# Project Eternity Sammelthread



## LordCrash (26. Juni 2013)

* Project Eternity Interview (PC) *

*After putting on my trusty leather jacket and  tempting him with some delicious iguana-on-a-stick, I was able to  persuade Obsidian Entertainment’s Co-founder and Creative Director Chris  Avellone to join my party. We had a chat in the rain-streaked  post-apocalyptic wasteland of Birmingham regarding the Kickstarted games  he was working on, namely Project Eternity, Torment: Tides of Numenera and Wasteland 2, as well as some of Obsidian’s past projects. After upping my Charisma of course. *




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Strategy Informer:  Okay, straight out of the gate, how does it feel to be ten years old? [*Note: Obsidian Entertainment turned a decade old on June 12th 2013.*] 

Chris Avellone:   Fantastic! We’ve done a lot with the studio over the years, but the  ten-year anniversary kind of creeped up on us and once we realised we’d  been going for ten years we were kind of surprised, and really, really,  happy. The party’s all organised, we’re sending out cards to our  employees saying “guys, thanks for making this all happen,” and they’re  all really stoked too. I’m really proud of that. Some start-ups, they go  through some difficult changes and don’t always make that ten-year mark  so to be at that point is really gratifying.  

Strategy Informer:  Another ten more years? 

Chris Avellone:  I hope so! 

Strategy Informer:  On to _Project Eternity_, how does it feel to have to do all this without publisher or PR support? 

Chris Avellone:   Liberating, because we get to choose what to share, you can share  everything and talk about what you want, get feedback, ask the players  what they’d like to see in the game. We can discuss the entire project  very frankly, everything from its positive qualities to its mistakes,  and even discuss design or development options with the community and  get their feedback before two years down the road where it’s much harder  to change something that people care about. I feel it allows us to be  better entertainers. 

Strategy Informer:  Why is it so difficult for publishers to let things out? 

Chris Avellone:   I actually don’t know the philosophies of the publishers and how that  situation evolved. I was never trained in marketing so there could be a  whole bunch of metric studies about it. I don’t really care, my thing is  that I’d much rather talk with the players about the writing side of  things. I want to do post-mortems, I want to talk about the game. I feel  that if players understand the process that you go through to reach the  end result, they’re much more accepting of missteps along the way as  well as the reasons for why you made the cool stuff that they enjoyed.  It ends up better for everybody.  

Strategy Informer:  Is there anything about the Kickstarter or the _Project Eternity_ experience so far that has surprised you? 

Chris Avellone:  Just the fact that we can share so much that I was trained never to share. Things like when we did the _Wasteland 2_ Vision Document [_provided to backers of the game_],  when we put that out there I was terrified about that. Screenshots,  early gameplay, terrified about them. You’re trained over time to not  share those things and make them perfect before the public ever sees  them otherwise there’s a huge amount of uproar, damage will be done  somehow, but I haven’t got any of that. Players are excited about that,  they like seeing the framework. Like I said before, it’s just  liberating.  

Strategy Informer:  I’m very excited about _Wasteland 2_. 

 Chris Avellone:  It’s looking very cool. It’s got a lot of cool situations in it, and a lot of great cults! [_laughs_] 

Strategy Informer:  As soon as I saw that gameplay video I thought “this is exactly what I want”. 

Chris Avellone:  It is pretty f***ing cool! They did a really nice job.  

Strategy Informer:  How involved were you with _Wasteland 2_? 

Chris Avellone:   I was one of the early designers involved with the first third of the  project, in terms of getting the areas and the characters set up. A lot  of my role was doing area design. I covered about four areas in total,  although some of those areas could change in extreme ways and it felt  more like designing six areas! But that was really fun since I hadn’t  had chance to do area design since _Knights of the Old Republic II_. I felt _Wasteland 2_ was a good project to do that again, it felt like I was back doing _Fallout 2_ area design, which was absolutely wonderful.  

Strategy Informer:  Why do you feel like the isometric RPG kind of fell out of popularity? 

Chris Avellone:   I’m not sure that it did. I think that at some point people realised  that the controller schemes for consoles don’t lend themselves to  controlling a party of multiple people. They have to either be two  people flanking you or an AI set, but you can’t have a party of six  people all going on an adventure with the controller setups that they  had. I think that was enough of an obstacle to knock the idea of “well,  if we can’t do isometric RPGs on these particular systems then we  shouldn’t do those types of RPGs”. I think things became more consolized  after that. 

Strategy Informer:  It’s a bit sad really. 

Chris Avellone:   Yeah, and I think it was also much harder to sell PC-only products when  it seemed like there was much more money to be made doing console ports  and SKUs. 

Strategy Informer:  On a more positive note, consequently why do you think there has been a resurge in their popularity recently?  

Chris Avellone:   The interesting thing is that there has been a lot of discussion about  isometric RPGs. New ones are being developed but I still think the  percentage of gamers that support those titles isn’t actually a huge  part of the gaming community, they’re just really passionate and they’re  going to show how passionate they are about those games. For example  between _Wasteland 2, Project Eternity_ and _Torment [Tides of Numenera]_  the backers consisted of around eighty thousand people, which to a much  larger publisher those numbers are insignificant, they wouldn’t even  get out of bed for numbers like that. But because the fanbase is so  passionate, they’ll pay much more beyond the core price of a product,  they’re willing to talk about it much more, they’re a stronger and much  more vocal community, and there’s much more information being given  about these games too, so I think all that creates a much higher level  of attention.  

Strategy Informer:  And there’s always going to be an audience who will simply wait for the game to go on sale rather than back it. 

Chris Avellone:  Which is fine too! And I think we’ll probably see the acid test of how well this model’s doing when _Wasteland 2_ goes into distribution, then _Eternity_ then _Torment_.  We’ll get a sense of how many numbers are out there beyond just the  backers, which is important to figure out but we’re just planning on the  backers right now, they’re our target audience.  

Strategy Informer:  Have you thought up a title yet for _Project Eternity_?  

Chris Avellone:  No! I believe that is in Adam [Brennecke] and Josh [Sawyer]’s court, but currently it is just _Project Eternity_. 

Strategy Informer:   Will we ever get to an “original Xbox” type scenario where everyone  knows it so well by the codename you just say “screw it, let’s just call  it that”. 

Chris Avellone:   I don’t know about that! I don’t know if we want to decide on a title  until or after pre-production and we have a good sense of the game, have  written a whole bunch of dialogues, and we’ve got even more fleshed out  with the themes. Sometimes as you’re doing game development the perfect  title will just come to you as you’re scripting out an area or a quest,  or you just start noticing a certain phrase or question that keeps  popping up and you realise “hey, that’s the hook that’s being evolved  here, why don’t we try to turn that into the title?”. I think that it’s  important to have that larger context before we choose the title. Having  the title first, it’s kind of like putting the cart before the horse!  

Strategy Informer:  You’re not alone of course, Double Fine only named their game [_Broken Age_] a month or so ago. 

Chris Avellone:  Yep! 

Strategy Informer:  Did you consider using a 3D top-down perspective like _Wasteland 2_ rather than the isometric style? 

Chris Avellone:   No, we just wanted to create more painterly dungeons, we felt that was  much more the Infinity Engine experience. Also we felt there were  certain freedoms we could do with the art style if we didn’t have to  change the camera angle on the landscape. Of course that’s  counterbalanced by the fact that _Wasteland 2_ is able to move  more freer in the environment with the camera as a result of that, but  we still wanted to create more of an Infinity Engine feel in terms of  the perspective we have, wanting to do more concept art of more playful  and organic environments, that was important to us. 

Strategy Informer:  Is _Torment_ going for the isometric style too? That of course like _Wasteland 2_ is being made by InXile. 

Chris Avellone:  Isometric, definitely.  

Strategy Informer:   For me personally, even though I’m an old-school gamer I never really  got into the Infinity Engine RPGs at the time for numerous reasons, such  as not getting on with the interface or the frankly unforgiving level  of difficulty.  

Chris Avellone:  Yeah, they can be pretty brutal, especially with some of the boss and mage battles that occur in _Baldur’s Gate_. I think one issue that still bothers me about _Planescape: Torment_  was that although it’s a text-heavy game I found that there’s so much  text at the outset it actually makes it harder to get into the game.  Even though it’s giving you an example of what to expect I think the  transition into the game could’ve been a little bit easier.  

Strategy Informer:  You’re done with _Wasteland 2_ now, how are you dividing your time between _Eternity_ and _Torment_? 

Chris Avellone:  _Eternity_ is full-time during core work hours, and then when I get home and at the weekends I deal with review and design documents for _Torment_, as well as talking with Kevin [Saunders] and Colin [McComb] and going back and forth with them. 

Strategy Informer:  Was it flattering to be a Kickstarter stretch goal for _Torment_?  

Chris Avellone:   Yes it was! I was flattered and then I was really happy, because I just  wanted to work on it. Colin sent out this video once he heard that I  was coming aboard and I got excited and into a cycle of enthusiasm.  

Strategy Informer:  Must be double flattering for George Ziets [creative lead on the respected _Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer_ expansion, who was a stretch goal for both _Eternity_ and _Torment_]! 

Chris Avellone:   Yeah, I don’t think he minds! Also I think that George deserves much  more attention than he normally gets, he’s just a quiet, reserved guy  and his writing is excellent. He’s one of the best writers in this  industry, when I read his stuff I don’t have any comments on it and I  walk away from the dialogue that I just read thinking about it, going  “oh that’s interesting”, and George’s dialogue is just awesome. When he  was working on _Mask of the Betrayer_ it was the same sort of  thing, the dialogue was just cool and he had his themes down, he had a  compelling hook for the player, and I was like “George gets it”.  

Strategy Informer:  How free-roaming is the world in _Project Eternity_? Is it like _Baldur’s Gate_ with large box-areas where you go off the side? 

Chris Avellone:  Yeah, it’s going to be set up like that, and then you can hop to locations like you could in _Icewind Dale_, where dungeons and communities would open up. 

Strategy Informer:  How accommodating is the game going to be for those new to isometric RPGs?  

Chris Avellone:   I think pretty good, we’ve been really good about how to stage the  opening areas of the game in our products. The goal of any opening area  in an RPG is not to be punishing it’s to give the player the sense of  “here’s the rules of the world, here’s how the character behaves in it”  and allow the player to get a sense of how the mechanics play out. I  think we did a really good job with the tutorial area in _Fallout: New Vegas_ while still allowing the player the freedom to go through it as quickly as possible. It was much faster to get going in _New Vegas_  than in some of the previous games we’ve done. I think we’ve got that  tutorial and training stuff down, even though we don’t want to throw too  much tutorial types at the player. We want to introduce areas gradually  that I think we have a really good sense for, so I’m not terribly  worried about it.  

Strategy Informer:  I can say I did prefer _Fallout: New Vegas_ to _Fallout 3_, just because companions felt a lot more fleshed out and the world felt more like a real place.  

Chris Avellone:  Yeah I can understand that, because _New Vegas_ ended up having a lot more people, and that set it apart from _Fallout 3_  where I felt like the intention was to create a very wasteland  survival-like feel , and I thought they did that really well. In _New Vegas_  because we had factions and reputation mechanics it was important to  establish all these cultures in the environment, figure out how they  interact with each other and create more community-based areas. Also I  think in a lot of the towns in _Fallout 3_ there were only a few people present in each area but in _New Vegas_  we were able to squeeze a bit more out of the locations. We’d think  “hey, we want this area to feel a bit more lived in” and have more  people walking around to add ambience. 

Strategy Informer:   It was great having the conflict between the New California Republic  and Caesar’s Legion, it’s surprising how few RPGs have a full-on war  going on in the background. 

Chris Avellone:   Yeah, seeing some of the frontlines for that conflict is pretty brutal.  The designers should be really commended for that, they did a really  great job.  

Strategy Informer:  My personal favourite though is _Old World Blues_ [the third DLC for _Fallout: New Vegas_], which I came very close to giving 10/10 to – the only reason I didn’t was because I felt that _Fallout_ fans who don’t like the weird stuff wouldn’t like it. 

Chris Avellone:   I think that’s fair. We had to decide at what point we drew the fourth  wall and I think we came really close to it! Ultimately we just wanted  the level designers to have fun, and we wanted to have fun. We had to  figure out how to re-use a lot of assets and still strike a markedly  different tone from the other DLC which are very serious. We wanted to  break things up, get a new tone for this DLC, and go for that 1950s  science feel. Then we just had a blast with it! I’d read this series  called _Transmetropolitan_ many years ago by Warren Ellis, he had  this whole thing with an apartment filled with talking appliances and I  was like “hey wouldn’t it be cool to have a place like that?” and so I  asked one of our designers Travis Stout (who I think is working on _Assassin’s Creed_ now) about that he was like “don’t you worry about that” and he went crazy with it.  

Strategy Informer:  Yeah, like the lightswitch that flirted with you!  

Chris Avellone:  He did a really good job on that! 

Strategy Informer:  Okay, final question: would you go with Kickstarter again? 

Chris Avellone:  Yes! 

Strategy Informer:  [_laughs_] So it was a good experience then?  

Chris Avellone:   Yes, absolutely. It was morale-boosting, it’s been very energetic for  the whole team being able to share ideas, it ends up being more  efficient in the long run, and delivers a better game.  

Strategy Informer:  Okay, we’ll stop it there as I am late for my train. [_I really was, you know_] Thanks for talking with me! 

Chris Avellone:  No problem! 

*Our  chat concluded, the wayward adventurers parted company in search of  nourishment, transport, and the promise of more RPG goodness to come.  While there will always be big-budget 3D RPGs coming to PC and consoles  (usually with a ‘3’ in title if the next year’s anything to go by) the  classic party-and-story-driven RPG lives on with PCs alone. Chris  Avellone will work on them, and I will play them. Will you join us?  Thanks again to Chris for the chat and for all the guys at Rezzed for  setting up such a swell shindig. See you in the Dyrwood.

Quelle: Project Eternity: Interview -- Strategy Informer
*


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## LordCrash (26. Juni 2013)

Chris Avellone's Präsentation zu Project Eternity auf der Rezzed 2013 in England letztes Wochenende:





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## LordCrash (26. Juni 2013)

*Kreaturen: Animat*

Animats werden von den Seelen uralter Krieger belebt, die extrahiert,  gereinigt und in den Panzer gebunden wurden. Kupfer ist ein  außergewöhnlich starker Binder, weshalb Bronze für den Animat genutzt  wird. Kupfer findet man auch häufig in der Architektur der Engwythan  (die antiken Bewohnern von Eir Glanfath) und in magischen Objekten,  einschließlich "Strangstahl", eine fantastische Legierung, die durch  finstere Seelenmagie hergestellt wird




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Konzeptionsprozess für eine Kreatur in Project Eternity , den bronze-gepanzerten Animat




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Farbkonzept und Wiederauferstehungssequenz des Animats


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## LordCrash (26. Juni 2013)

*Paladins in Project Eternity*

Today, we'd like to talk to you about one of our more  recently-implemented classes in Project Eternity: the paladin.  The  paladin has been a staple of fantasy RPGs for decades and it was one of  our most quickly-funded stretch goals during the Kickstarter campaign.   As one of several melee-oriented classes on our roster, paladins  presented some unique challenges for us and we'd like to share their  development process with you.

Paladins have a strong tradition  in FRPGs.  While the class represents different things to different  players, it often conjures images of legendary European figures like the  Twelve Peers of Charlemagne, El Cid, and the Knights of the Round  Table.  Players who like playing paladins often think of them as  devoted, principled, brave, and unrelenting.  They stand out because of  their single-mindedness and unwavering dedication to their cause.

In  Project Eternity, we wanted paladins to maintain their sense of  selfless passion and zeal without being bound to concepts like  "alignment" or a universal moral code.  We also wanted their mechanics  to be distinctive from the other classes while reinforcing their role in  the world.  Area designer Bobby Null has always liked the marshal class  from D&D 3.5, which is conceptually similar to the warlord in 4E:  combat leaders who are at their best when they are augmenting their  teammates.  This is the approach that I took when developing Project  Eternity's paladins.  They have persistent modal auras, strong  single-target healing and buff abilities (contrasting the broad AoE  effects of clerics), and can passively grant bonuses to teammates in  close proximity.

