Silent Winter

A kindly old innkeeper who mentions that times have been hard - you can help him out with a donation if you like... ...of course, if you do then he gets a good look at your coinpurse and he sneaks into your room in the middle of the night (especially if you're paying for the most expensive room) and tries to rip you off. %chance, based on your detect skills, to catch him in the act - in which case a fight ensues, if you kill him then your name is mud around town (though perhaps you can beat him down to surrender, but never again stay in the same inn).

'He once was rich, but pledged all his worth, to be entombed, beneath this here earth' (In case anyone's stuck for ideas and wants to reference their pledge - I have no such tier)

What with watching the gamplay vid and pledging the monies, I forgot to come in and thank you for my new desktop wallpaper The Media section on the Backer's Site has some good stuff and the wallpapers gave me a tough choice I tried the Pillars of Eternity Logo but there was too much black space around it for my tastes, the battle scene is a bit busy for my desktop so I've gone with the Sagani one. Nice central character, and enough space to the left for all my icons. I like how it fades to the edges too so it blends with my monitor frame. Plus it's an awesome piece of artwork Thanks

I used to be a big fan of TB, let me take my time and mull over decisions. Then I played BG and fell in love with RTwP. I think TB can work well for some games (Final Fantasies pre:12 were better for me than 12) - playing TOEE right now and it's fine (ok, a little sluggish against a horde of goblins but those encounters are few enough - only really a problem when I fail all my initiative rolls and my mage gets killed before being able to lift a finger - can even happen with 'improved initiative' - but I digress). I'm glad PE is RTwP. As for PS:T - combat was never it's strong suit - it never felt as fluid or engaging as in BG or IWD for me (though I had big problems with game-breaking bugs playing PS:T so maybe my opinion is tainted).

Simple version: Pre-rendered 3D means they create a scene in 3D - add textures, light sources and so-forth, then use a program to take a snap-shot (but it's more complicated as the program calculates light-sources, shadows, ambient occlusion, specular etc) to end up with a 2D image. (they actually render it several times for different features - Diffuse, Ambient Occlusion, Specular, Depth-map etc) Then they paint over the top of that to add more details and give it a more artistic style. So they could've just painted a 2D image but it might not look the same. An advantage of doing it in 3D is that they can render the z-depth maps quite easily - so they can tell the engine how far or near something is when the 3D-characters run around and get scaled. It's because the other models are 3D and being lit in real-time that it's more difficult to blend them into the 2D background (though personally, I think Obs has done a great job there). BG had 2D sprites who were made the same as the background so they always fit in (more or less).

Unfortunately, it looks like we can't change things for the time being. From the Announcements Thread, Update #69: The only time you can add an add-on is when you are managing a pledge. At some point in the future we may try to sell the add-ons separately, but we haven't seriously discussed a timeline for something like that.

Sounds like a good idea to me (though you've mixed up health and stamina - stamina is the in-combat one and health is the long-term one). Having said that - stamina damage is also taken (at 1/4 of the value) from health - so I think you could die in combat even if you've got stamina left (unless they fix stamina to be a maximum of 'health x 4' - even then you'd want to remember how much health you've got left, so a mouseover might be handy)

NB: 'Man days' is like 'Man hours' - it's the total time spent multiplied by the number of people who work on it. So, for example, if 5 people work on something for 1 hour, then that's 5 man-hours. Similarly, if 4 people work on something for 3 days, then that's 12 man-days. --- Definitely against an episodic release idea - wouldn't mind extra areas and companions being part of an expansion pack (TOTSC style) rather than the first release, but if they get the money for it and it only delays things a short while then I'm for doing it with the main game.

So the part on the backer's site that says "Pledges" -> "No pledges associated" doesn't refer to orders that have gone through? Just pre-pledges that were to be managed? Edit: and Q from another thread -> can we pay for add-ons to a tier later or only when we order that tier? (Can't see a way to go back in and give another $8 for the Obs-Order or $20 for the expansion - only seems to be available when paying for a full tier)

It worked for me on Firefox - make sure you've got your plugins set to allow it though (NoScript was blocking Stripe for me, I'd allowed scripts for Obsidian on the previous page but not for the Stripe pop-up on the final page)

Sure - but for the 'on the ceiling' thing - I was just thinking of webbing giving it some grip. Having spiders that large just wouldn't work in the real world, but going all out and figuring out the biology would be to miss the point -> they're large, creepy and fast. They have webbing to stick you with. Did I mention they're creepy? But the BG spiders weren't creepy at all - check for traps, select, attack, wait.

