Confirmed: Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire

[floredon]

This site will publish a full interview tomorrow

http://www.pcgamesn.com/pillars-of-eternity-2/pillars-of-eternity-2-release-date-story-setting

Thanks, bookmarked. Also, that article is worth reading as there are several statements from Josh. Not sure if they were pulled from another interview (RPG Codex) or not...

Edited January 26, 2017 by floredon

[Sedrefilos]

Hmm... the new aumaua companion is a ranger yes? With a hawk-like bird for animal companion? This might mean new/different anima companions will be introduced?

[gibonez]

Praying the Rogue is fantastic this time around or at the very least that there is a Backstab, Raw damage crit assasin class that requires lots of micro and is not hindered by per rest abilities that it finds vital to break engagement and return to stealth.

[kanisatha]

Unless there is solid information about Pillars 2 new features (supported by a link) better not spread misinformation here. Will derail the thread. Let's just talk about what we know.

Not reporting rumors. It was in a mainstream gaming news site (but can't remember who right now), and they were citing the information as coming from an email sent to them by Feargus himself in which he says they've wanted to shrink party size for tactical combat reasons but from their Tyranny experience decided that four was too small so they settled for five.

[Zitchiock]

The reply from Obsidian leads me to believe the rumor may be true. Why not just confirm six if that were the case? I seem to remember watching an interview with Sawyer where he said 4-5 is the ideal configuration, too.

[Zitchiock]

The reasoning may be that more combat complexity (perhaps due to higher levels) is improved by fewer party members. Something like that.

[FlintlockJazz]

I've re-watched the Fig vid, and there are a few sequences and images with 5 party members, and at least two with 4, but none with 6. Whelp!

The artwork of them fighting on the ship shows five party members, but then so did the initial artwork for Pillars of Eternity.  Plus, they are all companion characters (presumably) in both cases so isn't counting the MC.  I think I'll wait until they confirm one way or another.

 

Just so you know what artwork I am talking about, here it is:

Course at least one of those characters didn't make it into the final game... poor Cadegund...

[Leferd]

Well, if the PC is hunting Eothas, wouldn't it make sense to have a Priest(ess) of Magran join in?

[Infinitron]

Here's your source for the five party members, kids: http://venturebeat.com/2017/01/26/pillars-of-eternity-ii-deadfire-is-obsidians-first-stab-at-crowdfunding-on-fig/

 

Pillars of Eternity is getting a sequel — and just like the first time, fans can help bankroll its production. Or in this case, earn a piece of it.

Obsidian Entertainment will crowdfund Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire on Fig, a rival to Kickstarter and Indiegogo where those who make pledges can also snag equity in the project. It will release on PC, Mac, and Linux, and the role-playing game studio is setting a campaign goal of $1.1 million … and if it hits $2.25 million, it’ll issue equity to backers. The first Pillars of Eternity was one of the first big video game projects on Kickstarter, raising $3,986,929 in 2012 (it’s still the No. 2 RPG project and No. 4 game in its history).

Fig seems like a natural choice for any Obsidian project, since chief executive officer Feargus Urquhart is one of the platform’s partners (along with Double Fine’s Tim Shafer and Inxile’s Brian Fargo). But Urquhart notes that the RPG studio has other reasons for choosing this Kickstarter alternative for the Pillars of Eternity sequel.

“There are a lot of reasons we are going with Fig, but they really come down to us wanting to build up our ability to get games financed differently and to let our fans share in the success of the games if they want to invest,” he said over email. “Many developers, including Obsidian, have had few options in the ways to get their games funded. Our hope is that with Fig, we can grow a group of investors who trust us and will help us realize even bigger games in the future.”

Pillars of Eternity II returns to the world of Eora, heading to the Deadfire Archipelago (a new region we don’t know anything about yet). It’ll have a similar sort of smart-looking art and tactical combat. From some of the images, you could get a Lovecraft vibe — those tentacles belong to some monster in the main image, I’d bet, and that fish being in the statue below sure looks like something that would fit into a Cthulhu story.

The biggest change from the original is that Deadfire will have a five-character adventuring party. The original had six players, and Obsidian’s 2016 RPG Tyranny had four. How did the designers decide that five is the magic number?

“We’ve been playing with a five-character party for most of development and really like how encounters work with that size,” Urquhart said. I can see how this came about — six characters can be cumbersome, while four can seem … limiting. Five enables for you to cover every major RPG role — tank, damage-dealer, ranged, magic, and healing — while still giving the player room to experiment with character builds.

The studio said you’re be playing out the story of the characters fighting “for their souls as they hunt down a god.” Pillars also had a different approach to armor than other RPGs, one that sounds more Star Trek than D&D.

The original Pillars was my No. 2 game of 2015, and I gave it a 95/100 in my review.

“We are so thankful to our fans, who believed in us and made the original Pillars a huge crowdfunding success. For the sequel, we have turned to Fig for our fan-funding needs because we not only wanted our fans to help shape Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire, but to financially share in its potential as well,” said Urquhart in a canned statement. “Pillars of Eternity set the standard for quality among fan-funded games by not only delivering an amazing game, but also making good on everything we promised to our backers. Our goal for Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire is to improve on what fans loved about the original while adding features our fans want to see, truly living cities, more freedom to explore the open world, and pushing what we do best at Obsidian — letting players define and play the role they want to play.”

