Ganrich

Obsidian will probably send an email to have you link your Fig account to their backer portal (which they used for their first game). This will happen sometime after the campaign is over. It's how it worked last time, iirc.

To be fair, PoE1 was both significantly more enlightened and adventurous than Tyranny was. If the original PoE showed us something (and Tyranny failed to completely), it's that this doesn't need to be a discussion of per pers vs. cooldowns, but more of a "Why not both?" one.One of the things I loved about Pillars of Eternity was that out of the 9 classes in the game, only 3 were based around Vancian magic (and I'd certainly like to see Druid being reworked somewhat to drop that number to 2). So if you wanted to avoid Vancian casters, you could, very easily - in fact, when building your party, good 90% of your abilities could avoid per rest mechanics altogether. Because Pillars of Eternity system was extremely flexible.So that's why I don't think the second game necessarily needs to drop Vancian magic, but if demand for cooldown-based gameplay is high enough, it could add cooldown-based classes (or even spellmaker class who'd work like Tyranny mages). Obsidian has already mixed several systems that I always thought incompatible in the original, might as well go further in that direction in the second game.I'd have no issue (as someone that isn't a fan of CDs) moving the Druid away from Vancian. Monk gets wounds from taking damage, cipher gets focus from dealing it, and Chanter slowly builds phrases.... The Druid could build a resource based on number of enemies hit by their offensive spells/debuffs and number of friendliest hit by their buffs/heals. When they hit a certain number they Spiritshift temporarily, and start wrecking the place, and after a period of time the revert back to kith form. Have their spells single cast until they've spiritshifted, and after a Spiritshift it resets their spell(s) so they are all usable again. That sounds much more interesting to me than what they were in PoE1 with being a Vancian caster with a Spiritshift. But that's just me.

am thinking far more o' the dedicated builders people would consider poe wizards to be op than ciphers. honest. ciphers have an advantage early in the game precisely 'cause wizards (and priests and druids) suffer the same power curve problems as were evident in d&d. the fact that ciphers very quick lose their edge as wizards and priests level is illustrative o' the problem. HA! Good Fun! I was specifically mentioning early release. I should have been more clear. Ciphers aren't what they were then. They have been tamed, but Wizards are definitely better in the long haul. I still think looking at those ramp up mechanics for those three classes would be wise.

I think per-rest and per-encounter abilities suffered early on because some classes were designed with resource mechanics and that was their only inhibiting factor. Of course I am talking about Ciphers, Chanters, and Monks. Ciphers were the most egregious of them. Why bring a wizard when you can have a cipher? I remember threads asking that exact question. Wizards were limited by per rest and health, and Ciphers were only limited by health. So, if you were good at keeping them safe. Ciphers were the energizer bunny of casters. They just kept going, and going, and going. This was balanced out a great deal as the patches came out, but I think those two designs are at odds. I'm kind of hoping that some class redesign happens, but that's mostly just for ciphers and Chanters. Monks are great, but maybe a bit OP. Ciphers are in an odd place from what I've seen. They aren't bad, but they aren't great. Chanters mechanics need a second look. They are too slow to ramp up for lower difficulties, and not everyone wants to run PotD just to make it work. Brisk Recitation was a solid duct tape solution for late game on hard, and maybe normal. I really want to hear about any major changes (if there have been any) before pontificating too much. Anyway, I think some design despcisions are definitely at a juxtaposition to per-encounter and per-rest abilities/spells. Anyway, there are things I like in Tyranny, but CDs, lack of Friendly Fire, and the odd open class system are least among them. I normally prefer open class systems, but maybe that's just in TB games or aRPGs. It seems funky in RtwP.

No, I would say variety can be good even if you don't care for everything. I don't want to play the same cool down based game over and over and over because it get tired fast. Even if a system isn't perfect it's being different can make things interesting. I'm not arguing that Vancian is better or worse. I'm just saying that PoE being the one game using it is fine because it is the one game made since NWN2 that uses it. I feel CD based RPGs are common because they are easy to develop, and it doesn't necessarily bring a better experience to the player. In fact, it has become somewhat banal in my estimation.

poe developers implied such were their goal. board did not react favorable. but perhaps poe2 backers is more enlightened or adventurous than were poe1 folks. HA! Good Fun! Not to be argumentative, but cooldowns are adventurous and enlightened? It's not like we haven't had a plethora of games in the past 10 years using them. Dragon Age, Tyranny, almost every MMO, etc. It's not some new frontier of RPG mechanics. Both systems have pros and cons. I'd like there to be some games that DON'T use cool down mechanics. Variety being the spice of life.

