this and that I don't deserve your condescending, mean, and rude tone for it. I'm not preaching, I'm researching and presenting findings. Again, what we know (Or rather... what I have researched): - We do know that Eternity's wilderness areas are slightly less than Baldur's Gate 2 (estimated: 5 or 6 areas, or, 12 or 13, depending on what counts as "wilderness" in BG2) - We do know that the Mega Dungeon is 15 levels - We do know that Big Cities are Big, but not as Big as Athkatla (IIRC), and Athkatla had 8 areas. I consider 5 or 6 to be "big". - We know there's a homlet type of village - We know there's a Stronghold That estimate is about 40-45 areas without the new stretch goal thingy taken into consideration. With the new stretch goals, maybe 50~

3rd EDIT: Things we do know for a...uhm... rough fact? - 15 Mega Level - 2 Big Cities (none of them the size of Athkatla IIRC, which is 8 areas), maybe 5 and 6? - Wilderness Areas slightly less than Baldur's Gate 2, meaning it could be 5 or 6, or, 12 or 13 (depending on what "counts" as wilderness areas in Baldur's Gate 2) - Stronghold, 1 area 32-40 areas. This analysis is not taking into account for various habitats or Temple's or wayside Inn's or whatnot, or the Hommlet shown in one of the updates, or Orlan or Aumaua habitats etc. etc. meaning we could be looking at a total of a rough estimate of 45 areas (maybe).

LOL Ok. When the Human resources department cites a measurement like "Man Days" or "Man Hours", they are using a broad measuring stick not meant to directly equate to how many weeks it will take to finish an area, or a project. For example, if it takes 12 man days to complete development of 1 area, but you got 4 men working on that area together, then in real world terms, it will take 3 days for them to complete that area. That said, stop guessing, since you have no idea how Obsidian tasks out its staff for each area. Thank you, this was very insightful EDIT: And it also means my OP is wrong and I have no concern either. EDIT EDIT: Here's (devtracker) the BG vs BG2 thing btw: We have scaled our scope to our budget, which includes animation and everything else. The current wilderness area scope (specifically) is a little under BG2. The exact number by which it would increase would likely depend on funding. The goal isn't to turn it into BG1, but to hit that mid-point between the two BGs, so there's good exploration with solid content density. That's a response to how many wilderness areas are scoped to be in Eternity. And counting on this map my OP isn't too far off actually (I count 15 areas outside Athkatla, not all of them are wilderness areas though, does it count? If not, I think I'm counting 7... or 8?). Might mean that the Big Cities are bigger than what I'm speculating/calculating if that's the case it's pretty exciting to be honest. This is what 40 Areas could give us, purely speculating: - 15 Mega Level - 2 Big Cities (5 Areas each, 10 together) - 6 Wilderness areas - 3 Other (Village, Keep/Fort, Temple, w/e) - 1 Stronghold (How could I forget this in the OP?) Then again, maaaybeee I'm forgetting Orlan habitats, Elf habitats, Aumaua habitats and Dwarf habitats... so maybe 45 areas in the scope? Gosh I'm super curious!

It is just an idea (there are 3 more in the original post btw). I flip both ways. 15 Level Mega-Dungeon? HECK BLOODY YES!!! GIVE IT TO ME! BUT.... Does that mean we get like... 5 wilderness areas? HMMMMMM! *researches Brandon Adlers announcement in Update #67 and counts* Maaaaaaaaaaaaaybeeeeee.....? Do you comprehend?

Edit time ran out and I just want to say that this is indeed incorrect (unless I just didn't find it stated in the interviews, I was skimming it and looking quickly cus I wanted to find it fast), but I am sure that Josh has said (somewhere I can't recall) that they want the scope somewhere between Baldur's Gate and Baldur's Gate 2... was it at the GDC presentation?

I don't support it as the correct choice, but it is a choice that I would support if Obsidian would choose to do it. Call me a fan boy or whatnot, but in reality I'm more of a "Curious George" because I'd want to see how it would actually be recieved. You know, when it is released and not in a fictional discussion. Why? Because I've never seen it be done before, thus the curiosity. The reason is probably because no one dares (most likely). It is still a method. Also, an analysis is not a proper analysis if the analyst can't see two sides of "the coin" (so to speak). Here you go, it's actually a very insightful read and research in analysis I've only gotten to Chapter 8, but I suddenly get an urge to re-read the entire thing anyways. Thanks for this brief discussion Stun EDIT: I am also not trying to reconstruct anyone's budget or planning. What I am trying to find out is where is Obsidian right now in their development in terms of how many areas they have in total and how many areas they might have at the end of the development. I want to understand why Obsidian wants more wilderness areas.. well, I think I know why but I want to document it as well for the community. Read this as I hope it'll give more insight into exactly what I'm talking about here. The numbers they have given us do not add up to the scope-projection of the game (Baldur's Gate II size). That is, of course, if they do not outsource (Which I think they are doing? But I don't know how to analyse or count that and haven't done any research on the matter either).

