Eternity Avowed - Obsidian's first person action-RPG in the Pillars of Eternity setting - coming Fall 2024

[Nano]

According to Ziets, Dungeon Siege 3 had a lot of publisher meddling which is how it resulted in what it is. But hey, nice boobs.

Ziets actually said the meddling came from those above his paygrade.

 

[Nano]

Hey guys I heard Black Isles staff reunited in a new company known as Obsidian, how are RPGs going?
How is the new Planescape Torment?

...
2022:

This hurts a lot more than I thought it would.

Mask of the Betrayer is better than Torment. You're 15 years late.

 

[FreeKaner]

Huh, strange, the sprite looked more like a flintlock to me, but if they're wheellock they're wheellock I guess.
Also, why the aversion towards firearms in fantasy? I don't get that.

Because of perception of history of most people. The way people generally see it as is you have medieval era, then guns get invented and it's redcoats and then steamboats and Victorian era. So basically that means you have medieval fantasy, steampunk, dieselpunk and cyberpunk. Might as well call medieval fantasy swordpunk at this point, not that it would be inaccurate either considering that what passes as "medieval" is basically an even combination of anything from 12th century to basically 17th century minus the guns. You have people wearing armor from 16th century that was specifically designed with guns in mind or weapons like rapiers that only existed concurrently with guns while guns are conspicuously absent. Not to mention all the architecture & towns etc. are less medieval and more post-renaissance.

 

[CthuluIsSpy]

Yeah I noticed that. Like, Pathfinder has bombs, rapiers and plate armor, even though those all coexisted with firearms. Plate armor even reached its peak when arquebus were introduced.
It's as if people have this weird idea that magic retards technological progress, even though castles, swords and armour are all products of technology. I'd argue the contrary; magic would accelerate technological progress as one would be able to use magic as a "shortcut" to advances such as electrical power, heavier than air flight, automatons in the forms of golems, as well as being a tool in studying various natural processes.

It's why I like Shadowrun; I found that setting does a good job at exploring such a concept and doesn't fall into the magic/tech dichotomy that people seems to suffer from.

 

[Tacgnol]

Yeah I noticed that. Like, Pathfinder has bombs, rapiers and plate armor, even though those all coexisted with firearms. Plate armor even reached its peak when arquebus were introduced.

In fairness, simple muzzle loading firearms aren't super uncommon in the PF setting. They just don't make much of an appearance in many early APs (and are obviously hated by Owlcat).

 

[CthuluIsSpy]

Yeah I noticed that. Like, Pathfinder has bombs, rapiers and plate armor, even though those all coexisted with firearms. Plate armor even reached its peak when arquebus were introduced.

In fairness, simple muzzle loading firearms aren't super uncommon in the PF setting. They just don't make much of an appearance in many early APs (and are obviously hated by Owlcat).

Fair enough, I did find it really odd how there's no guns in kingmaker when I'm playing a literal alchemist throwing bombs at people, and when there's a city of gnomes who sells you automatic crossbows, as if those are somehow less technologically sophisticated than simple firearms.
There's a reason why the Chu-ko-nu never really took off.

Good to see Paizo is being reasonable at least.

 

[Dishonoredbr]

Amogus ඞ

where's the news REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

 

[Fedora Master]

Dead game.

 

[Dishonoredbr]

Dead game.

It died before even being born.. What a shame....

Well at least Owlcat exist and tommorow the first DLC is out for Pathfinder , LETS FUCKING GOOOOOOO

 

[rusty_shackleford]

It's as if people have this weird idea that magic retards technological progress,

Because it would.
In any setting where someone who is smart can learn magic rather than it being something innate, there is a good reason for technology to heavily stagnate.

Hell, this is part of Arcanum's worldbuilding. Dwarves are inherently anti-magical and the reason most technology exists.

 

[Fedora Master]

Dead game.

It died before even being born.. What a shame....

Well at least Owlcat exist and tommorow the first DLC is out for Pathfinder , LETS FUCKING GOOOOOOO

The whole "offspring born without soul" thing is a metaphor about the Pillars franchise.

 

[Roguey]

Amogus ඞ

where's the news REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

June, E3 and/or Summer Game Fest.

 

[Nano]

In D&D it's actually in the lore that the Harpers go out of their way to prevent technological progress. Dunno if there's anything similar in Pathfinder.

 

[CthuluIsSpy]

It's as if people have this weird idea that magic retards technological progress,

Because it would.
In any setting where someone who is smart can learn magic rather than it being something innate, there is a good reason for technology to heavily stagnate.

Hell, this is part of Arcanum's worldbuilding. Dwarves are inherently anti-magical and the reason most technology exists.

I just don't agree with that.
As magic would be part of the natural world, wizards and scholars would be that world's equivalent of scientists. Being men of learning curious enough to peruse arcane texts, they would be driven to tinker and experiment on their own, which may result in technological advancements, as their findings would either find their way down to aspiring engineers, or even just produced as a way to gain funding for their studies.

Furthermore, if magic is sufficient enough to stagnate technology, wouldn't that mean that the world wouldn't progress pass stone age technology, as society would devolve into a case of whoever can throw the biggest fireball wins?
I just don't see the logic in the world suddenly stopping at an arbitrary technological point all because of some men with silly hats, unless there was a concerted effort to suppress it as part of some sort of political power play. Much like how the Tokugawa shogunate banned firearms and western imports and how the Ottomans banned the printing press.

In D&D it's actually in the lore that the Harpers go out of their way to prevent technological progress. Dunno if there's anything similar in Pathfinder.

