Fluffle

Uhm, I'm a bit confused about the latest update, specifically about "Fulvano's Voyage". For every new additional 1500 backers a new island will be unlocked. While a the same just a few days ago, Aarik told me that it was unlikely that the team would add new islands. And I wonder, if they are going to add a new island for every new, additional 1500 backers, couldn't they have added new backer-made islands instead, or additionally just as well?

No further word on this. Yes, it is still only a "what if". I have repeatedly asked the team about this and every time they said they would talk about it but they never gave me a final reply, if they actually did talk about it and what their decision was. Which is why I am beginning to feel a bit bad. I am very certain that the team has a lot of other things on their mind. And I feel as if I act as if this island was more important which is certainly not true. The common ground is, that I want the best for the game. You want the best for the game. And the devs want the best for the game. But of course I think they know what is best for their game. A "Black Isle" would have been "nice" but that's it. On the other hand I am very very grateful and astonished for the many "yes" votes on this idea. I will stop nagging the team about it now, because I do not wish to distract them further and I feel that any more pushing on this issue would be rude on my part actually. And I did push a lot already. They do have a lot of other things on their mind. So thank you again, everyone for voting with "yes". The Black Isle will probably never make it to Pillars of Eternity 2, but it will always live on in you, as you can tell by the many "yes" votes I so wish I had saved an island slot earlier. I'm sorry that this idea just didn't occur to me a tad sooner. I will support other community related backer content. I will however not be in charge of those projects. If a "miracle" should happen and a real chance for the "Black Isle" should show up then count on me to support it passionately with a LOT OF money too. Marshmallow out

Okay, votes as of this moment, see below. The poll is closed. New votes will not be taken into account. The absolute majority voted for "Black Isle Bastards".

Very strong agree from me

Shhh... Don't tell anyone

And the most important thing right now I would like to clarify is: The map was just for fun. In no way did I intend to take away choices from the actual island backers by making that map. I would support its shape because it is shaped after the actual Black Isle in Scotland, which is Feargus' ancestral homeland. But that doesn't mean you all have to agree on that, kay? And I would support the idea that that Black Isle would make some kind of reference to obsidian, which is a kind of volcanic rock.

Now to address your points in more detail: A) It would be totally out of scope. An actual ingame island would probably be much much smaller with far fewer sites to visit. Remember, I only made that isle just for fun, not to suggest anything... except the shape of the island, because it resembles the actual Black Isle which is Feargus Urquhart's ancestral country. B) For this point I would base the sort of island on the question why it is called "Black Isle". There can be several explanations for that. I was thinking about a volcano. And that the isle or huge parts of it are black because of volcanic rock, ashes, and *drumm roll* obsidian. You know, Feargus Urquhart, did say that he liked the idea that "Obsidian Entertainment" can be seen as a reference to "Black Isle". As he said, Obsidian is some kind of "black rock" which can be seen as a reference to the "Black Isle". That is why I would propose a volcanic island. And obsidian could be one of the reasons why parts of the island are black. C) So as I said already, personally I would vote for the shape of the actual Black Isle.

Let us not confuse the different Options again. Option A, our forum badge, is completely independent from a possible backer island. It has nothing to do with it. I know, at first it did seem that way, but then Aarik D made it clear that those are completely independent options. So if there was a new island slot, it would NOT be paid for with the 8$ forum badge fee. For the 8$ for the pirate crew membership on this forum you only get the forum badge and nothing else. Backing the island would require additional donations.

@Osvir Easy there, easy there As I said I only made the map just for fun, not to make a proposal on the design and not to take away decisions from the island backers (if it comes to that). The only thing I would like to advocate is the shape of the isle. That would have my vote, but everyone else would of course be free to vote on the shape, too. Why that particular shape and not something else? Let's just say Feargus Urquhart recognized it immediately. I think that would be a real nice homage to him.

So, I made a little something. Note: This was just for fun. It's does not display the design of the actual island should we get one. Hope you like it The map was done with: http://fantasynamegenerators.com/map-creator.php Credit for the font used on the map go to Raymond Larabie: http://www.1001fonts.com/vinque-font.html#license

@Leferd Honestly I do want a ship too. Just with one caveat: I want an island first. If I had to decide between island and ship, I would choose the island because of the reference to "Black Isle". Now if we had an island, called "Black Isle", then I would LOVE to have a pirate crew and a ship in the game that used the "Black Isle" as their base of operations. If you or someone else was going for the crew and ship, I would independently from the island support you. But not with as much money as if we had an island first.