This was definitely the most exciting update for me - but that's mostly because I could finally become a backer (completely missed the KS due to being blisslessly ignorant of it, and Paypal and I don't get along - thanks for providing alternate payment method ) No, they are icky, overused, and usually done all wrong. And, despite that, still awesome. That article is BS by the way, in a sense that you can't do things like that in an RPG like PE, because it would make them too OP compared to other creatures. And some tings just cannot be done because of engine limitations. The article does have some good ideas though - increasing their speed across the ground for example. I'd like them to have proper creepy sound-effects too for their scuttling. (I'm a bit arachnophobic but haven't been scared by computer game spiders since Eye of the Beholder - but then they could get behind you *shudder*) Animations for having them climb up you would be tricky but they could have them drop from the ceiling in front of you (you can't see them until they drop)... How? -> Backer portal - pledge (when it's working) What PC? - not a super one - they've said it can run on a 5-year old PC (I think - don't quote me). (Mine's 7 years old but I'm fairly confident it'll run this - dual-core, 4GB Ram, NVIDIA 9600 GT)

I agree - console commands to be able to correct bugs = lifegame-saver in BG1+2. Cheating in a demon to run amok is fun in a 4th or 5th playthrough

I agree on the new logo And the cursor icon news is welcome too

Ok, just logged back in to the Backer site - went to 'Manage my pledges' and now it says 'No pledges found' ?? (But under Profile->Orders it shows my order as 'Paid' so I guess it's ok? Just can't 'Manage' it?) Edit: I guess it's being 'processed' first, never mind. Under my confirmed order (still have that outstanding order that didn't go through at first) it says 'Total 35.00' but at the bottom, under payment info, it says 'amount 0.35' - hope that's not just 35 cents you guys got (and I like how under downloads it says "No downloads available... yet!" )

I was hoping we could just add money later and add more options - it makes sense to allow for this so maybe it's just a site problem at the moment?

NB: No problems getting to the site and completing payment from China (albeit with a UK card). Youtube on the other hand: so I just watched the video through a proxy site

Just having fun with the Backer portal - couldn't register until I realised I already had a login with my forum login (doh) Couldn't process payment until I realised I was blocking Stripe with Noscript (DOH) Edit: (so I've got one outstanding order on the system and one paid for - is there a way to delete an order from our history if it's erroneous?) Maybe add some instructions for us dumbasses (dubassi?) or those of us with severe caffeine deficiency. All pledged up now (until I can get some more cash and throw it at you with reckless abandon). --- Gameplay video - *thumbs up* - love the look and feel of it (and the music) - I know it's unfinished so I'd like to echo others thoughts about a 'combat ready' stance rather than just hands by sides when not performing an action in combat. Shhh, the 'K' is silent

I'm getting a 'can't complete payment' thing too - I guess there really were bugs that needed sorting out (either that or it's just overloaded with all the people trying to pledge - I hope it's that) Edit: though annoyingly it now says my cart is empty - why can't it save the cart? - or do I need to find my order and just go through payment again? That's probably it - I'll look) Edit2: nope, can't find it - will try again Edit3: Damn you noscript (or rather "why didn't I think of that sooner?") - was blocking scripts from Stripe so not getting the pop-up - all fine now

I tried to sign up for the backer site and it told me my username was already taken...so I tried to sign in with my forum login and voila, no problem... somehow I thought it would be separate...now I feel silly

Sounds like 'If we get enough more money from pledges in the Backer site, we can do more stuff - want? I voted 'yes' - based on that quoted interview it sounds like a slight delay for a worthwhile addition. A couple more companions to fill classes means you can try the class combinations you like while still having reactive companions (obviously the Adventurer's Hall (I nearly said 'Mart' ) gives more variety for classes but not the level of depth of a fully written NPC). More wilderness areas? - I guess it depends what's in them Class-specific quests sounds cool. To echo what others have said though: Don't do anything you were planning for an expansion. A TOTSC style expansion with new areas and side-story or a TOB style expansion continuing the main story, either would suit me.