In the game's lore, paladins are zealous  champions of a cause that may be religious, philosophical, or cultural  in nature.  The "foundational" paladins in this part of the world were  the legendary elite guards of Darcozzi Palace in the Grand Empire of  Vailia (now Old Vailia).  They set standards for selfless dedication,  unwavering loyalty, and inspiring leadership that have become the  pillars for similar orders that have sprung up in the two millennia  since they were founded.  Even among orders where the chosen cause is  perceived as bleak or malevolent, paladins always place the cause ahead  of their own personal interests.

In Defiance Bay, recent  experiments performed by animancers and ciphers suggest that paladins'  souls are continuously "burning" wellsprings of spiritual energy that  are overflowing their physical vessels due to the paladins' fanaticism.   When ciphers have tried to directly perceive paladins' souls, they have  described the experience as uncomfortable or painful, not unlike gazing  at the sun.

All paladins currently begin with the following abilities:


 *Reviving Exhortation* (Active) - Paladins can command an  unconscious ally to awaken and get back up with an immediate spike in  Stamina, though the target will lose half of the regained Stamina after a  short duration.
 *Zealous Barrage* (Modal) - The paladin and all allies standing  within 3m have their attack and ability speed increased.  Cannot be used  with Zealous March (below).
 *Faith and Conviction* - Paladins have an inherent bonus to all defenses (Deflection, Fortitude, Reflexes, and Psyche).
As they advance, they gain additional abilities in the same spirit, such as:


 *Coordinated Attacks* - The ally closest to the paladin attacking the same target as the paladin has a bonus to Accuracy.
 *Shake It Off*  (Active) - The paladin can command an ally to temporarily ignore  existing Hostile effects for a short duration.  The effects are  suspended; they do not lose any of their duration and will resume as  soon as Shake It Off expires.
 *Inspiring Triumph* - Allies within 4m gain a temporary bonus to all defenses when the paladin downs an enemy.
 *Zealous March* (Modal) - The paladin and all allies within 3m have their movement speed increased.  Cannot be used with Zealous Barrage.
In playtesting so far, our test paladin has been very useful in combat,  with the melee group often centering around her to gain the benefits of  her _Zealous_ auras and _Coordinated Attacks_.  While several other classes have Stamina healing abilities, the paladin's _Reviving Exhortation_  can turn the tide if party members start dropping late in a battle.   However, using it too early can spell disaster for the revived character  if the granted Stamina boost runs out in a long fight.

Optional Talents for the paladin will focus on shaping the passive or active bias of the character: widening the effects of _Zealous_  auras; granting additional uses or increased potency for targeted  commands; or giving paladins more direct offensive and defensive  capabilities if players want to boost their paladins' personal  viability.



Persönliche Anmerkung: Paladins for the win!  http://www.dailymotion.com/video/k7CroGGmkGmQIN3qPmb&start=4


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## Rabowke (26. Juni 2013)

Hey Lord, danke für deinen Betrag ... allerdings hatte ich insgeheim gehofft, dass du mit Torment anfängst!  

Allerdings liest sich die Zusammenfassung für Project Eterniy auch sehr interessant!


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## LordCrash (26. Juni 2013)

Rabowke schrieb:


> Hey Lord, danke für deinen Betrag ... allerdings hatte ich insgeheim gehofft, dass du mit Torment anfängst!
> 
> Allerdings liest sich die Zusammenfassung für Project Eterniy auch sehr interessant!


 
Alles zu seiner Zeit...


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## LordCrash (27. Juni 2013)

Leaked Project Eternity screenshots give more glimpses into Obsidian’s new universe | Gallery | PC Gamer




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## OldShatterhand (27. Juni 2013)

Gibts das alles auch auf deutsch irgendwo?


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## LordCrash (27. Juni 2013)

LouisLoiselle schrieb:


> Gibts das alles auch auf deutsch irgendwo?


 
Nein, in der Regel nicht (nur wenn ich es übersetze oder es von einer Redaktion übersetzt wurde.....)


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## Rabowke (27. Juni 2013)

Das bissle Englisch ... 

Aber davon ab, wird es eine Lokalisierung von Eternity zeitnah zum Release geben? Wurde hier ggf. schon was offizielles gesagt? Gibts ggf. Pläne bei einem finanziellen Erfolg das Spiel in andere Sprachen zu übersetzen? 

Das ist für mich so ein wenig der Nachteil von Kickstarter, es gibt sehr wenig deutsche Übersetzer und ohne Publisher im Hintergrund sind mehrsprachige Spiele echt selten!


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## Rabowke (27. Juni 2013)

Bild vom Interface:
http://media.obsidian.net/eternity/media/updates/0054/pe-hud-wip.1280.jpg

kleines .gif aus der obigen Szene, allerdings ohne HUD:



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Sieht gut aus ... 

Interview




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## LordCrash (27. Juni 2013)

Das ist die erste bewegte Szene aus Project Eternity (gleiche Szene wie in Rabowkes gif Bild), beginnt ab 1:50





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@Rabowke

Ja, es wird eine lokalisierte deutsche Version von Project Eternity geben. Das war das Stretch-Goal bei 2.2 Millionen Dollar. 




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## SchwarmPrinz (27. Juni 2013)

Freue mich schon wie verrückt darauf... ich habe nix gegen ein gepflegtes Rollenspiel im Stile von Skyrim oder Mass Effect, aber Project Eternity bringt vieles wieder, was ich früher an einem Rollenspiel geschätzt habe und heute hoffentlich immer noch tue.


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## LordCrash (24. Juli 2013)

* Camaraderie *

*Update by Chris Avellone*




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This week? Companions. I have been designing companions.

  I lucked out, because I got to do companion design work for BOTH  Eternity and Torment, so two birds, one stone. Or three companions, one  lodestone? I don’t know.  


*Eternal Companion Facts*

 Some facts from our Eternity design documents that I wanted to say up  front before going any further: thanks to backer support, Eternity  supports 8, yes 8, pre-made companions and 8 hired adventurers (16  total). You can have up to 5 in the party at any point in time (the  6th/1st role is your player character, who, well, sort of has to be  there, you know, because it’s your game). It’s a lot of writing.

  We want to allow you to encounter all companions before the mid-point  of the story. One issue we’ve found with introducing companions too  late is that it doesn’t give players enough time to bond with them,  and/or the player may have already formed a strong attachment to their  other allies so much so there’s no physical or emotional room for more  party members in their lives. 

  Each companion also has their own mini-arc and quest woven into the game  as well, so be prepared - they have agendas of their own. You know,  like real people. 

  Lastly in the fact train, we don’t force you to take anyone in your  party. If you want them, take them. If you want to go to the  Adventurer’s Hall and make your own, do it. Go solo. We don’t own you.  We’re not trying to control you. Play how you want. 


*Narrative Update...*

 So a narrative update related to companions... Eric Fenstermaker (designer, _Fallout: New Vegas_, also responsible for Boone and Veronica and worked on _NWN2: Mask of the Betrayer_  and... and... oh, just Google him) has been hard at work on the  narrative, and it’s reached the point with the arc and themes that now  seemed like a good time to introduce the companion supporting pillars to  the process to take the story higher (...not necessarily in a “Can you  Take Me Higher” Creed sort of way, since it’s not really a question,  it’s more like, “yes, we will take you higher.”)

  Over the past few months, I’ve been scrutinizing the systems and  story documents for Eternity (and Torment), the themes, and also  checking out the other companion briefs from the other designers. Aside  from the companion designs I wrote, feedback has been wildly traded in  the interests of making companions even better than their core concepts.  It was my goal to read EVERYTHING about the narrative I could, even  brainstorming - and in Torment’s case, novellas as well. Now it was time  to work on the structure of the individual companions.


*...and now on to Companion Design*

  We discussed companion design (Project: Eternity and Characterization - Obsidian Forum Community)  way back at the start of Eternity, so some points in this update will  callback to this. There shouldn’t be a need for a refresher read unless  you want to. The process for Eternity (and Torment) has followed these  bulletpoints, and we’re holding true to our goals as well as expanding  the design methodology as we go ahead.

   The first and best place to start with companion design is the game  systems. For companions, this means considering race, class, and their  role in the conflict mechanics of the game. Knowing what class of  character you’re making is key to building their history and  personality. For example, in the case of Gann in NX1: Mask of the  Betrayer, knowing his class before writing was a big help, and I can use  that class’s list of abilities, class focus, and the abilities the  class specializes in and weave it in with the backstory. The Eternity  designers have been good about indicating the spread of classes and  races for the companions and rationing those out during the process. 

  For Eternity, since combat is the primary challenge mechanic, one major  goal is to make sure the companion is combat effective. Why would you  take them in your party? How are they useful? In other instances of  conflict mechanics (for example, dialogue or Tide reactivity in  Torment), we also examine how the character is useful in terms of these  challenges as well.   


*A Note About Challenge Mechanics*

 Really quick, I want to clarify what I meant about “challenge  mechanics.” That doesn’t always mean combat – it’s whatever the primary  challenge in the game is. If we were doing a Thief-style RPG, then  stealth and avoiding detection becomes the primary challenge mechanic,  not combat. Depending on the RPG and its range of challenges, a  character can still be fairly weak in combat, but if that’s the case, we  try to think of how they’re helpful with regards to the game’s other  challenges (giving an edge in dialogue, healing, fast travel).    For all the characters I’ve seen or designed for games that don’t cater  to at least one of the game’s primary challenge mechanics, those guys  are often unpopular or unused because they’re not helping out with the  systematic gameplay, regardless of how cool they might seem. And the  more actively these characters can participate in the mechanics (vs.  passive), the stronger their appeal. 

  Also at the same time, I try to be careful that the companion's skill  set doesn’t overlap with the challenge roles of the other characters. We  try to indicate in the companion briefs how each companion's challenge  role is intended – one thing I learned as a pen-and-paper Gamemaster is  you want to be careful about two players sharing the same role (Tank,  Mage, Priest, etc.) – if one is clearly stronger than another, then the  second one needs something else to make them stand out and be “special”  in the party and fulfill an equally cool role in the party dynamic,  otherwise one ends up getting upstaged by the other. And feelings get  hurt. Which isn’t something you want in a game designed to entertain. 




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  For Eternity, we’re setting it up so even if players choose the same  classes as some companions, the companions are designed to assist those  character types and make them more special (ciphers, for example, can  chain, and even priests with the same religion can discuss theology and  combo attacks). 

  In addition, we wanted to be careful about personality overlaps as well.  I wanted to make sure any companion design didn't overlap with ideas or  “concepts" of the other characters (or across projects – so for  example, while I’m doing a Glaive for Torment, I’m not doing any  fighters for Eternity) ...and that extends to personalities as well. As  an example, I told Colin for Torment it might be a good idea if I didn't  do a female rogue with a ruthless hidden agenda who can shape-shift  according to your personality and have her/it be redundant with the Toy  or the Cold, Calculating Jack in Torment. 

  So knowing the general class-focus, role, and personality for each, as  well as ones that would be useful, we try to include in the character  briefs and get that info to people as quickly as possible so everyone  can get a sense for what direction to take their characters.  
  As for me, after much begging for the class itself and begging for the  specific companion, I asked for the cipher. The cipher is near and dear  to my heart, it felt like the first brand new class we were introducing  that was tied into the soul mechanics of the Eternity world, and the  freedom to explore it is a great opportunity. 


*Character Freedom*

 Both the Eternity and Torment leads have been strong advocates about  letting designers channel their characters. If you are excited about an  idea, they are willing to work with you to help realize that idea and  help it fit into the world, without giving barriers to entry. In my  opinion, the best GMs do this – rather than give you character sheets,  they help you make a character you care about. In essence, companion  design is a designer’s chance to design their very own player character  that fits in with the world and the theme.  

 On Eternity, Eric has a strong theme for the story already. While not  the original theme, Josh was accommodating and we all recognized that if  another theme came to the forefront naturally through the writing  process, it’s fine to alter it to make a stronger design. Having this  theme clearly identified and supported in the narrative is good, but  we’re taking care to make sure the companions can provide direct  examples of the theme at work (or present counters or alternate  viewpoints to it) - and the more, the better. 




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The companions cover a good range of culture and religion and factions  in the game, which we hope to showcase more of in the future... the  machinations of the world and the politics are prominent in the story  (along with the magic system), and the characters showcase these  elements very well.


*Companion Iteration*

 There’s still plenty of work to do – like all design, iteration is key,  and we have been doing passes of the characters to make them stronger.  While the companions exist as individual entities, we also feel it’s  important to do a pass of the companions to show how they relate to each  other, which we feel is an important part of making the game Infinity  Engine-esque, and it was a big part of the dynamics in Baldur’s Gate and  Torment – describing how companions relate, fight, argue, or even act  as sounding boards for both your character and each other’s viewpoints  is an important part of creating a living world – and your party is very  much the living world that follows you around. 




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  The work doesn’t stop there. A pass of the companions asking “why the  players should care” is also something we like to make sure we have an  answer to for each companion. While the answer of “good fighter” is an  answer (and one that’s worked well for a number of companions in the  past), we prefer to add more layers showcasing how they’re specifically  adding to the player experience. 




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*
Companion Nuts and Bolts*

  There are other finishing touches we like to add.

   The companions have unique signature items (very Torment and Baldur’s  Gate) in addition to their personalities and strong visual signatures  as well. One comment we’ve always tried to include in these visual hooks  is that because of the camera angles in the game, we want to make sure  these visual hooks are easy for the players to see in the environment as  well. 




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  Also we’re doing what we can to get the area designers involved with not  just the story, but companions as well. A good chunk of the game is  dungeon exploration, and we felt that what the designers had done in  NX1: Mask of the Betrayer in making sure that each companion had a  significant interaction in a specific area was important for the story –  and having areas that revolved around companions as well gave them and  the dungeon design more strength. Right now, the companions already have  strong internal conflicts (and religious and faction, if not  inter-party), now tying those more to NPCs and dungeon explorations is  one of our next targets. 

  With the companion design, we also tried to include narrative samples of  analogies to that character that we’ve seen in other media or fiction  that we feel help capture the character’s essence. Also, as we’re  designing the characters, we include sample lines of dialogue when we  can as another layer in the process so audio and other designers can get  a sense of how the character sounds (both spoken and text-wise). 

  That’s all I can share about companions for the moment, and we’re  looking forward to elaborating further as the game progresses.  

  If you have any thoughts or ideas on companion design, specific or  general, feel free to post in our forums, we look forward to hearing  from you! 


Quelle: Project Eternity by Obsidian Entertainment


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## LordCrash (24. Juli 2013)

Leider war es mir nicht vergönnt, mehr als fünf Bilder in den Post einzufügen..... Ich wäre glücklich, falls ein Moderator das sechste Bild auch noch so einfügen könnte, dass es direkt im Forum zu sehen ist.....


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## LordCrash (5. August 2013)

*Project Eternity Social Round-up                            *

Posted by  WorstUsernameEver at 1:54 am on 08.5.2013        

Given our latest round-up was published more than a month ago, and that last week there was no _Project Eternity_ Kickstarter update, we thought it opportune to do a new one to fill our reader's wait with something to read.

Project director J.E. Sawyer answers some minor questions on lore on Formspring:Are wild orlans' hairstyles cultural* or is that just how it grows? *

That's  just how it grows naturally on them. Similarly, the elven ethnic group  commonly found around the Dyrwood can't grow facial hair, but the  ethnicity from the southern polar region has no trouble doing so. 

...

*Are the elves of PE  going to be throwing anything surprising our way, like a very alien  culture or visual aesthetic? They seem to be that most vanilla of the PE  races so far, including humans.*

The main elven  ethnicity is designed to be very traditional, with the "pale elves"  (Glamfellen) from the polar region having a more unusual appearance and a  very different culture. 

*Are Glamfellen a playable race? *

We are planning for them to be playable, yes. 

...

*Are the relationships between the Emperor of the Dyrwood and the Elven Concubine arranged/political or lustful ?*

It's  the human Aedyr emperor (technically the ferscönyng/first king) and the  elven Kulkin queen (mecwyn, short for héamecwyn/illustrious queen).  It's entirely political, but as with many political unions, that doesn't  preclude affection, attraction, or anything that follows. Both the  ferscönyng and mecwyn have same-race spouses and offspring; their  "union" represents the ongoing alliance between the nations. 