What?? You suggested a staggered episode-release formula whereas we do not get a complete game on day one. Instead, we get a piece of a game on day one, followed by another piece every couple of weeks for 3 f**king months. Good God. NO. No Illusion of "cost-saving" justifies that. And I neither have the time, nor the sanity to delve into the 10,000 obvious other reasons why such a model would destroy Pillars of Eternity outright, as well as any other semi open-ended, exploration-based game. I'll just say... No Thanks. Please go play your little walking dead game, in all its pieces, and leave Eternity, unfractured, for the rest of us. No. it isn't. They've completed work on the mega dungeon already. Your suggestion that they scrap part of the hard work they've already done in order to create more wilderness areas to offer us as a stretch goal is (almost) as nonsensical, unviable, and financially ass-backwards as your other suggestions. Can we put a lid on the alternative brainstorming excercises now? It's off topic anyway. The devs aren't asking for budget restructuring suggestions. I'm not asking them to do it ffs, I'm just throwing out ideas cus I'm concerned. I'm passionate about this project too Stun, and I want it to succeed as much as any other who comes to this board/community. I want the full game, but if there's going to be talk about add-ons mid-development I begin to wonder whether we'll get a full game or if we'll get expansions laid out on us post-release, or if it'll kick the development time back even further* I am also considering Obsidian and their employment in all of this as well, an Episodical Release could be beneficial for Obsidian as a Company and the people working there. But I agree, an episodical release for an RPG could be devastating too on many many levels (It could ruin reputations, which in turn could lead to a problematic future and more)... I just haven't seen it done (ever). You also didn't answer my question in the "Second Quote" either. How do we know that the mega dungeon is complete? It's a question Stun, it doesn't bite. I'm curious, and it makes me very excited to know that it is, if it is. But I'm only going on your word here, so indulge me in this insight please * I have said that I don't mind it if Obsidian takes their time with the game too, and this still stands. But I can't help to I also wonder if there are possibilities or other methods to add more wilderness areas in other ways that do not include a "release date = later".

Exactly aluminium. They are not the same size. I counted 2 maps a month from October 2012 to May 2014. That's 40 by the way. I pulled it down to 30 because Brandon Adler says in Update #67 that it takes 13 man days (that's 17 days, Monday-Friday, unless Obsidian works every weekend~ which I don't think they are) to get it to pass to "borderline alpha". "Small, simple area." I am not overstating this fact too much am I? And if Obsidian would release Eternity late 2014 (Winter), which I read someone saying here as a question, it'd add maybe 10 more areas to explore (again, I counted to 17 here, but I'm scaling it down because as you yourself say, areas are different sizes, and "Larger areas with more content take significantly longer to develop"). EDIT: But outsourcing should make it possible to create more areas faster of course. And I can't count those, but if Obsidian wants to be somewhere between Baldur's Gate and Baldur's Gate 2, then I'd guess it'd add... (math math math)... something like 20 areas just from outsourcing to May 2014? Btw, Josh speaks in several interviews (Update #69, links at the bottom) that they want the scope to be somewhere between Baldur's Gate and Baldur's Gate 2, and pretty much states (between the lines) that it's definately not going to be as big as Baldur's Gate 1. Doing some counting over at Mike's RPG. Baldur's Gate: - I count 69 Places on the map (and the ones below in blue links) EDITED IN: On this page (PlanetBaldursGate) I count it to 107 Areas~ Baldur's Gate 2: - I count 62 Areas in the blue links EDITED IN: And I have no idea how to count this on PlanetBaldursGate I know these are not anywhere near the exact numbers because I'm not considering all the sub-maps and such, we do know that Baldur's Gate is bigger in terms of exploration but yeah... just doing a rough estimate basically. When I count 1 area for Eternity btw, I do mean 1 area with content in it (Houses, Quests, People, Items, Caves, etc. etc.). If Obsidian wants to add new Stretch Goals for "more wilderness areas" I kind of guess that they aren't really where they want to be in their planning (planning which is said to be somewhere between Baldur's Gate and Baldur's Gate II). EDIT: So I am guessing they want about 60-70 (or as many as possible~) maps for Eternity. And if Obsidian are without outsourced help, they'd get 40 maps til Winter (December) 2014. With outsourcing maybe 30 extra maps (til December 2014). Outsourcing thoughts are purely based on speculation.