Awesome. I'm particularly interested in hearing about the new skills system more in depth. Sounds very promising.

Obsidian (and Black Isle previously) has always been a bit more serious than Bioware was during the BG era. Fallout being the exception. I know there are more examples of themes in LotR, but it was the first one that popped in my head. I also don't see redemption as too high minded. Most people, at some point in their life, struggle with redemption. You hurt your significant other and need to make amends, you have grown apart from family, you have made a bad decision, etc. it's much more grounded a concept than I believe you're giving it credit for. It's much more grounded than "What does one life matter" or "What can change the nature of a man?" Those concepts aren't considered by most everyday people, and even when they do think about those concepts they don't think along those terms. They tend to be more defeatist when considering them. "I'm just little ole me. How can I make a difference?" "What can change the nature of a man" is even more obtuse. Not many people consider what their actions do to change the people around them, nor how those people have effected them. BG's companions were the lens the player saw the world through, and there are more than a few silly ones. They can effect the tone of the story because they are always present. I still don't see it as overly serious, but it has great dramatic moments at times. YMMV.

Do you have any idea of what kind of split of sales are the investors actually getting? I mean, it's really cool and all that Obsidian is getting cash left and right here, but 'Investing' to me suggests that, long-term, these people will expect to see all their invested money back and then some. Am I getting this right or is 'Investment' on fig not really one? And how will it influence future Obsidian's cash flow? My information is limited (my present funds are not so great), but I believe it depends on game sales once the game has launched, and the amount changes based on how well it sells. I think they initially pay back investors, and then (if sales are of a certain amount) they potentially pay up to 3 times the initial investment. You have to invest a minimum of $1,000, iirc. I am debating investing that much, but I am suspect of it myself. I will likely wait until the end to make the decision, and read up on it very thoroughly during that time. I won't have time to do it for another week or so.

That blows about Deus Ex. I haven't gotten around to playing it yet, but it's in my library. :/ Also, Deadfire just got another $50k bump from an investor. It's at $1.75M. That means in a little over 24 hours it's made $150k. The next stretch goal is only $50k away ($1.8M). It's possible that they might hit that today (next 12 hours or so). So, yay!

Themes are important to writing. They give stories meaning beyond the tale itself, and that's why the stories that stick with us do so. To give a relatively modern example: LOTR has a great theme that the smallest of creatures can have the potential for great change. All four hobbits exhibit this too one extent or another. PST was heavy handed in its philosophical tones for a video game, and it's considered one of the best game narratives around by many. Particularly on these forums. However, I would say the crisis of faith theme went over most players heads. It was subtle enough that people that enjoy writing noticed, and those that wanted a good game but aren't as big into story telling didn't. This world is more serious than BG, and I hope that doesn't change. I've also never heard anyone say BG was too serious. It had an Evil wizard with no internal monologue capabilities that constantly insulted you to your face (who was turned into a female in the second game) without realizing it, and a Ranger with a mental deficiency that talked in the third person while constantly referencing his hamster. These are not terribly serious characters, and one is the poster child of BG's companions (Minsc).

If they can succeed at that, and become more autonomous, they could really do some interesting things. I've secured my copy, and wish them great luck. CDPR has the benefit of GoG, though. It won't be all fun and games.

redemption as the thematic focus sounds like a viable and laudable option for the poe2 story. faith were at the core o' poe, and redemption is gonna be new enough so as not to be repetitive. at same time, redemption is close tied to faith so writers can build 'pon previous game rather than simple abandoning thematic threads from the first title. 'course we got no idea what obsidian is actual gonna do, so... HA! Good Fun! Agreed, and Eder's story was very pointed in that direction at the end of his arc, and both Aloth and Pallegina have the potential to go there as well. I like the idea of a redemption theme, personally.

I think we will see a similar theme in this game that the companions will adhere to. It seems Eothas is a bit enraged, and that is odd for the God of Redemption. This would also tie him somewhat into the concept of forgiveness, potentially. I could definitely be wrong here. Eder - trying to redeem himself from not switching sides with his brother during the Saint's War, and forgiving himself that mistake. Pallegina - probably finding redemption in some capacity with the Vailian Republics. Aloth - he has family issues, and they could be moved into the forefront of this game. These are just potential examples, and they may vary based on our decisions in PoE1. That could be problematic for the devs. We will see. As for Eothas? I have no clue, but I haven't had coffee yet. I agree that tying the companions to the theme really is good for both the companions and the over all narrative. It makes the story more cohesive, and I won't go into issues that DAI has.