 

 

Edited January 27, 2017 by Infinitron

[juanval]

Five members... Interesting.

 

What about map? strech goals? starting level? starting location?  want to know more!!!!!    

[Lamppost in Winter]

Josh Sawyer confirmed it in a Tumblr ask (in German) http://jesawyer.tumblr.com/post/156419783766/hallo-josh-es-wird-gemunkelt-das-für-deadfire.

Google Translate:
"Hello Josh, it is rumored that for Deadfire the maximum number of possible companions was reduced to 4 (5 in PoE) and thus the maximum size of the group - including the guard* - was reduced to 5 (6 in PoE). Is there any truth to it, or is it only due to a write error or an unfortunate phrase on the part of the press? Thanks in advance.

 

We have not said anything about the number of the companions, but the maximum size of the group is 5 (including the guard*)."

 

*watcher
 

Edited January 27, 2017 by Lamppost in Winter

[anameforobsidian]

I prefer six, but I can live with five.  Four is too small.

[Bonte]

YES!!! Being waiting for this conformation forever. Now I can finally live out my dream as a dwarf pirate (hopefully). Now I have to get my main play through ready for this. I always had a good relationship with Pallegina and Eder, so they'll stay by my Watcher side even in the sequel. Even though my Boreal dwarf is from The White, maybe he will some attention in Deadfire with all of the boreal there. We may even get a reunite with Sagani.  #Hypetrain. 

 

Oh btw, is it our main character + five companions or is our main character included in that five? 

[Infinitron]

YES!!! Being waiting for this conformation forever. Now I can finally live out my dream as a dwarf pirate (hopefully). Now I have to get my main play through ready for this. I always had a good relationship with Pallegina and Eder, so they'll stay by my Watcher side even in the sequel. Even though my Boreal dwarf is from The White, maybe he will some attention in Deadfire with all of the boreal there. We may even get a reunite with Sagani.  #Hypetrain. 

 

Oh btw, is it our main character + five companions or is our main character included in that five? 

 

Included.

[kanisatha]

@Infinitron, thank you for digging up the story. I knew I remembered it correctly!

[Amentep]

Don't like dropping to five at all.

[Aotrs Commander]

Whelp, you guys had me at the intro video. I can't actually repeat, I fear, my actual words on seeing the statue break out of the ground, but they consisted of a string of expletives...

 

 

I was personally extremely happy with PoE, as I felt I'd gotten basically exactly the game I'd been asking for. So Obsidian, you chaps and chapesses unhesitatingly get my bote - and my pennies this time as well.

 

 

 

Really must get around to doing White March part II, actually. Got rather distracted by discovering Paradox Grand Strats last year.

 

 

 

55% already? A promising start!

Edited January 27, 2017 by Aotrs Commander

[Tarbomb]

It looks so beautiful! I cannot wait, 2018 will not be here fast enough!

[ManifestedISO]

Boo to the 5 people who backed the game before me

 

Nice, wasn't me, I'm like sixty-five hundred'th in line. I hope they don't run out of hoodies.

[Faerunner]

Aloth returns? SIGN ME ON! :D

 

Okay, I'm kidding. I'm glad for all the returning characters, particularly Eder and Aloth, and I look forward to seeing all the ways they expand on the first game. <3

 

(I was JUST thinking last week that I wanted to change my "canon" Watcher's background to being a mariner from the Deadfire Archipelago. I just about died of shock when I learned this game includes travel by sea, and takes place largely in the Deadfire Archipelago.)

[Messier-31]

 

“Eothas ... the god of light and rebirth was thought dead, but he now inhabits the stone titan that sat buried under your keep, Caed Nua, for millennia,” reads a press release. “Ripping his way out of the ground, he destroys your stronghold and leaves you at the brink of death. To save your soul, you must track down the wayward god and demand answers — answers which could throw mortals and the gods themselves into chaos.”

 

I think Eothas has some deep seated emotional problems. He keeps asking for people to kill him.

[theBalthazar]

I prefer 6 companions but wait and see in game.

 

If the multi-class is of good quality, it is less problematic.

Edited January 27, 2017 by theBalthazar

[rheingold]

 

 

“Eothas ... the god of light and rebirth was thought dead, but he now inhabits the stone titan that sat buried under your keep, Caed Nua, for millennia,” reads a press release. “Ripping his way out of the ground, he destroys your stronghold and leaves you at the brink of death. To save your soul, you must track down the wayward god and demand answers — answers which could throw mortals and the gods themselves into chaos.”

 

I think Eothas has some deep seated emotional problems. He keeps asking for people to kill him.

 

Well all the gods have to have some serious issues. They should all be seriously schizo for one. You can't take thousands of souls, and presumably personalities and merge them into one and expect everything to be hunky dory. I mean, look at Aloth and he "only" shares his body with one other person not a couple of thousand.

Edited January 27, 2017 by rheingold

[Sedrefilos]

No gods no masters muthafukkas! I like that I challenge gods and faith in this game hehehe

[BillyCorgan]

Backer #115 (collector edition) ! 

 

Now waiting for more news...