Partly you are certainly right. However, I think before any project starts it is normal that there is a chaotic phase of brain storming at first. At one point though you have to sort things out and at least I do see this happening. Option A, the forum badge, should be underway. There has been a huge majority in favor for "Black Isle Bastards" and I'd expect that will be the name for our pirate crew on this forum. Option B, to my eyes never really had strong support. May I did misinterpret that, so feel free to correct me. There were concerns that designing a pirate crew and ship for the game would not offer enough choices and the whole encounter would not be significant enough in the game. IF I did understand that correctly. Option C, which I will call it now that way, the Island, now that idea has really picked up steam, in my eyes. There is a poll about it and quite a lot people have voted that they would support the idea. Keep in mind the poll is only 2-3 days old and shows a lot of support already. In my opinion Option B could gain steam, once Option A and Option C are a done deal. Which the first already is more or less. So again, what you describe, is perfectly normal for any brain storming phase at the start of a any project, in my opinion. What do you think happens at the start of developing a video game? You just may not see it from the outside. In this case, here, you do.

We could give them away by random selection like in a lottery. Just an idea, there may be better ways to handle it though.

Well we do have a poll for an island, see here: http://forums.obsidian.net/topic/91401-backing-a-black-isle-for-the-deadfire-archipelago/ And we do have some "yes" votes there. And take into account that that poll is only 2 days old as of now. So the support can still grow. The problem is there are no free island slots anymore on the Fig campaign, which is why I have asked Aarik if the team would consider offering a new island slot. I am yet waiting for an answer on that. He said the team would discuss it.

This is pretty much what I told @Aarik already As soon as we have our community pirate crew established as "Black Isle Bastards" and if we then had an actual island in the game called "Black Isle" THEN I think there would/could be enough support of a pirate ship ingame. We could then even go one step further, and have even a backer made inn on our island, if a inn backer would agree to that. Or we could create an item, that you can only find on our island and that is associated with it or our pirate crew or the ship. But most of that depends on having an island. I think if we owned an island, especially one called "Black Isle", that could unleash something here. But you don't have to tell me. I don't have to tell you. The developers would have to believe this, too

No, Option A is the Pirate Badge. Option B is the pirate crew + ship in the game.

41 "yes" votes, we are getting somewhere. Thanks for everyone who voted "yes" and would support this idea!

On the other hand it shows he is a developer who is ready to change game mechanisms that he is in favor of for the sake of the players.

"Personally, I really liked the Health mechanic. A lot of people found it confusing. We tried various ways of communicating it..." I dislike the reason, really. I mean, obviously, as this health system was new for many players they would get "confused" in the beginning. Everyone has to learn new things at one point. I think it's a very bad reason. He is going to change the health system even though he likes it. And if he thinks people find the old health system confusing then just wait until multi classing comes with PoE2. He said they tried various ways of communicating. I still believe it is a matter of communication and of course training. The player has to get used to that health system if he has never experienced something similar before.That is only natural. That should not be a reason to scratch it in my opinion.

Okay until I hear again from the developers on this matter I will go crazy pondering about why Bobby said "will" in this sentence and not "would".

You would be correct. However, we designers scrap ideas almost as fast as we think them up. I would be more than happy to do so if the community wants to back a "Black Isle". You have my word that your Black Isle, will be the only Black Isle. -B Okay, just so that I do not misinterpret. This is no green light for a "Black Isle" yet, right? You only express that you would support a "Black Isle" if it ever came to that, correct? The team hasn't made a decision yet, right? I am just extremely careful to not get my hopes up too easily and too early ^^ Yet it is encouraging that someone of the team would support a "Black Isle".

Hey there, could the option "no preference" be added to the poll, please?

Shouldn't be anything too problematic with "Black Isle Bastards" and an original logo. This isn't just some fan site; need to be cautious since this is Obsidian's official forum. Who says we are named after the Black isle Studios >_> Maybe we are named after, what they are named after: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Isle Do the Black Isle Studios (respectively Interplay) hold the copyright to the name of the peninsula that they are named after?

Technically, the trademark still exists, and is owned by Interplay. That company may be a hollowed-out shell of its former self, but it isn't quite dead yet. Putting the words "Black Isle" near a lightning bolt rocky island logo might make a lawyer grumpy somewhere, even if it is being used for something as mundane as a forum badge. Okay, thanks for letting me know. But we will now skip any additional graphics anyway. And I will take care to stay away from any copyrighted graphics. Of course our official forum badge would not use that logo anyway.

I like this idea. It's a bit more expensive, but I'd love that. As an extra to the Fig campaign?