Even if they don't get heavy handed with stretch goals, but they still make more funds than last time... I would want it pushed back a bit in order to flesh out everything. If they continue on the rate of funding they are on then we will exceed the first game. Id like more enemies, better companion reactivity, and other general improvements vs having this game by Q1 2018. YMMV. I think they are saving the really juicy stretch goals for the $2-3 million stretch, but I could definitely be wrong.

Wasteland 2 had 61,290 backers to reach $2.93 million on Kickstarter, and Wasteland 3 on Fig hit 17,707 backers to reach a total of $3.12 million. Fig obviously has lower public awareness than Kickstarter, but the investor system is indeed making the differences. We aren't including PayPal here, obviously. PoE2 has already gathered 15k+ backers, it's still pulling around than $100k a day still, and I think spreading the localizations out is really making that difference. Also, some of those BG 2 ideas are working too. E.G. - Multiclassing, Subclassing, etc. Last night, around 2-3am EST, they jumped $15,000 out of nowhere, and I expect that was Russia or Poland backers finally dropped some cash on it in large sums, but I could be wrong there. If they anchored their stretch goals appropriately... things could get exciting. Also, we may see bumps come based on some of the info drops this week. Keep in mind that most of the details on class systems and the like aren't well known, and we are getting updates this week according to Feargus. It really will henge on how big the mid-campaign slump is. They are almost $100k past the last stretch goal which they hit around 2pm EST yesterday, and it's 12.30pm EST right now. That's about $100k in he past 24 hours. I doubt that will last, but if it does... we may be looking at a new crowdfunding record here (Star Citizen not included). I think $3.5-4 is possible, and maybe likely. If there numbers hold, though, we are looking at $5 million. They probably won't, but they might. We should already be in a mid-campaign slump, but $100k a day isn't much of a slump. I think it is still slowing down, but we will see. If that 100k a day phenomenon continues then by the last 2 days we will be close to $4 million (give or take), and you usually do about as much on the last couple days as you did on the first couple days. @Hurlshot - lol. It's cool. I love crowdfunding campaigns. It's about my 6th-7th in video games alone. So, I am more experienced with it than most. Anyway, I really hope this makes more than the first game. With their systems/pipeline in place they could actually make a great I.E. successor that isn't as flawed as PoE is to most diehards. I loved PoE, but it wasn't perfect. I always said that it wouldn't be BG2 because they had to build tools and the like, but it could be BG1. It was pretty close to that mark, imho. We will see how Deadfire shapes up.

I feel the same. I know I hate 4 man parties because they stifle interesting party compositions, but I "think" 5 might be enough. I'd like to try it out before shouting that the sky is falling.

Lovecraft?

Yes, please. I would like some throwing daggers and/or axes. Grenades would also bd a great addition to quickslot items.

There isn't. I didn't think so, and that throws a wrench in the works as far as I'm concerned. Not really. In BG2 there were restrictions such as gender and race for each romanceable companion. Was done before, can be again. 7 plus romance options is a steep cost financially. It's better to have a couple incredibly well done "catch alls" vs every companion being romanceable but mediocre.

There isn't. I didn't think so, and that throws a wrench in the works as far as I'm concerned.

A late campaign Romance stretch goal would be a pretty good idea. I'm neither here nor there on it. Most romances in these games are pretty meh, but it's popular and you can't argue with that. If they have the resources and desire to do them... then more power to them. I'd rather it be used for other aspects of the game, but it's Obsidian's call. With a late campaign stretch goal... they could get more on this campaign than the previous. I can easily see that. Edit: I expect only one per sex. So, Eder and? Xoti? Is there racial interbreeding in this setting? These are things that have to be squared away prior to any decision on the topic.

She has art mixed in the screens on the official Fig page. Just FYI, if you want to look.

Aloth doesn't have one - his first level is always in Wizard. I suspect Pallegina will be the same way with Paladin. This has been confirmed? It makes sense. Make no mistake. They can still be multiclassed/subclassed I assume. The other one that is probably a single class is the Ranger with the bird. I expect the bird is a part of her character like Sagani and Itumaak. Unless a Druid subclass sacrifices Spiritshift for an animal companion. Which is something that would be cool.

Party size of 5 = PC + 4 Companions. 4 Companions x 2 = 8 2 Playthroughs with different party members before mixing them up for banter or building your own companions is necessary or desired. And them each having a two classes they could potentially play as makes mixing them more interesting too. Side note: Eder makes sense for rogue or fighter, but I'm having trouble figuring out what secondary class option Aloth and Pallegina might have. If we only have 7 I won't complain, but 8 is better considering the new party size, imho. I'd prefer more in depth companions, and am willing to sacrifice raw numbers for that. So, I guesss I'm of a mixed mind on the subject.