So, just happen to see Obsidian announce this on their Twitter feed a moment ago and noticed nobody else had made a topic for it yet, so in case anyone is interested: https://www.fig.co/campaigns/deadfire

I still have yet to actually play through the first game due to a backlog that would make God weep, but I went ahead and backed it regardless. The more games Obsidian gets to make, the better, and I'm sure I'll actually get around to finishing PoE eventually. The improvements to the game engine, graphically and in terms of AI and such, both look promising, even as someone who can't comment on any of the story or gameplay mechanics.

I loved the first one so i can't wait! If it wasn't on Fig i would probably already throw some money at it

Now this reminds me that i should go play the expansion of the first game...

Just backed it.

I played a good amount of the first PoE but never completed it. But I am an Obsidian fan and I hope this will be very successful.

PoE is fantastic in all the ways a great RPG is: story, combat, music, etc. Just glancing at the fig page has me excited about the improvements in the sequel. Also, I really want that Old Nua head statue thingy.

Pillars of Eternity happened to be my favorite game of 2015, so yeah, I backed this. Pleasantly surprised that they seem to be well into development on this thing, given the relatively modest (If $1.1 Million can be considered "modest") goal and estimated delivery date of early next year (which will inevitably be delayed to late next year.) Definitely a better way to run things than InXile seems to be doing.

What does it being on Fig have to do with it?

I wish I'd been able to get in to PoE a bit more. I find my ability to read the amount of text in these games has really dwindled as I've gotten older. I can make my way through the old infinity engine games because I already know most of it!

I don't have a problem with it particularly, but does anyone else find it odd that games like PoE, Divinity: Original Sin, The Banner Saga and so on were successful enough to warrant sequels, but not successful enough to make them without more crowdfunding? Does front loading their sales eat into their post-release profits that much? If they're already in development of this thing, what happens if they don't meet their goals?

@thomasnash:

Why We're Asking For Your Help

In addition to localizing the game in both French and German languages, funding this campaign allows us to include multiclassing. This would offer players and companions alike the chance to branch their available skills over time, opening the way for more opportunities for the role-playing and customization that our fans deserve. Choice, as ever, is vital to the experience of role-playing games. By taking levels in multiple classes, your characters will be able to evolve in new and unique ways.

We're already working hard on Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire. So far, we've been funding the game on the success of Pillars of Eternity. This has given us the freedom to start creating an amazing story – one that we're excited to share. With your support, we can make Pillars of Eternity II the best role-playing game it can possibly be.

Check back with us early and often! We’ll be regularly updating this page with news, design info, and answers to your questions in the Comments section.

From all of us at Obsidian, thank you so much for your continued support!

@koolaid: oh, i have some issues with the concept of it, but it's just personal feelings :) I guess i should have imagined they would have used it since the CEO of Obsidian is on the advisory board

But eh, my mind is already racing! I'm wondering if anything important can happen with the baby i've rescued/kidnapped in the first game! And multiclass is cool, i had a paladin which was not exactly the most exciting class to play so branching sounds super interesting

I really, really loved Pillars of Eternity. If I had the disposable income to make a high tier pledge I'd do it in a heartbeat.

So essentially the answer is that the success of the first game was not the amount of success required to make the game they want to make.

All of which brings us back to (slight variations of) my original questions: If some portion of the original game's sales hadn't been up front from crowdfunding, would they have been able to include those elements off the back of the first game? If they don't secure funding, do they put out a game that isn't everything their fans "deserve" and isn't everything they want it to be.

Like I say, it's not a criticism at all. I don't think it's shady and I don't think that consumers are getting screwed or anything. I just find it to be one of the stranger long term aspects of the crowdfunded game space.

I guess I'm curious about what your issues with Fig are specifically. If you said you don't do crowdfunding that would be more understandable to me, but I'd like to understand what is it about Fig that taints a project for you.