Are you being sarcastic? That's got to be the stupidest idea I've ever heard. The industry is already suffering from the horrible disease of micro-transaction gaming. The hopelessly tragic practice of publishers and devs milking us dry with bare-boned games that need a billion DLCs to make the experience feel whole. Yet you want them to expand on that nickel and diming garbage by denying us the ability to get even the BASE game all at once? Go away, please. And, PS: No. they couldn't. We earned a 15 level mega dungeon. Not a 12 level mega dungeon. And they're finished with it anyway, so this is a moot non-point/suggestion from you. First Quote: No, not being sarcastic, and I'm not saying "I want". I'm looking at how many areas they can make with their own numbers they've given us and I'm considering what sort of method they'd use for "more wilderness areas". Because "more areas" is either going to be "more areas expansion post-release" (DLC) or it's going to be "game is released later because more areas", the episodical is a middle ground (and btw, it worked very well for Telltale's Walking Dead). There is a third option and that'd be "scrap some Old Stretch Goals cus they take too much time and implement New Stretch Goals instead"-method, which is exactly what I'm talking about with the Mega-Dungeon. EDIT: Outsourcing would allow more areas to be complete quicker of course, more manpower but more expensive too (no?). Second Quote: Of course they could. I'm not saying that they should, but they definitely could. I don't say I want it either, but it is still a method regardless. I'm still looking at possibilities, analysing, and considering "How" exactly Obsidian would deliver these "extra areas" to us in the best possible way. It takes 13 man days (that's 17 days) to create an area. 2 Areas is a little bit over 1 Month. So the Mega-Dungeon is a development of a lil bit over 7 months in itself. Where did they say it was complete?

Can you create walkmeshes in Unity? If that is possible, wouldn't it in theory then be possible to paint a map (or google some picture or whatever), put it in Unity and add walk meshes into it and then importing it into Eternity somehow? Honestly, I just don't want environment areas and moddability of it to be a thing that gets thrown away because someone says "it's complicated". I wanna design levels! Bumping a thought: Could, you, Obsidian (The Company) create a "Tutorial" (Documentation) of an Area that you are creating for Eternity (The Game) and go through all the passes that you do to get it to completion for Eternity? Like I said in the previous post, it'd at least make it more understandable what is needed to create an area and possibly author one (and not necessarily on your own). It'd also give an incentive to learn.

Coming straight out of this thread with some thoughts... Would you be willing to sacrifice a couple of Mega-Dungeon Levels for more overland exploration? I did a bit of a head-count and some research in this post as well. This is a guesswork list by the way, but I think it could be close to the actual numbers: - 30 Areas in TOTAL - 15 Mega-Dungeon Areas - 2 Big Cities, 4 or 5 areas each. - Depending on the 2 Big Cities, that'd make 5 or 7 Wilderness Areas. So my thoughts are... could some of the levels of the Mega-Dungeon be sacrificed and/or tributed to Wilderness areas? Because as it currently stands, it looks like Eternity might be a Baldur's Gate version of the first Diablo or Torchlight game. Except that in Eternity's case the Mega-Dungeon is optional and not required to finish. This means 15 areas to explore, most of them 2 Big Cities (excluding the Mega-Dungeon as it is an optional thing). On top of my head, I can think of 4 solutions: 1) Donate 5 (or even 6) areas of the Mega-Dungeon to the overland exploration. 9 or 10 levels of MEGA-Dungeon is maybe not "MEGA" but definitely "Mega". 2) This World Map Dream Post (Yes yes self-promotion or whatnot but I haven't followed that thread entirely so I don't know if there are better examples) @Obsidian: If you make World Map Travel simple and interesting at the same time you might not need too many "Wilderness Areas". More Fallout-, Ultima-, and Darklands-esque in a way. 3) Get more funding for Eterntiy to be able to add more content. More wilderness areas and more companions. BUT... would this be wise for Obsidian, as it might push back the release date of the game further? OR, if the "more wilderness areas" and "more companions" does not push back dates but is added as "add-on" content... is that wise for the Eternity Experience? 4) Include the Mega-Dungeon into the story, make it not an optional thing but an "obligatory" thing to complete the game and story. Many games, in my opinion, have used this method with great success. Diablo only had one city and a Mega-Dungeon, Torchlight too and even Legend of Grimrock is using this method (LoG2 is rumored to have outdoors exploration). It is a popular theme that Developers seem to use. I think that "4)" might be the best solution in my little analysis list here. Because it allows Obsidian to use all extra funding they get (which might otherwise be intended for "more wilderness areas" and "more companions") and put it into Eternity 2 and to make Eternity 2 as big as it possibly can be, and at the same time do just what they want to do, add more wilderness areas and add more companions, except they'd do it for Eternity 2 instead of Eternity 1. What are your thoughts?

