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

[AwesomeButton]

People with more experience (figuratively) in playing action RPGs, answer me this - are combat mechanics the mechanics by which the ARPG lives and dies (again figuratively)?

 

[Delterius]

are combat mechanics the mechanics by which the ARPG lives and dies

If you're Skyrim you live and die by how many cool vistas you watch, and also there's dragon fights in them.

If you're Dragon's Dogma you live by wether your players can make it through the boring goblins and cyclopes to fight chimeras, drakes and dragons. Also there's cool vistas to watch out for.

Which is to say that a lot of ARPGs are really Action-Adventure games and wether the focus is on interesting fighting mechanics or exploration depends a lot on the game. That said after the Starfield fizzle out it does seem like the Skyrim way of doing things is falling out of favor.

Dunno about y'all but I don't think this bodes well for Avowed.

 

[Roguey]

Avowed is following in Skyrim's footsteps by removing attributes, which makes it less of an RPG than Diablo.

Sawyer didn't even want to include attributes in Pillars of Eternity and only did so under duress because they promised an Infinity Engine nostalgia title. Avowed with its classless, attributeless system is truer to what Sawyer wanted than what he was forced to deliver.

 

[scytheavatar]

People with more experience (figuratively) in playing action RPGs, answer me this - are combat mechanics the mechanics by which the ARPG lives and dies (again figuratively)?

There's Tales of Berseria which had meh combat and a pretty good story, and most people seem to like the game or at least consider it one of the best modern Tales game.

 

[Butter]

Should've known Patel was going to deliver a big pile of shit.

 

[Cross]

Avowed is following in Skyrim's footsteps by removing attributes, which makes it less of an RPG than Diablo.

Sawyer didn't even want to include attributes in Pillars of Eternity and only did so under duress because they promised an Infinity Engine nostalgia title. Avowed with its classless, attributeless system is truer to what Sawyer wanted than what he was forced to deliver.

That's a very elaborate way of saying Josh Sawyer's ideal RPG design consists of ripping off Todd Howard's work, but okay.

 

[Nikanuur]

People with more experience (figuratively) in playing action RPGs, answer me this - are combat mechanics the mechanics by which the ARPG lives and dies (again figuratively)?

I reckon it depends on the sub-genre.

Diablo likes could be inventive and genuine, demanding a specific approach—Titan Quest or Space Siege, for example—but in the more streamlined ones, I don't care. I just mindlessly button-mash with an occasional moment of awareness, like everybody else.
For the cross-breeds, such as Alien Shooter or Victor Vran—very much so. I can't imagine playing a game such as Victor Vran with different combat. Lore, characters, and all are also cool, but the game stands on the ingenuity of fighting implements and approaches.
For the 'true' ARPGs such as GoW, Darksiders, Dark Souls, etc., I'd say it depends. If the heart is in the right place, the atmosphere, or the adventure parts are great, I don't mind clunky combat much. And vice-versa: great combat can make me forget the lack of the latter.
And the same goes for first-person RPGs with real-time combat, those games seldom focus on combat alone. So, again, not really living or dying by combat mechanics. Btw, I've seen only a handful of games from the last mentioned sub-genre that had an okay melee.

 

[Iskramor]

How about not taking derailing discussion baits from the roguey for exapmle?

 

[Nikanuur]

...freezing and shattering and enemy....
Why is there even a debate about this, it's not like it enriches the game or something.

And yet, this is one of the few things that sparkled some positive emotion in me while watching the trailer
Just saying...

 

[AwesomeButton]

are combat mechanics the mechanics by which the ARPG lives and dies

If you're Skyrim you live and die by how many cool vistas you watch, and also there's dragon fights in them.

If you're Dragon's Dogma you live by wether your players can make it through the boring goblins and cyclopes to fight chimeras, drakes and dragons. Also there's cool vistas to watch out for.

Which is to say that a lot of ARPGs are really Action-Adventure games and wether the focus is on interesting fighting mechanics or exploration depends a lot on the game. That said after the Starfield fizzle out it does seem like the Skyrim way of doing things is falling out of favor.

Dunno about y'all but I don't think this bodes well for Avowed.

I'm trying to make up my mind on whether uninteresting combat mechanics in an action RPG result in a walking sim with extra UI elements tacked on camouflaging as if their settings matter.