  Haemnegs in ordinary Aedyran society are "supposed" to be for purely  practical/political/financial reasons as well but they are often driven  by emotions and desire. Haemnegs cannot be performed unless both parties  are already married. If someone who is in a haemneg becomes a widow or  widower, they are often pressured to re-marry (a "real" marriage) unless  they are past typical parenting ages.

...

*Im constantly surprised by how well developed PE's lore, history and mythology is already.  Have you worked out all of the stuff from scratch since the project  started or does it go back further than the actual kickstarter?*

I'm glad you like it. None of it is earlier than the Kickstarter campaign. 

...

*On the new world map revealed at Rezzed,  is the area marked Vailian Republics the republics proper, or is it  just their colony in the Glanfathan region? And do all the major areas  of the map appear in the game?*

The Vailian Republics  were originally colonies of the now-defunct Grand Empire of Vailia, just  as Dyrwood and Readceras were once colonies of the Aedyr Empire. When  the Grand Empire of Vailia (now called Old Vailia) started to collapse,  the Vailian colonies conspired to establish financial and military  resources that were separate from the empire's. When it was impossible  for the Grand Empire to do anything about it, the colonies declared  their independence. Though there were limited loyalist uprisings within  the republics, there was nothing widespread and there was no formal  military campaign from the empire against them. 

 The map doesn't really focus on the playable areas of the game, which will be in the Dyrwood and Eír Glanfath.

...

*What kind of government does the Free Palatinate of Dyrwood have? Are they a monarchy, republic or something else, because it was mentioned that they weren't a duchy anymore.*

It's  an elective monarchy. The ruler of the area was a gréf of the Aedyr  Empire appointed by the fercönyng (emperor). During the rebellion, the  gréf followed the example of the Vailian Republics and declared himself  the duc of the "free" palatinate. After his ***** during the closing of  the revolution, the remaining erls of the Dyrwood elected his son to be  the next duc. 

 Not all ducs of the Dyrwood have been from the  Hadret family (and not all have been male), but they are all elected by  the seven erls. The erls themselves hold hereditary positions.  

...

*Can you describe the main societies in the Project Eternity setting, socio-politically?  Are they feudal? Absolute monarchies? Etc. What do the commonfolk do  for a living? Is there civic awareness and broad nationalism, or are  most people tribal/clannish?*

The Aedyr Empire is a  hereditary monarchy. The Dyrwood is an elective monarchy. Readceras was a  theocratic dictatorship and is now an ecclesiastic dictatorship. The  Vailian Republics are a confederation of sovereign republics with ducs  who are elected by powerful (usually wealthy) city councils called the  consuagli asegia ("councils of the siege"). Eír Glanfath is a  confederation of tribes, each run by an anamfath ("soul prince") and  advised by a council of raoithe ("wise ones"). 

 Most common folk  live in rural areas and survive through subsistence agriculture and  related activities (e.g. wool production). Dyrwoodans have a strong  sense of nationalism due to the revolution but highly value personal  independence. Glanfathans have an extremely strong sense of community  between their tribes and think of the entire forest of Eír Glanfath as  being their responsibility to protect.

*What do you mean by "subsistence agriculture"? Yeomen? Tenant farmers? Serfs working on large feudal plantations? *

 It varies from territory to territory and erl to erl, but most people  are tenant farmers. Erls still nominally hold most lands for the duc,  but yeomen exist in significant numbers. 

...

*Since there are no half races are interracial children born to the mother's race? like in TES.*

Sexual pairings by different races (in the PE sense, e.g. elves and humans, orlans and elves) never result in conception. 

...

*What's the deal with dwarves in the Dyrwood? Were the dwarves at Durgan's Battery immigrants from Aedyr/Vailia or are there native dwarves in the area?*

The  dwarves at Durgan's Battery (and several of the other ruined places  around White March) were colonists from the Grand Empire of Vailia but  were not founding colonies *for* the empire. Dwarves have a cultural  predilection (some go so far as to say it's an instinct) to explore.  They've actually been some of the earliest colonists in many parts of  their world, though their colonies don't have a particularly good rate  of survival. 

...

*So, in Project: Eternity, the Vailian Republics seem to be rather morally grey,  what with the slave trade and impressment. But does the Aedyr Empire  and its former colony, Dyrwood, have flaws as well? They seem pretty  utopian from all the info so far.*

The Aedyr Empire  continues to allow slavery in most areas, practices serfdom, and  believes in/enforces a divine right monarchy (through Woedica). They're  also pretty closed-minded about animancy, ciphers, and a lot of the new  breakthroughs in understanding mortal souls that have been discovered in  the Dyrwood and Vailian Republics. Some Aedyre nobles also believe that  they have a divine right to portions/all of Eír Glanfath. 

 The  Dyrwood allowed slavery (at least slave purchasing) until relatively  recently and, despite currently having a treaty with the Glanfathans,  did fight two wars with them previously over destruction/theft of  Engwythan artifacts that the Glanfathans swore to protect. Though the  palatinate was taking a lot of intrusive actions on behalf of the empire  and arguably many of the people involved didn't want to participate  (one of the major causes of rebellion), plenty of Dyrwoodans had no  problem with it and, even generations later, still have racist attitudes  towards Glanfathans (especially orlan Glanfathans). Dyrwoodans also  applaud vigilantism and rebellion as a culture, often to their  detriment. 

 And though slavery is no longer legal in the  Dyrwood, many Glanfathan orlans and a few elves still work/serve in a  state that is little better than slavery. Because Dyrwoodans sneer at  appeals to authority, locals who dislike the state of affairs often feel  that they have to take care of it themselves or do nothing at all  (usually the latter).​Some more lore, from the official  forums, also courtesy of J.E. Sawyer. This time, it's all about conlangs  (constructed languages):For PE, I am developing a number of constructed languages (conlangs)  to a limited extent to help establish the flavor of the world and the  distinct cultures within it.  With each conlang, there is (or are) a  number of real-world languages used as a starting point.  Eld Aedyran is  based on Old English with elements of Danish and Icelandic.  Vailian is  based on a mixture of Italian, French, and Occitan.  The ancient  Engwythan language (used by the previous residents of Eír Glanfath) is  based on Cornish.  Glanfathan (used by the current Glanfathan tribes) is  based on Old Irish and contemporary Irish.  

 The orthography of  most of these languages is relatively straightforward.  A  moderately-informed reader will likely mentally read the words and names  with 80% accuracy, pronunciation-wise.  Players may read the Eld  Aedyran name Durnisc as "DUR-nisk" instead of "DUR-nish", but most of  the time, they're going to be in the ballpark.  If players read about  the Vailian consuagli asegia (siege councils), they may not get the  stress "right" or hit every consonant cluster correctly in their heads,  but they probably won't stumble over the words.  

 The exception  to this is Glanfathan, based on Irish.  The foundations of Irish  orthography in the Latin alphabet go back over a millennium and had to  adapt to using Latin orthography for sounds that probably didn't exist  in Latin, like /v/.  Irish orthography also uses a set of rules for  consonant pronunciation that are based on the surrounding vowels  (slender or broad).  Irish cased grammar can also mutate words in a way  that forces the insertion of additional vowels to maintain their  "slender to slender, broad to broad" vowel rules, which means the  consonants in between can wind up changing pronunciation as well.  

 The result is Irish's distinctive "boatload of letters" appearance and  unintuitive (to most English-speakers) pronunciation.  In contrast,  Cornish (another Celtic, but not Goedelic, language) did not develop  standard Latin orthography for many more centuries.  Its pronunciation  is much more intuitive to the uninitiated.  Despite the fact that  Cornish exists in a different branch of the Celtic language tree, it  shares some etymological roots with Irish, but the pronunciation is  almost always more intuitive.  However, written Cornish is much less  distinctive from written Irish.  

 When you see something written  in Irish, there's little doubt what language you're looking at, but the  pronunciation will quite often not be "right" in your head.  As it  applies to the languages, names, etc. in Project Eternity, how much do  you care about the intuitive pronunciation of our conlangs?  

  E.g. in the various Icewind Dale/Dark Elf books, Drizzt's panther is  named Guenhwyvar.  Most people don't know that the Welsh pronunciation  of that name is close to "Guinevere".  Does that matter?  If you see a  name like Dair Bhriste, how important is it to you that the way you  pronounce it in your head is the way it is "supposed" to be pronounced? 

...

I have been trying to keep things in the realm of the comprehensible/not ridiculous,  e.g. Cean Gúla is inspired by the banshee or, in Irish, Bean Sí (woman  of the Sidhe).  In Irish "woman of blood" would be Bean Fuil (the  genitive of "fola", blood).  No matter how we set up pronunciation  expectations, 90% of readers will read "bean" as what they eat in a  burrito, so I just shifted the initial letter for woman over to "Cean"  and made the Glanfathan genitive "of blood" the creepier-looking "Gúla"  which isn't too wacky, all things considered.

...

fair enough, but on a larger scale, isn't that a battle that you can't really win?*  you make something sound right for english readers => now the french  (or whoever else) start to read funny things because now it has some  meaning in their language *

*     of course, i'm aware you are making this game for english speakers primarly, so it's not a big deal i guess*

True.   Vailian probably runs the biggest risk of this, especially since it's a  cased language (most contemporary Romance languages are not).  I  already had a native Italian speaker call me out on the Darcozzi  Paladini (an ancient order of palace guards from the Grand Empire of  Vailia).  "Hey buddy, who named that, some backwater farmer?!"  

...

Oh, and as in the Italian example*,  it certainly is a good idea to have a native speaker / reader of the  base languages have a look at the outcome to avoid silly sounding words  or such with unintended meaning  *

 In the case of the  Darcozzi Paladini, that would never make sense in any of the source  romance languages because it's exhibiting characteristics of a cased  language.  Vailian, unlike Italian, French, or Occitan, is cased.  If we  used prepositions and articles to represent those relationships  (especially to the extent that Italian does), it actually comes across  as too Earth-like, IMO.  Consuagli asegia seems "Romance-y", but  consiglio dell'assedio looks unmistakably Italian.

*So did it occur to you to change these propositions and articles to fictional ones? *

It  did, but most Romance articles and prepositions tend to be short (and  often abbreviated/contracted as in consiglio dell'assedio), so don't  know if they would wind up actually feeling that much different if I  switched a few consonants and vowels around.  Vailian is the only  language we have that's based on widespread Earth languages, so I  thought it was more important to more significantly shift it away from  their Earth counterparts.  

 Changing the articles and  prepositions to fictional ones doesn't really solve the "problem" of  fictional grammar because neither approach is attempting to actually be  correct Italian/French/Occitan, just to have the flavor of those  languages.  Consiglio frezz'assedio is arguably as "wrong" as Darcozzi  Paladini.   

...

*I'd just like to say that it would be very interesting  if there were established variations in pronunciation between cultures.  You know, like the English "MISS-eyel" versus the American "MISS-uhl."*

There  is a bit of this already.  The "Bael" in Bael River is pronounced  differently by Dyrwoodans and Glanfathans -- "bæl" vs. "BAY-ul".  It's  most common when one culture appropriates the term of another (in this  case, "Bael" is the Glanfathan name). 

...

*Okay, here's my problem with this:  How much sense does it make for each conlang within the world of  Eternity to have its own orthography conventions? Different real-world  languages use different spellings for the same phonemes because of sound  change and having adopted the latin alphabet at different points in  their development. I assume that, in-world, the latin alphabet doesn't  actually exist and the latin orthographies we see are a transcription of  the native writing systems for the benefit of the reader. But a good  transcription system is as historically-agnostic as possible to reflect  current pronunciations. *

It doesn't make sense, but  we're viewing everything with Latin orthography and we're going to hear  very little of it actually pronounced, so the "cultural feels" of it  (IMO) have to come through orthography rather than pronunciation.  If I  were to write everything with English orthography (still problematic in  many ways due to huge inconsistencies), there would likely be little  apparent inspiration for the language/culture.  In the original example I  gave, Cornish is much more intuitive to read and pronounce than Irish,  but is much less obviously Celtic in origin/flavor.

   In  something like the Game of Thrones TV show, the pronounced sound of  Dothraki and High Valyrian are much more important than the orthography  because we're hearing everything rather than reading it.  

...

At the extreme end of the spectrum,  ideally I could write everything in IPA and every player (also  well-versed in IPA) would read the words perfectly without the need for  anachronistic orthographies.  Since our game will be primarily read  instead of listened to, I'm currently leaning toward using anachronistic  orthographies to convey the feeling of the inspirational source  languages.  That's not necessarily "the right" way to do things, which  is why I started this thread.

...

*1. How much are you focusing on making the history of the languages  apparent in their design? e.g. semantic shift from cognates and  re-borrowings? Will the ancient sources of languages we come across (say  in ruins) be obviously different (yet related) to their modern  counterparts?

  2. Are there going to be any conlangs based on  languages outside of the indo-european family? (I'd particularly expect  this for the Orlans and the Dwarves, given their fluff thus far.) *

1.  Not tremendously, but a little.  Due to the number of cultures and  languages, I'm not going to delve deep into each language.  Engwythan  and Glanfathan are from the same part of the world and are loosely  related (as Cornish and Irish are).  Eld Aedyran and Hylspeak (similar  to Scots) are essentially older versions of the "common" contemporary  Aedyran which is, for all practical purposes, English.  Vailian doesn't  have any branched or ancestral languages represented in the game, but  Dyrwoodans have appropriated some of their words (e.g. "duc").  

 2. The languages spoken in Ixamitl, Naasitaq (boreal dwarf-dominated),  and Rauatai (northern aumaua-dominated) are all non-Indo-Euro in  inspiration.  They will be developed with less depth because they aren't  as commonly spoken in this part of the world and frankly, I'm much more  familiar with Indo-Euro languages. 

...

To be clear,  our conlangs won't dramatically veer away from their inspiration  languages, but sometimes deviating from the source can actually avoid  some stumbling blocks/issues (e.g. "bean" as the Irish word for woman). 

...

*I like the attention to detail.  I trust, since this will be read, that spelling among the different  areas inhabitants will be the same? For example, I cant say I would have  noticed that "bæl" vs. "BAY-ul" are both describing Bael River. *

Yeah.   You probably wouldn't notice that unless you heard a Dyrwoodan (or  Aedyran) pronounce it and then a Glanfathan pronounce it.  Individual  personal names may be spelled differently, especially among Dyrwoodans,  who may borrow the sound of Glanfathan names transcribed into their own  orthography -- or vice-versa.  This is very common in Earth languages.

   Durnisc used for a Glanfathan name may be spelled Dúirnis, with the  "i' after "ú" being a silent glide vowel added to satisfy the "slender  to slender, broad to broad" vowel rule and to maintain the "r" and "sh"  sounds from the source name.​Some additional lore snippets, also from the forums, also from J.E. Sawyer:Paladins and monks are not tied to the foundation orders.

...

The dominant human ethnicity among Vailians is Calbandra (Ocean Folk).    They are originally from the "warm ring" (equator) but migrated  thousands of years ago.  Old Vailia is actually even farther south than  the Vailian Republics.  The Dyrwood is warm compared to Old Valia and  cool compared to Aedyr.

...

Enchantments take a number of different forms,  but steel is by far the most common metal used for making armor and  weapons.  Skein steel doesn't actually bind the soul to the metal, but  uses copper as a temporary element of the forging process to slowly draw  a burning soul over the weapon.  By the time the process is complete,  there's very little copper left in the weapon, but there are trace  amounts that can reveal the macabre process used to create it.

...

*I like the look of the animats.  Is it me, or is Eternity going to play around with the FORGOTTEN  ADVANCED CIVILIZATION trope as well? The inclusion of copper armour and  designs that look and feel dated is a pretty awesome turn away from the  usual LOOK AT HOW ADVANCED THESE ELVES WERE approach most fantasy games  have. *

Yeah, the Engwythans were good at three things:  soul manipulation, mathematics, and growing big crazy structures.  Their  metallurgy was generally garbage and they weren't particularly advanced  in any other fields.  Glanfathans have surpassed them in mathematical  discoveries and astronomy.  The other "big" cultures have also  discovered an enormous amount of knowledge about souls that the  Engwythans never did -- though there are still aspects of Engwythan  technology that contemporary animancers don't fully understand.  

