Update #16: Reward Updates, Combat with Tim, Mods, and the Mega Dungeon Grows!

[The Guildmaster]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpBqLbyR7o8&feature=player_embedded

 

This week we announced our Mega Dungeon, our base classes, the cipher and barbarian classes as stretch goals, and the Adventurer's Hall as another stretch goal. We are coming up on our final week of the Kickstarter, and we have exciting stuff planned for you in the coming week including new rewards, a special inside peek into Obsidian, and a first look at Project Eternity.

 

Exclusive Backer Pet, Hardcover Books for $250 and Name in the Game for $500!

 

At the $50 tier and up we have an exclusive in-game pet for you! The pet is optional and will not have any in-game function besides being a quiet companion that will never leave your side. We are looking for ideas on what the pet could be, so let us know what you would like to see in our forums.

 

We have great news for $250 and up backers! We are upgrading the Collector's Book at the $250 level to a hardcover at no extra charge. The Collector's Book is a full-color book that includes concept art, our monster manual, information about the campaign setting, and a special behind the scenes look at the making of Project Eternity.

 

Additionally for our $500 backers and above, we will let you put your name and a personalized message on a memorial stone in game. Your unique message will be encoded into Glanfathan runes, and can be decoded using a unique in-game ring. It's a way for all of us to remember your large contribution to Project Eternity.

 

Tim Answers Your Combat Questions from Reddit

 

Kaboom asks: Hi Tim! I'm curious how the close combat in P:E will turn out. Will the melee of P:E encompass stuff like reach weapons, opportunity attacks, flanking, grappling, charging, prone/standing-modes and so forth?

 

Tim: Yes, we are looking to include many of these features into our close combat system. Specifically, opportunity attacks and flanking are definitely in, as well as charging. We're not sure about reach weapons yet (we need to figure out if that attribute on a weapon will be worthwhile enough in combat and will supportable with the appropriate UI), and while we will support prone positions, you won't be able to attack while prone because the animations involved are too different from attacks while standing that we would have to make every animation twice, once for standing and once for prone. This limitation also means that grappling abilities will not be included. There are too many new animations needed and special case limitations that apply, e.g. how does a human grapple a centaur or a dragon or an ooze?).

 

Tim answers more of your questions in the video and the text version is on our forums. Also check out the Project Eternity reddit group.

 

Mod Support

From Neverwinter Nights 2 to Fallout: New Vegas, we've enjoyed supporting the mod community, and we are continuing that with Project Eternity. It is awesome to see how you extend the worlds we make.

 

To make getting mods easy, we are excited to announce that our friends at the Nexus will be the official spot to download Project Eternity mods once the game is released. They have been a great host for mods for our past games, and we want to continue the trend with the Project Eternity Nexus. Check out the Nexus Network at www.nexusmods.com.

 

Our plan is to release our file-format information and expose as much of the data in the game as possible for you to extend and edit. We traditionally do not "hard-code" numbers so that our designers, and you, have the power to easily change and iterate on RPG data. We also plan on releasing localization tools to let communities around the world create localized versions for languages we are not translating Project Eternity into.

 

As we get more familiar with Unity during production, we will be extending Project Eternity even more for mod makers. Look forward to announcements in the months ahead as we make further progress and can provide you with more information about tools and mod support.

 

The Endless Paths Grows!

 

We've passed 52,500 backers! The Endless Paths of Od Nua Mega Dungeon continues to grow larger! The next level will be added at 55,000 backers. Thank you for helping us to spread the word about Project Eternity!

 

 

Kickstarter Comments and Kerfluffles!

Lastly, if you haven’t been attending all of the fun in the Comments section of our Kickstarter, you’re really missing out on some fun conversations. From the Obsidian Order of Eternity representing in full force, to one of our favorites, the Kerfluffle Marshmallow lady, Spring Barnickle, who asks:

 

 

Hmmm... how many marshmallows indeed. Beware paladin-types... beware! Until next time...

 

Update by Tim Cain and Adam Brennecke

 

(You can also discuss the entire Reddit Q&A part 2 in this thread.)

[Monte Carlo]

Combat news = great

 

Pets / books etc = shrugs

 

Edit: Will giant pencils be in the game?

Edited October 6, 2012 by Monte Carlo

[LadyCrimson]

Interesting and informative, as usual. And the mod support that you're working on is welcome news. Probably going to have to re-read/re-watch a few times to absorb it all.

 

But right now it's midnight and all I can think about is wanting a set of those giant pencils for my desk.

[Heartsib]

So far as pets go, I'm a sucker for the classic - an adventurer and his/her dog.

[Shades]

Oh yeah! Ahem. I kinda wanted the hardcover book (art books, one of my greatest weaknesses) but could only get enough to make it to $250. So I'm pretty pleased that I'll be able to get the hardcover book anyway.

 

And making things as mod-friendly as possible is great news.

 

It would be kinda neat if the pet was some sort of creature unique to the world (or perhaps mythology-inspired).

