Update #72: Death Godlike and Expected Ship Date

[Lephys]

Godlikes' weakness is that they can't wear helmets.

Let's hope their god "blessed" them with some extra Sword-to-the-Face Resistance, then, eh?

[silvercross]

So is the Winter 2014 a hard deadline or a flexible one?

[Bryy]

Is it just me or does anyone else think the delay is more of a general thing and less of a backer thing?

[Ulquiorra]

Whait so i be able to play one of this dudes ?

 

 

 

 

 

Pillar of Eternity is starting to risemble Bleach more and more ...

 

Who cares about romances if i can be one of this guys ..buahahahaha ... grim reaper falls ..asleep...

[Lucas]

Ondra's Gift screenshot looks amazing! Nice to hear about the new release date: don't rush, I feel you might just release your best game to date, Obsidian

[ItinerantNomad]

Love the wizard's tower and blacksmithshop. Need more info about the godlikes - I'm liking the general idea, but I hope that the lore has a strong explanation for them and their ability to live in this world.

 

As for the cat druid WIP - love the concept sketch, hate the implementation.

1- Too much red and brightness in the 3d model, the concept sketch sort of seems covered in shadow which gives it a sort of eerie feeling that the 3d model lacks.

2- the texture used for the cat druid isn't good - it should match the concept more as that seems more "natural" than "military cameo"

3- The head is what really throws it off, it doesn't really fit the concept. The ears in the concept start more posteriorly with a shortner neck. the eyes are more deep set and lateral in the concept.

4- the arms and legs are more "dextrous" on the concept art. This is likely a limitation on polygons, but I would imagine you could rework this a little more to fit the concept without adding too many polys.

[Elerond]

So is the Winter 2014 a hard deadline or a flexible one?

 

There is no hard deadlines in software development only soft, softer and when it is ready

[J.E. Sawyer]

Huh, in that case choosing a Godlike as your race should bring quite a bit of extra power/abilities I'd guess.

After all, missing out on one equipment slot is potentially a big drawback once magic items become more powerful.

 

Each type of godlike has its own passive racial benefit.  Death godlike have an ability called Death's Usher that increases their damage against enemies with a low percentage of remaining Stamina.

[ItinerantNomad]

Josh, how many portraits, druid forms, godlike types, and areas are you expecting in terms of raw numbers at this point? I know this will likely change, but any thoughts on this?

Edited February 12, 2014 by ItinerantNomad

[Bryy]

 

So is the Winter 2014 a hard deadline or a flexible one?

 

There is no hard deadlines in software development only soft, softer and when it is ready

 

You'd be surprised how many publisher-funded games miss their initial deadline.

[Gyges]

Looking great, are those helmet-like chitins actually horns? How do they actually see anything?

I don't worry about the extra stretch goals, make great the many you already have and note down things for future expansion packs.

Release is either November or December then. I'm not gonna hold you guys to that though .

Edited February 12, 2014 by Gyges

[iampolo]

So.... winter 2014 would be like christmas?

[Greensleeve]

Fantastic update. Cannot overstate how pleased I am with what we're being shown, particularly the Godlikes. Though I, too, would like to know if the racial aspect of the Godlike is still there, i. e. will there be Aumaua Godlike as well as Human ones, or if their subtypes are now defined by which god blessed them. 

[Endrosz]

Our next update will be all about Pillars of Eternity lore by Eric Fenstermaker.

 

Looking forward to it! He's not such a game design luminary (yet!) like <the usual suspects>, but he's done amazing work on MotB, F:NV, etc.

[Flow]

So.... winter 2014 would be like christmas?

 

http://www.talkeasy.co.uk/link/materials/months.html

[ryukenden]

godlike beings are more animal/demon like rather than gods.

[J.E. Sawyer]

Josh, how many portraits, druid forms, godlike types, and areas are you expecting in terms of raw numbers at this point? I know this will likely change, but any thoughts on this?

 

I would rather not speculate on the numbers yet.  Sorry.

[Hassat Hunter]

"I want to be a cat!"

 

Also, love the screens... giving me a nostalgic Baldur's Gate vibe... which is great.

The only downside to me are the rugs (rug in one, pelt in the other) in both screenshot looking... weird. Can't quite put my finger on the why, but they stand out... in the bad way.

 

Also not a big fan of the godlikes look, be it earth or death. Guess that wont be the race for me...

[Hiro Protagonist II]

I'm not keen on the big flappy ears for the earth godlike. Maybe I'll get used to it after a while. I do like the death ones though.

[Ieo]

Thanks for the update.

 

I know I'm in the minority on the forums for NOT wanting additional stretch goals, but I always believed more would just add too much risk to a complex "public" project of this nature. There's already so much riding on this Kickstarter for Obsidian, who has to deal with specific reputation issues in other realms, besides the ridiculous expectations from those of us who backed it, and the ship date is already moved (which ultimately is fine, but again, that incurs more cost already in man-hours). I'm not familiar with the nitty-gritty of project management, but there's a crapton of stuff behind the scenes that 99% of backers simply aren't privy to for decisions like this, and I respect that. Let's look forward to a wondertastic core game.

 

Oh yeah, the Earth godlike. So cool. I think it'd be fine to introduce more godlike options in subsequent installments of the franchise, honestly.

 

Edit to add: I'm positive that Obsidian will let us use custom portraiture a la BG/IWD, so don't worry too much about how you like these.

Edited February 12, 2014 by Ieo

[ryukenden]

I thought the new stretch goals,... most people voted yes. So what isn't implemented? I really want that mega dungeon

[Ulquiorra]

"I want to be a cat!"

 

LOTR Version :

 

[MasterPrudent]

I thought the new stretch goals,... most people voted yes. So what isn't implemented? I really want that mega dungeon

The new stretch goals were new companions and wilderness areas: http://forums.obsidian.net/topic/64736-new-stretch-goals-for-companions-and-wilderness-areas/

 

The mega dungeon is in. As Rose Gomez said in the update, "Rest assured that the team is working hard on completing the game and including our current stretch goals." Also it was mentioned as being under construction in the wave of interviews that came out with the teaser trailer.

Edited February 12, 2014 by MasterPrudent

[Gumbercules]

So seriously, what's the intended reaction to the Death Godlike? Should I be having the sort of reaction some people get when they see lotus seed pods? Because there really is something gross about them and I'm wondering if it's intentional or if the effect was supposed to be more subtle.

[Dersu42]

I thought the new stretch goals,... most people voted yes. So what isn't implemented? I really want that mega dungeon

 

It looked like the only two additional stretch goals were more outdoor wilderness areas and more companions. It was stated several times that all of the original stretch goals from the kickstarter campaign were going to be completed. I had to double check and reread what was posted to make sure I understood them correctly.

 

So basically nothing has been taken away, just some extra last minute additions are no longer going to be pursued.

 

Oh hey look at that, someone beat me to the punch. Yeah what that guy said...

Edited February 12, 2014 by Dersu42