Regarding the Info Tid-bits about the Mega Dungeon

[Stun]

...The one game feature I'm probably looking forward to the most in this entire game. There's no major point to this thread except to pool knowledge and perhaps to voice comments or concerns about what has been revealed recently about the Endless Paths of Od Nua.

 

First off, here's the stuff *I* was able to catch:

 

---They've finished working on it (link)

--- Players will find it early in their adventure (link)

---15 levels, as promised. Some of those levels are small, others are huge (link)

---it gets progressively tougher as you go from one level to the next, and this progression is faster than your level advancements while doing it (link)

---Which means you'll likely want to leave and come back throughout the game. And you'll be able to do so via teleporters or level exits (Link)

---It touches the main plot, or as Josh put it: "the player has to dip his toes into it on the critical path" (link)

--- It's nothing like any of the dungeons from the infinity engine games, but (flavor-wise?) it's similar to Dragon's Eye from IWD1 (link)

 

That's all the new stuff I've found. If any of you Obsidian-dev Stalkers/Fans know of comments that Josh or Adam or whoever have made on Formspring or Something Awful or the codex or whatever on the subject, please post them here.

 

 

------

 

Now, my viewpoints. This all sounds really cool. I only have one concern. And it's about the last point. I.... don't want it to remind me of Dragon's Eye. Way back during the Kickstarter, when one of the devs came to the forums and floated the idea of a mega-dungeon to us, the majority began citing mostly 2 examples of what they wanted to see: 1) Something like Durlag's Tower and 2) something like Watcher's Keep.

 

Neither of these two are particularly cavernous like Dragon's eye. Not that there's anything wrong with Caverns, but when I think of a good old fashioned mega *dungeon*, Dragon's Eye-like complexes do not spring to mind.

 

That's all.

Edited December 11, 2013 by Stun

[Wolfenbarg]

I think the reference to Dragon's Eye has to do with how long and varied that dungeon was. Each level was quite different and far more difficult than the last, and overall it felt like a very interesting and satisfying experience.

Edited December 11, 2013 by Wolfenbarg

[Hiro Protagonist II]

I.... don't want it to remind me of Dragon's Eye. Way back during the Kickstarter, when one of the devs came to the forums and floated the idea of a mega-dungeon to us, the majority began citing mostly 2 examples of what they wanted to see: 1) Something like Durlag's Tower and 2) something like Watcher's Keep.

 

Neither of these two are particularly cavernous like Dragon's eye. Not that there's anything wrong with Caverns, but when I think of a good old fashioned mega *dungeon*, Dragon's Eye-like complexes do not spring to mind.

 

I agree. I was hoping more Durlag's Tower or Watcher's Keep. Dragon's Eye doesn't inspire a lot of confidence.

[JWestfall]

A couple tidbits (nothing really new, but related) here: http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/12/11/obsidian-on-dungeoniest-dungeon-ever-eternitys-length/#more-179423

 

A snippet:

 

 

RPS: Is there a story surrounding the dungeon? Something huge and labyrinthine like the dungeon itself?

Sawyer: Yeah, yeah. You’ll start to learn [that there's a lot more to it than you first suspect]. Initially it just seems like a cursed, abandoned place. The Glanfathans warn people away from it. But they kind of say, “If you wanna go buck wild in here, it’s your funeral. Go down in there if you want.” As you go deeper you start learning more about what it was and what it is now and what’s going on in it. There’s a mystery. It’ll be a fun mystery to solve and get to the bottom of it.

 

 

[Karkarov]

My only concern is that bit about "critical path".  I won't mind if the game requires me to go a couple levels in I guess but I shouldn't have to clear half the thing, much less the whole thing, for the main story.  I always felt it was some sort of Durlag Tower like area that was there if you wanted to test yourself, something you didn't "have" to do.

[curryinahurry]

 

A couple tidbits (nothing really new, but related) here: http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/12/11/obsidian-on-dungeoniest-dungeon-ever-eternitys-length/#more-179423

 

A snippet:

 

 

RPS: Is there a story surrounding the dungeon? Something huge and labyrinthine like the dungeon itself?

Sawyer: Yeah, yeah. You’ll start to learn [that there's a lot more to it than you first suspect]. Initially it just seems like a cursed, abandoned place. The Glanfathans warn people away from it. But they kind of say, “If you wanna go buck wild in here, it’s your funeral. Go down in there if you want.” As you go deeper you start learning more about what it was and what it is now and what’s going on in it. There’s a mystery. It’ll be a fun mystery to solve and get to the bottom of it.

