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

[Hammer Of The Heretics]

To think they would come up with less bland and safe setting instead would be too optimistic anyway.

This.

They did their best with Eora. Now their choice is between sticking with the bland setting they already have or dumping resources into a new one that would likely be even worse.

 

[Butter]

Normies (and to Sawyer's horror, most grognards) want to go on an adventure. If your game offers a sense of adventure and excitement, it can have the most banal setting ever and still succeed. Conversely, the most interesting setting won't save you if the plot is less interesting than afternoon tea.

 

[La vie sexuelle]

Normies (and to Sawyer's horror, most grognards) want to go on an adventure. If your game offers a sense of adventure and excitement, it can have the most banal setting ever and still succeed. Conversely, the most interesting setting won't save you if the plot is less interesting than afternoon tea.

PoE setting was banal, but mechanic was broken and bland. PoE setting was try-hardesque, but mechanic was broken and bland. Avowed setting looks even more bland and mechanicaly broken. So what's a point? Perhaps they should stick to Grounded, at last its appealing to somebody.

 

[std::namespace]

unusual settings don't necessarily mean good sales

LOL what an understatement
unusual setting necessarily mean bad sales!

you people are shiteaters who larp gayass wizards in faggot fantasy escaping your pathetic powerless lives

 

[AwesomeButton]

Eora is an ok setting. It's Obsidian who can't put it to good use, because they are locked in design patterns dating back to FNV and NWN2.

Like D:OS' setting ever prevented the games from being successful.

 

[Quillon]

they are locked in design patterns dating back to FNV and NWN2.

Instead of looking at Vermintide's -no serious rpg should have- combat, they shoulda looked at the actually successful first person RPG in recent memory: KCD to learn to make quests using its setting's strengths with unique mechanics in them. This is against sawya's efficiency based design philosophy tho.

 

[Tyranicon]

I missed that they already started the "temper your expectations" talk.

• "Only 100 devs, we're super small indies really"
• "This isn't AAA, more like AA, fr"
• "It's a medium-sized project of only a few hundred mil, no biggie"

Extrapolating from these, we can probably expect more along these lines

• "Plz don't compare us to BG3, nobody can be as naturally talented as belgians"
• "Also BG3 is made by the devil"
• "Good combat is technologically impossible"
• "We spent the balancing budget on VO"
• "Toxic gamers want us to crunch"
• "The Living Lands is only a 4km square, lore is tying our hands"
• "It's more of a linear action adventure visual novel"
• "Yes you can have sexual relations with the bear, no romances tho"

It's over.

 

[Lord_Potato]

I missed that they already started the "temper your expectations" talk.

• "Only 100 devs, we're super small indies really"
• "This isn't AAA, more like AA, fr"
• "It's a medium-sized project of only a few hundred mil, no biggie"

Extrapolating from these, we can probably expect more along these lines

• "Plz don't compare us to BG3, nobody can be as naturally talented as belgians"
• "Also BG3 is made by the devil"
• "Good combat is technologically impossible"
• "We spent the balancing budget on VO"
• "Toxic gamers want us to crunch"
• "The Living Lands is only a 4km square, lore is tying our hands"
• "It's more of a linear action adventure visual novel"
• "Yes you can have sexual relations with the bear, no romances tho"

It's over.

Sounds like hilarious disaster in the making. Looking forward to it!

 

[Haba]

"Abored, from the makers of Pillows of Eternity an that pedo crafting game."

 

[NaturallyCarnivorousSheep]

Hag lover detected

 

[Tyranicon]

Sounds like hilarious disaster in the making. Looking forward to it!

Don't get me wrong, I like schadenfreude as much as the next dude, but it's disappointing that the current generation of creatives are floundering so badly.

Bodes poorly for the future.

Oh well, AI is going to buttfuck everything eventually anyways.

 

[mediocrepoet]

Sounds like hilarious disaster in the making. Looking forward to it!

Don't get me wrong, I like schadenfreude as much as the next dude, but it's disappointing that the current generation of creatives are floundering so badly.

Bodes poorly for the future.

Oh well, AI is going to buttfuck everything eventually anyways.

Only in these bigger studios though. There have been a number of interesting things lately in the smaller indie space imo.

 

[AwesomeButton]

I missed that they already started the "temper your expectations" talk.

• "Only 100 devs, we're super small indies really"
• "This isn't AAA, more like AA, fr"
• "It's a medium-sized project of only a few hundred mil, no biggie"

Extrapolating from these, we can probably expect more along these lines

• "Plz don't compare us to BG3, nobody can be as naturally talented as belgians"
• "Also BG3 is made by the devil"
• "Good combat is technologically impossible"
• "We spent the balancing budget on VO"
• "Toxic gamers want us to crunch"
• "The Living Lands is only a 4km square, lore is tying our hands"
• "It's more of a linear action adventure visual novel"
• "Yes you can have sexual relations with the bear, no romances tho"

It's over.

