ETA on Expansions?

[kozzy]

As long as it is good, 20-30 hours or so would be great.

[Valorian]

I'll make a wish too. I'd like Obsidian to continue to not have any level scaling in PoE and its expansion packs/DLC. All Fallout:NV add-ons were level scaled and it was awful.

 

I particularly enjoyed the end boss encounter in PoE. Has someone tested the final encounter at different levels to see if their stats change, i.e. if it's level scaled? I suppose it's not as I've read in an interview that they haven't used any, but I'd like to know for sure.   A simple "no, the stats don't change" would be enough (to avoid spoilers for those who haven't finished the game yet).

[Namutree]

 

 

 

I'm concerned about this 2 part expansion.

 

According to howlongtobeat.com

 

TotSC had almost 20 hours (completionist)

ToB had almost 40 hours (completionist)

 

PoE expansions better be 20-40 hours per part!

Its one xpack in two parts. I'm expecting 6 to 10 hours per part.

 

 

Source? Because if that would be true, that'd be really goddamn sad. I would absolutely expect 20-40 hours per expansion pack.

 

40 sounds a bit much, yes, but I'm referencing it as thresholds. Minimum 20, maximum 40. Anything less than 20 would be unacceptable for a real expansion pack, and anything above 40 would just be ridiculously unreasonable to expect.

 

 

I'm hoping for 100 hours. Aim for the stars!

 

 

 

Those are just freaking ridiculous expectations. It took them 2.5 years to make 40-60 hour game and now you expect them to make 20-40 hours expansions in few months. Prepare to be disappointed I guess.

 

There is nothing ridiculous about those expectations. Obsidian had to make more than just make some new areas and quests. They had to make the classes, develop the rule system, and establish the method in which they create content. Adding new monsters, quests, and items shouldn't take long at all. The only aspect that would be challenging is making the new areas quickly, but as long as Obsidian really stretches the use of the new areas a 20-40 hr long expansion is completely possible.

[Crucis]

 

 

 

 

I'm concerned about this 2 part expansion.

 

According to howlongtobeat.com

 

TotSC had almost 20 hours (completionist)

ToB had almost 40 hours (completionist)

 

PoE expansions better be 20-40 hours per part!

Its one xpack in two parts. I'm expecting 6 to 10 hours per part.

 

 

Source? Because if that would be true, that'd be really goddamn sad. I would absolutely expect 20-40 hours per expansion pack.

 

40 sounds a bit much, yes, but I'm referencing it as thresholds. Minimum 20, maximum 40. Anything less than 20 would be unacceptable for a real expansion pack, and anything above 40 would just be ridiculously unreasonable to expect.

 

 

I'm hoping for 100 hours. Aim for the stars!

 

 

 

Those are just freaking ridiculous expectations. It took them 2.5 years to make 40-60 hour game and now you expect them to make 20-40 hours expansions in few months. Prepare to be disappointed I guess.

 

There is nothing ridiculous about those expectations. Obsidian had to make more than just make some new areas and quests. They had to make the classes, develop the rule system, and establish the method in which they create content. Adding new monsters, quests, and items shouldn't take long at all. The only aspect that would be challenging is making the new areas quickly, but as long as Obsidian really stretches the use of the new areas a 20-40 hr long expansion is completely possible.

 

 

Yeah, the thing to remember is that the devs not only had to create a new setting and rules, they had to create a new game engine.  So, if one is thinking about a time frame for an expansion, it probably shouldn't take nearly as long, one assumes, to just come up with some new areas, perhaps some higher level spells and abilities, plus whatever storyline is required for the expansion.  The setting, rules, and game engine are now in place, and probably would require little, if any, adjusting.

 

[Bryy]

 

I do wonder if each part is gonna be sold separately though. If it's basically 1 expansion but in 2 parts, I wonder if we buy the part that comes out if we have to buy the next part as well or if it will automatically download when the next part is ready?

 

I have a hard time believing Obsidian would require people to pay for each part separately, when they explicitly said they were making a "real" expansion pack. I have a feeling that it would leave people with a sour taste in peoples mouths if a old-school throwback like PoE tried something that just seemed similar to current DLC practices.

 

Well, given that Feargus has said that Backers (that have bought into the ExPack level) will be getting both parts, I think it's pretty safe to say that both will have a price tag/

 

I'm assuming (if it is as meaty as they want) each will be $15.

[Elerond]

 

 

 

 

 

I'm concerned about this 2 part expansion.

 

According to howlongtobeat.com

 

TotSC had almost 20 hours (completionist)

ToB had almost 40 hours (completionist)

 

PoE expansions better be 20-40 hours per part!

Its one xpack in two parts. I'm expecting 6 to 10 hours per part.

 

 

Source? Because if that would be true, that'd be really goddamn sad. I would absolutely expect 20-40 hours per expansion pack.

 

40 sounds a bit much, yes, but I'm referencing it as thresholds. Minimum 20, maximum 40. Anything less than 20 would be unacceptable for a real expansion pack, and anything above 40 would just be ridiculously unreasonable to expect.