That would make the most amount of sense, yes.

 

[KateMicucci]

Might as well call medieval fantasy swordpunk at this point, not that it would be inaccurate either considering that what passes as "medieval" is basically an even combination of anything from 12th century to basically 17th century minus the guns.

This is a great observation and a great term. Swordpunk. It perfectly sums up what's wrong with modern fantasy settings.

 

[KateMicucci]

I bet all of my money that this will be set ages before POE so they don't have to add flintlock guns.

guns in pillars are matchlock, not flintlock

Kind of, its weird.
The long arms are matchlocks (they are called arquebus), but there were no such thing as matchlock pistols. That's more of a wheel lock/flintlock thing.
Which really doesn't make sense if you're familiar with the history of arms development but that's how it is.

There are extant matchlock pistols in Japan. https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=japan+matchlock+pistols

The sprites for the guns don't match the stated ignition mechanism on most PoE guns. Don't assume that the PoE team had any idea what they were doing.

 

[CthuluIsSpy]

I bet all of my money that this will be set ages before POE so they don't have to add flintlock guns.

guns in pillars are matchlock, not flintlock

Kind of, its weird.
The long arms are matchlocks (they are called arquebus), but there were no such thing as matchlock pistols. That's more of a wheel lock/flintlock thing.
Which really doesn't make sense if you're familiar with the history of arms development but that's how it is.

There are extant matchlock pistols in Japan. https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=japan+matchlock+pistols

The sprites for the guns don't match the stated ignition mechanism on most PoE guns. Don't assume that the PoE team had any idea what they were doing.

Wow that's really interesting. The more you know.

 

[Delterius]

You have people wearing armor from 16th century that was specifically designed with guns in mind

this should be tattoed on the backs of every gun-phobe from here to cathay

people who can't stomach the only early modern fantasy in the world because it's not '''''''''''''''medieval''''''''''''''' enough are below contempt. medieval fantasy settings have been garbage for 40 years now and they still ask for more of that same slop.

 

[copebot]

Industry is more the transformative technique than technology and artisanry alone. The Japanese became one of the world's largest firearm producers in an inordinately short period of time, all without industrial methods. They even became one of the world's leading arms exporters. Magic is hard to distinguish from sufficiently advanced artisanal technique, but industry is what transformed society in a pervasive fashion. The depiction of magic in pop fantasy often has it replacing industry but not necessarily impeding technology per se. One reason why fantasy is compelling is because it depicts pre-industrial social dramas in a dramatic, accessible, and compelling way. Industrialization, although pretty rapid in the some regions, really took quite a long time, and is still ongoing in many regions of the world.

The social difference is perhaps more important than technology. A refrigeration prototype from the early-mid 19th century is a curio -- not too different from a magic item from the D&D manual. Refrigerated train cars are socially transformative: it makes it so the development of cities like Chicago are possible, and industrial workers in cities can now eat meat for lunch. An airplane prototype is a cool project for two brothers with a barn, hand tools, and some know-how. Ubiquitous jetliners that fly around the world selling cheap tickets for seats enables the creation of an entirely new class of business travelers.

 

[FreeKaner]

And as Avellone put it during his May of Rage, they succeeded in spite of the owners, not because of them.



The meddling with regard to narrative came from Feargus himself who became even worse when it came to their DSIV pitch according to Avellone.

Feargus micromanaging projects seems to be behind some of the biggest issues in Obsidian games.

 

[TheImplodingVoice]

And as Avellone put it during his May of Rage, they succeeded in spite of the owners, not because of them.



The meddling with regard to narrative came from Feargus himself who became even worse when it came to their DSIV pitch according to Avellone.

Feargus is the biggest issues in Obsidian games.

FIFY YC

 

[Fedora Master]

Codex once more putting more effort into world building than the actual devs ever will.
FAMPYRS!

 

[RNGsus]

FAPPERS?

 

[CthuluIsSpy]

Codex once more putting more effort into world building than the actual devs ever will.
FAMPYRS!

Yeah I saw that. I was like "oh shit, is Obsidian part of Games Workshop now?" :D
Just call them Vampires lol, no one's getting fooled.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

Something worth considering if you're doing worldbuilding is that the temporal relation inventions have with regards to each other aren't something that should be inherently projected upon another world. For example, if Europe had ready access to natural deposits of nitrates, who knows what course firearms would have taken or when they would have been invented.

I just don't agree with that.
As magic would be part of the natural world, wizards and scholars would be that world's equivalent of scientists. Being men of learning curious enough to peruse arcane texts, they would be driven to tinker and experiment on their own, which may result in technological advancements, as their findings would either find their way down to aspiring engineers, or even just produced as a way to gain funding for their studies.

You've yet to give a reason why beyond "scientific curiosity." I'm sure there are plenty of outdated inventions that could still be invented right now in our world without magic, why aren't they being invented?
I will make exactly one assumption: The light cantrip exists. That's all.

Do you know how much effort went into wiring entire countries up with electricity just to provide lighting? If an average joe could just cast a light cantrip at will that took zero effort, what use is there for the lightbulb? Especially the extremely inefficient and dim early ones that are pretty much nothing like our modern lights and supplying electricity to was a difficult task? Sounds like a small change, right?
We've just made a absolutely massive departure from our history. The reason entire countries wired up with electricity was lightbulbs. The tagline for a 1917 Sear's catalogue was "Use your electricity for more than light"

The light cantrip completely altered history and the progress of humanity irrevocably forever.