That's the most annoying thing about Obsidian. From a company that players (normies and grogs alike) had hopes for when it came to what games they release, we are down to keeping fingers crossed that the next game will have at least some redeeming qualities.

All on account of bad management and negative selection, which chased away or neutered anyone with talent who has ever worked at the company.

 

[just]

diamond level hardness of a pass

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

That's the most annoying thing about Obsidian. From a company that players (normies and grogs alike) had hopes for when it came to what games they release, we are down to keeping fingers crossed that the next game will have at least some redeeming qualities.

All on account of bad management and negative selection, which chased away or neutered anyone with talent who has ever worked at the company.

If only that could have been anticipated well in advance.

 

[AwesomeButton]

The things you can find on the Internet... There is a podcast called "The World of Eora", and it has been running for 81 episodes now: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/...odes/Ep--81-A-Deeper-Dive-into-Avowed-e2f1dip

 

[NaturallyCarnivorousSheep]

Did they even manage to get guest appearance of a single obsidian employee?

 

[Viata]

The things you can find on the Internet... There is a podcast called "The World of Eora", and it has been running for 81 Episodes now: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/...odes/Ep--81-A-Deeper-Dive-into-Avowed-e2f1dip

http://avowedcast.com/

 

[Roguey]

The things you can find on the Internet... There is a podcast called "The World of Eora", and it has been running for 81 episodes now: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/...odes/Ep--81-A-Deeper-Dive-into-Avowed-e2f1dip

Blast from the past.

Oct 27, 2018 at 10:20 PM - Roguey: I saw that the kids at /v/ referred to Wodeca fans as "Woedicucks" just waiting for the right opportunity give him/her that burn
Oct 27, 2018 at 10:21 PM - Fairfax: I'm surprised non-obsidian forums people care enough to even create nicknames like that
Oct 27, 2018 at 10:21 PM - Roguey: Fairfax, from what I saw, they were incredibly deeply into PoE lore. It was a strange and interesting contrast compared to here.

Remember, not every place is here.

 

[La vie sexuelle]

The things you can find on the Internet... There is a podcast called "The World of Eora", and it has been running for 81 episodes now: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/...odes/Ep--81-A-Deeper-Dive-into-Avowed-e2f1dip

Blast from the past.

Oct 27, 2018 at 10:20 PM - Roguey: I saw that the kids at /v/ referred to Wodeca fans as "Woedicucks" just waiting for the right opportunity give him/her that burn
Oct 27, 2018 at 10:21 PM - Fairfax: I'm surprised non-obsidian forums people care enough to even create nicknames like that
Oct 27, 2018 at 10:21 PM - Roguey: Fairfax, from what I saw, they were incredibly deeply into PoE lore. It was a strange and interesting contrast compared to here.

Remember, not every place is here.

Yes, but also not every place praise PoE setting.

Podcasters are the most devoted kind of believers.

 

[whydoibother]

/v/ used to like the setting of Pillars, praising the archaic language use as well. But now whenever its mentioned you get larping retards complaining that its an atheist setting *tips fedora* fake fantasy with no gods *tips fedora* californian communist fake godless """fantasy""" *tips fedora*

 

[AwesomeButton]

/v/ used to like the setting of Pillars, praising the archaic language use as well. But now whenever its mentioned you get larping retards complaining that its an atheist setting *tips fedora* fake fantasy with no gods *tips fedora* californian communist fake godless """fantasy""" *tips fedora*

View attachment 46146

Everywhere is reddit now

 

[Justinian]

there's something poetic about how feargus only got to make his skyrim killed by the time it was dead of old age

"Skyrim killed", dont know if its a typo or if you meant to write it that way, but it fits. 10 years too late to be killed by skyrim, but it still will happen, skyrim is better than this, and everyone already owns it, why buy this shit?

Because there are only so many times you can play the same game no matter how good it is (and Skyrim isn't THAT good anyway).

 

[AwesomeButton]

Did they even manage to get guest appearance of a single obsidian employee?

Not even once. That must be an achievement even for Obsidian's "community manager".

 

[Infinitron]

https://www.pcgamesn.com/avowed/skyrim-fallout-new-vegas

Avowed is less like Skyrim, more like Fallout New Vegas, Obsidian says​

Picking up from Pillars of Eternity, Obsidian’s Avowed aims for the curated sandbox of Fallout New Vegas rather than the vastness of Skyrim.

