The Outer Worlds: Spacer's Choice Edition - Obsidian's first-person sci-fi RPG set in a corporate space colony

[rusty_shackleford]

Destructoid GOTY: https://www.destructoid.com/destructoid-s-award-for-overall-best-game-of-2019-goes-to--575748.phtml

Tip of the hat to Animal Farm as always

Logan's Run

Nobody here should be surprised that every shill outlet will name it GOTY. It hits every fad button possible in the safest way possible. It's basically the result of someone focus testing a bunch of rick and morty fans from reddit.

 

[Infinitron]

Nah, it hasn't gotten many awards. There was the IGN RPG of the Year and this...what else?

 

[Duraframe300]

Nah, it hasn't gotten many awards. There was the IGN RPG of the Year and this...what else?

4 Game of the Year wins all in all. Disco got 12 (Which got it into the Top 5), still more than Fallen Order which got 3.

https://gotypicks.blogspot.com/

 

[Infinitron]

Nice website.

https://gotypicks.blogspot.com/2019/10/2019-game-of-year-genre-awards.html

RPG of the Year: The Outer Worlds 16, Disco Elysium 11
Best Story: The Outer Worlds 2, Disco Elysium 10

 

[JDR13]

*scrolls back few pages*

Why are people bitching about comabt? Timey-wimey stuff was miles better than VATS. Instead of mundane and dry shooting at hotspots, you have much more freedom to dick around, especially in combos with some of the more wacky weapons. It's both more dynamic and more engaging because you can think on your feet instead of V>check percentages>hit the hotspot>wait a while>repeat.

Too bad it's mostly irrelevant due to the ridiculous amount of weapons and ammo the game shoves in your face. Plus the fact that it becomes way too easy before the end even on the harder difficulty.

 

[Infinitron]

It is generally an easy game, but one thing I found which surprised me was that the endgame combat against UDL corporate troops became prohibitively difficult until I modded my weapons, which I'd avoided doing until that point. I wasn't expecting that, I figured the game would let me coast until the very end.

It made me regret that I hadn't experimented with modding earlier because the way it changes your weapon models is cool. That's mostly due to me being a degenerate item hoarder, but the foolish way they chose to set up the game's itemization contributed to it.

 

[DalekFlay]

It is generally an easy game, but one thing I found which surprised me was that the endgame combat against UDL corporate troops became prohibitively difficult until I modded my weapons, which I'd avoided doing until that point. I wasn't expecting that, I figured the game would let me coast until the very end.

It made me regret that I hadn't experimented with modding earlier because the way it changes your weapon models is cool. That's mostly due to me being a degenerate item hoarder, but the foolish way they chose to set up the game's itemization contributed to it.

I think it's more that the enemies later on become more and more bullet-spongey, requiring the extra damage modding provides.

 

[Infinitron]

Nah, they go down pretty quickly individually, they just hit real hard with N-Rays and Shock Cannons and shit that you have to do even better than that. Making my sniper rifle Corrosive + Extra crit damage did the trick.

I didn't find enemies in TOW to be particularly bullet spongey when you're not clearly outclassed (don't use unmodded assault rifles on sentry robots, etc). Unless you're expecting Call of Duty-style one hit kills or something.

 

[DalekFlay]

I didn't find enemies in TOW to be particularly bullet spongey when you're not clearly outclassed (don't use unmodded assault rifles on sentry robots, etc). Unless you're expecting Call of Duty-style one hit kills or something.

You're not the first person to disagree with me, but I dunno. I definitely had the opposite experience. On hard mode even with modding and 100 skill I was constantly having to pump endless rounds into enemies near the end. The prisoners in the final area especially, just endless health bars. I'm comparing it against normal shooters though, so I guess it's relative.

 

[Infinitron]

I think most games of this type have the problem that the "faster but less damage"/"slower but more damage" tradeoff usually turns out to be false. It's just really hard to beat hitting the AI as hard as possible and taking them out in one shot. You want to play through the game as a tacticool spy dude with pistols and submachine guns, but as soon as you encounter something that actually challenges you, you end up running for that plasma launcher BFG. Or as in my case, the compromise of turning your sniper rifle into an anti-materiel battle rifle for close range combat.

But still, I found that my assault rifle was usually okay against human enemies, just not as efficient. Around half of a 24-round clip to take one down, usually.

 

[Daidre]

I spent 90% of them game using 2 Plasma Rifles - one usual, and another with corrosive upgrade. I was one-shotting most of enemies on Hard with a rare exception of some elite animals on Monarch. I have tried a lot of other guns along the way but everything seemed like total trash next to max charged headshot from plasma Rifle.

Can't comment on endgame enemies though, I was so tired of the game at this point that just run through last dungeon as complete pacifist with cheaty stealth.

 

[Fedora Master]

I used the same type of plasma rifle for 80% of the game with no issues whatsoever.

 

[JDR13]

It is generally an easy game, but one thing I found which surprised me was that the endgame combat against UDL corporate troops became prohibitively difficult until I modded my weapons, which I'd avoided doing until that point. I wasn't expecting that, I figured the game would let me coast until the very end.

