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[HP_Wuvcraft]

"Kind of silly to drop $25 now just to play a glorified demo of the game so close to release, but if you really want to you have to sign into their website and go here: https://eternity.obsidian.net/backer/addons it's the 5th option down."

Sometimes hype cannot be contained. I might just wait for the release, but it's nice seeing the option there.

It sounds like you want a demo. You're best waiting for release.

 

[petghost]

You think people are playing review copies of this yet?

 

[duckroll]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsX3RLUAU6Y

Every time they show off more of the game I get more excited. The Stronghold stuff looks great, the active attacks look great, the adventure sequences look great, the dungeons look great. Aaaaaaaaaaah.

 

[robin2]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsX3RLUAU6Y

Every time they show off more of the game I get more excited. The Stronghold stuff looks great, the active attacks look great, the adventure sequences look great, the dungeons look great. Aaaaaaaaaaah.

Same here.

 

[Pinko Marx]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsX3RLUAU6Y

Every time they show off more of the game I get more excited. The Stronghold stuff looks great, the active attacks look great, the adventure sequences look great, the dungeons look great. Aaaaaaaaaaah.

Omgod I loved those character introductions. This game is gunna be so fucking awesome.

 

[Rad-]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsX3RLUAU6Y

Every time they show off more of the game I get more excited. The Stronghold stuff looks great, the active attacks look great, the adventure sequences look great, the dungeons look great. Aaaaaaaaaaah.

I have a feeling this will be the first Obsidian game that will be universally liked. Their previous games have gotten some extremely mixed reactions but this one looks like it might satisfy every PC RPG fan.

 

[GasProblem]

I'm really liking all these companions. How am I ever going to choose a party?

 

[JC Sera]

I'm really liking all these companions. How am I ever going to choose a party?

You can have 8 in a party?

 

[Zabojnik]

So apparently the companions are all 'compatible' with each other, more or less pronounced bickering aside? Did I get that right?

 

[Durante]

I skipped the character interactions and only had a look at the dungeon gameplay.

It's perfect.

 

[Spookie]

Hey look it's the token Nolan North character. Hurray.

 

[JC Sera]

Hey look it's the token Nolan North character. Hurray.

which one?

 

[WanderingWind]

I have only very rarely been so excited for a video game in my whole life. I feel like a kid again and whatnot.

 

[Spookie]

which one?

The fighter. I know that voice anywhere. He's a super nice bloke too.

 

[Gothos]

You think people are playing review copies of this yet?

Not yet, I think.

 

[JC Sera]

The fighter. I know that voice anywhere. He's a super nice bloke too.

Ahhhhh. I still don't have the ability to pick nolan out of games

 

[Kinthalis]

Fell asleep watching quill you tube videos before my playlist got to this one! Must watch now!

 

[Steez]

The fighter. I know that voice anywhere. He's a super nice bloke too.

They sound similar, but no way in hell they hired Nolan North for this game.

 

[duckroll]

I've noticed that we've now seen story stuff from 6 of the 8 companions in the game. Kana Rua interactions were shown when Sawyer played through a floor of Od Nua in a previous video, and we also saw how Sagani gets recruited into the party as part of a previous video demo. This time at PAX East they featured Hiravias, Pallegina, Eder, and Aloth along with their voices. That leaves Durance and Grieving Mother which I don't recall seeing much of at all. Incidentally, these are also the two characters that Avellone was writing but got cut back. Really curious to see how they've turned out.

 

[HK-47]

I've noticed that we've now seen story stuff from 6 of the 8 companions in the game. Kana Rua interactions were shown when Sawyer played through a floor of Od Nua in a previous video, and we also saw how Sagani gets recruited into the party as part of a previous video demo. This time at PAX East they featured Hiravias, Pallegina, Eder, and Aloth along with their voices. That leaves Durance and Grieving Mother which I don't recall seeing much of at all. Incidentally, these are also the two characters that Avellone was writing but got cut back. Really curious to see how they've turned out.

Probably a disaster. We should just give up on the whole endeavor now.

 

[Enduin]

Probably a disaster. We should just give up on the whole endeavor now.

I'm still confused/amazed that MCA divulged that information because the only thing that will do is doom those two characters from the start. A lot of people knowing that he wrote them originally and that they were then scaled back and rewritten by other writers will just look at them as failures from the start no matter how well done they are in the final game.

I get that that want to be upfront about his contributions since a lot of people thought he was a major creative force behind the game, but going into detail about how the characters were written and everything just seems like a bad move.

 

[HK-47]

I'm still confused/amazed that MCA divulged that information because the only thing that will do is doom those two characters from the start. Most people knowing that he wrote them originally and that they were then scaled back and rewritten by other writers will just look at them as failures from the start no matter how well done they are in the final game.

