Eternity Avowed - Obsidian's first person action-RPG in the Pillars of Eternity setting - coming February 18th

[Zeriel]

My favorite excuse. Imagine it in other arenas of life.

"We had different priorities than winning the war. If only you understood the avant garde art piece we were constructing at Saigon."

I liked Dragon's Dogma well enough but it's not giving me what I want when I want to play a Bioware or Obsidian-branded game. All games/studios have different priorities, some are going to be more suited for what you want than others.

I'd agree if Bioware or Obsidian made the same type of games they used to, but they really don't.

What even IS a Bioware game at this point? Their latest entries are Andromeda, fucking Anthem... and apparently Dreadwolf is gonna be some Dark Souls type game. They just keep copying other popular games and failing at making them. Obsidian is less copy-happy, but they also seem to be doubling down in avoiding doing what used to make their games popular and provide them a niche.

 

[Silverfish]

I liked Dragon's Dogma well enough but it's not giving me what I want when I want to play a Bioware or Obsidian-branded game.

I've played Dragon's Dogma for hours at a time without crashes, so it falls comedically short of the Obsidian experience.

 

[Assisted Living Godzilla]

I honestly expect the same exact scenario with DA4 as what happened with Starfield.

Game launches, fanboys and many journos (game will be packed to the gills with The Message) will be waxing lyrically, but already dark reality starts creeping into the candy Barbie world of "wooow this game is amaaazing" and soon the whole edifice comes crashing down and the game ends up sitting at Mixed of Mostly Negative on Steam.

Unless the action gameplay hits some massive improvement between the leak and launch I don’t expect any lyrical waxing to be going on. Not unless there’s some unknown aspect of the game for them to do that over.

They’re throwing their hat in the arena of action gameplay, melee action gameplay, and it looked terrible in the leak. Dragon Age 4 is going to be judged against all the various Hack & Slash games on the market, and it doesn’t look like it’s going to come out looking good if the bit of leaked gameplay we saw last year is any indication.

After what dragon's dogma 2 has been showing in gameplay videos, bioware and Obsidian should be ashamed by the shit they are peddling as "action rpg combat" in their next AAA RPGs.

Forget Dragon’s Dogma 2, the first game was 11 years ago now and they still can’t touch it.

I do find it kind of interesting that Ubisoft kind of seems like they’re trying to do it in their most recent Assassin’s Creed games. But the combat in something like Valhalla is so far behind Dragon’s Dogma it’s not even comparable.

 

[Zombra]

What. The fuck. Are you guys. Talking about.

 

[Cross]

My favorite excuse. Imagine it in other arenas of life.

"We had different priorities than winning the war. If only you understood the avant garde art piece we were constructing at Saigon."

I liked Dragon's Dogma well enough but it's not giving me what I want when I want to play a Bioware or Obsidian-branded game. All games/studios have different priorities, some are going to be more suited for what you want than others.

So copying Dragon's Dogma would be bad and creatively bankrupt but meticulously replicating Skyrim's atrocious combat system is fine? Because that's what you're getting with Avowed.

This might end up being such a shitshow that even you won't try to defend it.

 

[cvv]

What. The fuck. Are you guys. Talking about.

We're talking about Avowed.

 

[Roguey]

I'd agree if Bioware or Obsidian made the same type of games they used to, but they really don't.

What even IS a Bioware game at this point? Their latest entries are Andromeda, fucking Anthem... and apparently Dreadwolf is gonna be some Dark Souls type game. They just keep copying other popular games and failing at making them. Obsidian is less copy-happy, but they also seem to be doubling down in avoiding doing what used to make their games popular and provide them a niche.

The Core Obsidian audience is happy with what they're doing considering their Steam user scores, the only clear metric.

I liked Dragon's Dogma well enough but it's not giving me what I want when I want to play a Bioware or Obsidian-branded game.

I've played Dragon's Dogma for hours at a time without crashes, so it falls comedically short of the Obsidian experience.

I haven't experienced a crash in an Obsidian game in over a decade, gramps.

So copying Dragon's Dogma would be bad and creatively bankrupt but meticulously replicating Skyrim's atrocious combat system is fine? Because that's what you're getting with Avowed.

This might end up being such a shitshow that even you won't try to defend it.

Avowed will not be like Skyrim in terms of content, they seem determined to make it an Obsidian game.

I never said anything about being bad or creatively bankrupt. They're choosing not to make a game similar to Dragon's Dogma. They don't do games like that. The DD team is derived from the Devil May Cry sequels and the Monster Hunter series. Those are the kinds of games they're suited for making. It's unlikely they would be able to make an Obsidian-style game Obsidian fans would enjoy just as much.

 

[Russia is over. The end.]

The Core Obsidian audience is happy with what they're doing considering their Steam user scores, the only clear metric.