@thomasnash: I suspect that it actually has less to do with crowdfunded upfront sales and more to do with just actual sales success of the game. Pillars was a critically lauded game but my impression was always that it never actually sold particularly well, merely that it had about as good sales numbers as a 2015 CRPG could hope for. Granted, I haven't actually looked up any concrete sales data, but overall the feeling I've gotten from being online is that for as well-received as the game was, it's not like it was some gigantic blockbuster hit because it is ultimately still somewhat of a niche game.

Super keeeeeeen. The first game was the best game I played that year and that's the year the Witcher 3 came out too.

@koolaid: Sure, can i pm you? :) So i don't go too much off-topic here

@cagliostro88: You really should the White March content is miles better than what was in the base game, and this is coming from someone who thought the base game was really good.

@cottonwolf: well that's a very warm recommendation so i'll do it soon then; i first waited for the second part to drop so i could play it to completion, then when i got it i had some other game taking my time and finally a few months ago i played Tyranny so my need for isometric rpgs was filled, now it's actually a good time for me to play it

@cagliostro88: Sure

As soon as they do Paypal I'll back this. The first game plus expansion is great.

Pillars is one of my favorite games I'll throw some money their way soon as I'm able.

I'm really glad Pallegina and Eder are making a return. I hope Path of the Damned is a standard feature in this one.

I had every intention of beating the expansion to the first one, but I found hard mode was outside of my ability to overcome. And if you wonder why I didn't switch to normal mode, it's because I'd already visited everyplace on hard mode so the switch wouldn't actually change anything.

Pillars of Eternity 2 has achieved its funding goal and did it in just under 24 hours, so it's all stretch goals from here on out. First one is subclassing, which is on track to be met in the next few hours.

Also, Obsidian just publicly released (was previously backer-exclusive) the making-of documentary for Pillars of Eternity a couple days ago, and it serves as a nice recap of the first game's development history and setup for their launch of the Eternity 2 project. Youtube link: The Road to Eternity.

Everything that is announced for this game/stretch goals pleases me.

PoE is an excellent game. Hope the sequel does at least as well.

They've already met the first two stretch goals, which all seem pretty modest (stuff like new companions, AI scripting and additional localization languages) and suggest that they already have the scope of the game planned out pretty well.

If anyone's interested, I highly recommend watching the developer commentary streams for the first game that Josh Sawyer did like a month ago. Definitely gives some interesting insights into what Obsidian might be focusing on improving in the sequel.

I threw them $40. Josh Sawyer came and gave a presentation to our class back in college, plus I like Obsidian and their games.

So just a heads up I found out (and I certainly hadn't heard anything about this) that if you backed the previous game you should have got an email with a 5 buck discount on backing Deadfire. For me it was in my spam and labelled "introducing Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire". So if you like you can use that to get a discount or use it to bump down the price of a higher bracket.

Today they also put out a Valentine's Day video about "companion relationships" but luckily it looks like it's not focused on fucking your party members but more about creating more involved inter-party reactions.

I'm hoping they make it to the 3mil.

All of Sawyers videos have been real good actually. If you are a big nerd you'll get a lot out of his explanation of the multi-classing system too.

Sorry to dig up an old post, but I was looking through the Fig page and in the investment section they actually provide sales data for the first game. It sold just under 900,000 copies, which was more than Wasteland 2 (650,000) but less than Divinity Original Sin (1,250,00). There are some disclaimers on the site about using these numbers, but I assume Obsidian has a pretty good idea of how many copies of their own game they sold. Hardly a gigantic hit when compared to some big franchises, but probably a solid performance based on the budget of the game.

Jesus, is that really where we're at with crowdfunding now?

Loved the first game. Backed this on day one.

I have no trouble at all with the idea of a relatively successful and financially stable studio continuing to use crowd funding. It helps improve the end product and ensures they can continue making games that cater to a niche audience. It can also be a very effective marketing tool.

@teddie: Seems like it. It's basically just a loyalty coupon at this point so I am more than happy to use it.