 As a side note, while Glanfathans are dominantly elves and orlans,  Engwythans apparently had a strong representation of every race in their  society. 

...

*Do the Glanfathan elves not have the same prejudices against wild orlans as the other main civilizations? Also, are aumaua a majority or sizable minority of any main civilization, and if so how advanced is it? *

Glanfathan  elves have none of the biases against orlans that other cultures do.  Orlans are well-regarded in Glanfathan tribes.  Aumaua are a minority in  all of the "core" nations/cultures around the Dyrwood.  The  aumaua-dominated cultures to the (far) north and (slightly closer) south  are about as technologically-advanced as the Aedyr Empire.  I.e.,  generally pretty advanced but exceeded in some ways by the Vailians  (generally the tech "leaders").​Some talk about attributes, courtesy of Formspring (with a side discussion on _Project Eternity_'s ruleset inspirations):*The main issue I have with the attribute system in P:E  (I admit we don't know much about it) is that it limits a player's  ability to "role-play" a certain type of character (i.e the dumb brute).  Any plans on expanding RP opportunities outside of LARPing*

It  doesn't at all -- conceptually or the specific example you gave. You  can very easily make a dumb brute fighter character in PE and role-play  him or her as such. You can also make a brilliant weakling fighter  character and role-play him or her as such. The difference between doing  this in PE and, for example, D&D, is that in PE this is a fully  viable character concept who emphasizes different elements in combat.

  I have to say I think it's an odd complaint considering that to even  arguably have ability score-based role-playing opportunities against  type with A/D&D, you are required to build a character that is bad  at his or her class. It's better in later editions of D&D because  they put more effort into providing some universal values for ability  scores, but there are still fundamentally horrible builds. A decent  number of feats allow for viable Int-based fighters (for example), but a  Cha-based fighter is flat-out bad at being a fighter.

  You can  find ways to work around it, but they're almost all splat book-based  prestige classes and feats that try to put a band-aid over the  fundamental problem, which is an imbalance of class-specific and  universal benefits provided by the ability score array. 

*Thank  for your response. I’m actually not concerned about the combat  implications of your attribute system (no dump stats? Great!), but  rather what the proposed implementation implies for PE as an RPG:  attributes are nothing more than modifiers for combat. It takes away  what little cRPGs COULD have in terms of mechanically interesting chars  to RP, e.g. low int chars in Arcanum had worthwhile dumb convo options  (yes, it was gimmicky, but it has potential). Do P:E's stats also help  "define" our chars?*

Yes, of course they do. All  attributes are used in both scripted interactions and standard  conversations to unlock options -- as in PS:T, but with a heavier  emphasis on equal use of the attributes. 

One of the reasons we  don't have a dialogue/speech skill is so a character's attributes can be  used as dialogue prerequisites with greater frequency. 

...

*Separate from the actual mechanics  of the PE attribute system, will you make sure that the advantages of  the system are communicated in the final game and dressed up in enough  "fluff" justification? IE don't make the messaging mistakes of D&D  4th ed. *

Yes. It's always been hard for me to determine  what in A/D&D is intentional obfuscation vs. unintentional  oversight. I am a firm believer that players should be able to easily  deduce the intended, practical effects of a design through simple  observation. 

*Talking about attributes, what in your  opinion is obfuscated and/or incoherent about D&D's dexterity or  strength, for instance, compared to an attribute that increases your  damage from all sources (both magical and physical) and improves  healing? *

Strength in A/D&D is consistently treated  differently than other ability scores. Even in 3E/3.5, it's given double  weighting when calculating racial bonuses. E.g., half-orcs gain +2 Str  for -2 Int and -2 Cha because the latter two are both easy dumps. 

This  same weighting is not consistent when you look at ability score bonuses  provided by a) leveling b) spells (e.g. bull's strength isn't 3rd or  4th level) c) items. So, is Strength twice as powerful as other stats or  equal value to other stats? 

And why does Str affect physical  damage but (with rare exceptions) no other stats have any direct effect  on magical damage? Even Int has avenues to affect WEAPON damage (e.g.  the swashbuckler). So A/D&D's abilities come off as  quasi-simulationist, but not consistently, and the internal rules don't  paint a clear picture if even they consider the ability scores to be  balanced or imbalanced with each other.  

*Do you think  that the point of using different mechanics for physical and magical  combat in the older editions was to make magic 'feel special' or  something like that? even if the implementation wasn't perfect I always  liked the distinction 

Which is why my heart sort of slumped when I saw bonus damage came from one stat only in the current P:E attribute design *

I'd  say it's almost impossible to ascertain intent from the first edition  of AD&D since it was one of the first of its kind. The ones that  followed have largely just carried on what the original did. 

...

*How do you respond to this:  "A few playtesters built a party that couldn't survive BG2 13 years  ago? Everything was wrong with that game. People more or less  universally detest 4th Edition? Well, I don't care about people's  opinions when they're wrong."*

That's a lot of different  stuff to respond to. The main thing I would say is that PE's Attribute  system isn't based off of 4E. A lot of stuff in PE is not based off of  4E because I don't think it would work well for the game. As an example,  PE fighters are WAY lower-maintenance than 4E fighters (though a little  higher than they are in 3E and certainly more than they are in 2nd  Ed.). PE wizards are much closer to 3.5 sorcerer/wizards than they are  to 4E wizards (though their power curve doesn't match 3.5's).

  I  *generally* like the mechanics of 4E (e.g. the unified defense system),  but I think the classes lost a lot of their unique feel between 3E/3.5  and 4E and it still has a lot of flaws that are shared by other RPGs and  editions of A/D&D. 

 I played 4E for about 2.5 years and I'm  still playing 3.5 (and DMing a Pathfinder game). None of the rules in  any edition of A/D&D are perfect and I'm not using a specific  edition as a "goal". I want to use A/D&D-like mechanics when I can  because I believe that's the sort of experience that our backers are  going to enjoy. 

 No blend of rules is going to make everyone  happy, but I do try to keep this idea in mind: a player saying, "I want  to make this type of character and play through the game with it." I  know that's not important to all players, but I do think it's important  to many of them -- and it is important to me. 

*"I think the classes lost a lot of their unique feel between 3E/3.5 and 4E". So I take it you've changed your mind? Hey Ropekid, not to bring up a **** systems argument but did you enjoy 4e? | Formspring

"I  also don't think the classes feel that similar -- outside of each class  possessing the same number of abilities/powers/etc. Even at low levels,  my warden and my bard felt very different from each other and very  different from the other PCs." *

 The classes definitely  *play* differently from each other, but in terms of the number of powers  and how they are acquired, they are almost identical. A 4E wizard has  (barring rituals) about as many powers/abilities as any other class. 

Tactically, the feel very different. When you look at them on paper, they advance in a very similar fashion. 

And  a 4E wizard (and fighter) certainly do not feel like they did in any  previous editions of A/D&D, regardless of how differently they play  from each other within the context of 4E. 

...

*What's more important: a system being intuitive, or a system being balanced?*

Ideally, both, but I prioritize balance between a player's options -- whatever they may be. 

 Intuition varies a lot from person to person, especially when it comes  to RPG mechanics. If you've played enough RPGs, you find commonality  between systems, but also a huge amount of divergence. Pendragon is not  like D&D, GURPS is not like FUDGE, and Burning Wheel is not like  Cyberpunk. Someone coming to one of these systems from another may find  the rules unintuitive simply based off of their past RPG experiences  rather than from any sense of verisimilitude. 

 If a mechanic  sacrifices intuitiveness for balance, even if the player makes a choice  from the basis of an incorrect assumption, their "wrong" choice may very  well wind up being a viable one. If a mechanic sacrifices balance for  intuitiveness, it may point the player toward the viable solutions, but  it's implicit in the sacrifice that we're knowingly including sub-par  (or worse, trash) options in the game's content. 

 I don't think  the player gains much from the inclusion of options that are designed to  be bad. It means the designer is including things that take resources  to make and display in the game, but really aren't ever made to be  taken.

  In the long run (and most RPGs have a fairly long run),  the internal logic of the game's rules become the lens through which the  player looks at choices. You can fit your playstyle to rules as you  learn them. And on subsequent playthroughs, if the player's options are  well-balanced, you can genuinely play with a completely different  character. If the options are intuitive but not balanced, your long-term  potential for different playthroughs is diminished because only a  subset of options are viable -- or rather, many options inherently come  with a difficulty penalty that you may or may not want to experience.

...

*I have a friend who is concerned  that all you do is make remarks about how the Infinity Engine games  were flawed, and that you don't seem to even like them. Can what  describe what you liked about the IE games and how they will inspire PE,  to reassure him?*

Most of what I dislike in the IE games  has to do with specific elements of content or rules, not the games  overall. This probably won't be surprising to anyone, but I even think  my three favorite RPGs of all time (Fallout, Darklands, Pool of  Radiance) have a ton of problems and I would want to significantly  revise aspects of their mechanics or interface if I were handling a game  made in their respective spirits.

  What I like about the IE games (not content-specific): 

 * Allow for a lot of large, beautiful areas that promote and reward  exploration. There's plenty of 3D art that I like, but I love using 2D  art when we can because we can make some amazing environments. Laying  those areas out and thinking about how the player will move through the  environment to uncover rooms, encounters, etc. is a lot of fun as a  designer. As a player, it's always fun. The feeling is not the same in  first-person or close first-person game, and it's also not quite the  same in 3D. We didn't always use this well (e.g. some areas in IWD and  HoW were very linear) and I think those areas suffered because of it. 

 * Responsiveness. I've always felt that the IE was very responsive to  player input and AI state changes. Selection, movement, and execution of  commands were all very "crisp" in the IE games, probably owing to its  roots as Battleground Infinity (an RTS). Other than pathfinding,  controlling characters felt good in the IE (IMO, anyway) -- better than  it does in a lot of other RPGs.

  * Tactical combat. I disliked  some of the specific rules or rule implementations, but I always enjoyed  the tactical combat in the BG and IWD games. I loved designing it and I  loved playing it. In particular, "symmetrical" battles with parties or  other class/level characters were a lot of fun. I like the more scripted  feeling of those fights even if I didn't like the rock/paper/scissors  nature of some of the hard counters. I enjoy turn-based combat a lot,  but I had already been introduced to RTwP 6 years before BG, so I also  enjoyed/had no problem with BG's fundamental style of RPG combat. 

 * General party control. You can access and arrange (almost) everything  about your characters, shift them around relative to each other, use  formations (though I like ToEE's better), advance and equip everyone  individually, etc. Even when I didn't always like all of the companions'  personalities, I liked that they *had* personalities and would interact  with you/each other. And in the IWD games, we liked that we could make  all of our own characters. 

  * The huge variety of  characters/parties you could make. Overall, just lots of options that  created great variability in strategic and tactical options -- and  different role-playing opportunities.

  For content-specific things:

  * I loved the scope and variety of areas in all of the IE games, but  especially BG1 and BG2. As a former BIS guy, I'm always going to prefer  the *style* of areas we developed for IWD (and, just before my time, for  PST), but the BG games had a ton of huge areas to explore and an  enormous amount of content. I still think BG2's early-game content could  have been paced better. Even though BG had a lot of dead space, I still  loved exploring the Sword Coast. 

 * The tactical combat in BG2,  IWD, and IWD2. My main complaint with BG2 combat is the hard-counter  wizard fights. I don't think hard-counters belong in a game where you  can easily, unintentionally, build a party that lacks the hard-counter. I  also don't think save or die effects belong in a game with save/reload,  but that's a larger issue with 2nd and some elements of 3rd Edition  A/D&D. Notably, it's mostly absent from 4E and I think that aspect  of the game is better for it.

  * How PST handled dialogue from  the perspective of making it more than literally just saying words to  another character. PST's dialogue allowed you to do much more in  conversations and helped the player feel like they were *doing* things.  Of course, PST's level of player agency in the story and with companions  is fantastic. 

 * The overall volume and varied responses/plotlines of companions in BG2 and PST. 

 * The music of all of the games. They were all great. 

 * The style of interfaces. They' were weighty and solid and the sound  effects that accompanied them made them feel even weightier. Do I prefer  the "across the bottom" UIs of IWD2 and PST to the wrap-arounds of BG  and BG2? Yep. There you go. 

 I think that covers most of it. I  worked on four of the IE titles (IWD, HoW, TotL, IWD2). I hope people  understand that I didn't come out of that experience thinking that  either the engine or games were anything close to flawless. I watched  dozens and eventually hundreds of designers and players interact with  these games for years. When I'm critical of them, it's because I think  they can be even better, not because I don't think they were good in the  first place.​Some minor mechanics talk on Formspring and the official forums:*Are there any thoughts to have subclasses like in BG2, or it isn't needed and would complicate matters too much?*

No  subclasses. 11 classes with more than 10 levels each are a lot of work,  especially compared to the relative simplicity of many 2nd Edition  AD&D classes in the early IE games. We'd rather use Talents as a way  for players to mechanically differentiate their characters within a  class. 

...

*A friend asks  about the recently leaked screenshots with PE characters: "Those  weapons on characters backs, they're actual representatives of the quick  slot/secondary weapon your character have?" *

We would  like to represent the characters weapon sets on the character even when  they aren't being wielded. In those shots, the weapons are attached to  the character models for testing purposes. We still need to do more  experiments to see if it works with all weapon combinations. We also  need to make sure that if we have cloaks (and we very much would like  to) that we can minimize interference between cloaks and the weapons. 

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*I've always felt that that Ranger classes get no love in a lot of CRPGS.  They always feel like a cross between fighters and rogues, with none of  the advantages of each. What's the PE design philosophy for Rangers?  How will they "work"? Thanks!*

Rangers have the second  highest single-target damage output capability (behind rogues) but have  the advantage of range. While many rogue abilities allow the use of  ranged attacks, the rogue needs to be relatively close to the target to  use them. Rangers do not have this restriction. Rangers also all have  animal companions. They are an integral part of the class and animal  companions gain additional abilities as the ranger advances. Because  rangers and their animal companions are soul-bonded, they share a common  pool of Stamina and Health. Mechanically, this means that rangers  cannot use their animal companion as a "meat shield", but they can gain  good synergistic benefits from working together. 

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* You've mentioned that fighters in Project Eternity auto-regenerate stamina. Is this a limited active ability, or a passive/modal ability?*

It's a passive Ability. They also have a limited-use active Ability called Surge that restores a large chunk of Stamina. 

*How fast does it regenerate? *

The  passive ability is not fast enough to save them from a really brutal  assault, but it's enough to make a difference in a longer engagement. 

*Are barbarians still the class with the highest stamina/health pool ? *

Barbarians  don't necessarily have the highest Stamina pool, but they have the  highest *effective* Health because they convert Stamina to Health damage  at a different ratio from other classes. 

*Is fighter the only class that has in-combat automatic regeneration as a class ability? Are there talents that offer the same? *

Currently,  the fighter is the only class that has passive regeneration. There are  not currently any Talents that offer similar functionality. 

...

*You have said that barbarians have a different formula for converting Stamina damage into Health damage. Will they take more or less health damage?*

They  take significantly less Health damage. We'll be tweaking the exact  ratio as time goes on, but it's a lot less than other classes. 

*Wouldn't  it make more sense for them to take MORE health damage compared to  other classes? "A powerful barbarian, very effective in a single battle,  but after it's over fatigue sets in." You know, like traditional  Barbarian Rage. 

You'd think the "screaming berzerker" archetype  would be less durable over time than the "disciplined soldier" archetype  that is the Fighter. Are you sure you're not confused? *

No, I'm not confused. 

*OK,  so what's your rationale for making the barbarian the more "strategic"  class? Seems like the Fighter's stamina regen and the Barbarian's  health/stamina damage ratio could have been swapped, for instance. *

Both  the fighter and barbarian have good long-term Health potential. The  fighter's comes from high Deflection and his/her Defender mode. The  barbarian has poor Deflection but Thick-Skinned (better Health  conversion) and his/her Frenzy can bump Stamina. 

The barbarian  is designed, more or less, to burst/freak out in a single combat and  potentially collapse without ruining his/her long-term viability.  Fighters are designed to be slow and steady/low-maintenance. 