OF COURSE... I'd love more companions... OF COURSE... I'd love more areas.... CON/ISSUE! - Will the game come out later rather than earlier if this is the case? SOLUTION #1! - Release the game as intended, but the "more areas" and "more companions" in a separate development and/or separate release. Maybe even make it episodical release post-release.< ISSUE WITH SOLUTION #1! - Many people will finish the game in a weekend and might not play it much more than that. Adding content post-release in this manner is thus risky as many would have to play the game from beginning again to experience the new content added. SOLUTION #2! SOMEWHAT RISKY TOO BUT INTERESTING! - Let's say Eternity has Three Acts (as is common), leave out the 3rd Act entirely, make the 3rd Act entirely Episodical. Maybe split Act Three up in 5 "Episodes" even, and if you get the funds for more areas and more companions, you could squeeze in these areas and companions over a short period and at the same time work towards the games climax/ending. ISSUE WITH SOLUTION #2! - This is risky because that'd leave the Developers in an awkward position, basically releasing 2/3rds of a finished product first, and then resorting to an episodical finale. It could be bad... but it could be very interesting as well. It'd make these "more areas" and "more companions" be a part of the story rather than being in an expansion pack, it'd make a coherant experience for these new areas and for these new companions, they'd be part of the full experience rather than being something "tacked on" to the existing one. Imagine if Telltale's Walking Dead was released as a 2/3rds product (unfinished basically) and then they'd add more stuff later onto the original experience... the game or the experience wouldn't have been as good... but instead, they actually made 1/5th at a time, releasing little by little of the game, eventually we (the Players/Gamers) got the full experience. PROS! - More areas :D - More companions :D ------------------------------------------ Finally, what would be the best business model here? Fund Obsidian a little bit more and get the Eternity game a few months later because they need to develop more areas and companions? That'd be the most simplest method for a full experience... Or would it be better to release what has been intended and then release more companions and more areas as an add-on pack later and thus creating a separate experience? I'd like to avoid this if possible... Or finally... Would it even be better to release the game episodically so that all content can go into one and? I'm split, partially because my knowledge is lacking here on what would be the best method, but all I know is that I want a "full" experience, and the only 2 ways I know that can give this "full" experience is A) Release the entire game in one go, or B) Release the game bit by bit in form of Episodes (Note: NOT Expansions... I consider StarCraft II to be an episodical game btw). Tales of the Sword Coast is an Expansion, StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty and Heart of the Swarm are episodes. Telltale's Walking Dead is also episodical (of course). Do you get what I'm trying to convey? Episodical Content: Release 10% at a time (Til it hits 100%) Expansions: Release extra content post-release (so, release 100% of the game, then add % to it) Expansions (DLC is an Expansion too) has the problem wherein you play the 100% of the game (if you are an early adaptor), then suddenly new stuff gets put into the game you just finished, making it feel (as a Player) that you've only played 90% of the game. Episodical content does not make the game lacking in any way, and if you are an early adaptor of it it just makes the experience even more awesome (at least for Walking Dead, even though I finished an episode in 2-3 hours or less and had to wait a couple of weeks for the next episode, it was a great experience)... but would it work for an RPG with only 12 character levels? A late adaptor gets 100% of the content from both of these methods btw, but in Eternity's case and for many of our cases, we are not going to be late adaptors, are we now? Here's how I think an episodical release of Eternity could work, if it has 3 Acts: - Release Date: Release only Act 1 Complete - Week 2, release 1/3 of Act 2 - Week 4, release 2/3 of Act 2 - Week 6, release 3/3 of Act 2, Act 2 Complete - Week 8, release 1/3 of Act 3 - Week 10, release 2/3 of Act 3 - Week 12, release 3/3 of Act 3 Act 3 Complete As you might notice, I just pushed the release date of the entire game back 12 weeks. Why? Because it'd allow Obsidian more development time for more companions and more wilderness areas whilst delivering the game partially in time. I want to guess and appoximate of how much time it takes for Obsidian to create an area but... I have no clue. So how much time does it approximately take for an area to finish? Luckily for me Brandon talks about it in this Update: this is how long it takes for a small area. About 13 man days (according to Brandon in that thread). Man days I presume are days that Obsidian is working (no weekends in other words), so that's 2 weeks and a half week of development for a small area. Doing a quick headcount using my built in calender (on the computer), I count about 40 areas that Obsidian could create for Eternity in the time-frame they've given us (I counted 2 areas every month from October 2012 to about May 2014). 40 areas is a stretch and is an exaggeration on my part, because I'm only counting small areas, but at least 30 might be a given(?). So let's do a count here: 15 of those 30 is no doubt Od Nua, 2 Big Cities are maybe 4 or 5 each (maybe more?), so we're left with... 5-7 Wilderness Areas? But having these numbers in front of me gives me some insight... if Obsidian would add 2 more Wilderness areas, that'd be 1 and a half month delay. If they'd add 4 more areas, that'd be 3 months delay etc. etc. unless, of course, they'd choose to either swap some previous Stretch Goals that take their time or release some of these added content at a later date. Additionally, they could make the Mega-Dungeon smaller (12 levels) and put 3 of those levels into Wilderness creation instead. You should make a poll about that as well Obsidian: "Could the Mega-Dungeon be smaller so that the overland exploration gets bigger?" or something like that.

