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

Tyranicon

A Memory of Eternity
Developer
Joined
Oct 7, 2019
Messages
7,840
Oh right, it's hub-based, just like TOW. Well, that's way less interesting to most casual players, but probably the better plan with their "limited resources."

Good luck I guess.
 

Roguey

Codex Staff
Staff Member
Sawyerite
Joined
May 29, 2010
Messages
36,745
This game is not open world though. Is "down your expectations".
There was a lot of space to explore in the latest preview video. I don't think it's going to make much of a difference that it's not all one contiguous landmass.
 

scytheavatar

Scholar
Joined
Sep 22, 2016
Messages
689
Grounded, Outhouse World, and Pentiment all made money. They probably have to fuck up twice in a row to get shitcanned.
I wouldn't think that Obsidian is in danger if they make one flop, but who knows with how crazy the games industry is these days.

I also don't think that Avowed will flop. In fact, it probably has the best chance out of the shit three coming out this fall (VtMB2 and DA Veilguard) to be successful.

People are really thirsty for an openworld fantasy FPP game.

DAV will sell the best out of the 3 just from the Bioware name. Obsidian's reputation among normies has improved since the Microsoft buyout, but they are still a small insignificant studio. For them to sell TOW numbers again is possible but to do better than TOW numbers is difficult unless the game looks amazing.
 

Lemming42

Arcane
Joined
Nov 4, 2012
Messages
6,806
Location
The Satellite Of Love
There was a lot of space to explore in the latest preview video. I don't think it's going to make much of a difference that it's not all one contiguous landmass.
It's probably not a dealbreaker for anyone but it is confusing that they've gone with this system; I don't think anyone really appreciated it in TOW and Starfield has got to be the final nail in the coffin for anyone having the inexplicable idea of "we should make a Bethesda game but cut the map up into smaller disconnected chunks, some of which are virtually empty". It makes everything feel weird and disconnected, and it only takes one shitty hub to bring the game to a horrible screeching halt (TOW went one step further by ensuring every hub was the worst one).

People are really thirsty for an openworld fantasy FPP game.
I do wonder if the appetite for this type of game still exists in the way it did 10 - 15 years ago; Starfield's frosty reception is a gamechanger in that it raises serious questions about whether or not this genre has had its time in the sun, and if it can continue to exist without some serious innovation. I think the public are always up for "another Skyrim", but what they really want is the next Skyrim, something fresh that gives them the same feeling and same satisfying gameplay loop rather than just regurgitates the exact same model unchanged but smaller-scope and shittier.

We're also in a position where BG3 has gotten people thinking about the value of emergent gameplay and systems which allow for creative solutions to things. Obsidian pulling out their usual stuff of:
NPC: Hello, I am the Plant Queen. Why have you come here?

Player choice 1: [Attack] To kill you (ends quest, gives 30xp and item reward of Big Sword)
Player choice 2: [Speech] To talk (ends quest, gives 30xp and item reward of Big Axe)
Player choice 3: Goodbye
Might just not cut it at this point.
 

SmoothPimp

Augur
Joined
Jan 27, 2013
Messages
190
Location
Ukraine Paradise
So, no involvement of Urquhart, Sawyer, Cain or Boyarsky in Avowed. Sawyer even explicitly is distancing himself from the game. It says a lot about Microsoft - Obsidian relationships and how old team perceive Avowed.
 

Quillon

Arcane
Joined
Dec 15, 2016
Messages
5,297
There was a lot of space to explore in the latest preview video. I don't think it's going to make much of a difference that it's not all one contiguous landmass.
It's probably not a dealbreaker for anyone but it is confusing that they've gone with this system; I don't think anyone really appreciated it in TOW and Starfield has got to be the final nail in the coffin for anyone having the inexplicable idea of "we should make a Bethesda game but cut the map up into smaller disconnected chunks, some of which are virtually empty". It makes everything feel weird and disconnected, and it only takes one shitty hub to bring the game to a horrible screeching halt (TOW went one step further by ensuring every hub was the worst one).
And TOW and Starfield have a reason to have multiple smaller maps and it still made a big difference they didn't have "one contiguous landmass". TOW's maps wasn't big enough and Starfield's maps didn't have content/nor they were hand crafted. DAI had much bigger maps(with content) than TOW, still people woulda preferred one big one or I guess a few really big ones Witcher 3 style.

Also its funny journos keep asking them if they are afraid when they haven't questioned them not really delivering what people expected when they got bought out. Or are they asking all the MS studios? Since they haven't made a real flop yet like Redfall they are pretty safe imo. Soulless, barely meeting industry standards in prod quality but safe.
 
Last edited:

Spike

Educated
Joined
Apr 6, 2023
Messages
980
There was a lot of space to explore in the latest preview video. I don't think it's going to make much of a difference that it's not all one contiguous landmass.
It's probably not a dealbreaker for anyone but it is confusing that they've gone with this system; I don't think anyone really appreciated it in TOW and Starfield has got to be the final nail in the coffin for anyone having the inexplicable idea of "we should make a Bethesda game but cut the map up into smaller disconnected chunks, some of which are virtually empty". It makes everything feel weird and disconnected, and it only takes one shitty hub to bring the game to a horrible screeching halt (TOW went one step further by ensuring every hub was the worst one).
And TOW and Starfield have a reason to have multiple smaller maps and it still made a big difference they didn't have "one contiguous landmass". TOW's maps wasn't big enough and Starfield's maps didn't have content/nor they were hand crafted. DAI had much bigger maps(with content) than TOW, still people woulda preferred one big one or I guess a few really big ones Witcher 3 style.