 

[Quillon]

Games where you can freeze opponents are not the same thing as games that allow you to freeze and shatter them.

As if that is such an intricate feature; dismemberment is impressive/cool/harder to make not shattering, melting etc. and I'm sure there won't be dismemberment in Awoken.

 

[Roguey]

As if that is such an intricate feature; dismemberment is impressive/cool/harder to make not shattering, melting etc. and I'm sure there won't be dismemberment in Awoken.

Bethouts have dismemberment.

 

[user]

He merely said that freezing and shattering an enemy in a game like this is worth marketing because it's surprisingly not done than often. And he's right. Quit sperging out about it holy moly.

Will shattering enemies be better or even on par with Dark Messiah made 20 years ago? Of course not.

The only thing worth marketting was the environment showcase in that video... certainly not the C&C or combat features, such as loadout capability, dual wield, a cc spell and shattering.

...freezing and shattering and enemy....
Why is there even a debate about this, it's not like it enriches the game or something.

And yet, this is one of the few things that sparkled some positive emotion in me while watching the trailer
Just saying...

Then I am sorry to say that there's a high chance that you are a ... NORMIE. Just kidding, but seriously, would you be happy if it was not mechanically significant and just fluff? Because considering they didn't imply anything of the like, the showcase context and who it seems they are referring to, it probably is.

 

[Harthwain]

Avowed is following in Skyrim's footsteps by removing attributes, which makes it less of an RPG than Diablo.

Sawyer didn't even want to include attributes in Pillars of Eternity and only did so under duress because they promised an Infinity Engine nostalgia title. Avowed with its classless, attributeless system is truer to what Sawyer wanted than what he was forced to deliver.

Sounds like Dark Messiah of Might and Magic, which isn't a bad proposition of an action game. For an RPG though... You really want to up the interactivity to eleven.

 

[luj1]

You are a bloody idiot mate. If Avowed is an RPG then Diablo is too.

Diablo is a clicker, Avowed is an actual game. Might not be a good one, but a game nevertheless.

Avowed is following in Skyrim's footsteps by removing attributes, which makes it less of an RPG than Diablo.

If Sawyer were involved, there would be Balance, but he's not here.

Sawyer would have never even allowed you to shatter a frozen enemy. He essentially removed that effect from Pillars, where being petrified just functions like a generic stun effect, whereas in D&D being petrified and attacked shatters a character, making resurrection impossible.

As banal as Avowed looks, it might have been even worse with Sawyer at the helm.

Slam dunk

 

[Roguey]

Sounds like Dark Messiah of Might and Magic, which isn't a bad proposition of an action game. For an RPG though... You really want to up the interactivity to eleven.

Having attributes didn't exactly make the people on this board fall in love with The Outer Worlds.

 

[jungl]

The problem is what they showed so far does not leave a impression its anything different from outer worlds. Travel a very themey parky looking maps Kill a giant enemy get a giant blob of xp endorphin rush this is so barebones basic gameplay.

 

[Harthwain]

Having attributes didn't exactly make the people on this board fall in love with The Outer Worlds.

Sure? I am just saying it is not a bad idea to have a classless or atributeless system as such. In Dark Messiah of Might and Magic you had to invest points, but you could mix your skills. There is no reason Avowed can't do the same (and be a spiritual successor to Dark Messiah of Might and Magic at the same time). For example, if you invest points into pickpocketing, sneaking, ice magic and archery you're basically creating Garrett. Or you could go with a plate-clad warrior who knows healing spells and fire magic (fireballs!). There is a lot of room for creativity and interactivity in this kind of character-building.

 

[Lhynn]

Avowed is following in Skyrim's footsteps by removing attributes, which makes it less of an RPG than Diablo.

Sawyer didn't even want to include attributes in Pillars of Eternity and only did so under duress because they promised an Infinity Engine nostalgia title. Avowed with its classless, attributeless system is truer to what Sawyer wanted than what he was forced to deliver.

That incompetent buffoon is incapable of having a single creative or interesting idea.
Just imagine someone actually talented and capable with the right sensibilities getting the chances that waste of oxygen got.

 

[Delterius]

are combat mechanics the mechanics by which the ARPG lives and dies

If you're Skyrim you live and die by how many cool vistas you watch, and also there's dragon fights in them.

If you're Dragon's Dogma you live by wether your players can make it through the boring goblins and cyclopes to fight chimeras, drakes and dragons. Also there's cool vistas to watch out for.