I get the impression that the lower part of the river is far down from the land but the upper (Northern?) part can be easily forded - no need for a bridge if they're not bringing wagons along it. You can see rocks sticking up so maybe the bottom isn't far down there. Alternatively - the tower looks like a ruin - perhaps there was once a bridge there (maybe even a simple wooden one) but it was taken down to make it defensive against aggression from the North - the southern bridge would still be needed to bring in supplies / troops (or for retreat).

For me, 'godlike' is just a bit bland when next to Orlan or Aumaua. It doesn't seem to come from the cultures of PE (though, granted, they're not a race but a subset of all races). I'd like it if different cultures referred to the godlike with different nicknames like "The Blessed" or "The Cursed Ones" (depending on perspective) or simply "Others" as if mentioning their true name would be blasphemous (and then have a 'true name' in the local language e.g. Glanfathan or whatever the language is called). (As for changing it at this stage - if they've not printed the manuals or done the voice-acting, then wouldn't it just be a 'find and replace' ? Yours Technically Obliviously, SW)

It looked confusing at first but when I figured it out it looks quite nice, just needs to tone down each colour a little It looks ok - I agree that toning down the colours would help - I'd tone down the lighting too, it's too strong. The materials need a bit of work - the snow looks more mash-potato (though that could be the overlighting), the water is too blue (I'd tone down the diffuse) and the yellow 'gate' thing looks a bit over-painted. Conversely, the rocks and trees look nice.

Yes, obviously the "reactivity" I am looking for is getting dialog option 3 to change to "Eat Cold Steel", "Eat Fiery Death", or "Eat Mother Natures Fury" based on my class. The only real class reactivity in an Obsidian game worth mentioning is in BG2 when you get a different "stronghold" based on class. And there were still only what 3 of them? No, I am looking for REAL response to character creation that takes a character background into account. Not race/class and nothing else. I am talking quests specific to certain background choices, possible endings locked behind certain background options, potential faction relationships being different at game start, etc etc. I am not talking about the game flagging me as needing to be hailed as a "Warrior" instead of a "Wizard" because I choose fighter. The examples you gave were all race/class combos - hence my response. If my character creation choices are limited to 'Human Male Noble Fighter' v. 'Orlan Female Orphan Mage' then I'm going to be pretty disappointed too. Are you also expecting people to know your background? So you're going to adventure by staying at home? Again, it would be better to have as many dialogue / quest options as possible and let us roleplay it. If you're expecting Obsidian to cater for every possible background choice combined with every possible race AND class combination and creating unique dialogue choices (throughout the game - not just a one-off because 'see - reactivity') for each then you're being unfair to them. As for ""Eat Cold Steel", "Eat Fiery Death", or "Eat Mother Natures Fury"" or being hailed as "Ho Warrior/Wizard" being the only way to show class reactivity - that's hardly a realistic concern. I envisioned more subtle options and quest solutions based on gameplay as well as dialogue options. Fighters might size up a physical threat more readily and, if intelligent, be able to interject with some knowledge that gains an upper-hand vis a vis intimidation (and if not intelligent then a similar option might provoke a conflict). Alternatively, Cyphers might be better at reading people and spotting a connection between the Elven vase on their desk and their apparent distrust of Orlans. Even being able to create dialogue (more than just a one-off) to combine every race/class combination seems like a large task to me. Certain specific cases, sure, like the half-orc paladin mentioned above, might be worth taking into account for some meetings. But for the most part - people will react to your class OR race depending on their own perspective on life / society. Not to mention that we're playing a party so how should they react when an Orlan Wizard, a Dwarven Cypher and an Elven Monk walk into a bar? 'Blank Slate' is not what I'm after but being able to play the character I want to, rather than a limited number of history scenarios, is better for me. Give us dialogue options that let us make our character, not just let us make our character and then give us the dialogue options that fit. Edit: Oh, and BG didn't have just 3 strongholds - it was one per base class, so 6, I believe (sorceror and mage were the same and Barbarian and fighter were the same - could have been better with more time / budget, I agree)