*So,  what you're saying is that the Barbarian's "Thick-Skinned" trait is  actually meant to *compensate* for his other strategic weaknesses? *

Sort  of. They're probably going to wind up taking and dishing out a boatload  of damage. But they may be among the first party members to drop over,  unconscious in a fight. That's a fine trade-off, but I don't want the  party to rest 2x as much for it. 

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*Can you tell us more about PE's combat skills?  Will they be auxiliary like NWN's Tumble or Discipline? Minor bonuses  like AD&D's proficiencies? Will they determine your combat  performance entirely, like Fallout's weapon skills? Something in  between? *

PE's skills grant auxiliary combat bonuses.  I'm designing them to have a minor but not insignificant effect on how  individual battles and series of battles unfold. Combat capability is  dominantly determined by your class (and class abilities), attributes,  talents, and gear. 

*So, are you still planning to have  two pools of skills, combat and non-combat, each upgraded by a separate  pool of points, as suggested by Kickstarter Update #7? It was not clear  from that update whether the game's "combat skills" ARE actually  "skills". *

There's only one set of skills. Skills can be  used out of combat for a variety of purposes and they grant auxiliary  combat bonuses. 

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*Do you have a set target in mind for combat speed?  I don't mean animation speed, but the speed in which high level events  occur. The advantage of turn-based combat is that "events per time  period" is predictable, while in real-time it can vary wildly. *

Yeah,  we're trying to target the mid-levels of the BG and IWD games for most  full-party combat. It can sometimes get frantic, but with pause,  auto-pause, and slow mode, I think it will feel good. 

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*In Project Eternity, what happens to a character that runs out of health,  when permadeath is disabled? I know he's supposed to be "wounded" in  some manner, but what does that mean? Does he continue walking around  with one health point that can't be lost?*

If permadeath  is disabled, a character who hits 0 Health becomes Maimed. They  immediately fall unconscious and can't get back up until the end of  combat. When combat ends, they stand up with 1 Health and will regain  all of their Stamina as normal. 

 Until they next rest, they  suffer very bad penalties to their accuracy and all defenses. If they  get hit again and are reduced to 0 Health, they will be immediately  knocked unconscious again. 

 Maimed characters can walk around  like normal and can participate in combat, but they are weak and  vulnerable combatants who are likely to drop in a single hit.

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All Zealous auras apply to paladins as well as the people around them.   That said, scattering the party is playing against the benefits of the  paladin just as having a barbarian solo a singular powerful enemy is  playing against the barbarian's benefits (specifically, Carnage AoE  melee damage) and having a wizard try to dump low-damage AoEs on one or  two targets is playing against the wizard's benefits.  

  Positioning is often an important element of IE combat and we believe it  should be in PE as well.  Fighters works well as islands.  You can  plant them in the middle of a hallway (even a wide one) and they can  lock down melee combatants running through the area.  They work less  well (or rather, provide less benefit) in immediate proximity to their  allies because they can't force anyone to engage them over someone else.   They also have trouble when enemies are primarily ranged-based and  spread out.  

 Paladins do not work well as islands.  They work  well with one or more allies around them.  They don't have to be holding  hands, but they can't be on opposite sites of a battlefield.  Yes, a  wizard, ranger, and rogue in the party could spread far out from the  paladin (I don't really think most of them need to), but in many cases, a  full party will likely have two more melee-oriented characters in the  party (most IE parties have 2 or 3).  A paladin standing 10' in front of  a ranger and wizard can provide the same Zealous Barrage benefits to  shooters and casters that he or she would if he or she ran up alongside a  monk and a barbarian.  Even if a ranger or wizard are on the other side  of the battlefield, if they are the closest ally attacking the  paladin's current target, they'll gain the benefit of Coordinated  Attacks.  

 Paladin Talents will unlock more offensive  capabilities for them, but the bog-standard paladins won't hit like wet  noodles just because they don't have Abilities specifically dedicated to  smashing in faces.  It makes sense that in a tabletop game like  D&D, a "buff beacon" character should be avoided because the player  experience can be boring.  That's why 4E buff abilities are often minor  actions or they are side effects of attacks (e.g. Healing Strike).  In a  party-based CRPG where the player is controlling up to six characters,  every class doesn't need to be a self-contained murder machine with the  same number of active use (or even offensive) abilities. 

...

*Something just occurred to me:  does Inspiring Triumph count assists, or does the paladin have to be  the one actually delivering the killing blow? I'm not sure that  last-hitting has a place outside of esports. If the paladin is engaging  that particular enemy when they are killed, it should count IMHO or else  things might get too fiddly and meta-gamey.*

Last-hitting  is also used in 4E for some abilities.  Inspiring Triumph provides a  passive bonus and is unlikely to be something you hang your hat on.   There's no need to micro just for that benefit. 

...

*Could you make a ranged paladin that stands back a bit, generating auras and buffs, while plinking away with a crossbow?*

You could.  Their targeted commands have decent range, so it should be possible to "lead from behind" if you want to. 

...

In  "dungeon" (or equivalent) environments, stealth can be used to  circumvent encounters or it can be used to set up good positions from  which to start a fight.  The specifics will depend heavily on the  individual dungeons, encounters, and characters doing the sneaking.   Conversations are less common in dungeon environments than in cities,  but you will still have deep dialogues in dungeons when it makes sense.

...

Not all creatures drop good loot.  Some creatures don't drop any loot.  That can be a determining factor in what encounters you choose to engage or circumvent. 

...

I've heard plenty of players (and DMs) deride other players for "abusing" clear rule loopholes.   I don't think this is helpful for anyone and, unless you're in a  tournament environment, I don't know why any DM/GM wouldn't simply talk  to the players about adjusting the rules for the long-term health of the  game.  With PE, the rules we give to you are ours to write.  If a  player "abuses" any rule we put in, we are the people to blame, not the  players.  I.e, we, the designers, create degenerate gameplay  opportunities.  Players simply recognize the opportunity and take  advantage of it to win the game, which is usually one of their major  goals.  But because those opportunities often become the de facto tactic  or strategy for overcoming an obstacle, what could have been a dynamic  element of gameplay becomes static -- generally undesirable. 

...

Once you've detected a hidden object, the highlighting shortcut will reveal it like other objects.

   On a related note, finding hidden objects can happen due to sheer  proximity (very close), but will trigger at much greater range if you  enter scouting mode, which is our combined stealth/search state.

   BTW, another reason why we would like to retain a highlighting key in  PE is because with an isometric perspective and occluded geometry, it's  very easy for bodies/items to fall "behind" something relative to the  camera.

Initially spotting a hidden object highlights it  automatically for several seconds.  The highlight key is only required  to highlight it after that initial duration. 

...

We have a 3rd level Haste-ish spell.  It will not be as gnarly as it is in 3E/3.5.

...

*I really like the concept of -- I'll just call them "modal abilities,"  as I think that's what they were called in one of the P:E updates. Like  the P:E Fighter's "Defender" ability. I think in its case, the cost is a  constant, passive tradeoff (decreased offensive output for increased  engage-a-bility, if I'm not mistaken?). And in DA's case, it was a  reduction in mana/stamina regeneration (both total and rate of regen). *

Yeah,  we call them modal abilities internally.  The idea is that you're  turning modes on and off rather than gaining a passive benefit or  activating a single-use ability.  If a class has more modal abilities,  we're designing them to be more low-maintenance.  Fighters fall into  this category.  That said, you can buy Talents that make fighters more  active if you want to, but their core design leans more heavily toward  passive and modal abilities. 

...

*Do you anticipate allowing several different types of modals?

   Often modals are exclusive with some other type of modal, but not  necessarily all of them.  EG: You can't have "berserker stance" and  "Defender stance" active at the same time, but while in one of those  stances you could still have a different, unrelated modal active.  Just  curious what your plans are with this.  It sounds like this, but I may  be reading too much into it. *

Yes.  Modes all have an  assigned "channel" and you can only have one mode active in a given  channel at a time.  E.g., the paladin's Zealous auras are all on one  channel.  In the UI, we would like to visually group all same-channel  modal abilities together so it's very clear to the player. 

*I  hope obsidian will avoid the trap of, "Oh, I have one modal ability and  since I can't stack them all there's no reason to invest in the rest of  them available to this class." I think it's fine if classes are  designed around active abiltiies -------- BUT. BUT. These active  abiltiies should not be something you SPAM like in WoW.  are not your  substitute for an autoattack. They don't exist to make you feel more  engaged in the game. They exist as STRATEGIC ELEMENTS. Your choice to  use ability X is a choice. Sometimes, it's better not to use them. I  think this needs to be emphasized as a design goal. *

A  wizard can't cast more than one spell at a time and a monk can't perform  more than one special attack at a time.  The use of modal abilities,  like active abilities, is typically a tactical decision based on the  current circumstances of combat.  Whether or not you want to buy  multiple same-channel modal Abilities/Talents depends on your strategy  for how that character will work in the long run.  

 Many/most of  our abilities are already designed around limited use and a specific  tactical application.  The rogue's Finishing Blow does much, much more  damage if the target is under 50% Stamina (and, in fact, increases  proportionally the lower the target's Stamina is).  The paladin's  Reviving Exhortation can bring a single target out of a 0-Stamina state  with a big Stamina bump, but if it's done too early in combat, the  revived party member will have a Stamina crash before the end of combat.   The ranger's Marked Prey ability grants a bonus against a single  target once per combat, but it can't be switched once it's assigned. 

*I  don't feel that the dilemma (if you want to call it that) is solved  this way. It sounds like maintenance-heavy mode swapping. What made you  decide against having only one mode active at any one time?  *

It's  only maintenance-heavy if the circumstances require you to switch modes  often.  Unless you think circumstances will shift so rapidly that  characters will change modes as frequently as a wizard casts spells  (unlikely), it's at least going to be lower maintenance than triggering a  sequence of active abilities.

   We have different mode channels  because not all modes have logical overlap.  D&D's Rapid Shot and  Power Attack don't really have any overlap because the former is for  ranged attacks and the latter is for melee attacks.  Shutting off one  when the other is active isn't necessary.​Finally, a little bit on armor design:A lot of soldiers wore lighter armor for a variety of reasons,  some having to do with practical matters like cost or maintenance, but  sometimes arguably due to the circumstances of battle.  Linen padded  jacks were actually surprisingly effective against arrows (more than  mail, in some cases).  

 We have most of our base armor types in  the game now (still working on leather and brigandine).  We may revise  things a bit in the future, but I think most of you will really like  where we're going with the designs.  They are pretty firmly based in  historical references (though they aren't derived from historical suits  1:1), they're distinctive from each other, they allow for the use of  player-customized colors, and they are well-grounded.  This last point  is important to me because it allows us to "grow" the style of armor  more over time.  If armor starts out crazy or elaborate, things can get  super-sized really quickly.  Ours are practical but cool-looking (IMO)  and it's very easy to tell the male and female characters from each  other.  Hopefully we can show you some more of it soon.

   The  character artists have also been developing the weapons more.  Like  weapons in the IE games and older AD&D artwork, the weapons are  relatively realistic in their size and proportion (with slight  exaggeration for things like warhammer heads that might not read well at  the small character size).  We just got in a pollaxe and two-handed  morning star, both of which look like bad news (in a good way).  As with  the armor, I think you'll like the base options and where we can  "escalate" into fancier weapons over the course of the game.


Quelle: Project Eternity Social Round-up​


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## LordCrash (7. August 2013)

*Update #61: In-game Art 	*

We showed you this concept that Polina Hristova had developed, back in Update #55:




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 And here is the in-game level--about to get violent--as developed by environment artist Sean Dunny:




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 We think it looks pretty good. Thoughts?
-R

Quelle: Update #61: In-game Art - Project Eternity: Announcements and News - Obsidian Forum Community


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## Peter Bathge (7. August 2013)

Wow, das sieht inzwischen extrem nach Baldur's Gate 2 aus - in wunderschön. PE ist weiterhin das für mich interessanteste Kickstarter-Projekt, einfach klasse


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## Shadow_Man (8. August 2013)

Das ist wahr. Da kommt schon richtige Baldur's Gate Stimmung auf.


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## LordCrash (8. August 2013)

Shadow_Man schrieb:


> Das ist wahr. Da kommt schon richtige Baldur's Gate Stimmung auf.


 
Durch die Existenz von Project Eternity muss ich mich wenigstens nicht so sehr über das bisher gezeigte (Action-)Kampfsystem in Dragon Age Inquisition aufregen....


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## LordCrash (21. August 2013)

*Update #62: Production 01 - State of the Project 	*_*

By Brandon Adler, Producer*_




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 Hey, everyone. As you know, over the past six weeks we have been  working on our first production milestone - the cleverly titled  Production 01 milestone. Our first target has been Defiance Bay (our  first BIG city) and the team has been busting their collective butts to  get as much fantasy roleplaying goodness as possible into the city.

 In George Ziets' own words, "Defiance Bay is the capital and  largest city in the Dyrwood, gateway to the riches of Glanfath, teeming  with adventurers and explorers from all over the region. Defiance Bay is  a city of the common people, where the most prominent and respected  citizens are self-made men. It stands at the forefront of  experimentation in soul magic and exemplifies the age of discovery."

 A ton has been accomplished in a pretty short amount of time and we would like to share some of it with you.

 *New Hires*

*April Giron*
 April is our new Art Intern. She has been doing an amazing job in creating the interiors that populate Defiance Bay.

*Holly Prado*
 Holly is an Environment Artist that joined us about a week ago. She  has already made a large contribution in filling out the existing areas  with new props.

*Matt Perez*
 Matt is a new Design Intern. Along with creating NPCs, quests, and  blockouts, he also does maintenance work on areas (hooking up  transitions, loot passes, encounters, etc.).

*Ryan Torres*
 Like Matt, Ryan is one of our new Design Interns. He also creates dialogues, quests, and blockouts.

*Brian Macintosh*
 Brian is Project Eternity's Programming Intern. While he has been  implementing many features, he most closely works with the Concept  Artists to get our UI to Alpha.

*Areas*

*Art*
 The Environment Artists have wasted no time in constructing an  expansive Defiance Bay. For this first milestone our target was to get  three of Defiance Bay's districts to Alpha level quality. It was a  little ambitious, but the team did really well. The city feels full of  life and character. I am pretty impressed with the speed that the team  is able to get all of this together.

*Design*
 While the Environment Art team is busy filling out the visuals, the  Area Design team is meticulously planning and executing quests, NPC  dialogs, and other goodies throughout the city. They were able to get  three of the city's districts completely blocked out in under a week.  Considering the size of the city, it is a pretty good accomplishment.

 Two of those districts are now at an Alpha level and even at an  early stage, are a lot of fun to play. In addition to that, our two new  Design Interns - Matt and Ryan - have been filling in the areas with  smaller quests and NPCs. It is really starting to make the city feel  alive.

 *Characters*

*Creatures*
 The Concept Artists, Animators, and Character Artists have been  burning through our creatures. We are taking a different approach in  Project Eternity than we have on other projects. Instead of taking a  creature from concept to a final, polished product, we have been taking  creatures to a blockout stage before moving to the next.

 This allows us to get creatures into the game much more quickly. It  also lets us be more flexible with how we spend our polish time.  Overall, we think it will lead to a better experience.

 Even with this short amount of time, we have been able to get about eight different creatures into the game. 

 Since it would be pretty mean of me to talk about the creatures  without showing one, here is a small taste of one of my "favorites" -  the wicht.




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 I think Josh's description says it best: "Wichts are the bodies of  children that were born without souls, grew to adolescence, and were  then possessed by a malevolent lost soul or soul fragment that has been  artificially inserted through animancy. This process arrests their  physical development and transforms their outward appearance, leaving no  doubt as to what they are."

*Items*
 In addition to the creatures, our Character Artists have been  filling out the remaining armor sets that are left. We have all of our  basic armors in place for all of our races. This is a pretty significant  feat this early in the project. Now that we are done with the base item  and armor sets, we can focus on making magic and unique variants.

*Features*

*Journal*
 We now have a fully functional quest journal in place that allows  players to see their quest progress. The UI is currently being  implemented, but it is looking great.

*Conversations*
 While we have been getting more and more Alpha UI into the game, I  was particularly happy with how the conversation UI came out. Take a  look for yourself, though. Even though this is still a work in progress,  I think everyone did a great job. Let us know what you think of the  conversation UI in our forums.