I get that that want to be upfront about his contributions since a lot of people thought he was a major creative force behind the game, but going into detail about how the characters were written and everything just seems like a bad move.

Obsidian has a tendency to say things they probably shouldnt.

 

[Sothpaw]

Watching the PAX panel; party banter is quite good from what I can see. Great contrast from the horrific companions DAI produced.

 

[duckroll]

With Eric Fenstermaker as lead narrative designer, I have full confidence that the story and companions will all be consistent and interesting regardless of changes made during the creative process to get the game made.

 

[HK-47]

With Eric Fenstermaker as lead narrative designer, I have full confidence that the story and companions will all be consistent and interesting regardless of changes made during the creative process to get the game made.

Too late. All I can think of is the mental dungeon we arent getting.

 

[Kinthalis]

Watching the PAX panel; party banter is quite good from what I can see. Great contrast from the horrific companions DAI produced.

Really, really good. Looking forward to party interactions like the ones showcased.

"You must gather your party before venturing forth".

Oh my god, the feels!

Music sounds even better than in the bb. Man, that's going to be one epic soudntrack!

 

[duckroll]

Too late. All I can think of is the mental dungeon we arent getting.

You only have yourself to blame!

 

[greenfish]

This one+bloodborne = saved until W3

Love the look of unity engine, games like wateland, pillars and torment looks really great in 2D mixed with 3D elements

 

[TrueMenace]

You can have 8 in a party?

Well, you can only have a total of 6 party members out in the game world. There are 8 companions, and 3 will have to be left behind if you want an all companion party (your player character + 5 companions = 6 total).

 

[Labadal]

The mental dungeon is something that would be a better fit for Torment from what I read about it. I'm disappointed that Avellone's characters were altered, but the people on the project are talented enough, imo.

I think that Obsidian sometimes have a tendency to say stuff that they probably shouldn't, but not in this case. I love the fact that are trying to be upfront about what is going on in the development of the game. When they are having trouble with something, they have spoken about it on the forum. When they have been confronted about something, they have been responding. I love this about crowd funded games. It can be a double edged sword when you share stuff, but the pros outweigh the cons. Remember when they released the first rough art draft? That's stuff that the public usually never sees. People got to see it and got outraged. Now, I think that the designs they have for armors and weapons look great. I have seen more armors than a lot of people have but I won't post the screens. Seeing them for yourself for the first time is half the fun.

 

[jschreier]

You think people are playing review copies of this yet?

Nope! This week I hear.

 

[Labadal]

Stole this post from Sensuki. Bobby Null "goes deep" about Level Design and Raedric's Hold.

Towards the end of the project. It was a fun level to design and was truly a team effort. I'll give you a briefish rundown of how the process worked. It kinda went like this...

1. One day I walked into Josh's office and was like... "Hey Josh, I want to design a big-ass gothic castle level. What do you think?". Josh responds with a silent emphatic head nod.

2. I then go to Jorge Salgado, one of our level designers, and say something along the lines of "Yo, Jorge. I'm gonna come in this weekend and design a big ass gothic castle level. You in?" I'm paraphrasing here, but he replied something like "F%^$ yeah!".

3. So we came in on a Saturday and I explained how I wanted the level flow to work (being vague so I don't spoil it). We then started tossing out story ideas for the quest. After an hour or two, we were both happy with the idea and Jorge drew some layout ideas for the exterior on the whiteboard in our office.

4. We bantered a few times, refined a few things here and there and called it a day. I then assigned block out duties to Jorge.

5. Later, he blocked out the exterior and interior areas. The early blockouts were sick, but needed some refinement. I had Jorge make some level flow adjustments and various tweaks to the blockout. Early on it was a little easy to get lost in this place.

6. Once I approved the blockout revisions, the levels went off to level art. Sean Dunny worked the exterior, while Hector Espinoza and April Giron worked the interiors.

7. Once the first pass art was in, Jorge implemented the first pass of the level content, including quest and dialogue.

8. Once we had a playable level, I played through the level multiple times and wrote notes.

9. Next, Rob Neslor (Art Director) and I got together and reviewed the first pass art. We made dozens of notes (which included new props needed) for a second art pass.

10. At this point, Jorge needed to move on to work on Twin Elms. I assigned Olivia Veras, one of our newer area designers, to take the level home. She and I worked closely to refine the quest content, level flow, dialogue, combat pacing, loot, balance, etc. She did a fantastic job finishing the level and making it shine. She worked closely with Eric Fenstermaker and Carrie Patel, the narrative designers on the project, to make sure the narrative of the area blended well with the critical path elements of Gilded Vale.

11.Then, the finishing touches (like the lit stain glass and scripted interaction art) we're put in and polished. John Lewis handled the various visual effects in the area, while Kaz supplied the SI art.

