All aboard the progress bar to the Mega Dungeon! Here I was labouring under the impression that Obsidian’s Kickstarter project was in aid of a new RPG, Project Eternity, only to discover that it itself is a meta-RPG – really, something I should have expected all along from genre jester Chris Avellone. It now features an innovative system whereby levels are gained not through collecting experience points, but people. Hang on, no. That doesn’t sound right at all.
Ah yes, here’s the thing I was thinking of. So it turns out Obsidian’s uppermost stretch goal is now a Mega Dungeon, The Endless Paths, and a sort of acknowledgement that they’re running out of tangible things to promise in return for more money. It’s already had an extra level added to it when the project reached 52,000 backers, with another promised if it hits 55,000, and so on and so forth for every further 2,500.
With scarcely over a week to go and nearly $2,500,000 pledged, though, it’s hardly surprising we’re nearly out of rainbows to reach the end of. We’ve the Barbarian and Cipher classes nearly upon us, a proper create-your-own-party system at $2.6 million, and then it’s simply a case of seeing how many layers The Endless Paths’ cake can take before the bell rings.
The latest project update, meanwhile, details some more of what we can expect to see in the final game. The biggest news is supported modding – with the results to be hosted by mod nest the Nexus network. “Our plan is to release our file-format information and expose as much of the data in the game as possible for you to extend and edit,” say Obsidian.
There’s also some real specific combat talk from original Fallout creator and Troika refugee Tim Cain in the video below, which covers everything from spell side effects to going prone (the latter of which sounds a little pointless at present, to be honest).
So! Supported modding here is a very big deal indeed. Despite the lack of tools available to them, modders have pushed against the Infinity Engine games ever since Baldur’s Gate, with some worthwhile results. Will you be scripting a quest or two come Project Eternity’s eventual release?
Check out our piece on the other 1% to find out what motivates Project Eternity’s mega-backers.