Boox

I've posted my thanks in this thread once before but, since the beginning is nigh and I probably won't be back to the forums for a while once the game is released, I thought I'd give another round of thank you's. Thank you again to everyone at Obsidian Entertainment! You guys and gals made true what most of us thought would probably never happen again: a return to the BG/BG2/etc. era of fantasy CRPGs. I've been waiting for this game ever since I finished Throne of Bhaal a long, long time ago and now we're all just a moment away from diving into an enchanting world again. Text-based interactions, RTwP, choices with consequences, party-based combat, hand-painted backgrounds? It's like I've been transported back to the turn of the millennium! I wouldn't have thought I'd be this excited about a video game again but you have proved me wrong! Thank you to everyone else working on PoE in whatever capacity, as well! Having a publisher like Paradox Interactive to create awareness and help market the product may be a huge factor in us seeing more games like this one in the future, given that Pillars of Eternity is well-received and does well financially. Thanks to you, too, whoever else I'm too ignorant to mention! I'd also like to thank my fellow backers and everyone else who has pre-ordered the game! Without you, there most likely wouldn't be a Pillars of Eternity in the first place. I guess there is some good in the video games section of the Internet after all Likewise, thank you to all of you who played the backer beta and contributed to fixing bugs and making the game better! I'm sure the rest of us will have a more polished gaming experience thanks to your efforts. Thanks also to the PoE community for keeping the devs on their toes and giving them feedback. Well then, I look forward to seeing you all on the other side! Thanks! P.S. Justin Bell, thanks for the music! Ah, that main menu theme in the PAX East video. Goosebumps!

Personally, I like solid UIs because I feel that a well-made, skeuomorphic one adds to the atmosphere. I guess they just look prettier to me than the "floating boxes" variety and I don't really mind not being able to move the different UI elements around. While some might dislike the fact that you can't see through the cracks, as Jarmo aptly put it, not having that extra bit of game-world on the screen isn't an issue for me. I think it's a great decision by the team to try and cater to fans of both UI styles by providing both options, everybody wins

For what it's worth, I really like the conversation UI. It looks just like I was hoping it would.

Thanks for the interesting update! It is becoming increasingly difficult to choose a class to start with as they all seem interesting in their own ways. I can't wait to see more of the creatures or more video footage. I like the portrait, too.

Thanks for the excellent update, Brandon! Very informative. I like the water VFX and especially the rocking seaweeds. Everything seems to be right on track

Wow! Everything looks really great, both the armor types and the areas. I can't wait to see more. This game is shaping up to be something special. Also, thanks for the extra information, Brandon!

Thanks for the update, Rose (and Brandon)! The animations are generally looking really nice. The hips of the last creature seemed awfully static when walking which looks a little unnatural in my eyes, though. Maybe it doesn't make a difference when the camera is all zoomed out. I can't wait for the next update.

I think that Feargus mentioned in one of the Rock Paper Shotgun articles that the writers are currently working on the companions. Plus, isn't the PoE team pretty small? For example, isn't Josh responsible for class and system designs and project lead-y/director-y stuff? He seems to be busy on fine-tuning the mechanics, the spell system and a whole bunch of stuff. I think most team members wear many hats and they are all probably still too busy on the main game and haven't started any real work on the expansion yet. This is just conjecture on my part, though.

Looking at it, I got the sense that this is not an ordinary fireplace. That's not how wood normally burns. I think it looks like it could be a rock formation.

Thanks for the update! Good job on the portraits, Kaz! I have to say I like Lars's aumaua portrait the most. The grin with the sharpened teeth look really menacing! The elf druid one seems to lack a little polish, though, but maybe it looks that way since it's blown up a bit compared to the other two. I really like the way the game is shaping up art-wise and I hope the animations will turn out nice and smooth so that the whole visual aspect will be consistently great. I'm really digging the spell list/naming, as well. About the druid spiritshifting, I'm guessing that assuming the spirit form will result in the druid becoming slightly larger in size, especially when shifting into a bear or stag form. Is that the case? If so, will aumaua druids be even larger than, say, human or elf druids (not to mention dwarves or orlans) when in spirit form? I mean, will a stag-form aumaua be larger in size than a human in stag form? How sweet would it be to spiritshift into a hulking bear-form aumaua, towering above the battlefield swatting baddies left and right? I know that you guys and gals at Obsidian don't want to spoil anything, but could it be possible to somehow discretely inform us what the companions' classes will be? I would like to choose a class for my character that is not represented by the companions. That would narrow down my choices a bit since all the classes seem interesting and I don't know how I'll choose from between them... :D How about another music/sound update sometime in the future, Brandon?