12. Finally, Justin Bell and the audio guys worked their magic on the music and sound fx of the area.

This is obviously an abbreviated rundown of how we make levels, but hopefully it gives you guys a little understanding of how a level can come together. Sometimes there is a ton of planning, writing documents, and waiting months before the work even begins. Raedric's came together quickly. It certainly helps when it is closer to the end of the production cycle and we can more accurately project how long things will take. This is because the developers are used to the workflow and tools their using, we have a library of assets to draw upon and the team is more or less working like a well-oiled machine.

 

[Decado]

any word on how the combat system is shaping up? Last gameplay i saw was from a while ago and it didn't look good.

 

[Enduin]

any word on how the combat system is shaping up? Last gameplay i saw was from a while ago and it didn't look good.

Looks pretty good from recent vids. Early BB stuff I read wasn't too hot on combat, but everyone seems quite happy with everything now.

 

[petghost]

any word on how the combat system is shaping up? Last gameplay i saw was from a while ago and it didn't look good.

i think its looking rad! quite a bit better. very fast paced. if you are completely opposed to ie style rtwp i dont think its gonna change your mind though.

check out the pax east panel video to see the how encounters look.

 

[Decado]

i think its looking rad! quite a bit better. very fast paced. if you are completely opposed to ie style rtwp i dont think its gonna change your mind though.

check out the pax east panel video to see the how encounters look.

Will do. Always merely tolerated IE combat. Sawyer had some good ideas to improve upon it, and I'll be interested to see if/how they were implemented.

EDIT: Is there an overview of any new mechanics they've introduced to the combat system? Hard to tell from looking at video.

 

[Enduin]

Will do. Always merely tolerated IE combat. Sawyer had some good ideas to improve upon it, and I'll be interested to see if/how they were implemented.

EDIT: Is there an overview of any new mechanics they've introduced to the combat system? Hard to tell from looking at video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMvKFfnDdvQ - a bit old but does a good job explaining the basics of how combat works out

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvO6IHtJuXI Our own Sensuki just posted this the other day which also explains how combat mechanics and calculations work.

 

[TrueMenace]

Will do. Always merely tolerated IE combat. Sawyer had some good ideas to improve upon it, and I'll be interested to see if/how they were implemented.

EDIT: Is there an overview of any new mechanics they've introduced to the combat system? Hard to tell from looking at video.

Check out my PoE playlist if you want, should have some videos you're looking for.
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLxvouEIIL2reyJ_pg20Nqq0f1Lj63YQo

 

[Jebral]

Am I insane for dying to attempt to play a game like this with a steam controller?

I just wonder if it can work! I can see it now, scroll the map with the left pad, cursor with the right...

 

[JC Sera]

Am I insane for dying to attempt to play a game like this with a steam controller?

I just wonder if it can work! I can see it now, scroll the map with the left pad, cursor with the right...

You can try nearly anything....once....

 

[Enduin]

Am I insane for dying to attempt to play a game like this with a steam controller?

I just wonder if it can work! I can see it now, scroll the map with the left pad, cursor with the right...

Yeah... I don't see that working out for you very well.

 

[Sothpaw]

Am I insane for dying to attempt to play a game like this with a steam controller?

Yes.

 

[draetenth]

I can hardly believe this game is almost out.

 

[terrisus]

One day I walked into Josh's office and was like... "Hey Josh, I want to design a big-ass gothic castle level. What do you think?". Josh responds with a silent emphatic head nod.

Darn did I ever pick the wrong career path choosing to go with Education instead of Computer Science back in 2001 =(

 

[JC Sera]

Darn did I ever pick the wrong career path choosing to go with Education instead of Computer Science back in 2001 =(

Teach the children to make good games!

 

[TrueMenace]

Am I insane for dying to attempt to play a game like this with a steam controller?

I just wonder if it can work! I can see it now, scroll the map with the left pad, cursor with the right...

I'm going to go against the norm and say that it's "doable"...but it's contingent upon the controller's right mouse pad accuracy. You can play 1 handed with just your hand on the mouse for PoE tbh, so I think the Steam Controller with it's "mouse-circle pad-thingy" replacing the right analog stick could be 'doable'.

 

[HK-47]

So who is everyone most interested in companion wise? Outside of the two we know nothing about

 

[JC Sera]

So who is everyone most interested in companion wise? Outside of the two we know nothing about

Pallegina and the Grieving Mother

Spoiler

I want Aloth for comic relief

 

[petghost]

so far I think pallegina and aloth sound really cool.

 

[Rad-]

So who is everyone most interested in companion wise? Outside of the two we know nothing about

Aloth and Eder are certain for my party. Aloth seems pretty badass and funny. Eder because I think I heard that he is somewhat important to the story(?)