The only clear metric is their financial success and in their 20+ years of existence they haven't gotten financial independence to fund their own projects. That's called sucking ass and barely making it.

If your core audience is three and a half bums and you think their reviews are a metric of anything,...

Elden Ring got crazy sales not from their "core audience", but from random casuls. BG3 - same deal. You don't understand the business.

 

[Roguey]

The only clear metric is their financial success and in their 20+ years of existence they haven't gotten financial independence to fund their own projects. That's called sucking ass and barely making it.

If your core audience is three and a half bums and you think their reviews are a metric of anything,...

Elden Ring got crazy sales not from their "core audience", but from random casuls. BG3 - same deal. You don't understand the business.

They got bought by Daddy Microsoft who are now funding two big games and whatever small games they can manage (Grounded, Pentiment). According to Avellone, getting purchased was always the goal.

 

[Russia is over. The end.]

The only clear metric is their financial success and in their 20+ years of existence they haven't gotten financial independence to fund their own projects. That's called sucking ass and barely making it.

If your core audience is three and a half bums and you think their reviews are a metric of anything,...

Elden Ring got crazy sales not from their "core audience", but from random casuls. BG3 - same deal. You don't understand the business.

They got bought by Daddy Microsoft who are now funding two big games and whatever small games they can manage (Grounded, Pentiment). According to Avellone, getting purchased was always the goal.

This doesn't invalidate anything I said. They didn't get bought on merits, but because Microsoft decided to buy everything out there. And obshitian was part of everything out there. They got lucky they lasted so long. It's like one of those situations where a climber is rescued in the nick of time, unconscious, minutes before succumbing.

It's unlikely they would be able to make an Obsidian-style game Obsidian fans would enjoy just as much.

What are obshitian traits in a game? Generic as fuck lore, infodumps of boring ass text, formulaic as fuck design, story, presentation, zero surprises or originality. You think a competent company can't make that if they tried? As a parody, anyone could make an obshitian game. As a real product, nobody would want to.

 

[Roguey]

This doesn't invalidate anything I said. They didn't get bought on merits, but because Microsoft decided to buy everything out there. And obshitian was part of everything out there. They got lucky they lasted so long. It's like one of those situations where a climber is rescued in the nick of time, unconscious, minutes before succumbing.

Obsidian was working with Private Division on Outer Worlds at the time. Feargus is a good survival weasel, he would have found other gigs after.

What are obshitian traits in a game? Generic as fuck lore, infodumps of boring ass text, formulaic as fuck design, story, presentation, zero surprises or originality. You think a competent company can't make that if they tried? As a parody, anyone could make an obshitian game. As a real product, nobody would want to.

Japanese developers don't do narrative-focused RPGs the way companies like Obsidian, CD Projekt, inXile, Owlcat, and Spiders do. Bioware and Harebrained used to be in this group.

 

[Russia is over. The end.]

Japanese developers don't do narrative-focused RPGs

You think if the eye is slanted, the man can't do narrative? It's not about "can't", it's about "won't" by choice.

Feargus is a good survival weasel, he would have found other gigs after.

Yeah, they were "surviving". That's how "successful" they were.
My initial point that you finally seem to understand.

 

[user]

Japanese developers don't do narrative-focused RPGs

You think if the eye is slanted, the man can't do narrative? It's not about "can't", it's about "won't" by choice.

Feargus is a good survival weasel, he would have found other gigs after.

Yeah, they were "surviving". That's how "successful" they were.
My initial point that you finally seem to understand.

Eh... everyone in the industry is "surviving" - this is the measure of success.

 

[Russia is over. The end.]

Japanese developers don't do narrative-focused RPGs

You think if the eye is slanted, the man can't do narrative? It's not about "can't", it's about "won't" by choice.

Feargus is a good survival weasel, he would have found other gigs after.

Yeah, they were "surviving". That's how "successful" they were.
My initial point that you finally seem to understand.

Eh... everyone in the industry is "surviving" - this is the measure of success.

Growth, optionally go public, become self-sufficient, keep growing, finally stop growing and start paying dividends. That's the route of a successful company.

Obshitian got stuck in toddler phase, almost died a couple times, had no money to pay their employees for months, got saved by Kickstarter life support. They're useless losers, their games suck ass as a physical proof of their ineptitude.

 

[user]

Japanese developers don't do narrative-focused RPGs

You think if the eye is slanted, the man can't do narrative? It's not about "can't", it's about "won't" by choice.

Feargus is a good survival weasel, he would have found other gigs after.

Yeah, they were "surviving". That's how "successful" they were.
My initial point that you finally seem to understand.

Eh... everyone in the industry is "surviving" - this is the measure of success.

Growth, optionally go public, become self-sufficient, keep growing, finally stop growing and start paying dividends. That's the route of a successful company.