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*Stronghold*
 Tim went on a tear and got most of the backend systems for the  player stronghold in place. There are a ton of really fun things you can  do with your stronghold like sending companions on missions, buying  rare loot off of merchants, building upgrades, and even purchasing  hirelings to defend your keep from attack. Watching Tim's stronghold get  robbed blind because he has low security and high prestige never gets  old.

*World Map*
 Eternity now has a fully functional world map. When the party  enters a qualifying transition, the world map appears. Players can then  select to travel to a location by selecting that icon on the map.

*Fog of War*
 One focus for this milestone was to get our Fog of War system in  place. Beyond a few tweaks, Adam is pretty close to slaying that beast.  It's a really robust system he created that takes some inspiration from  rogue-like games. Using Adam's tool, designers can quickly create a fog  map, edit it, and set locations that should only be revealed at specific  times.

*AI*
 Steve, our AI Programmer, has been putting work into spellcasting  AI this milestone and it is coming out nicely. Enemies are more crafty  than they were now that they are casting spells intelligently. There's  going to be even more AI work - roles for our enemy AIs, for example -  put into our next milestone.

*10k Backer*
 We had our first $10,000 backer, Timothy, come for a visit. We all  had a blast and it was great to meet one of our fans and show him the  game. We even have a picture of Timothy preparing for Josh Sawyer's  inevitable betrayal.




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*Josh Sawyer on Game Design*
 Lastly, I will leave you with a video that Josh put together about  the importance of real-world knowledge in game design. Take a look.





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 Well, that's it for now. See you guys again in a couple of weeks.

Quelle: Update #62: Production 01 - State of the Project - Project Eternity: Announcements and News - Obsidian Forum Community


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## LordCrash (4. September 2013)

* Update #63: Stronghold!     *

_*By Tim Cain, Senior Code Wizard and Systems Designer*_




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 Hello! I have spent much of my time for the last few weeks devoted  to making the game’s stronghold system, which was one of our Kickstarter  project’s biggest stretch goals, into one of the best systems in the  game. Josh has created an amazing and detailed stronghold design, with  lots of upgrades and activities and random events that really make  owning a stronghold fun and exciting. I want to spend this update  explaining what we have made in the game, but first, let’s talk about  the stronghold itself.

 First, a caveat: I am going to describe the stronghold as it is  currently designed. This design is mostly programmed already too, but as  with all development, it might change as we finish the art and audio,  fix any bugs, and tune the game play. So please view this as a snapshot  of the stronghold development as it exists today.

 You will be offered the stronghold early in the game, before you  finish Act 1. But the stronghold itself is old and dilapidated, and you  will want to upgrade it as soon as you can. These upgrades will, in  turn, open up new activities and events that can happen, which will make  the stronghold a dynamic and fun place to own.

 So let’s go through the many reasons why you will want to have a stronghold.

*Bonuses*
 There are five bonuses you will receive for getting and upgrading your stronghold.


*Resting bonuses.* Some of the upgrades to your  stronghold will grant temporary bonuses to your attributes or non-combat  skills when you rest there. As examples, you can build Training Grounds  to improve your Strength or a Library to improve your Lore skill. Some  of these upgrades are expensive, but you’re worth it.
*Adventures for idle companions. *You will  eventually have more companions than will fit in your party, so you will  have leave some of them behind. While they are idling away at the  stronghold, they can take part in their own adventures, earning  additional experience for themselves and extra money, items and  reputation bonuses for you!
*Ingredients. *Many of the stronghold upgrades will  generate ingredients used by non-combat skills. For example, Botanical  Gardens create Survival ingredients over time, and a Curio Shop produces  ingredients for use by both Lore and Mechanics.
*Special offers.* Sometimes visitors to your  stronghold will have rare items for sale, or perhaps they will offer you  items in return for something else. Pay attention to these visitors.  Some of these items may be nearly impossible to find any other way!
*Wealth. *Don’t forget that by owning a stronghold,  you also own all of the surrounding lands and impose a tax on all of the  inhabitants. It will feel nice for a change to have someone recognize  your high standing and give you the money that you so richly deserve.
   These bonuses all sound great, right? Well, they are great, but  they are just the passive benefits from owning and upgrading a  stronghold. There are a lot of activities you can do too, once you take  possession of your stronghold.




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Tim in his typical Stronghold creation attire.  

 *Activities*
 First and foremost, when you get your stronghold, you are going to  want to upgrade it. Upgrades are improvements to various parts of the  castle, usually to add to the security or prestige of the place.  Security affects how much taxes you collect as well as helps reduce the  number of “bad” random events, while prestige increases the number of  “good” random events as well as increasing tax collections, too.  Upgrades can also serve as prerequisites for other upgrades. For  example, you cannot build your Training Grounds (and get your Strength  bonus after resting at the stronghold) until you have repaired the inner  bailey of the stronghold.

 Every upgrade costs money and takes time to build, but as long as  you have the prerequisites completed, you can have as many upgrades  building simultaneously as you can afford. And you don’t have to wait at  the stronghold while they are built, either. You can continue  adventuring, and you will be notified when they are built.

 You can begin collecting taxes from your populace as soon as you  gain the stronghold. The amount of taxes you collect increases with your  prestige (because people know of you and like you), but the amount also  increases with higher security, since some taxes are lost to banditry.  You will want to keep both of those values high.

 You can also employ hirelings to stay at your stronghold. These  people will provide bonuses to your prestige and security, but they cost  money to employ. Some will leave your castle if you stop paying them,  but others will wait around to get paid again (but not provide any  bonuses until they are).

 If you have cleared the dungeon and built a prison under your  stronghold, then when you are fighting some of the named NPC’s in the  game, you will be given an option to take them prisoner instead of  killing them. Prisoners are kept in a cell in your prison, where you can  visit them and talk to them, and occasionally use them as leverage  later in the game. But you will need to keep your security level high,  or you might suffer from a prison break!
 Finally, several upgrades will produce ingredients used by  non-combat skills. This feature, along with upgrades that can improve  your skills, makes your stronghold a great place to craft and store  items. You can stop by your castle occasionally and make food, potions,  scrolls, armors and weapons, and any that you don’t need immediately can  be stored in chests and other containers in a variety of places around  the stronghold. You know, in case of an emergency.

 Which brings us to random stronghold events.

 *Random Events*
 As you play the game after getting the stronghold, whether or not  you are physically there, you will be told if a random event happens at  the stronghold. Sometimes, you will need to deal with the event  immediately, but usually you are given some time to decide what to do.

 The most common event at your stronghold is having a visitor  arrive. There are all kinds of visitors, but they all share one thing.  They can adjust your prestige and/or security just by being at your  stronghold. Some visitors are wonderful and give good bonuses, and you  will want them to stay as long as possible. Some of these visitors can  even be employed as hirelings and will stay on as long as you pay them.  Others are not so great, and you will want to offer them one of your  companions to act as an escort to their next location, or perhaps simply  pay them to leave. Some visitors will offer rare items for sale, and  some might even offer a very rare item in exchange for one of the  prisoners in your dungeon. As you can see, visitors require some  decision making on your part.

 As mentioned above, your idle companions can take part in  adventures as those events arise. You will be informed of what  adventures are available, how long they will last, and what the rewards  will be (in general terms). If you send a companion on an adventure, he  or she is unavailable until they complete it and return with the  rewards. You can recall any companions early, but then they earn  nothing. Why would you ever want to recall them then? Because your  stronghold can get attacked!

 Attacks are the most potentially dangerous of all stronghold  events. Occasionally troublemakers (of various sorts) will decide to  attack your castle. You will be warned ahead of time of any such attack,  so you can return to the stronghold and take part in it directly, if  you want. Otherwise, the attack is simulated and you are told the  results. A well-defended stronghold can repel any but the most concerted  attacks, but there is always a chance of damage which can destroy  upgrades, kill hirelings, and cost money. The threat of attacks is the  most important reason to keep your security level as high as you can  afford.

 I hope you have enjoyed this sneak peek into the world of Project  Eternity and the role your stronghold will play in the game. No matter  how you play the game, your stronghold is certain to provide many  benefits and also be a lot fun too!

Quelle: Update #63: Stronghold! - Project Eternity: Announcements and News - Obsidian Forum Community


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## LordCrash (7. September 2013)

Neues Videointerview mit Chris Avellone zu Project Eternity, Torment ToN, Wasteland 2 und anderen Dingen....





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## LordCrash (17. September 2013)

_*Update #64: Developer Q&A with Kaz 

*_*Update by Kazunori Aruga, Concept Artist, and Brandon Adler, you-know-what-I-do*




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 Hello, backers. This week we are profiling another talented Concept  Artist on Eternity, Kaz Aruga. While Kaz wears many artist hats his  largest contributions are area and UI concepts. Enjoy.

*Q: Hello, Kaz. What is your job on the Project Eternity team?*
 Before I start I want to quickly thank all you awesome peeps who  backed our game. I wouldn't be here working on my dream project if it  weren't for you all, so thank you for making this a reality!

 I have two responsibilities on Project Eternity. The first is  supplying the asset and environment teams with concept art. The second  is producing art for the game's UI. I'm occasionally tasked with  scripted interaction art and will start producing character portraits  further down the road. 

*Q: What are you working on this week?*
 I've been tasked with inventory and character creation UI. **leaps away as a massive fireball of community UI rage engulfs the land**

 But seriously, I appreciated the feedback you all gave us for the  action bar and conversation UI. I've taken notes and been implementing  ideas that are in alignment with our design goals. As a side note, being  a fan of the IE games and having a lot of experience playing them has  proven very useful as it helps me identify what worked and what didn’t.  I'm sure we all have fond memories of shuffling piles of arrows between  characters. 

*Q: What is your typical work day like on Project Eternity?*
 My day usually starts by fighting off Robs and Polinas to get to  the Keurig coffee machine in our room. Consuming the glorious bean drink  allows me access to all two neurons in my head, which I then rub  together as hard as I can to start making artwork. My day varies a lot  from this point based on the task I'm on. For character and environment  work a good chunk of time will be devoted to gathering reference and  inspiration, or doing homework on a specific subject. I'll then do a  rough sketch pass which gets reviewed by the leads and other artists.  When I'm on scripted interaction art I work closely with our designers  Bobby and Jorge, and for UI I interface with our project lead Josh and  Brian who is our programming intern.




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*Q: What are you most looking forward to on Project Eternity?*
 Just the fact that we can put an IE inspired game on the market is  enough to get me excited. It's been long overdue. I'm looking forward to  seeing all the hard work we are putting in coming together as one  complete package, and seeing reactions of people playing the game!

*Q: Which concept that you have done has been your favorite?*
 Artists are typically never happy with their own work. Next question! 

 I've enjoyed working on art for scripted interactions, and been  pretty happy with the results. I've also been putting a lot of work into  inventory UI recently and am happy with the results coming out of that.




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*Q: What other projects have you worked on?*
 Before this job I was up in San Francisco working as a texture  artist on a television series called Star Wars: The Clone Wars. I've  also done some matte painting work in the film industry.

*Q: What do you like to do when you aren't chained to your desk by your producer?*
 My off time often includes episodes of Breaking Bad, Game of  Thrones, a cold beer, and dual wielding our two resident cats Puddy Tat  and Lil'Babs. They are the best. I also have an unhealthy and  destructive relationship with Ramen. (No, not the vile instant noodles.  How dare you call that Ramen!) Thankfully LA has an abundance of good  shops to satisfying my craving.




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*Q: Do you have a favorite concept artist?*
 Here's a few that popped into my head. I'll link to their site and save you all a google search.


Sergey Kolesov
*** Pringle[/URL]
Daisuke “dice” Tsutsumi
 
 On the painting and illustration side..


Ashley Wood
Jeremy Lipking
Yanick "dusso" Dusseault
Joseph Zbukvic
Zdzislaw Beksinski
 
 And of course the greats from the past...


John Singer Sargent
Jean-Léon Gérôme
The Wyeths
Norman Rockwell
J. C. Leyendecker
Isaac Levitan
 
*Q: And where do you draw your inspiration from?*
 Nature is a big one of course. I also think back on how blessed we  are with powerful tools like Google image search. We don’t neglect  traditional resources, but I honestly can't imagine working at our  current pace without it.




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*Q: What's your favorite Infinity Engine game? Why?*
 BG1 for exploring the vast wilderness. I can still recall the music  and hear the birds chirping in the distance. BG2 is a close 2nd for its  story and companions. The only title I haven't finished is IWD2 which I  am playing through currently, and I will say I'm enjoying the combat.

*Q: Existential question of the day: Who are we and why are we?*
 We're just here, man. There's no why, everything just IS. You feel me?

*Q: Anything else you would like to share?*
 Long live the glorious PC gaming master race. **lets out a nerdy war cry and bangs mouse and keyboard together**

 That's it for this week. Hope you guys enjoyed getting closer look into what Kaz does for us. See you guys in a couple weeks.

http://forums.obsidian.net/topic/64399-update-64-developer-qa-with-kaz/


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## LordCrash (23. September 2013)

*A date with Eternity: My interview with Obsidian*




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My fellow gamers; Earlier this week I had the distinct pleasure of talking with the fine people over at Obsidian Entertainment  about some of their upcoming releases heading your way in the near  future. Notably, I had the opportunity to speak with Obsidian co-founder  and Narrative Designer Chris Avellone. In the interview we discuss the upcoming Project Eternity, which Doctor Who would make the perfect protagonist for their own game, and not only was the cake not a lie, it was delicious.

So sit back, relax, and enjoy the show. 

*Q: So, Kickstarter yeah? You guys set the gold standard by which all  other games currently using this model should aspire to. How surprised  was the Obsidian team when they saw how high and fast the funding was  coming in for Project Eternity?*

Chris Avellone: I don’t know if we hold the gold standard (inXile’s  Torment: Tides of Numenera and Chris Roberts’ Star Citizen certainly  have done better, and Roberts continues to crush the world with  continued crowdfunding – it was over 19 million as of writing this), but  as for Obsidian’s Project: Eternity - we were surprised by the success,  yes. We certainly didn’t expect it to hit the funding goal as quickly  as it did... well, most of us didn’t. Our Art Director, Rob Nesler, did.  The day after launching he promptly went around and said “I told you  so,” to all of us to remind us that he had been the prophet that had  predicted our success. And possibly to taunt us. Because Rob likes to do  that.

*Q: Speaking of which, how's it coming along? Have you guys locked down a title yet?*

Chris: It’s coming along great, we’re building cities and districts and  dungeons for players to explore, and it’s all looking beautiful – we’re  currently tackling the first major city in the game, Defiance Bay, and  it’s shaping up great. It’s not often that people can come into work and  say “well, today I’m building a city,” but that’s the kind of workplace  we have here at Obsidian. And that’s just the start – it’s not just the  city itself, but the locations throughout the Eternity world (above and  below) are shaping up beautifully, and the designers are adding a lot  of great quest lines and content to thread them all together.

As for the title of the project: We have not resolved the “lock down a title” quest line yet. So no XP for us.




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*Q: You guys have stated that Eternity will be a pretty mature and  dark-themed game. Slavery, drug use, etc. Are you afraid that might turn  off some potential fans, or cause some unintended controversy within  the gaming media?*

Chris: If it’s true to the story, we’re afraid of nothing. There are a  lot of elements we’ve often wanted to explore in previous titles that we  haven’t had an opportunity to do, and Eternity gives us free rein to  deal with those subjects. We don’t include elements like these for shock  value – if they fit in with the game’s themes and if they add weight to  the player’s moral choices for the player, then they are absolutely  worth adding to the world. Similar themes worked well in interesting  ways in Fallout  2, for example, and seeing some of those same evils explored in  Eternity from a different perspective is something we’re looking forward  to - and that’s only a small part of what we have planned.

*Q: Will Eternity allow players to explore companion storyline/quests like they might have experienced in Fallout: New Vegas? *

Chris: Each companion is intended to have a storyline, background, and  quest that either advances them, ties them to the game story, or ties  them to the theme, and preferably, some combination thereof. It may not  be exactly like the New Vegas quest structure (we go as far back as  Torment internal quests and the KOTOR2 advancement arcs), but companions  will have agendas and quests of their own. More on this will likely  come out in the coming months (and it may change as the companions are  fully fleshed out), although the specifics will likely wait until the  players are actually playing the title.