Edited October 6, 2012 by Shades

[GawainBS]

A Pseudodragon or Wyrmling would be nice as a pet.

 

Regarding reach weapons: I hope polearms are in the game as a viable weapons choice.

[Avantre]

Pet - anything but a dog. Seriously, it's been done, then done again, then done and done and done. It must be time for a cat to have its day.

[Kaz]

Remember the mysterious stranger perk from Fallout?

Could we have a Miniature giant space hamster as a pet, which has a 1% chance of going berserk?

 

The screen should go white and play

 

 

I kid I kid. What I really want is a Miniature giant space honey badger.

 

 

But seriously, great update. Thanks for doing these Tim, I really enjoy them!

Edited October 6, 2012 by Kaz

[Cthulchulain]

Some ethereal creature -- animated soul fragment? -- would have a good reason for not being able to interact with anything material...

[Kawento]

I want a space hamster!

 

Great update, the more information I have, the happier I am backing this project.

[Cantousent]

I'm actually mad, but I think I might upgrade my 35 buck pledges for gifts to 50 bucks, at least for two of them. I'm getting pretty close to the next tier, and so I don't know if I'll just upgrade to that and then give my digital downloads to other folks and then dish out the swag also. I really should reread this whole thing in the morning to make sense of it. :Cant's blurry-eyed squinting at the screen icon:

 

EDIT: I'm with... I beg pardon, but I can't remember the name, but I'm with the guy who wants cats. I want a cat. They are, if I remember it rigth, the most popular pet in the United States. ...And if they aren't I don't give a crap and I still want cats.

Edited October 6, 2012 by Cantousent

[Guest Kevin]

Please add a friendly Green Slime Ooze or Gelatinous Cube pet!

[Guest Guest]

And of course a killer rabbit with a vicious streak a mile wide.

[cyberarmy]

A pet elemental maybe? Changes element type when we want.

[C2B]

Great Update

 

As for pets, don't make it a dog as mentioned.

[Deraldin]

Some ethereal creature -- animated soul fragment? -- would have a good reason for not being able to interact with anything material...

 

I really like this idea.

[Adauli]

I would like to have some exotic pet not the usual dog or cat.

[Virgil]

What I would love from a pet (and yes I would be upgrading my pledge to 50$ to get pet)

 

- some kind of very small dragon

- elementals is good idea

- hunting eagle

- but I'd like to see some classical pets (cats, dogs) as well as exotic ones.

[Cantousent]

I would like to have some exotic pet not the usual dog or cat.

For some reason, I luaghed out loud at this. I don't know. I really don't care about vanity pets. If it's entirely vanity and cannot be killed or just runs around after the pc, I won't care about it one way or the other really. I have real life pets, after all. I don't need a virtual one. If it's killable, woundable, or needs care in any way, I"ll probably just be frustrated. ...But the things like vanity pets and colorful costumes and crafting and other things I don't care about as much appeal to the wife, and so I guess the big thing will be if I decide to do something for my wife, in which case she'll get the highest tier I've purchased and *I'll* be theone taking hte 35 buck tier. lol

[Majek]

Cats? Dogs? Dragons? SLimes?... bah. If there's an option for a pet, i want a wild boar. Omnivorous tank.

[Bloody Hypocrite]

I'm very excited because of this update. Combat is sounding pretty good, magic system sounds interesting, and now mod support. Now if only we could get a softback copy of the artbook for under $250...

Edited October 6, 2012 by Bloody Hypocrite

[Monte Carlo]

I'm very impressed with the announcement about modding tools and distribution. And not even a stretch-goal.

[Darth Trethon]

I am all for having new classes in the game but adding the Paladin class on top of the Monk and Priest classes would be a complete waste of time. You could add pretty much any class but this is just redundant and ridiculous.

 

Beyond that great update. Looking forward to the pet, I absolutely love seeing the mega dungeon grow and I'll have to see if I can collect another $120 to upgrade to the $250 bundle but i am not making any promises at the moment. Modding is also I very much look forward to as well.

Edited October 6, 2012 by Darth Trethon

[Delicieuxz]

Copied from the wrong link I used to post:

 

 

Obsidian, if you paid attention to the Wasteland 2 feedback, you'd recognize that people generally hate the idea of in-game exclusive content. People want the full game, and they want others to also have the full game. They don't want different pieces of the game floating around with different people. That stuff just gets under peoples' skin and is disappointing from the perspective that the work done for those exclusive preorder or backer items isn't enjoyed or recognized in longevity, as it isn't something that the majority of players of the game are ever going to witness and experience for themselves.

 

Having in-game exclusives is a disappointing tactic that is in line with the stifling large publisher attitude that people are so sick of and which is prompting the relief felt by the kickstarter movement. It's right there with generic mass-appeal gameplay and restrictive DRM in regards to items that the spirit of crowd funding is revolting against.

[Darkpriest]

great update.. as for a pet, put in some morphling that can shift into a pet from a predefined list (cat, dog, whatever seems fancy enough). If it has no combat influence, you can go crazy with little animals and creatures