 

 

 

@ Stun

 

This leads me to believe that the Dragon's Eye tie-in is thematically; a deeper mystery/discovery that isn't initially apparent.

 

Also, to be fair, the Durlag's Tower et. al. references were thrown around before we arrived at 15 total levels.  At that size, it almost mandates a development that transitions in dungeon typologies (and morphologies).

[charms]

When I backed Eternity, I thought the Endless Paths were going to be some end-game deal where, just before the final boss, you can go to the Optional Dungeon(breeding the right kind of chocobo first), fight all the hardest mosters, and at the bottom of the dungeon is an encounter that's harder than the actual end boss.

 

I don't know what to think of the version we're actually getting. Since it's apparently really big, chewing off piece by piece would make the whole thing easier to digest, but it takes away from the epic feeling if it's not something you seriously prepare for beforehand and then finish in one big struggle.

[Marceror]

_{I just wish I knew what an Od Nua was.}

Edited December 12, 2013 by Marceror

[Night Stalker]

My only concern is that bit about "critical path".  I won't mind if the game requires me to go a couple levels in I guess but I shouldn't have to clear half the thing, much less the whole thing, for the main story.  I always felt it was some sort of Durlag Tower like area that was there if you wanted to test yourself, something you didn't "have" to do.

 

Here is the full quote from GameBanshee:

 

Josh: We're developing The Endless Paths of Od Nua right now. The artists are in the home stretch on it and it looks great. The Endless Paths can be found relatively early in the but the player only has to dip his or her toes into the dungeon on the critical path. We're designing the progression so the challenge ramps more quickly than you can level-up within the dungeon. We suspect many players will periodically retreat and come back later to tackle challenging levels. 

 

So there shouldn't be a problem.

[neo6874]

My only concern is that bit about "critical path".  I won't mind if the game requires me to go a couple levels in I guess but I shouldn't have to clear half the thing, much less the whole thing, for the main story.  I always felt it was some sort of Durlag Tower like area that was there if you wanted to test yourself, something you didn't "have" to do.

 

 

I think, "originally" the mega-dungeon was setup as a 3-4 level "typical" RPG dungeon crawl (insert typical "weird stuff has begun happening in the ruins again" hook here) -- it was always gonna be in there, but the door/transition behind the quest completion BBEG would just be disabled (e.g. we'd have gotten "Narration A", but "Narration B" would unlock the depths).

 

I just hope that they add a narrator cut-scene right about there .. kinda like when you kill the guy in the Nashkel Mines.

 

No mega-dungeon:

"You find the documents indicating someone named Tyros hired the Necromancer Makabar to destabilize the region. This information will go far to settle the tensions that have been brewing between the peoples of Twin Elms, and the surrounding villages."

 

Becomes Mega-Dungeon:

"You find the documents indicating someone named Tyros hired the Necromancer Makabar to destabilize the region. As you finish searching the room, you hit a switch that opens a secret door in the back wall of Makabar's chambers ... peering briefly down the newly opened pathway, it seems to lead deeper into the caverns ...  it is unknown how deep this path will take you."

[Messier-31]

My only concern is that bit about "critical path".  I won't mind if the game requires me to go a couple levels in I guess but I shouldn't have to clear half the thing, much less the whole thing, for the main story.  I always felt it was some sort of Durlag Tower like area that was there if you wanted to test yourself, something you didn't "have" to do.

 

I guess you shouldn't worry ("dip his toes" part):

 

---It touches the main plot, or as Josh put it: "the player has to dip his toes into it on the critical path" (link)

 

***

 

I also would like more "durlagtowery" or "watcherkeepy" dungeon. Dragon's Eye is just hack and slash (like whole IwD).

[Stun]

_{I just wish I knew what an Od Nua was.}

lol

 

I've been searching for an answer to that for a couple days now, but Obsidian, despite their refreshing transparancy and eager willingness to discuss the development of this game, has been remarkably tight-lipped about anything relating to storylines/plots in Eternity.

 

I'm assuming Od Nua is some.... person.

Edited December 13, 2013 by Stun

[Marceror]

 

_{I just wish I knew what an Od Nua was.}

lol

 

I've been searching for an answer to that for a couple days now, but Obsidian, despite their refreshing transparancy and eager willingness to discuss the development of this game, has been remarkably tight-lipped about anything relating to storylines/plots in Eternity.

