Is this the PS:T successor?

[slopesandsam]

As far as I can tell, there hasn't been a definitive answer to this one. I know Chris Avellone said that this potential Planescape: Torment spiritual successor would likely not be the Obsidian Kickstarter project, but there seems to be some indication that it actually is. Or maybe not, and this is a much more traditional fantasy game. Or even that the two have been merged.

 

Not that I'll complain either way, or reverse my pledge, but I would like to know where to set my expectations. I'll be more than happy to play any PC oriented RPG (more than a decade into the new millennium and I still don't own any kind of console - so I'm fairly disappointed in the direction RPGs have gone in) that adheres to the design ideals of that Golden Age in the 90s. But I'd prefer to play something Placescapian. Something that has the same weirdness, the same mythological melting-pot flavour, and the same depth (If I had to choose between an expansive world or a smaller but more dense one, like the city of Sigil, I'd obviously choose Sigil - both at once would be nice, but if I had to choose).

 

And while I'm always willing to tackle great fantasy, I also feel that there's so much traditional fantasy around (not just games, but books, movies, and even TV now) that I have to pick and choose. Which is a great luxury. But there's still only one PS:T. Even the New Weird books by the likes of China Mieville don't hit the right tone.

 

(If you're a PS:T fan and you want a reading recommendation, try the Dying Earth books by Jack Vance - the setting is rather different, but they have the same decaying, tragic-but-comic vibe that PS does. Also, the magic will probably seem familiar as well; Dying Earth was the original inspiration for the D&D magic system, right down to the Excellent Prismatic Spray.)

 

Anyway, I didn't mean to turn this into an essay about my personal tastes. I just wanted to know if there is an answer to the question in the subject. Is there an interview (since the Kickstarter started) or a post or something that I've missed?

[C2B]

No, it's not. It's a spiritual successor to ALL infinity engine games (and as it looks like some of Troika's).

 

If you actually checked the points that Avellone brings up regarding the game you will see the differences.

 

Like the plane-jumping universe or no traditional races.

[Infinitron]

Your initial assumption was correct. It's not the PS:T successor. This is Josh Sawyer's baby and it's more likely to be inspired by the cancelled Black Hound project.

Edited September 18, 2012 by Infinitron

[Crosmando]

Doesn't look like it will have any planes or planes-jumping, it's just the one world/continent (though 'souls' are mentioned so some kind of purgatory might exist), so I'd say not. I mean, PST wasn't just about philosophical themes, it was also the setting and planes-jumping.

[mtp403]

I'm afraid there really isn't an answer to your question yet. But, I'll try to lay out any pertinent facts to your query as I understand them. Its a fairly "standard" fantasy world (but with a twist) and has been directly stated won't be much of a surreal world as PS:T was. Will it be a successor in the sense that it'll cover the same and/or similar themes and issues? I imagine that's incredibly likely as they've said that in one form or another multiple times. Hope that helps one way or the other.

 

On a tangentially related note, the folks over at Beamdog/Overhaul have expressed a desire to do a sequel/"direct successor" to PS:T after they finish up their work on the BG series (assuming it does well, of course). So, that might be another avenue you can research.

 

(Thanks for the book recommendations.)

[slopesandsam]

I guess the follow up question to my first one is: Is the PS:T successor still in the (hypothetical) pipeline?

[alphyna]

While PE is not PS:T's spiritual successor, I hope it'll be not so far, I really do. I mean, classic old-school RPG is great, but I want to talk the main boss to death once more in my life. Please oh please.

[mtp403]

I guess the follow up question to my first one is: Is the PS:T successor still in the (hypothetical) pipeline?

My advice: You're best taking it to twitter to pepper the associated parties with this question. Hope you find out and come back and let us know if you do.

[slopesandsam]

I guess the follow up question to my first one is: Is the PS:T successor still in the (hypothetical) pipeline?

My advice: You're best taking it to twitter to pepper the associated parties with this question. Hope you find out and come back and let us know if you do.

 

I'm not a twitterer, unfortunately.

[Ieo]

As much as I adore PS:T, Project Eternity's best bet is to cover the specific bases that those three IE giants did well and bring it all together in a ginormous, spreading ball of sticky glory. I honestly don't want this to be a "spiritual successor" to PS:T----PS:T deserves a straight sequel, but it probably will never happen due to licensing. That and I just really hate the phrase because DA:O ruined it for me, but eh.

 

The IE bases really need to be covered, and I believe the Kickstarter has been successful under the assumption that it will be=

 

IWD (mechanics): I honestly don't remember any of the quests/storyline, but the game mechanics were top-notch in the IE era.

 

BG (breadth): This actually had the most replay value for me, with the giant character roster, freedom to powergame, breadth of story, and excellent exploration opportunities; it had strong main storylines as well, though rather classical in ToB.

 

PST (depth): Novel-levels of dialogue, highly original in content implementation. You really could play this thing through with the absolute minimum of combat (except the stupid Modron maze ), bringing up the point that combat was a major weakness. This isn't everyone's cup of tea, and arguably most people today can't stand to sit down and read the newspaper much less a book, though this is really more like an adult version of those Choose Your Own Adventure books I used to love. The biggest weakness to PS:T, IMO, is lack of replayability--the ending is converging compared to BG and you have three basic avenues determined by class (I'm glad I first played it as a thief).

 

So if PE can truly manage to take the major strengths of each of those, well... I might just wet myself.

[descalabro]

Some PS:T will probably be present but, judging from what can be seen at the Kickstarter's page, this game's attitude is very far from the PS:T ideal. In fact, I fear this will be a bit of a cliché game (specially that map...). However, the replies to polls on this forum are giving me hopes for a very good game.