Obsidian General Discussion Thread

[The Dutch Ghost]

Will Sawyer new RPG announcement is going to save 2020?

He would have to come up with something really special, something on the level of Fallout New Vegas.
And my magic 8 ball says "Don't bet on it"

 

[Kazuki]

He would have to come up with something really special, something on the level of Fallout New Vegas.
And my magic 8 ball says "Don't bet on it"

No, the game will not on the level of Fallout New Vegas in term of Budget and scale. It's just Josh pet project in the same scale as Grounded. A smaller budget with small team, not a Triple A RPG like Avowed.

 

[Major_Blackhart]

So why doesn't he want to work on the shitty generic fantasy universe that he created?

 

[Sannom]

Change of scenery, he already directed two games in that universe. There are directors who won't touch an universe or game series after the first game.

 

[Butter]

Sawyer doesn't know how to just be a director. He's always tried to write and design as well. It's probably more satisfying for him to work on a small project where that kind of micro-management is less detrimental. Sawyer might even become an indie dev if he learns how to code.

 

[<3sRichardSimmons]

So why doesn't he want to work on the shitty generic fantasy universe that he created?

He pretty clearly never liked it that much; basically spent his whole tenure trying to surreptitiously sand a square peg to fit a round hole.

 

[Flou]

Change of scenery, he already directed two games in that universe. There are directors who won't touch an universe or game series after the first game.

Not only a change of scenery, also a change of scope. Sawyer has been directing larger projects for over a decade. He needed to work on something smaller.

 

[Zeriel]

With Baldur's Gate out of the way, Wizards may still approach Obsidian about doing an Icewind Dale 3. *fabulouslyoptimistic*

Icewind Dale 3 was Pillars of Eternity.

Unless you're really insistent on the D&D ruleset, in which case it would be Deadfire but with 5e.

I too remember all the 20 page IWD dialogues where you asked an ice troll about his aura.

Looking at Larian success with BG3, it wil be far more likely that they will be given Neverwinter Nights and Icewind Dale franchise too.

NWN 3 and IWD 3 by Larian Studios

Eh, NWN3 by Larian could actually turn out well. Outsource actual writing to the fans and make an accessible editor and you could have a great game. It's not likely and I know not to expect much from Larian now, but in theory...

The DM mode from DOS2 looked cool in theory and just needed more focus on it as a level editor rather than a dumb niche mode no one used except for marketing. The biggest problem they had with mods is their editor being fucking awful to use. If they made it as easy to use as NWN1, even with stripped down functionality, their systems could be put to very effective use by people who actually know what they're doing narratively (i.e, the fans).

 

[Roguey]

I too remember all the 20 page IWD dialogues where you asked an ice troll about his aura.

Disregard backer dialogue. You're also not obligated to mine dialogue trees.

 

[Zeriel]

I too remember all the 20 page IWD dialogues where you asked an ice troll about his aura.

Disregard backer dialogue. You're also not obligated to mine dialogue trees.

You can't disregard half the content in the game that isn't even marked as backer content, or lampshaded in any real way.

 

[Roguey]

half the content in the game that isn't even marked as backer content

If the NPC's name is highlighted in gold, it's backer content.

 

[Ninjerk]

just dont play the game lol

 

[Zeriel]

half the content in the game that isn't even marked as backer content

If the NPC's name is highlighted in gold, it's backer content.

Fair enough, I don't remember that being in the game when I played it. But I suspect some of the dialogues I am talking about aren't backer content at all, but main-line NPCs. I just really find the dialogue in PoE terrible and over-written across the board.

 

[fantadomat]

half the content in the game that isn't even marked as backer content

If the NPC's name is highlighted in gold, it's backer content.

Fair enough, I don't remember that being in the game when I played it. But I suspect some of the dialogues I am talking about aren't backer content at all, but main-line NPCs. I just really find the dialogue in PoE terrible and over-written across the board.

Yeah,the best choice is to just not talk to any gold names,they are total garbage. They all have some stupid story to tell that has nothing to do with the game,it is really boring shit to read trough.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

Sawyer doesn't know how to just be a director. He's always tried to write and design as well. It's probably more satisfying for him to work on a small project where that kind of micro-management is less detrimental. Sawyer might even become an indie dev if he learns how to code.

Most people don't realize how shit management is until it's too late.

 

[Catacombs]

Outsource actual writing to the fans

There's no way a company would trust the fans to write the story. The submissions they get back would range from rampant rape, pillage, and plunder to furry-ish love triangles. It'd be a mess.

 

[Zeriel]

Outsource actual writing to the fans

There's no way a company would trust the fans to write the story. The submissions they get back would range from rampant rape, pillage, and plunder to furry-ish love triangles. It'd be a mess.

I meant in the sense that that's what NWN did. Sure it had a campaign but that's not what people bought it for, and it's not what it was known for. "Outsource to fans" in this sense means modules will be better than the Larian campaign, if such a game existed.

 

[bec de corbin]

I installed a mod to disable all the backer npc dialog and names

 

[vortex]

Will Sawyer new RPG announcement is going to save 2020?

Only if that RPG is Icewind dale 3. If not, I hold no guarantee.

 

[Flying Dutchman]

Change of scenery, he already directed two games in that universe. There are directors who won't touch an universe or game series after the first game.

In general, is that ever a good sign for the sequel?

I'd think if they were excited about the world they built and the possibilities, they'd want to keep building on it, not give it up to someone else.

So why doesn't he want to work on the shitty generic fantasy universe that he created?

Major Blackhart beat me to it with the appropriate adjectives related to the Pillars universe.

His lack of involvement I don't think this is a good sign for AVOWED, but aside from being sick of his own world, it could also be he doesn't want to work with the team involved (doubtful), although he and Adam and other seniors did seem to split to new projects after Deadfire, so maybe they all needed a break from each other.

 

[Riddler]

half the content in the game that isn't even marked as backer content

If the NPC's name is highlighted in gold, it's backer content.

Fair enough, I don't remember that being in the game when I played it. But I suspect some of the dialogues I am talking about aren't backer content at all, but main-line NPCs. I just really find the dialogue in PoE terrible and over-written across the board.

It was there day 1.

 

[Bester]

The mod was also there day 1, so maybe that's why he can't remember. It altered those NPCs by default and maybe he didn't even see the checkbox for it.

For people who don't know, the mod removed backer dialogues and turned backer NPCs into regular NPCs that can't be talked to.

The guy probably played with the mod, but assumed that half the shitty writing is backer writing. Nope, that's Obsidian writing for you.

 

[fantadomat]

The mod was also there day 1, so maybe that's why he can't remember. It altered those NPCs by default and maybe he didn't even see the checkbox for it.

For people who don't know, the mod removed backer dialogues and turned backer NPCs into regular NPCs that can't be talked to.

The guy probably played with the mod, but assumed that half the shitty writing is backer writing. Nope, that's Obsidian writing for you.

Oh i stopped reading the golden retards after the third melodramatic nonsensical epic jerk off. The writing was still bad tho.

 

[<3sRichardSimmons]

PoE’s prose was certainly of variable quality, but it definitely wasn’t the game’s biggest problem; there were very high-level thematic and narrative problems with the game’s plot structure and pacing. No amount of masterly prose would have fixed that.

 

[The Dutch Ghost]

The writing is really that bad in Pillars?
Someone gifted it to me a year or so ago but I have not touched it, mind being in somewhat different places these days.