Which is to say that a lot of ARPGs are really Action-Adventure games and wether the focus is on interesting fighting mechanics or exploration depends a lot on the game. That said after the Starfield fizzle out it does seem like the Skyrim way of doing things is falling out of favor.

Dunno about y'all but I don't think this bodes well for Avowed.

I'm trying to make up my mind on whether uninteresting combat mechanics in an action RPG result in a walking sim with extra UI elements tacked on camouflaging as if their settings matter.

I think that people find it comfy to just fuck around in large worlds that they actually enjoy being in. And that a big part of it is have it be fun to mechanically explore your game. It's not just about combat. Assassin's Creed doesn't have great combat, but movement and exploration is a joy in that game. Dragon's Dogma does have good monsters, skills and mechanics to interact with, but climbing ledges and movement skills are a joy as well. There's two games where I enjoyed just fucking around in. And that's not even bringing up MMOs I played in the past.

That said, I have cousins and such who were in their early teens when Skyrim came out and it was their first game. So it's not like Skyrim gets away with being a puddle or a walking sim because it's a mainstream game. To some kids, just casting the basic fire spell at some spooky skeleton is already a joy. And Skyrim is not a bad looking world either.

Can a setting carry a game? Yeah. Bloodlines' did.

 

[Silverfish]

Having attributes didn't exactly make the people on this board fall in love with The Outer Worlds.

The attributes in TOW were so barebones, they could have been removed and no one would have noticed. Pure melee builds needed strength and everything else was just flavor.

 

[Delterius]

Personally, I don't measure an ARPG by how intricate the attribute system is. But by how the RPG mechanics interact with the environment. Dark Messiah is a very simple and straightforward game, but the choice of being able to, say, freeze the ground has major implications everywhere. In Dragon's Dogma the size and weight of your character isn't just cosmetic, it means you can't be knocked down, climb monsters, or be kidnapped by flying monsters as easily - to say nothing of your weapon reach.

And before you bring up the Bethesda history of dumbing down their games, I don't really consider Morrowind an ARPG either. Whereas everything that comes after it is are, to me, mostly bad ARPGs.

 

[Quillon]

As if that is such an intricate feature; dismemberment is impressive/cool/harder to make not shattering, melting etc. and I'm sure there won't be dismemberment in Awoken.

Bethouts have dismemberment.

So? What's your point lol? And yeah its an actually cool & expensive feature Obs couldn't implement in TOW along with most other features gamebyro games have/had, if you ask they woulda said "time & budget" with TOW, I wonder what'd be the reason this time.

 

[Hobknobling]

There's on thing puzzling me. Microsoft clearly hasn't given up on PC games. That Ara game is a PC centric title, through and through. MS Flight Simulator as well, Age of Empires is alive and well. When they acquired Obsidian and inXile, I thought they wanted to have studios that would continue their legacy of strong, PC-centric releases. So then, why the fuck are they working on these shitty, console, diet "RPGs" instead of full-fledged, isometric cRPGs?!

You have teams that spent a decade working and perfecting their skills in one type of game, each release was better than the last in technical terms, and then they do a 180 and switch to a completely different style of game, which is evident from the quality of footage in those trailers. It's stupid, both from a business and creative perspective.

Microsoft's market research is actually simpler than you think.
They search for the most popular games, and all they see is 1st person RPG (Skyrim, Cyberpunk 2077) or 3rd person ones (Souls games).

They want the 20 million sales, just simple 3-5 million sales ain't worth it anymore.

Avowed won't reach 3 million sales, let alone 20. Their market research might be good, but people in charge of creative side of things are clearly idiots. Everywhere you look on the internet, no one is optimistic about Avowed, except for die-hard Xbox fanboys and deluded Obsidian fanboys. Even those guys at Digital Foundry, who always say positive things about everything aren't that interested in it. It's simply not captivating, which is a direct consequence of what I mentioned before: forcing people who got really good at doing one thing to change direction, 180 degrees.

Their market research is complete shit and the whole thing is being probably ran by nepotistic Indians, incompetent women with MBAs and other similar retards.

This is one of the key reasons why Gamepass is so damaging to the industry since is centralizes so much power to these fucking leeches.

 

[luj1]

Roguey has such clever, low-key shilling. I'll give him that.