Obsidian Entertainment has revealed some new details about its upcoming CRPG, Project Eternity. As the company suggests, the game is still in early stage and they are still working on many of the cultures, factions, and ethnic groups of the world and debating many of the system concepts. However, there are certain fundamental things they can share with us. In addition, the team has released the first concept art that can be viewed below.

Players will be able to choose up to five companions for a total of six characters. Special characters might be added to the player’s party, meaning that the total number of characters will be even higher for those special occasions. Companions are never forced on the player and as such, players can explore the entire world and its story on their own if they so choose.

Players will be able arrange their party in a large number of set formations. They will also be able to construct their own formations if they want to get fancy, and when moving companions, they’ll have the ability to rotate formations for more precise positioning.

In Project Eternity, companions exist for both narrative and mechanical purposes. Companions are designed to have a driving interest in the player’s central conflict. Their personalities and motivations open plot branches and generate conflicts for players to resolve over the course of the story. They are highly reactive to the player’s actions and to the world around them. Additionally, companions exist to give players strategic management options in party composition that expand the party’s capabilities in exploration, combat, and quest resolution.

Although Obsidian has not finalised the ‘character creation’ attributes, players will be able to specify their main character’s name, sex, class, race (including subrace), culture, traits, ability scores, portrait, and the fundamental starting options of his or her class (gear, skills, and talents).

Last but not least, here is what Obsidian had to say about the game’s races:

“We are still developing the races of Project Eternity, but we are creating a range that encompasses the recognizable (e.g. humans, elves, dwarves), the out-of-the-ordinary (e.g. the so-called “godlike”), and the truly odd (?!). Races and subraces differ from each other culturally, but the races also have different physiological factors that can contribute to friction and confusion between them.

Within even the recognizable races (including humans), we are creating a variety of ethnic subtypes and nationalities. This world’s races did not all spring forth from the same place, and millennia of independent development have resulted in distinctive and unconnected groups. For example, the dwarf ranger below is originally from a southern boreal region that is quite different from the temperate homes of her distant kin to the north.

Additionally, Project Eternity’s world contains some isolated races and ethnicities, but transoceanic exploration and cultural cohabitation have heavily mixed many racial and ethnic groups over time. This mixing is not always… peaceful. At times it has degenerated into genocide and long-standing prejudices are ingrained in many cultures. “

Enjoy the following concept art and stay tuned for more!