 

 

I'm hoping for 100 hours. Aim for the stars!

 

 

 

Those are just freaking ridiculous expectations. It took them 2.5 years to make 40-60 hour game and now you expect them to make 20-40 hours expansions in few months. Prepare to be disappointed I guess.

 

There is nothing ridiculous about those expectations. Obsidian had to make more than just make some new areas and quests. They had to make the classes, develop the rule system, and establish the method in which they create content. Adding new monsters, quests, and items shouldn't take long at all. The only aspect that would be challenging is making the new areas quickly, but as long as Obsidian really stretches the use of the new areas a 20-40 hr long expansion is completely possible.

 

 

Yeah, the thing to remember is that the devs not only had to create a new setting and rules, they had to create a new game engine.  So, if one is thinking about a time frame for an expansion, it probably shouldn't take nearly as long, one assumes, to just come up with some new areas, perhaps some higher level spells and abilities, plus whatever storyline is required for the expansion.  The setting, rules, and game engine are now in place, and probably would require little, if any, adjusting.

 

 

 

They didn't create new engine, as they used Unity, which is general purpose game engine. They needed to do some specified code by themselves to solve some problems that are unique to PoE, but that is far from making new game engine and they probably need to solve some additional problems in the expansions.

 

And it should be noted that people that do those maps, writing, rules etc. are different people than those that did the coding, meaning that removing coding from equation, don't mean that people responsible of those things can do more work in shorter period of time.

 

But on bright side people that did maps, rules writing, etc. weren't necessary familiar with style that PoE uses and even if they have done similar products in past it was over decade ago and with different tools, meaning that that there was period of time where they needed to get familiar with how things are done in PoE, what things can be done and what things don't just work in PoE's style. And now their team knows what they can do, how tools that they use work, and what things they should avoid, which means that they can produce higher quality content in shorter time, but that is just because of the fact that they now know what they are doing instead of trying figure it out. They also have now quite lot ready assets that they can use instead of needing to make them from scratch.

 

I would also point out that if they don't expand their team there will be clear limit in certain areas how much new content they are able to produce as they currently have only one or two people working on those things and those limits probably will limit scope of the expansions quite much, as they did with PoE itself.

[Night Stalker]

Well, given that Feargus has said that Backers (that have bought into the ExPack level) will be getting both parts, I think it's pretty safe to say that both will have a price tag/

 

 

It could be, but I don' think it automatically follows. I got the impression that it would be more of a "Season pass" thing, where buying it would net you both parts, with the first part released months before the second part, but they would add up to a single full expansion pack. Feargus' remark seems more to be more about nipping any confusion whether or not backers would get the whole expansion pack in the bud, rather than whether it is going to be two separate products that add up to the size of a single expansion pack.

 

No mater which way it goes I will be looking forward to see what they come up with.

[Luckmann]

 

 

 

 

I'm concerned about this 2 part expansion.

 

According to howlongtobeat.com

 

TotSC had almost 20 hours (completionist)

ToB had almost 40 hours (completionist)

 

PoE expansions better be 20-40 hours per part!

Its one xpack in two parts. I'm expecting 6 to 10 hours per part.

 

 

Source? Because if that would be true, that'd be really goddamn sad. I would absolutely expect 20-40 hours per expansion pack.

 

40 sounds a bit much, yes, but I'm referencing it as thresholds. Minimum 20, maximum 40. Anything less than 20 would be unacceptable for a real expansion pack, and anything above 40 would just be ridiculously unreasonable to expect.

 

 

I'm hoping for 100 hours. Aim for the stars!

 

 

 

Those are just freaking ridiculous expectations. It took them 2.5 years to make 40-60 hour game and now you expect them to make 20-40 hours expansions in few months. Prepare to be disappointed I guess.

 

There is nothing ridiculous about those expectations. Obsidian had to make more than just make some new areas and quests. They had to make the classes, develop the rule system, and establish the method in which they create content. Adding new monsters, quests, and items shouldn't take long at all. The only aspect that would be challenging is making the new areas quickly, but as long as Obsidian really stretches the use of the new areas a 20-40 hr long expansion is completely possible.

 

 

It should also be noted that Jotra's claim of PoE being a 40-60-hour game is wrong. In context, PoE is 60-80h. An expansion being 20-40 is pretty reasonable.

 

For everyone's reference, the last IE game, Icewind Dale 2, started production in July 2001 and was released on August 27, 2002. Production cycles can be short when you have all the nuts and bolts in place.

 

And as for "a few months"; I'm thinking of a full expansion, here. Icewind Dale was released in 2000, while Heart of Winter was released in 2001. Similarly, Baldur's Gate II was released on September 24th, 2000, while Throne of Bhaal was released on June 21st, 2001. So I'd expect about a year before the first expansion for Pillars of Eternity hits - hardly "a few months".

 

We're talking a real expansion here, not piecemeal DLC:s, and I hope that Obsidian also is.

Edited May 22, 2015 by Luckmann