14 DAY TRIAL // During the Gamescom 2014 event, the development team at Obsidian offered players a sneak peek at some of the content they will be able to enjoy in the upcoming Pillars of Eternity, and now the backer beta for the role-playing title is available, designed to show the most dedicated of fans the main features and get them to deliver some important feedback.
The official forum announcement, written by team leader Chris Sawyer, says that the studio plans to deliver updates over time in order to test performance improvements, introduce bug fixes that will be linked to the full game, balance the classes and enemies, and make other changes.
Obsidian explains exactly how gamers can get the beta for Pillars of Eternity and makes it clear that it will not be linked to the final version of the title, which can be redeemed on another platform entirely.
The company adds, “You build a character at 1st level, but you will start the game with enough experience to advance to 5th. While we have very few Talents in the Backer Beta, you should be able to get a very good idea of the core functionality of all eleven classes. It is extremely important to us that the fundamentals of each class feel solid before we implement more Talents or move Abilities around.”
The party members included in the beta are generic but they do show the various ways a gamer can create a fighter, a rogue, a priest, and a wizard in the game.
Gamers can advance as far as level eight and they can experiment with crafting, enchanting, supply management, inns, and hiring adventurers.
Obsidian explains that none of the content included in the beta for Pillars of Eternity is linked to the core story of the full game, and the studio adds that “the stronghold mechanics aren't in the Backer Beta. The stronghold includes a lot of additional maps, characters, and content, some of which are part of the critical path. Including them would have been difficult and the scope would have increased a great deal.”
The developer says that the most important feedback those playing can offer is linked to classes, races, attributes, equipment use, crafting, combat, and the user interface.
A range of problems with the baker beta for Pillars of Eternity are already known, listed on the forums, and reports about them are not needed.
Pillars of Eternity should be launched on the PC during the winter of this year.