*Q: You've also stated that the current consoles are, well, pretty  limited in what they allow insofar as content when compared to the PC.  With the looming next gen consoles coming our way, is there maybe the  chance that Eternity might see its way on them instead?*

Chris: Haven’t given it much thought. Our focus is the platforms we promised the backers.

*Q: Now that the team has delved into the publisher-free domain, will you ever go back to any of them in the future?*

Chris: We continue to speak with publishers, and will most likely  continue to work with publishers in the future. While Kickstarter has  been good to us, we have continued to speak about a number of properties  with a variety of publishers.




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*Q: You guys have a history of taking pre-existing titles and really  giving them some very creative elements for players to try out. KotoR  II, Fallout: New Vegas, Dungeon  Siege III just to name a few. Have you guys been approached here  recently about continuing to "pimp that ride" so to speak from other  developers?*

Chris: Not from developers, no, occasionally from publishers who have  wanted to see a return to the some of the titles that have been lauded  by the public and they believe that we can help their titles realize  that vision.

*Q: You're also very supportive of your modding community. KotoR II  comes to mind first and foremost. Are you amazed at some of the creative  content they seem to add to an already impressive list of features?*

Chris: Yes, and to our joy, fans have added more than we’d have thought  possible to our titles across the board: systems, weapons, quests,  bases, and more - allowing for an editor and a modding tool in a game  has clearly proven its worth. If we have the resources to implement it  in a release or allow for fans the ability to make their own content,  it’s always our desired course of action. It worked out well for NWN2,  for KOTOR2, and especially for Fallout New Vegas.  Some of the mods that came out for New Vegas were brilliant, and as far  as KOTOR2 goes, seeing all the work the community put in to restore the  content with the Total Restoration Mod was amazing. Those developers  are to be congratulated, and I tip my hat to them.




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*Q: A lot--er--well actually pretty much everyone on the Obsidian team  are former Black Isle Studio team members. How'd it feel to "come home"  when you guys started working on Fallout: New Vegas?*

Chris: It was a nice change of pace. We’d been working on Fallout 3  at Interplay for a number of years (codename Van Buren), so seeing a  lot of the game design of that title achieve fruition in a new Fallout  game was great. A good percentage of that design had been directly taken  from pen-and-paper games and the design docs for Van Buren – the  Hangdogs, Hoover Dam, Caesar’s Legion, the mental illness caused by the  Stealth Boy technology, and more. Some of the Van Buren elements mutated  over time and achieved new context and new life in New Vegas (as an  example, the “Big Empty” in FNV DLC3: Old World Blues was originally an  automated military boot camp run by Mr. Handys in Van Buren, and I think  the mutation of the Big Empty in New Vegas allowed for a much richer  realization of a cool adventure area).

*Q: There are rumors Bethesda is currently hard at work on a Fallout  4. I know you guys can't confirm or deny that rumor. But let's just say,  hypothetically speaking, they ask for Obsidian's input and creative  touch to help out, would you?*

Chris: Yes, without a doubt. Fallout’s always near and dear to our hearts, and I believe that Fallout: New Vegas did very well for Bethesda (we never saw the numbers, but they seemed pretty happy with the sales).

*Q: Beyond what you're currently hard at work on, is there any other  IPs out there that the team would absolutely love to get their hands on?*

Chris: There’s a few: The Wire, Archer, Ultima, Chronotrigger, Deus Ex, Arcanum, Star Wars, Firefly, and Doctor Who, to name a few. I think Star Wars  is pretty high on people’s lists here at the studio. Personally, I’d  love to do an Eberron D&D game as well, I love that universe.




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*Q: The David Tennant Doctor or the Matt Smith Doctor?*

Chris: Any doctor in the next generation (including Eccleston) and Tom  Baker of the old generation would be my preference. But I wouldn’t be  the only one working on it, so it’d be more of a discussion beyond that,  I expect... I will say the idea of making a brand-new Doctor that has  to face off against the older Doctors (next generation or old  generation) I think would be an awesome “season arc” for a game title.  After all, I think the toughest adversary a Doctor could face is  himself.

*Q: Would it be safe to say that ED-E is the official/unofficial mascot at Obsidian?*

Chris: We have several mascots. It’s a little odd, it depends on the  conference room being used. Right now, Nihilus, Atris, Thorton, and the  NCR Ranger are effectively our mascots for the different rooms and  lounges. It was awesome getting an ED-E cake when FNV shipped, though.  Deeeee-licious.

I'd like to thank Mr. Avellone for sitting down and taking the time to  speak with us, and I'd like to give a solid shout out to Maria  Gigliotti, PR Manager for Obsidian, for helping to make this all  possible.

Project Eternity, for all you fans out there wondering, will be on sale sometime Second Quarter 2014.

Quelle: Gaming - A Date With Eternity: My Interview with Obsidian | HTL


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## LordCrash (2. Oktober 2013)

_*Update #65: Ciphers

Update by Josh Sawyer, Project Director*_




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_
An agent of Dunryd Row attempts to perceive a "housed" soul within a piece of evidence._ 

 Hello and welcome to today's class update! We'll be discussing some  newcomers to the Dyrwood's "magic" scene, the enigmatic and deadly  soul-manipulators known as ciphers. Read on to learn how ciphers went  from being an animancer's theoretical possibility, to the feared foes of  Dyrwoodan settlers, to an integral part of Defiance Bay's secret  police, Dunryd Row.

*Cipher Mechanics*

 Contemporary ciphers are fighting casters, like the Glanfathan  "mind hunters" who invented the discipline. When engaged in physical  combat, they use an Ability called Soul Whip to contact and drain the  psyches of their targets. Recognizable by the purple flames that engulf a  cipher's weapons, Soul Whip generates a Focus resource that ciphers can  use to power their abilities. Though ciphers begin combat with a modest  amount of Focus, their more advanced techniques demand large  expenditures of Focus. Additionally, repeated uses of even minor powers  will quickly drain a cipher's Focus, requiring them to dive into  physical combat to generate more.

 Cipher powers are not limited to mental manipulation. They have  abilities that allow them to use a target's soul energy to "leak" and  burst into flame, to generate a physical shockwave of that knocks down  everyone behind the target, or even to bend back toward the cipher,  creating a field of protective energy around him or her.

 With the exception of Soul Whip, all cipher powers require Focus  and a nearby target other than themselves, one with a "housed" soul.  In  practical terms, this means that ciphers must always target a nearby  ally or an enemy with their powers. It is impossible for them to target  themselves, a distant target, or open ground. 

*Here is a sampling of some of the cipher's abilities:*


*Soul Whip (Modal)* - At close range, the  cipher's weapons generate fields of parasitic energy that lash out at a  target's soul. The Soul Whip mode reduces the amount of damage caused,  but each successful hit briefly lowers the target's Psyche defense and  generates Focus for the cipher (attacks Psyche).
*Mind Wave* - The cipher violently intrudes into an  enemy's mind, Stunning the target (attacks Psyche) and generating a cone  of concussive force behind him or her that can knock down anyone in its  path (attacks Fortitude).
*Soul Shock* - The cipher causes an ally's soul to  "crack" and violently release energy into the physical world. The  resulting explosion of electrical (Shock) energy damages everyone nearby  except the target (attacks Reflexes).
*Psychovampiric Shield* - The cipher drains Intellect  from enemies and uses it to temporarily increase his or her Deflection.  The increase in the cipher's Deflection is dependent on how much  Intellect he or she successfully drains from victims (attacks Psyche).
*Mind Blades *- The cipher uses the souls of nearby  enemies to generate attacks against the subjects themselves. Each target  is attacked once by a slashing "mind blade" which then moves on to the  next nearest enemy up to a maximum of five targets (attacks Deflection).
*Recall Agony* - The cipher causes the target to  re-experience the pain of a wound moments after the target originally  suffered it. The damage is a percentage of the original value, but it  ignores the armor of the target (attacks Psyche).
*Ectopsychic Echo* - The cipher and an ally generate a  bolt of psychic energy that periodically rebounds between them, causing  Crush damage to anyone caught in the area (attacks Reflexes).
 
*Cipher Lore*

 Many classes have abilities that allow the user to channel the  power of their own soul or ambient soul fragments to produce incredible  effects. Paladins ignite their souls to produce auras, wizards draw soul  fragments into grimoires to shape and cast spells, and monks use  personal suffering to focus energy through their bodies. While these  classes often develop abilities that allow them to affect the minds and  souls of others, the power is always generated by the user.




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_
Feared for their mental  powers and extreme hostility, the vithrack were once eagerly pursued by  animancers for research purposes._ 

 In the field of animancy, which focuses on the study of souls,  researchers wondered for centuries if they could develop a discipline or  technology that would allow people to connect with the soul of another  living thing -- not just reach or strike out toward it. Wizards and  priests had developed abilities to overwhelm or inspire the mind, but  not to connect with it. Animancers theorized that it could be possible  for one soul to reach out and connect to another, but they had no proof.  Animancers studied folk legends about figures called Watchers who  reportedly were able to see lost souls and perceive an individual's  ancestral lives, but claimants to that title were typically charlatans  at best or mentally unstable and violent at worst. A few intrepid  animancers attempted to communicate with the reclusive spider-like race  known as the vithrack. The creatures, obviously of advanced intelligence  and extraordinary capabilities, seemed to possess the ability to  connect to an individual's soul -- albeit with horrifying consequences.  The dangerous nature and rarity of the vithrack combined with their  inhuman physiology have still proven to be insurmountable obstacles in  understanding how their powers work. Still, the animancers had a few  other leads to follow.

 Over a century ago, during the Broken Stone War, soldiers in the  Dyrwood reported wild tales of having their minds invaded, of seeing  comrades lose control of themselves, of orlan and elven Glanfathan  warriors wielding knives engulfed in purple flames that "cut away" the  souls of their victims. The war was a new experience for everyone  involved, so many Dyrwoodans dismissed many of the more outlandish tales  over time. But over the decades that followed, more settlers reported  similar violent encounters with Glanfathan guerilla fighters. In the War  of Black Trees, Dyrwoodan animancers confirmed many of these  experiences across a wide number of soldiers and settlers. However, with  Dyrwoodan settlers in a state of war with the population of Eir  Glanfath, the researchers couldn't find many Glanfathans who were  willing to talk about it.

 After the Dyrwoodan revolution for independence, the Dyrwood  officially stopped the Aedyr Empire's practice of exploring and  plundering Eir Glanfath's sacred ruins -- the practice that had ignited  the earlier wars between Dyrwoodan settlers and Glanfathans. In the  years that followed, the tribal princes of Eir Glanfath allowed  Dyrwoodan animancers to speak with some of their brîshalgwin ("mind  hunters"), the elite warriors that had terrorized Aedyrans and  Dyrwoodans in past wars. From the brîshalgwin, the animancers learned  that Glanfathans had developed mental abilities that allowed them to  perceive and contact what animancers categorized as "housed" souls,  i.e., souls held within a physical vessel. They initially developed  these talents in an attempt to communicate with souls held in the  Engwithan ruins they were sworn to protect. When the tribal princes  outlawed this practice as disrespectful and dangerous, their councilors  advised the princes to turn the efforts of the brîshalgwin towards  protecting the ruins and developing new methods of warfare.




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_
Standing stones of adra like  these were carelessly knocked down by early Dyrwoodan colonists,  starting a conflict with the local Glanfathans that  erupted into what  became known as the Broken Stone War._ 

 Excited by these revelations, animancers in Defiance Bay began  working with the brîshalgwin, whom the animancers had previously  described as "ciphers" due to their mysterious nature. Given Dyrwoodans'  general discomfort with the Glanfathan language, the cipher name stuck  and continues to be used in everyday conversation. For decades now, the  ciphers and animancers have worked together, each generating new ideas  and expanding their collective understanding of soul manipulation.  Today, Dyrwoodans and foreign visitors from Aedyr, the Vailian Republics  -- even distant Rauatai -- have learned and expanded the ciphers'  growing field of techniques. Recently, encouraged by the potential the  ciphers have shown and dismissive of the superstitious concerns of  locals, Lady Webb, a prominent noble and advisor to the duc, petitioned  the Dyrwood's erls to create a spy service in Defiance Bay consisting  primarily of ciphers. The erls approved, creating what would become  known as Dunryd Row, a respected, if somewhat feared and mistrusted,  organization that operates out of an old, vine-covered house in the  city's Brackenbury District.

 Though ciphers' powers are still being explored, unlocked, and  debated across the civilized world, most people recognize that their  abilities hold great potential -- for good or ill -- in the cultures  that develop them.

Quelle: Update #65: Ciphers - Project Eternity: Announcements and News - Obsidian Forum Community


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## LordCrash (30. Oktober 2013)

Hey, everyone! This week we are doubling up on the Project Eternity  backer update action. Darren Monahan will be giving a brief glimpse  into the Backer Portal and Hector Espinoza will share his work (and some  screenshots!) in a developer Q&A. Enjoy.
*-Brandon*

*Update #66: It’s Finally Time… Soon  
*_*Update by Darren Monahan, Chief Intelligence Overlord*_




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 _*A year already...*_​ 
 Unbelievably, a year has passed by since we launched Project  Eternity on Kickstarter, and a lot has happened. We’re almost to seventy  project updates; we’ve made lots of levels, characters, classes,  monsters, loot, and a whole lot more over the past year with more being  made almost every day.

 November’s right around the corner, and here in the States, we have  an upcoming holiday called Thanksgiving near the end of the month. It’s  supposed to be a time where we give thanks for the harvest and reflect  on the past year.

 It seemed rather appropriate to have a bigger than normal update  coming before this holiday and we’re cooking a big one for you! This  turkey dinner is going to be large and in charge... It’ll show a bunch  of new stuff we haven’t shown anyone outside the studio yet and one of  the side dishes coming with it is the new site.




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 _*Backer Website: Main and Media Pages*_​ 
 All of our previous updates are now easily available in one place,  easy to browse through and include futuristic RSS technology!  We’ve  also got a one-stop shop for all of the screenshots, wallpapers,  artwork, and videos that we’ve released and will release.




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 _*Backer Website: Pledge and Rewards Pages*_​ 
 On the left here, you can make sure all of the pledges you made are  connected to your account. If you backed the game on Kickstarter and  then later added money via PayPal, you can make sure that’s all been  confirmed. If it doesn’t show up, you can link it in by providing the  e-mail addresses you used if they don’t match.

 …and then, confirm that your reward is correct, or maybe even  upgrade if you like! Did you give maybe give us more money thinking you  chose one reward tier but accidentally chose a lower one? No problem,  you can fix that up. Oh, and slacker backers… you might have some  upgrade opportunities…  Onward is the addon screen where you can browse through the available addons and confirm those choices as well.




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 *Backer Website: Add-on and Game Info Pages*​ 
 Then finalize everything! Don’t worry, even though you’ll be  confirming your pledge selections, if you picked up physical rewards,  you’ll be able to change your shipping address up to the point where we  need to lock them. You’ve got plenty of time, and we’ll keep that open  as long as we possibly can in case you move or want to have your stuff  shipped elsewhere.

 On the right there is our “Game” section of the site, where over  the coming months more information and art about the various races,  classes, characters, critters, and locations of interest in the game can  be found.

 OK, we’ll be back in a few short weeks… For those of you who have designs as part of your rewards, get your thinking caps on!


 *Developer Q&A with Hector Espinoza*
_*Update by Hector Espinoza, Lead Environment Artist*_

http://media.obsidian.net/eternity/media/updates/0066/pe-hector-desk-580x387.jpg​ *Hector in his natural habitat.*​ 
*Hello, Hector. What is your job on the Project Eternity team?*
 I am the Lead Environment Artist on Project Eternity.  Along with  building assets and doing layouts of some the larger levels of the game,  I help my team of artists create a visually exciting world for the  players to explore.

*What are you working on this week?*
 This week I'm working on polishing one of the states of the Stronghold and building a Keep that is contained within.

*What is your typical work day like on Project Eternity?*
 I come in to work and read a little email. Sometimes I'll have a  "breakfast snack" in the form of cheese and peanut butter crackers. This  holds me over until lunch time.   Upon my return from lunch, I'll continue to work on my current tasks.  At times I help critique some of the work that is being created around  me or from outsourcing. In the late afternoon I'll head out for a short  walk to get my daily coffee, I'm really good about keeping this to one  cup a day.   Then in the evening as the sun sets I'll hook up the speakers and turn  my office into a "discoteca" and work while listening to some of the  baddest jams on the planet.