Almost 13 years since the release of Skyrim, it still feels impossible for any fantasy RPG – or perhaps any RPG, period – to not be compared to Bethesda’s Nordic opus. The Elder Scrolls V remains the archetype of a certain variety of open-world game. Vast, rich, and designed entirely around allowing the player to do what they like, Skyrim winds you up with a strong narrative premise then sets you down and lets you go. Compare that to Fallout New Vegas, Obsidian’s valiant return to Black Isle classic, also renowned for its openness and breadth. On the surface, they’re very similar. In Skyrim, you’re the Dragonborn and you need to kill Alduin. In New Vegas, you’re the Courier and you need to settle who controls the Hoover Dam. And everything that happens in between is up to you. But there are subtle yet significant differences between Skyrim and New Vegas, between Bethesda’s work and Obsidian’s. Avowed, the new fantasy RPG set in the same universe as Pillars of Eternity, serves to highlight some of these diversions.

“For me at least, the games that hit the hardest in terms of really good role-playing experiences are not so open that you end up feeling adrift as a player,” Avowed game director Carrie Patel, whose credits also include spacepunk RPG The Outer Worlds and of course Pillars of Eternity itself, explains. “It shouldn’t be like ‘this is a wonderful sandbox, but I’m just building my own sandcastles here without a larger sense of purpose or identity.’ I think Avowed absolutely does fit the Obsidian ‘personality.’”

“We have the structure of the critical path, and we want whatever constraints we’re placing on the player to be accompanied by a good sense of pacing and momentum. There’s a push and pull where even though we’ve set this path in front of the player, we’re giving them enough prompts and draws along the way that they also feel like the authors of their own story.”

Set in Eora, the same universe as Obsidian’s beloved Pillars series, Avowed casts you as a lone envoy of the Aedyran Empire, dispatched to investigate a mysterious plague. The Living Lands are vibrant, colorful, and filled with unusual flora and fauna – just like The Outer Worlds trades realism for something more visually expressive, Avowed is instantly distinguishable from the likes of The Witcher 3 and Skyrim.

But Obsidian also wants the world of Avowed to feel more authored and curated. Everything is up to you – there are myriad combat styles, customizations, narrative choices, and, naturally, the freedom to explore The Living Lands at your leisure. But the presence of some kind of author is always important.

“It’s hard in 2024 to escape some comparison to Skyrim if you’re making a first-person fantasy action RPG,” Patel tells PCGamesN. “But I think the model that we’ve looked to internally is building Avowed as our fantasy take on The Outer Worlds, not with the same tone, but a similar structure to the world and in terms of scope.

“For us, it’s about having a more focused experience, something that feels a little more curated. We can be a little more intentional. Our world comprises zones that are definitely not small but certainly more constrained than a massive map that you can walk from, beginning to end, in several hours. It allows us to have a little more intentionality.

“I think there’s an appetite for games that are big sprawling RPGs with a ton of openness,” Patel continues, “but also games that are more curated, but also still maintain these elements of choice, character building, and progression. I’ve been excited to see what we can do as a studio in mixing up those elements.”

This, arguably, is where Skyrim and Fallout New Vegas are different. In terms of sheer size, the Mojave Wasteland may be smaller, but it’s packed more densely with encounters, occurrences, quests, and ambient activities. Similarly, Obsidian wants to create RPGs where everything you do, whether it’s guided by the developer or totally of your own accord, informs the greater narrative and experience. Can an RPG world be too big? Is there such a thing as wasted space? Avowed is seemingly driven by a different kind of design, where quantity is not always superior to cohesion.

“It’s that middle ground between sandbox and something that’s more curated, and I think we do a good job in striking that balance,” gameplay director Gabe Paramo explains. “For example, there are creatures you might stumble upon in Avowed that you’re maybe not ready for, but perhaps you’ve found an ability that helps you manipulate that creature, and then you get an item. You’ve found something purely through exploration that you can use in other types of encounters. I think New Vegas is also full of those moments where we don’t want to handhold the player, but still, if players have the skills, they can still defeat these moments.”

“I think New Vegas does a wonderful job of building the player experience not just through the critical plan but the side quests and secrets you can discover in the world,” Patel continues. “There’s a really great balance of consistency and variety. You want players to experience novelty and surprise, but also make sure that all these microelements you’re putting together are leading the player towards the same cohesive experience.

“One thing that’s been interesting to see, and as a player I really enjoy it, is that these genre boundaries are more and more fuzzy. You’re coming to the Living Lands and Avowed with a very specific role from the empire, but it’s still up to you to choose how exactly you follow through on that.”

While we wait for Avowed to arrive, you can try some of the other best sandbox games, or perhaps the greatest games like Skyrim available on PC.