Chapter and Content Progression & Cross Regional Content

[Sensuki]

There's a little quote from the Newegg GameCrate visit to the Obsidian office in February that piques my interest.

 

http://gamecrate.newegg.com/obsidian-pillars-of-eternity-preview/

 

Obsidian told us that most of the quests and content in the game could be regarded as “optional,” with the caveat that completing a certain amount of quests in a region will be necessary to build up alliances, gain information, and make progress.

This little quote indicates that the chapter progression through the game will be 'regional'. So far we are aware of a few different regions in the game

 

Dyrford - essentially the Vertical Slice village. We know that there are a bunch of wilderness areas associated with the quests of this hub and (at least one) large dungeon.

 

We also know that the Player Stronghold is near the Dyrford from a mockup of a world map pulled from Josh Sawyer's GDC Presentation, and that the player will gain access to the Stronghold at the end of the first chapter, giving the impression that the Dyrford region will be the first chapter in the game.

 

I would guess that regions on the world map will be chapter-gated. The player must complete crit-path content in a region to progress to the next chapter of the game (as per the newegg quote). Whether this be a linear progression of quests, non-linear completion of a number of quests or non-linear fractional completion of available crit path quests (eg. 3/5)is unknown.

 

The next region completed in development was Defiance Bay, so it is possible that this is "Region #2" and you go here after you complete the Dyrford.

 

The other known regions are Twin Elms (also a Production Milestone) and Gilded Vale (as seen on the Update #70 New Year Update Character Sheet mock up).

 

There may also be major locations that we do not know about yet.

 

What I am wondering is, now that production is over, was there content created that is cross-regional? For instance Quests that you might get in say Defiance Bay or Twin Elms where you are required to travel back to the Dyrford - or between Defiance Bay and Twin Elms, or Gilded Vale and Defiance Bay?

 

There were a couple of quests like this in Baldur's Gate 2, but not many. The main one was the Skinner murders from the Bridge District, which was technically two quests [which is fine]. The skinner escapes, and later on you can find him in Trademeet. Apart from this and a few other select examples, Baldur's Gate 2's quest hubs were basically self-contained stories and areas. There was basically no back and forth between the hubs - except in Athkatla.

Edited May 7, 2014 by Sensuki

[Hormalakh]

dang you beat me to it.

 

what i'm interested in knowing is whether obsidian ever decided what sort of story progression/ questing option they decided on approaching:

 

 

Are they goign for the PS:T version (personal but linear storyline, fairly rigid in structure, no chapters), the Fallout (fairly open with few bottle-necks and content-gates, no chapters), the bg1 (linear, multiple bottlenecks, divided into chapters), or BG2 style (slightly more open world than BG1, but still chapter-based and fewer quest bottle-necks)?

Edited May 7, 2014 by Hormalakh

[Crusty]

That would be kind of interesting, where you'd have quests which you would need to put on the backburner until you reach a new region and they become relevant again (and then have to travel back to previous locations/regions in later arcs to complete it).

 

Wouldn't surprise me if there were self contained sidequests/story arcs that span over multiple chapters and across regions. It would be a nice way to showcase NPC development.

Edited May 8, 2014 by Crusty

[Zwiebelchen]

What I am wondering is, now that production is over, was there content created that is cross-regional? For instance Quests that you might get in say Defiance Bay or Twin Elms where you are required to travel back to the Dyrford - or between Defiance Bay and Twin Elms, or Gilded Vale and Defiance Bay?

 

There were a couple of quests like this in Baldur's Gate 2, but not many. The main one was the Skinner murders from the Bridge District, which was technically two quests [which is fine]. The skinner escapes, and later on you can find him in Trademeet. Apart from this and a few other select examples, Baldur's Gate 2's quest hubs were basically self-contained stories and areas. There was basically no back and forth between the hubs - except in Athkatla.

 

 

I hope so! I feel that quests that take you back to earlier regions or extend beyond the current region are crucial for a classic and immersive RPG experience.

 

It makes the world feel more dynamic and believable, if not everything is laid out so conveniently for the player.

 

Also, I'd love for such cause-and-effect content to not be perfectly obvious. Taking the skinner quest from Baldur's gate II, there's absolutely no hint that the follow-up quest happens in Trademeet. You literally have to stumble upon it. Also, what's even cooler about the skinner quest is, that the secret of the human skin armor is not only covered by a riddle, but also requires you to play the underdark chapter in an unconventional way (killing the silver drake instead of doing her quest in Ust Natha).

And even the initial quest is interesting, as there's subtle changes to how the quest progresses depending on what you do. For example, if you happen to find all evidence and talk to the city guard first before confronting the skinner, you will cause him to investigate on that matter, ultimately causing his death.

I really love the skinner quest in Baldur's Gate II. It's a perfect example of quest design done right.

Edited May 8, 2014 by Zwiebelchen

[Sensuki]

The Witcher has quests that span multiple chapters. But it's a linear game with no real backwards progression. The farthest distance between locations is probably Uptown Vizima and the Swamp Forest.

Edited May 9, 2014 by Sensuki