Yeah, there was definitely a difficulty spike right at the very end with those UDL troops. The end boss is also a real bitch if you don't have a high enough hacking skill to make that fight easier.

Everything else was too easy though, and there's waaaaaay too many resources just handed to the player. I might replay it in a few years if someone manages to make a good balance overhaul mod.

 

[Fedora Master]

The biggest issue with the end fight on Supernova is keeping your retarded companions alive throughout.

 

[DalekFlay]

But still, I found that my assault rifle was usually okay against human enemies, just not as efficient. Around half of a 24-round clip to take one down, usually.

It's just a difference in terminology then because I consider "half a 24 round clip with the assault rifle" VERY bullet-spongey.

 

[IHaveHugeNick]

Fellas, we already established 50 pages ago that the difference of opinions between "enemies are bullet spongy" and "I can one-shot everything" is actually a difference between "I don't mod my weapons" and "I mod and tinker everything".

 

[JDR13]

The biggest issue with the end fight on Supernova is keeping your retarded companions alive throughout.

I parked them in that first room and closed the door.

 

[JDR13]

It's just a difference in terminology then because I consider "half a 24 round clip with the assault rifle" VERY bullet-spongey.

I don't think it's a difference in terminology as much as it's you simply having a very low tolerance for what you consider bullet-spongey.

Most people don't consider half a clip to bring down opponents with body armor very bullet-spongey.

 

[DalekFlay]

Fellas, we already established 50 pages ago that the difference of opinions between "enemies are bullet spongy" and "I can one-shot everything" is actually a difference between "I don't mod my weapons" and "I mod and tinker everything".

I modded and tinkered everything with 100 weapon skills, as I already said.

Most people don't consider half a clip to bring down opponents with body armor very bullet-spongey.

The prisoners at the end were wearing freaking jumpsuits. Anyway yes, it seems to be about each person's subjective opinion about what is or isn't too many hits to drop an enemy, like I already said above. When I'm fighting half-a-dozen prisoners at once, I don't want to put half a clip into each of them. In an isometric game it would be fine, but for an RPG/FPS hybrid I consider it obnoxious. It also depends on the encounter, like in New Vegas for example a rifle round to the skull killed most normal human enemies, but then a sort of "boss character" would require more, which was fine. In the final areas of Outer Worlds though, every enemy was a "more than one shotgun blast up close" enemy, which was annoying. Anyway whatever, it was a mild annoyance not some massive grievance. Sometimes opinions are just that.

 

[JDR13]

The prisoners at the end were wearing freaking jumpsuits. Anyway yes, it seems to be about each person's subjective opinion about what is or isn't too many hits to drop an enemy, like I already said above. When I'm fighting half-a-dozen prisoners at once, I don't want to put half a clip into each of them. In an isometric game it would be fine, but for an RPG/FPS hybrid I consider it obnoxious. It also depends on the encounter, like in New Vegas for example a rifle round to the skull killed most normal human enemies, but then a sort of "boss character" would require more, which was fine. In the final areas of Outer Worlds though, every enemy was a "more than one shotgun blast up close" enemy, which was annoying. Anyway whatever, it was a mild annoyance not some massive grievance. Sometimes opinions are just that.

What prisoners in jumpsuits are you referring to? There was nothing but UDL soldiers in the endgame when I played it. *Edit* I'm assuming you must have sided with The Board and got a different endgame.

As far as being subjective, sure. You could claim 2 or 3 shots is too many, and that's your prerogative. However, I don't think most people would consider the non-boss enemies in TOW particularly bullet-spongey.

 

[DalekFlay]

I don't think most people would consider the non-boss enemies in TOW particularly bullet-spongey.

Cool, let me know when you do a thorough worldwide poll.

 

[JDR13]

I don't think most people would consider the non-boss enemies in TOW particularly bullet-spongey.

Cool, let me know when you do a thorough worldwide poll.

Kind of unnecessary when it's obvious.

 

[DalekFlay]

Kind of unnecessary when it's obvious.

Didn't you call me arrogant not that long ago?

I'm in the minority among people discussing it in this thread, but not sure what else there is to debate. We all had roughly the same stats and enemy health, so if you guys thought there was no bullet-sponging on hard mode then cool. Glad you had a better time. You thought choices meant something in Greedfall and I didn't, if you remember, and that's another case where everyone's experiencing roughly the same shit and just have different reactions to it. No one's right or wrong, they just have different expectations and tolerances.

 

[Doktor Best]

How high are the chances that this game will get a balance patch akin to POE1? I dropped my playthrough after some hours in hope that we will get one, but Obsidian has been awfully quiet about the game post release up until now.

Are there any decent balance mods out yet?

 

[Daidre]

How high are the chances that this game will get a balance patch akin to POE1?

I always thought that POE balance patches were Sawyer's labor of love in vain attempt to make a perfect D&D. So, without him, no chances for TOW in balancing department.

Modding scene also seems dead with how nasty UE4 is to mod without proper dev support.