Obshitian got stuck in toddler phase, almost died a couple times, had no money to pay their employees for months, got saved by Kickstarter life support. They're useless losers, their games suck ass as a physical proof of their ineptitude.

Yeah, I mean people - much of the time, people surviving or not, has little to do with the company's success. I agree it's the best route for a company that makes consistently good products for us, but it usually turns to shit anyway, because curbing growth is nigh unthinkable nowadays as it goes against the reason companies are created in the first place.

 

[Roguey]

You think if the eye is slanted, the man can't do narrative? It's not about "can't", it's about "won't" by choice.

I never said can't. Japanese RPGs don't focus on reactive narratives the way western ones do, they leave that for the visual novels. Could they add one and keep up the quality of the gameplay mechanics? If they were coming up with both at the same time, doubtful, never been done before.

 

[Daedalos]

Why does this game look so utterly out-dated, boring and generic? I've watched the trailers, and jesus, it just does absolutely nothing for me at all, dead lifeless.
I mean Pillars of Eternity 1 was a decent game, it was, but as a 3rd person skyrim clone? no, just .. no.

looks painfully bland and generic.

PLEASE make outer worlds 2 good, i dont care about the rest. COME the fuck on.

 

[Russia is over. The end.]

Could they add one and keep up the quality of the gameplay mechanics? If they were coming up with both at the same time, doubtful, never been done before.

What's introducing doubts here? The fact that it "has never been done before"? You need an explanation for why that's a logical fallacy?
Or do you need an explanation that people responsible for the narrative wouldn't be burdened with gameplay mechanics, and hence wouldn't care one way or another if the game has deep mechanics or not? Or are you going to spew more platitudes about how mechanics need to be married with the systems, and that it somehow makes all the difference, which will prevent the poor Jap writer from doing a good job?
You know what you have in common with Sawyer? You're both utterly boring in your banality.

 

[Roguey]

What's introducing doubts here? The fact that it "has never been done before"? You need an explanation for why that's a logical fallacy?
Or do you need an explanation that people responsible for the narrative wouldn't be burdened with gameplay mechanics, and hence wouldn't care one way or another if the game has deep mechanics or not? Or are you going to spew more platitudes about how mechanics need to be married with the systems, and that it somehow makes all the difference, which will prevent the poor Jap writer from doing a good job?
You know what you have in common with Sawyer? You're both utterly boring in your banality.

In 30 years of gaming, no one has ever done the RPG that does everything well. The conclusion to draw is that it's impossible.

 

[Butter]

What's introducing doubts here? The fact that it "has never been done before"? You need an explanation for why that's a logical fallacy?
Or do you need an explanation that people responsible for the narrative wouldn't be burdened with gameplay mechanics, and hence wouldn't care one way or another if the game has deep mechanics or not? Or are you going to spew more platitudes about how mechanics need to be married with the systems, and that it somehow makes all the difference, which will prevent the poor Jap writer from doing a good job?
You know what you have in common with Sawyer? You're both utterly boring in your banality.

In 30 years of gaming, no one has ever done the RPG that does everything well. The conclusion to draw is that it's impossible.

Um, Redaxium?

 

[Silverfish]

I haven't experienced a crash in an Obsidian game in over a decade, gramps.

You haven't played an Obsidian game in over a decade? Can't say I blame you, but Stick of Truth was pretty funny, try that one.

 

[luj1]

Roguey the Obsidian Lawyer - the Thread

 

[scytheavatar]

As someone who has never been a big fan of Obsidian and will not shred a tear if they close down tomorrow, I am not sure how anyone can deny that it is clear Avellone era Obsidian is unique and no one can make an Obsidian style game better than them. We can debate what an Obsidian style game is, but since losing Avellone they are no longer the same studio. The Outer Worlds is super generic and Avowed looks even worse.

 

[luj1]

it is clear Avellone era Obsidian is unique

This is only SWKotOR 2

and maybe NWN 2

 

[Roguey]

I haven't experienced a crash in an Obsidian game in over a decade, gramps.

You haven't played an Obsidian game in over a decade? Can't say I blame you, but Stick of Truth was pretty funny, try that one.

Pillars of Eternity, Tyranny, Deadfire, The Outer Worlds, Grounded, and Pentiment were all stable as a rock.

As someone who has never been a big fan of Obsidian and will not shred a tear if they close down tomorrow, I am not sure how anyone can deny that it is clear Avellone era Obsidian is unique and no one can make an Obsidian style game better than them. We can debate what an Obsidian style game is, but since losing Avellone they are no longer the same studio. The Outer Worlds is super generic and Avowed looks even worse.

I never cared too much for Avellone and he himself claimed he never had much power and influence over what their games would be like. The biggest loss was the Gen X designers: Ziets, Saunders, MacLean, Stout, Gonzalez, even Fenstermaker under the right conditions. Replaced by Millennials who are worse across the board.