The latest update shows a concept piece of Galawain, the patron god of the hunt, with three animals at his feet. They look to be a dog, a bear and a staelgar (as described by Sawyer in another thread). As rangers are hunters maybe these three animals are included as choices when choosing the animal companion. The character sheet mock-up also mentions Sagani as a party member so if there was any doubt as to whether she was playable or not, I think it's fairly certain that she is a potential party member. Someone also speculated in the update thread that the Devil of Caroc (with the Most Time in Party) might be a pet, but it could also be an animal companion, I guess. What do you guys and gals think?

Thanks for the great update! The character sheet and ruins look amazing! I assume Kaz made the UI mock-up so: Awesome job, Kaz! I think that you guys and gals are really nailing all the different visual aspects of a true successor to the IE games. I am very happy that I backed this project I really like the god concept art too and the Devil of Caroc intrigues me, as well. Every update is making me more and more excited. I can't wait for the next update Now it's time to go speculate some more in the ranger thread. Edit: I just wanted to add that I'm digging the experience bar on the character sheet, very cool.

I think it'd be interesting if the game determined your nickname. For example, choices in certain encounters or behavioral patterns might bestow a nickname upon your character. Stats could also affect the nickname, e.g. having low intelligence and therefore doing stupid things would result in the PC being called the Dunce of Dyrwood. Maybe the whole adventuring band could be given a nickname based on choices, e.g. being called the Yellowbellies if you are always running away from fights, etc.

I'd like a squad/party based sci-fi RPG using a 3rd person view (maybe something like Wasteland 2).

Happy Holidays everybody! Take it easy and be safe

What do you consider a high-res display? I have a 2560x1440 display and I wouldn't want gaps in the corners depending, of course, on how large those gaps are. If the UI is relatively narrow (say 1/3 of the screen width), I'd probably be fine with gaps. However, if the gaps themselves are too narrow to be of use then, yes, I would like padding. I guess it also depends on how tall the UI is, but I definitely don't like the gaps in Sensuki's WCR.

I hope that means that it also doesn't have gaps in the corners (as in Sensuki's worse case result).

Have the devs mentioned where status and effect icons will be placed on the UI? Will they be displayed over the character portraits like in BG2? If yes, it would make it harder to discern stamina and health levels when using Rabain's suggestion.

Ah, ok, no worries. I wonder how the talents will play out, though. I mean if one of the fighter's talents is to shoot a ball of energy from his hands, it might feel out of place and gimmicky. I hope the talents will still reflect the nature of the class. The ability to carry a grimoire would have been a nice way of explaining why the fighter can suddenly fire off these not-typically-used-by-a-fighter kinds of spells.

Oh, that's interesting, I thought that talents would allow fighters to use "magicky" abilities. I don't remember reading about fighters using grimoires. Can you post a link to that if you happen to bump into it again?

Those startled the bejesus out of me! The volume on YouTube videos is a bit too loud for me when I'm using my headphones, so my heart jumped into my throat. Anyway, I listened to the Kickstarter song again and the teaser trailer music several more times. Somehow it seems to me that the mixes for both are a bit flat (compressed?). At least to my ear, the drum sound in the beginning (it comes later too, but I don't mean the timpani or whatever it is) used in the teaser music sounds like an empty suitcase being kicked. Also, I had some trouble hearing the violins in the epic part as well (the interesting high range details). Maybe it's possible to tweak the mix to bring more contrast and find better levels for lows and highs in order to bring out the different parts a little more? I hope I'm not contradicting my previous post with this suggestion.

If you get the $50 dollar Digital Fun Pack, you should get both the Collector's Book as well as the Campaign Almanac. My bad, it's not like that unless you backed the project on Kickstarter. Sorry

I'm in the same boat, so I am really glad about it too.

Yes to both, at least based on the info the devs have given. If I remember correctly, you will be able to customize auto-pause settings (i.e. enemy spotted, trap spotted, etc.) as well.

I should have been more clear. I was talking about the aesthetics and mood created by the UI, not its ergonomics or the functional experience. In my opinion, the UI is not just about function as it plays a major part in creating the mood and feel of the game. Therefore, it is isn't sufficient to only consider the technical side in the design. Function is very important, of course, but in order to "capture the spirit" of the IE games (i.e. reach the goal of the project) I think it's justified to sacrifice optimal efficiency for a holistically more balanced design. I don't see why the UI shouldn't be both functional and artistic.