 

I'm assuming Od Nua is some.... person.

 

Here's what was said during the Kickstarter campaign about it. Definitely a person, in fact, the builder of the dungeon:

 

 

In the western reaches of the Dyrwood lies the Endless Paths, an ancient network of cobbled trails that wind through arches of dense overgrowth, twisting within the confines of a high castle wall as they make their way to the gates of iron-shuttered towers that jut forth from the interior. In ages past, the towers rising from the gardens to pierce the canopy of the forest once marked the dominion of the castle's relentless, crazed builder: Od Nua. But the courses of Od Nua's madness run far below the surface, stretching forever deeper into wandering catacombs and bone-cramped oubliettes unseen by living eyes for centuries. The Endless Paths, as the old Glanfathans call them, cannot be walked by the living, but the storytellers say with certainty that many strong souls have found a permanent home beneath the grieving creator's estate.

 

Most else that is said and written of the place is fiction or conjecture, more likely to have sprouted from the svef-enhanced imaginations of bored and boasting mercenaries than from any seed of truth. Hosts of lost souls that relentlessly stalk the living, cathedral-sized tombs overflowing with the restless victims of a horrific plague, lightless chambers sealing in the remnants of Od Nua's failed experiments. Most legends converge on a common theme: that under the castle rest myriad forgotten vaults of death and darkness glittering with Od Nua's enchanted creations and the abandoned treasure of ill-fated interlopers. So great is the fear of the castle's denizens that even drunken and drug-cheered adventurers do not joke of setting foot on the paths, lest their souls join the eternal ranks of those that have gone before them.

[Monte Carlo]

Sawyer is merely acknowledging the original role of the dungeon in classic tabletop gaming: a big, forbidding place you'd never tackle in one go.

 

He is showing due respect to some old-skool conventions and I salute him.

[Osvir]

Great post Stun

I have no concern about dipping my toes into Od Nua. I understand why it is part of the critical path, partially because we discussed it on this board a long time ago "Could part of Od Nua, like 2 or 3 levels, be part of the main story?" kind of thing. Not going to look for the thread. The other part is most likely because Od Nua might take up close to 1/3rd and a little less than 1/4th of the entire explorable in-game world.

[Vorhees]

 

 

_{I just wish I knew what an Od Nua was.}

lol

 

I've been searching for an answer to that for a couple days now, but Obsidian, despite their refreshing transparancy and eager willingness to discuss the development of this game, has been remarkably tight-lipped about anything relating to storylines/plots in Eternity.

 

I'm assuming Od Nua is some.... person.

 

Here's what was said during the Kickstarter campaign about it. Definitely a person, in fact, the builder of the dungeon:

 

 

In the western reaches of the Dyrwood lies the Endless Paths, an ancient network of cobbled trails that wind through arches of dense overgrowth, twisting within the confines of a high castle wall as they make their way to the gates of iron-shuttered towers that jut forth from the interior. In ages past, the towers rising from the gardens to pierce the canopy of the forest once marked the dominion of the castle's relentless, crazed builder: Od Nua. But the courses of Od Nua's madness run far below the surface, stretching forever deeper into wandering catacombs and bone-cramped oubliettes unseen by living eyes for centuries. The Endless Paths, as the old Glanfathans call them, cannot be walked by the living, but the storytellers say with certainty that many strong souls have found a permanent home beneath the grieving creator's estate.

 

Most else that is said and written of the place is fiction or conjecture, more likely to have sprouted from the svef-enhanced imaginations of bored and boasting mercenaries than from any seed of truth. Hosts of lost souls that relentlessly stalk the living, cathedral-sized tombs overflowing with the restless victims of a horrific plague, lightless chambers sealing in the remnants of Od Nua's failed experiments. Most legends converge on a common theme: that under the castle rest myriad forgotten vaults of death and darkness glittering with Od Nua's enchanted creations and the abandoned treasure of ill-fated interlopers. So great is the fear of the castle's denizens that even drunken and drug-cheered adventurers do not joke of setting foot on the paths, lest their souls join the eternal ranks of those that have gone before them.

Arrgh, after the kickstarter passed I have been slowly able to bring myself down and make myself accept that its gonna be a long while before I can play this thing, now Ive just read this and its completely ruined all the hard work, I'm back to wanting this game RIGHT NOW GOD DAMNIT!!!!!! lol