Pillars of Eternity, the long-awaited RPG from Obsidian Entertainment, has joined the long list of games which have delayed their launch until 2015.
Obsidian discussed the delay in a statement published on their website, as well as updating readers on changes being implemented into the game thanks to feedback gathered from the beta. Brandon Adler, lead producer for Eternity, writes: “To incorporate as much feedback as possible, polish every nook and cranny of the game, and make sure we don’t ship a buggy game, Obsidian has decided to push the game’s release into early next year,” following with, “We are going to use the extra time to make Eternity shine for our backers, and a game that we were proud to call our own and would live up to your expectations.”
Some of the changes that will be implemented following feedback include the inclusion of additional progression options for Talents and Abilities and a clean-up of the UI within the game, which will hopefully make combat a “little less chaotic”. One aspect of gameplay that will be included is the addition of Infinity Engine-style targeting reticules. The game will also be available in Italian following feedback. The localization should be available for beta testers after the next update.
Unfortunately, the physical copies of the documentary - which follows Obsidian through development of Pillars of Eternity - offered to backers who pledged $140 or more, is no longer available. The discs wouldn’t include the end of the production process, as they would need to be pressed before the end in order to be delivered on time. Instead, backers will be offered the digital version of the film, as well as some official game notepads.
Pillars of Eternity is an upcoming fantasy role-playing game which adopts party-based gameplay in a similar manner to its spiritual ancestors Baldur’s Gate and Planescape: Torment. A player’s party will be able to include up to five companions who will be recruited whilst exploring the world. The main character will be created using extensive customization options, including the ability to choose a class, race (and subrace), culture, traits, skills and change their appearance to create their own personal background. The game is being built in the popular Unity engine, but aims to recapture the look and feel of Black Isle’s Infinity Engine games from the 1990’s. Gameplay takes place strictly on a 2D plane, while combat takes the form of real-time-with-pause.
Founded by industry veteran Feargus Urqhuart following the closure of Black Isle, Obsidian is probably best known for developing games such as Fallout: New Vegas and Knights of the Old Republic 2. Their most recent release was South Park: The Stick of Truth, which saw a release earlier this year after lengthy delays caused by then-publisher THQ going bankrupt. You can read our review of The Stick of Truth here.
As well as Pillars of Eternity, they are also providing input on Skyforge and a game based on Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series of novels.
Funded mostly via Kickstarter, Obsidian initially asked for $1,100,000 to help make what was then known as Project Eternity. As it turned out, they made over three times that amount, raising nearly $4 million from almost 74,000 backers. Pillars of Eternity is still currently in beta, having been successfully funded nearly two years ago.
Rewards for helping to fund the game included digital content, playing cards, t-shirts and - if you pledged over $10,000 - the chance to design an NPC and an epic weapon to be included in the final release.