Also its funny journos keep asking them if they are afraid when they haven't questioned them not really delivering what people expected when they got bought out. Or are they asking all the MS studios? Since they haven't made a real flop yet like Redfall they are pretty safe imo. Soulless, barely meeting industry standtards in prod quality but safe.
Was TOW really that bad? I heard it's fun to shoot around in, just don't expect New Vegas or much of an RPG in terms of mechanics.
 

scytheavatar

Scholar
Joined
Sep 22, 2016
Messages
689
There was a lot of space to explore in the latest preview video. I don't think it's going to make much of a difference that it's not all one contiguous landmass.
It's probably not a dealbreaker for anyone but it is confusing that they've gone with this system; I don't think anyone really appreciated it in TOW and Starfield has got to be the final nail in the coffin for anyone having the inexplicable idea of "we should make a Bethesda game but cut the map up into smaller disconnected chunks, some of which are virtually empty". It makes everything feel weird and disconnected, and it only takes one shitty hub to bring the game to a horrible screeching halt (TOW went one step further by ensuring every hub was the worst one).
And TOW and Starfield have a reason to have multiple smaller maps and it still made a big difference they didn't have "one contiguous landmass". TOW's maps wasn't big enough and Starfield's maps didn't have content/nor they were hand crafted. DAI had much bigger maps(with content) than TOW, still people woulda preferred one big one or I guess a few really big ones Witcher 3 style.

Also its funny journos keep asking them if they are afraid when they haven't questioned them not really delivering what people expected when they got bought out. Or are they asking all the MS studios? Since they haven't made a real flop yet like Redfall they are pretty safe imo. Soulless, barely meeting industry standtards in prod quality but safe.
Was TOW really that bad? I heard it's fun to shoot around in, just don't expect New Vegas or much of an RPG in terms of mechanics.

TOW is a 6.5/10 game, it doesn't suck as much as it is aggressively mediocre. It is still probably a better game than Starfield which is 6/10 as it at least tries to be special while Starfield is a completely soulless piece of crap. But as a whole it feels like a really long tech demo of an decent game and that TOW2 would be that game.
 

scytheavatar

Scholar
Joined
Sep 22, 2016
Messages
689
Also its funny journos keep asking them if they are afraid when they haven't questioned them not really delivering what people expected when they got bought out. Or are they asking all the MS studios? Since they haven't made a real flop yet like Redfall they are pretty safe imo. Soulless, barely meeting industry standtards in prod quality but safe.

Avowed right now looks like it has a high chance of being a gigantic flop. Hype for the game is low and for how long the game has been in development it can't possibly be a cheap game to produce. It probably wouldn't be a Redfall level flop but I am not sure they will be far from that.
 

Lemming42

Arcane
Joined
Nov 4, 2012
Messages
6,806
Location
The Satellite Of Love
Was TOW really that bad? I heard it's fun to shoot around in, just don't expect New Vegas or much of an RPG in terms of mechanics.
It's a very bland game wrapped in incredibly frustrating and abrasive writing. It genuinely isn't worth playing. It took me like three playthroughs over 5~ years to really get off the first planet because boredom killed every other playthrough, and it actually turns out it gets worse when you leave the boring-ass starting area.

If you like this type of game you'd be doing yourself a big favour by just replaying NV instead, or even the likes of Skyrim.
 
Shitposter
Joined
May 1, 2024
Messages
438
Location
Neverwinter, Always Sunny
Was TOW really that bad?
It wasn't bad. It's a Good game that isn't culturally important.

It's worth to play once if you haven't.


Anyone else think Avowed could be cool? Promise I'm not trying to farm fabulously optimistic reacts
I think it's going to be good. It's just not going to be 15 out of time game or the 2nd coming of Jesus which is what our collective hive mind want it to be.

Not sure what is "reaction farming" means.
 

Roguey

Codex Staff
Staff Member
Sawyerite
Joined
May 29, 2010
Messages
36,745
It's probably not a dealbreaker for anyone but it is confusing that they've gone with this system; I don't think anyone really appreciated it in TOW and Starfield has got to be the final nail in the coffin for anyone having the inexplicable idea of "we should make a Bethesda game but cut the map up into smaller disconnected chunks, some of which are virtually empty". It makes everything feel weird and disconnected, and it only takes one shitty hub to bring the game to a horrible screeching halt (TOW went one step further by ensuring every hub was the worst one).

They made an honest attempt at making an open world game and failed. It's not something you can just easily do (especially in UE5), Bethesda owes everything to starting with Morrowind and Gamebryo.

no involvement of Urquhart,
Pretty confident he's been meddling. The Microsoft babysitter may have put a stop to it.
 

Spike

Educated
Joined
Apr 6, 2023
Messages
980
Was TOW really that bad?
It wasn't bad. It's a Good game that isn't culturally important.

It's worth to play once if you haven't.


Anyone else think Avowed could be cool? Promise I'm not trying to farm fabulously optimistic reacts
I think it's going to be good. It's just not going to be 15 out of time game or the 2nd coming of Jesus which is what our collective hive mind want it to be.

Not sure what is "reaction farming" means.
Thank you for the reasoned response, this was the impression I got in both cases. Temper your expectations, Codex, lol. There are countless great RPGs out there, one that is sufficiently "good" or "solid" is fine.

EDIT: Oh, and by reaction farming I meant trying to get you to react to my message with a built-in Codex emoticon.
 

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