I kind of hope this Kickstarter is not an Isometric game because it is getting a little fed... the only Kickstarter I'd like to see from the Isometric Perspective would be A) Eternity 2 or B) Eternity 1 Expansions... - Wasteland 2 = Post Apocalyptic Turn-Based - Eternity = Medieval Fantasy Real-Time - Torment = Surreal Fantasy Phase- or Turn-Based - Shadowrun Returns = Shadowrun Turn-Based (What has not been done yet?)* Hmm, interesting... only Eternity has Real-Time... regardless... carrying on... If Obsidian are choosing to do another sort of Kickstarter on a different type of genre or game that'd be awesome too (3rd person, first person, 2D or 3D, that'd be pretty swell too). But I think they could expand on the Eternity world by trying for some "smaller" budget Kickstarters such as "Eternity Content Kickstarter! 50 more areas to explore!" type of dealios... Now that I think about it... could Kickstarter be a medium for post-release content instead of DLC? I'd love to be a part of that Kickstarter Campaign from the very beginning too, now that I have a job and can pitch in a couple of dollars from the start (instead of "slacking", literally and figuratively). Being a part of the community in the beginning was more exciting that it is now to be honest, it felt like I had some impact and some inspiration. Now it's just waiting for the results (Eternity, what comes out of it?). The teaser video was great and it makes me excited to play the game, but it feels as if it has gone beyond the point where the community can give feedback or ideas, which we very much could in the beginning. The shape of the painting is done and there is little you can add to it. But back to the topic: What could it be that Obsidian is planning for next? I have no idea, but my bank card is ready. I just need to up my pledge for Eternity first. * Someone said "Arcanum sequel?" and I wish to say "Oh please no"... BUT... I do want to say "Oh hell yes!" at the concept which Arcanum is taking place in, namely the Steampunk setting. We need more Steampunk in our lives, admit** it! [goes off on a killing spree of all non-believers] an isometric Steampunk setting with party management and a big world would be awesome... but then again... couldn't that be added into the Eternity world too? If they'd make like a... "Bridge Game" (connecting PE1 with PE2, basically PE1.5)... because when Eternity 1 is out, they'd have an entire game with a lot of assets, and if they'd be able to generate another 4 mil for a PE1.5 game, they could put ALL that money into just making the game bigger, and they wouldn't need to focus on "rules" or "mechanics" or "combat" etc. etc. because all of that would already be done*** ** damit! *** Which takes me to the "new stretch goals" topic in the Announcements section. This has pro's and con's attached to it. Of course I'd love more companions, of course I'd love more areas... but would the game be released later rather than earlier in this case? Could they... you know... release these "more areas" and "more companions" stretch goal thingy's episodically post-release? Meh.... I'll take that in the appropriate thread.

@Semper: The LEGO example was bad I know, thanks for pointing it out so that I can continue my explanation of the example which I planned on doing So, basically what I mean (the meaning between the words) is that Obsidian have these more advanced methods and advanced tools that they use for creating maps and Josh says that their method is complicated even for them. Which I think is an odd statement of Josh to make, because it really feels like "Hey guys, yeah, we're doing this in a way that's difficult even for us so we don't know if it is possible for you". It's not encouraging, it's the opposite of it. Which is why I used LEGO as an example, because LEGO is one of the simplest building toys that exist. Obsidian is using some advanced LEGO, and I'm curious if it's possible to create some sort of "simple" LEGO. Simplicity is the theme of this thread. Furthermore, another pass at "creating more areas" could be a sort of Tutorial video made by Obsidian wherein they go through all the passes they make to, let's say something simple, create a "Template Room". No matter how advanced it is, if there'd be a tutorial video, maybe it'd be easier for more people to understand how to make more maps and/or areas.