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 *One of Hector's work in progress areas, the player's stronghold, in a ruined and restored state.*​ 
*What are you most looking forward to on Project Eternity?*
 I'm looking forward to the day when people get to enjoy our  finished product. We are putting in a lot of hard work and effort to  deliver something special to our fans and backers, thank you all so much  for making this possible! I also want to play it! Our playtests have  been really fun.

*What other projects have you worked on?*
 While at Obsidian I have worked on Dungeon Siege III and after that I have helped out on a number of "unannounced" titles. 
 Before Obsidian the list is pretty big. At Black Isle I worked on  Icewind Dale (as QA), Icewind Dale: Heart of Winter (as an Artist, yay!)  and Icewind Dale II. The short lived "Van Buren", it was going to be  awesome! Oh, and BG III: The Black Hound. The last title I worked on  while at Interplay was Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance 2. Outside of  Interplay and Black Isle I worked on Vampire: Bloodlines, Full Spectrum  Warrior 2, and Lord of the Rings: Conquest. Of course in between a lot  of these titles there are more projects that unfortunately never got to  see a release. 

http://media.obsidian.net/eternity/media/updates/0066/pe-hector-jersey-shore-580x725.jpg​ _*Hector after 7:00 PM.*_​ 
*Which environment that you have done has been your favorite?*
 By far this has to be the first one, which is the original  Kickstarter image. I learned a lot when creating that scene and the  feeling of nostalgia was awesome.

*What do you like to do when you aren't leading the environment art crew?*
 Outside of work I choose photography as another creative outlet. I  like to go out hiking and shoot landscapes or if I'm lucky some  wildlife. Animals can be tough to find and sometimes I don't have the  patience. I also enjoy macro photography, this takes patience too but  it's a much more controlled environment. I like that. 

*Do you have a favorite artist or game developer?*
 This is a super tough question. I'll start with outside the  industry. Favorite artists are Mark Ryden, Audrey Kawasaki, James Jean,  and Ashley Wood. Inside the industry it has to be Akihiko Yoshida, Yoji  Shinkawa, Robh Ruppel, and Sparth.

*And where do you draw your inspiration from?*
 I mainly draw inspiration from the places I visit when I go out  hiking. There is so much to discover when you can capture nature at a  grand scale and at the macro level.  The music I discover on the weekend  when I visit some of my favorite online music sites.  And from the  people that work around me every day. 

*What's your favorite Infinity Engine game? Why?*
 This has to be Icewind Dale. I feel so fortunate to have worked on  that game. It helped me discover the world of D&D. It also gave me  the chance to work with and meet some of the best people in the  industry. I'm truly grateful for that. A super close second is  Planescape: Torment, I mean, come on. HA!

*In a Quake deathmatch between you and Adam Brennecke, what would be the final score?*
 I think the first round would be pretty close it could go either  way really, haha, but once Adam finds his groove, oh man, this would be a  no contest, he's a beast. Final score would be to embarrassing for me  to write. HA!

*Is there anything else we should know?*
 I got that purple, grape, I can bake a cake.


Quelle: Update #66: Double Whammy - Project Eternity: Announcements and News - Obsidian Forum Community


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## LordCrash (13. November 2013)

_*Update #67 What's in a Game?

*by Brandon Adler, Literal Task Master_




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*Welcome to my world... *

 As a producer, one of my jobs is creating and understanding the  game's master schedule. It's a never-ending task that requires constant  refinement and adjustment. Anything that is added or changed can cause a  cascade of unintended consequences which is why as game developers we  have a responsibility to vet everything that goes into the game.

 Today I'd like to give you a glimpse into how we approach game  development from a scheduling perspective and what our typical thought  processes are when figuring this stuff out. You will be able to see how  each part of our area creation fits into the schedule and why changes  and modifications can lead to difficult decisions for the team.  Hopefully, it will give a bit more insight into the tough decisions that  we make each day when crafting Project Eternity.

 *The Schedule*

 One thing to remember is that when we are in the middle of production  the schedule has already been created for just about everything in the  game. What I mean by this is that we have identified all of the major  tasks that will need to be accomplished and allotted time and resources  in our budgets to match those tasks.

 Depending on the team's familiarity with the type of game we are  creating, this can mean anywhere from a tiny bit of guesswork to larger  amounts of... estimation. With Eternity we are very familiar with what  it takes to make an isometric, Western RPG with branching dialogues and  reactivity. It's Obsidian's bread and butter. Because of this our  initial estimates are good approximations.

 Since most of our features and assets are budgeted at the start of  the project, any changes to those items have to be accounted for in the  schedule. This can mean a few different things - anything from reducing  time spent on other tasks, to changing previously scheduled items, to  outright cuts - and when changes need to happen project leads consult  with each other to try and figure out the best option. Keep this in mind  when I start talking about changes to features and assets later on in  this update.

 *One Small Interior Dungeon*

 Alright, let's stop talking in generalities and get into the meat of  what it takes to create a first pass area in Eternity. I'll discuss a  generic small interior dungeon area.

 This area will have the following characteristics and constraints:


Uses an existing "tileset." We don't have tiles in Eternity, but we do have sets of areas that share similar assets.
Will have one unique visual feature in the area. This visual feature  is something that will make the area stand out a bit. It doesn't have  to be incorporated into the design, but we may want to do that to get  the most bang for the buck.
An Average complexity quest uses this area. "Average" is a flavor of  quest in Project Eternity. It refers to the overall complexity of the  quest. Quest complexity is determined by the amount of dialogue,  branching, and steps a quest has.
This is a 3x3 interior. A 3x3 interior is the equivalent of a  5760x3240 render. An easier way to think about it is that a 3x3 area is  nine 1920x1080 screens worth of content. You can imagine that making an  area even a tiny bit larger can actually lead to enormous amounts of  work. As an example, a 3x3 is nine screens of work, where a 4x4 is 16  screens of work... almost double the number of screens.
 
 To create our small interior dungeon area, the following has to occur:


An area designer (Bobby Null, for example) puts together a paper  design for the area. This is usually part of a larger paper design, but  for this purpose we can say that it is a separate element. For a small  area like this, a paper design wouldn't take more than a *quarter of a day*.
 



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_*
       Material concepts for a high wealth interior.*_


After the paper design is constructed, it is passed to the area  design team for revisions and approval. For the most part, this goes  fairly quickly and normally wouldn't take more than a *quarter of a day* for a small area.
A concept artist (Hi, Polina and Kaz)  creates a concept for the unique visual element of this area. Let's say  for our purposes the unique element is a cool adra pillar that is  holding up a portion of the ceiling. This takes *half a day to a day*,  depending on prop complexity. This may seem like a luxury, but making  sure that the areas feel cohesive can save lots of revision time down  the road.
After the concept work is completed, it is reviewed by the Art  Director (Rob Nesler) and the Project Director (Josh Sawyer). Any  necessary changes are then made before being approved. Overall, it  probably takes about a *quarter of a day* for review and any revisions that need to be done.
 


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_*
       An initial pass on a blockout before it has had a review.*_


After the paper design and concepts, an area designer creates a  3D blockout of the area in Unity. This allows the designer to walk  through the area and make sure it flows well. This also helps to give  the environment artist assigned to the area an idea of where the various  elements should be laid out. A full blockout of a 3x3 area normally  wouldn't take more than *half a day*. This is an  extremely important part of the process. Sometimes an area seems great  on paper, but in practice it is clunky or frustrating.
Once the blockout is finished it's passed along to the area strike  team for review. The area strike team includes people from most  disciplines. This is the point where revisions are performed and the  layout becomes finalized. The changes can be as simple as moving some  props around or as complicated as redesigning major portions of the  layout. Again, for a small area of this size, we aren't looking at more  than *half a day* for all of the feedback and revisions.
With the blockout in place, the area can move to environment art (For example, Hector "Discoteca" Espinoza)  for the art pass. This includes putting together existing pieces and  creating new assets to make the area. A large portion of time allotted  to an area is spent in environment art. A 3x3 area that uses mostly  existing assets would typically get three days of environment art work,  but, because we want to have a cool, unique piece in the area we will  add about a day of environment art time. This gives a total of *four days* for the initial art pass.
Like the blockout, the art pass is usually reviewed by the area  strike team. Revisions can vary wildly depending on how everyone feels  about the area, but it isn't uncommon for another *quarter to half a day* to be spent on review and revisions for this size of area.
 


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 _       The blockout above with revisions, 2D render, and initial design._​ 

Now with the 2D render in place, the area is ready for the real  design work to be done. An area designer will typically get about three  days to do the first pass on the area. This includes things like a loot  pass, encounters, trigger setup, temp dialogs, etc.. Because this area  has a quest that is running through it, though, it will get an extra day  to work out all of those kinks. That puts us at *four days* for an initial design pass on the area.
Remember the part about this area having a quest? Well, now is when a  creative designer (Like Mr. Eric Fenstermaker, for example) comes  through to write the dialogs. To be completely honest, this usually  comes much later, but it works for our purposes. The narrative designer  creates the NPC dialogs, quest dialogs, and companion interjections for  the area. Usually an area designer will stub these conversations out and  the narrative designer will come in and complete them. Depending on the  amount of dialog this should take around a *day or two* for everything.
Finally, a concept artist will take a pass at painting over the  final 2D render. This pass is used for "dirtying up" an area and adding  in the little details that might be difficult for an environment artist  to create. As an example, we can cover up texture seems, add in  variation on repeating textures, paint in lighting highlights, and even  add things like patina or moss on objects. Due to Photoshop magic from  Kaz, we can even propagate those changes into our diffuse maps so they  show properly in any dynamic lights. This is a fairly low cost procedure  and Kaz can cover a small area like this in about *half a day*.
There are other considerations (Like animation, sound effects and visual effects, for example), but we will stop for now.
 
 So, for those keeping count at home, to get a first pass area that is  borderline Alpha (as in no bug fixing or polish work) it costs the  project about *13 man days*. This is little over one half  of a man month of time for a small, simple area. Larger areas with more  content take significantly longer to develop.

 Our time estimations used for scheduling are determined in  preproduction (prepro) phase. Our vertical slice (the end of prepro) is  the culmination of the team identifying what it will take to make the  game and then actually doing it. We get these numbers by seeing how long  it takes the team to perform those tasks in our prepro, and then we can  extrapolate those numbers over the course of the time we have budgeted  to understand how much work can get done.

 *Tough Choices*

 A milestone will have 15 to 20 areas of varying complexity going at a  time. A minor change in an area can cause a domino effect that starts  schedule slippage. Remember that on a small team like Project Eternity  we have a limited number of people that can work on any one part of the  game so taking someone off of their current task to work on changes can  gum up our pipelines and prevent others from completing their tasks. We  can get around that by switching up the tasking, but it can quickly get  out of hand and lead to inefficiencies.

 That being said it's the team's responsibility to give our backers  what they have paid for. If we are playing though part of the game and  something feels off from what we promised to our fans, we need to  seriously consider making changes - even if it pushes us off schedule.  There have been times where an update leads to some serious discussion  on the forums and within the team about a direction change. Ultimately  all of that gets added into the equation as well.

 Taking that into consideration, the team has to make difficult  choices every day. Do we go through and do another prop pass on a level?  What does that cost us in the long run? Will we lose an entire area in  the game? These are questions that the leads struggle with everyday. We  are always weighing the cost of assets and features against everything  that still needs to get done.

 Luckily, like I mentioned above, we have a bunch of smart, talented,  experienced people working on Eternity. The pitfalls we have experienced  in previous games give us a leg up when we are trying to navigate this  project's development. I wanted to send out this update to give the fans  a little insight into our daily processes and demystify what probably  seem like arcane decisions. If you enjoy these types of updates, let me  know in the forums and I will try to write more of them for you.


Quelle: http://forums.obsidian.net/topic/64611-update-67-whats-in-a-game/


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## LordCrash (14. Januar 2014)

*Update #70: New Year Project Update*




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Hello, everyone.  Like everyone here at Obsidian, I hope you had a great holiday season and were able to gorge on lots of treats and good food. This week I am going to go over a bit about the new Backer Portal (*please* log in if you haven't already), give a general update about where we are in our production, and show off some of the cool things that are happening in the game. In our next update we will be taking a more detailed look at some of the classes in Eternity.

*Backer Info

* Just a reminder to all of our backers, if you have not done so already, *please head to the Backer Portal and complete your order*. All backers need to go through the process so they can receive their rewards - even those that only have digital goods.

To start the process, click on "Manage My Pledge Now" and click on the "Select Reward" button on the pledge management screen. From here, you may select the tier you backed (or upgrade to a new tier), select additional add-ons, fill out any shipping information, and file your surveys.

Also, please make sure you fill out your surveys as soon as you can. If you have an NPC, item, inn, or portrait the sooner you get the information to us, the sooner we can make sure it gets into the game.

If you are having any issues, e-mail us at support@obsidian.net and we'll help you out quickly.

*Areas

* As most of you know, we finished up Od Nua (our mega-dungeon) in our last milestone. I have to say, I think it looks pretty amazing. Currently, the area team is working on our second big city, Twin Elms, and it is looking just as good. Here, take a look for yourself.




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_*Ancient Engwithan ruins near Twin Elms.*_

Without getting into too much detail, the Area Designers are fleshing out the end of the game right now and everything is really coming together. The area in the screenshot above looks like the perfect place for a big fight, huh?

*Characters

* Our character team has been cranking out new creatures and equipment.

We are almost completely through all of our A priority creatures. Soon we will be working on our B priority creatures and lots of equipment variations.
One of the creatures that was just finished to Alpha quality is the Cean Gŵla. These banshee-like undead are the spirits of women who died under particularly tragic or traumatic circumstances.

Take a look at the comparison images below.
_*



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In-engine and concept comparison of the Cean Gŵla.*_

*UI

* Most of our UI has either been implemented or mocked up to an Alpha level. The interface that we would like to show you today is the character sheet, which shows character and party information. You can find lots of useful info on the sheet including various party statistics, your reputations with Eternity factions, and character stats.
_*



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The character sheet has many useful player and party statistics.*_

*Features

* Features have been going into the game pretty regularly.

We just recently moved to Unity 4.3 and, while this might not seem like a big deal, 4.3 has ushered in some long awaited features. Animation annotations, for example, were added to Unity. We can now call sound effects based on specific frames of animation. This makes things like footsteps possible.

A majority of our spells and abilities are in-game and usable. Josh has started auditing them and requesting changes for gameplay balance purposes. Tim has been quite busy with all of the small edits.

Strangely, one of our more minor features has gotten me the most excited. Just recently we have gotten the ability to set custom party formations and I am having a blast testing it out.

*Concepts

* Have you been wondering what some of the Pillars of Eternity gods look like? Wonder no more.
_*



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Representations of the gods Galawain and Woedica.*_

Above you will see the representations of Galawain and Woedica, gods in the Eternity pantheon.

Woedica is known by many names including "The Exiled Queen," "The Burned Queen," "Oathbinder," and "The Strangler." Her domains include law, justice, oaths and promises, (rightful) rulership, hierarchies, memory, and vengeance.

Priestesses of the Exiled Queen serve as lawyers and judges in towns and urban centers, and the most prominent among them are advisers to kings and lords. They are of particular importance in the Empire of Aedyr, where by tradition, business contracts always require their endorsement. Her devotees are typically found in the upper classes, but any conservative person who longs for a vanished past will find a place in her faith. “When Woedica takes back her throne” is a common saying amongst her followers, signifying a utopian future when society will be properly ordered once again, and she will take her rightful place as ruler of the gods.

Galawain is patron of the hunt in all its forms, and he is honored by those whose occupations are concerned with pursuit and discovery. His faithful include frontiersmen, constables, treasure-seekers, explorers, and even scholars, many of whom wear his carved symbol – a dog’s head – around their wrist or neck. He is also protector of wild places and untamed wilderness, where the hunt manifests in its purest form as a daily struggle for survival.

That's it for this update. Make sure you head over to our forums to let us know what you think of anything you see here.

Quelle: Update #70: New Year Project Update - Pillars of Eternity: Announcements and News - Obsidian Forum Community


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